6:30 PM
At the bar of the Ocean Grill in Vero Beach. Dana has switched from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay to fruity frozen drinks. I’m sticking with locally brewed beer.
We began our day with steel-cut oatmeal, home-made banana bread, and fresh fruit salad. I believe Kathy and Jack served us the ONLY home-made breakfast on our trip. It was wonderful. Then, they drove us back onto our route, on a very scenic 10-mile drive, including a stretch of S. Tropical Trail, between the Banana River and the Indian River. It’s just amazing how much faster 10 miles goes by in a car. And I was honored to hold Piper on my lap the entire time.
The best part was that, as we were looking at the maps figuring out distance, time, hotels, etc, they just said “Don’t worry about it, if you’re worried about distance we just drive you further up the road.” Yessir, miles are definitely easier in cars!
So we said goodbye to the Hillsons in the Publix parking lot, and jumped back on route. 40 miles today on A1A. We rode through Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Shores, Floridana, the Sebastian Inlet, Orchid Beach, Wabasso Beach, and Indian River Shores. It’s impossible to get lost out here – one wrong turn and you are in the water.
We saw this nice alligator statue
and these people romping in Sebastian Cove
and coconuts growing in a palm tree
We saw ospreys, but they refused to pose for pictures. And when we stopped for a slice of pizza, we watched the pizza guy remove a land crab from the kitchen with a pair of tongs. I tried getting a picture, but it ran into the bushes very quickly.
It was very, very hot again. We drank lots of Gatorade, and dumped lots of water on our heads. I stopped at mile 35 because I saw this anchor from a Spanish treasure ship that was lost in a hurricane in 1715.
I also wanted to stop because sweat was dripping into my eyes so bad I couldn’t see. This sort of explains how we felt.
After 40 miles, we killed the rest of the day lying on the motel bed appreciating AC. We may have a short day tomorrow, it sort of depends on how our butts feel when we get to Fort Pierce at mile 15.
Dana and Carolyn's 57 Ride 