I have never been as homesick as I was at the end of this trip. Coming home felt so good – better than biking to mile-marker zero on day 53. But it was with a mixture of excitement and dread that we walked into our house after a 2 month absence.

When we left back in May, I was worried about the house, the cats, and the mail. Truth is I wasn’t all that worried about the kids, because, unlike houses and cats and utility bills, kids call you when they are in trouble. And during the trip, I managed to put the worries out of my mind. But as we got closer to home, the worries all came back, en masse, and hit me hard.

So when Nancy dropped us off in the driveway, I immediately started looking for signs of trouble. The first thing I noticed was the weed situation. I hadn’t told the kids to worry about the gardens, so, of course, they didn’t. Before I even walked into the garage I started pulling big weeds – like the ones that had made it to 6 ft. in my absence. Nancy thought I was crazy. She was right.

When we finally walked into the house, we were immediately blasted by the smell of cat pee. It seems the cats were somewhat stressed by our absence, and when cats are stressed, they pee. Not a feature of the species. Katie had been complaining about the problem for a while, so we were expecting an issue, but not that bad.

So, after only a few minutes in the house, Dana and I both attacked projects. I did a deep clean of the litter boxes and the entry hall. Dana sorted through the pile of mail, and got some of our stuff out of the safe that we’d purchased for this trip. And we started to bicker, although I have no idea why. I think we were both a little manic, just trying to put everything back the way we wanted it.

And then we started noticing little things that had gone wrong. A garden hose had come loose, causing water to pour onto the patio every day, while the bird bath dried up and the water pump almost died. The cats’ water bubbler had also died while we were gone – probably because Katie forgot to fill it for a few days – and in her attempt to replace it, she had thrown away part of it. So the moral of this story is that, when you leave your house unattended, or attended by a college student, water is not your friend.

On the plus side, the mail situation was under control. Four times during our ride, Katie called and read all of the mail to us. Of course, we told her to toss most of it – so much junk mail! Some things we told her to file, some to save, and we even managed to pay one bill from the road. But Katie handled it all very well, and the mail pile that awaited us upon arrival was small and manageable.

When Katie came home that afternoon we gave her a big hug, and then I yelled at her about the water bubbler. That’s just the kind of parent I am – a rotten one. Then the three of us went out to dinner, which I felt bad about, because: 1) I was truly sick of restaurants; and 2) during our absence, Katie often told me that she missed my cooking and couldn’t wait for me to come home and cook something – anything – for her. But I couldn’t handle cooking just then, so we went out for Vietnamese food, which is almost like home, since we eat there a lot, and we hadn’t had Vietnamese food on the ride, and Katie didn’t have to pay for her own dinner, so that made it fine with her.

On Thursday Dana went into work, because that was the thing he’d been most worried about on the trip. Meanwhile, I cleaned the house. A lot. And I was thrilled to do it. We had put away a lot of things before we left, and I ferreted them all out and returned them to their normal, cluttered state. I scrubbed the bathrooms and the floors and the kitchen. It’s not that anything was particularly dirty – Katie had kept the house pretty clean all summer – but I had to make it all mine again.

Then, Thursday afternoon, I went to my neighbor’s house for wine. We often drink wine together in the afternoons – when the kids were little we once stooped to drinking it out of Sippy cups.  Then I cooked dinner – steak and potatoes and corn – on the grill. Katie was thrilled. Friday I played tennis, another opportunity to see my friends in a comfortable environment. Friday night we went to family card night, again comfortable and homey.

By Saturday we were just home. We worked in the yard, relaxed, cooked dinner. Went for a short bike ride Sunday morning, to one of our favorite local breakfast spots. Everything was returning to normal, one daily routine at a time.

However, every day we’ve been home, I find something else that just isn’t quite right. Like my cheese grater has disappeared, although no one knows what happened to it. And the horseradish disappeared, too, which is strange, as I doubt either of my kids knows what to do with horseradish. There was a toothbrush in the kitchen, although no one seems to know who it belongs to. The garden hose manifold in the front yard was mangled, although no one remembers hitting it. And then there are the random odd spills in random odd places. I am simply cleaning them as I find them, afraid that inquiring about their origins will lead to blank stares or embarrassed giggles.

As for food, we are completely out of Lipton tea, and no one thought to buy more. Same for pasta, coffee, crackers, and spaghetti sauce. It seems the only thing my kids knew how to buy was beer. I tried to empty the house of beer before I left, but it miraculously reappeared.

Thursday 5:30 PM

On the Key West Express ferry to Ft. Myers. This is it. It’s over. Mixed emotions.

While we were in Key West, we tried to see all the stuff people told us to see. Schooner’s Wharf, Captain Tony’s, Ernest Hemingway’s house and cats, Sunset Wharf, Duval Street. As if anyone could miss Duval Street!

I thought I liked to drink, but in Key West I am a lightweight. It’s a non-stop party. Every night, on our ride, we were thrilled to find a bar – preferably one with cushioned bar stools, of course. And each night, we were happy with the one place we found, and that made that particular perch special. I blogged while Dana read. One or both of us connected with another customer, or perhaps a bartender, or perhaps everyone in the place. But there were too many options in Key West. Too many bars, too many people, too many choices.

Other than bars, Key West’s other main attraction seems to be t-shirt stores. We saw many Key West t-shirts, many funny t-shirts, and many dirty t-shirts, a few of which Katie had to explain to me. I had thought I would buy a Key West tank top as a souvenir, but like the bars, it was overwhelming. I almost bought a shirt for Bill that said “Drink coffee. Do stupid stuff faster and with more energy”, but we chose to buy nothing.

So we went to some art galleries – our favorite was Paul Carmichael’s bird photographs – and we ate some ice cream. Of the four major food groups of this ride – ice cream, alcohol, Italian subs and Gatorade – ice cream is the one we still crave. But, while I didn’t take pictures of ice cream, I did take a few pictures of famous bars. Here is a picture of the famous Green Parrot:

We went to Captain Tony’s, where Hemingway and Shel Silverstein and Tennessee Williams and lots of other famous people hung out. I didn’t get a picture of the outside, but the ceiling is covered with police and fire badges from all over the country. I saw Woburn, MA, Shrewsbury, MA, Port Chester, NY, NYC, etc. I actually took pictures of them, and I am sure I looked like a total touristy dork in the process. Having ridden 2000 miles, however, I had that lovely feeling where I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. I earned the right to do what I want, and I don’t care what anyone thinks of me.

At the Hemingway house, I took pictures of their latest batches of kittens.

And when Dana bought a Diet Coke from a soda machine, and it Lauren’s name on it

And we liked this sign near the Hemingway house:

Last night we watched the sunset. Well, I watched the sunset. Dana sat on a bench reading his book.

While we were waiting for the sunset, we had ice cream (there’s a shocker!) and saw this silly plaque in the store. Given my recent thing about historic markers, I took a picture.

Today we rode our bikes around town. It’s much too hot to walk, and everything is closer by bike. Everyone rides bikes and scooters around Key West. I had to convince Dana not to wear his helmet, however. Everyone else is wearing flip flops, holding a beer in one hand and a cellphone in the other, on a rental beach bike. I just can’t go out there with the helmet and gloves. The shoes are dorky enough. Unfortunately, my pedals and flip flops are a bad combination.

First we had breakfast at the Cuban Coffee Queen. I am definitely buying an espresso maker when we get home. Then we went to Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden. She has been rescuing parrots for about 40 years, and she displays them in her yard. She chatted with us for quite a while, telling us about the histories and personalities of the different birds. It was so pleasant, sitting on chairs in the shade, surrounded by birds, hearing her stories of old Key West. This is Nancy with Mr. Peaches.

And this is Baby Blue

And this is Nancy’s website: www.nancyforrester.com/garden.html. A very good cause in my opinion.

After visiting with Nancy, we went to the Key West Museum of History and Art. We learned about Key West before and during the Civil War, about the history of Florida tourism, and about the building of all of the bridges on the keys. Turns out we rode across 42 bridges on the keys! I think this means I am no longer a bridge wimp.

Tuesday, 6:30 PM

About Ernest Hemingway… Dana’s mom, Jeanne, told us that when she was a model in Florida back in the 1940’s, she and some other models were taken on a trip to Cuba, where they “hung out with Ernie”. Of course, she also spent time in NYC hanging out with Martin and Lewis, and Dana’s parents often socialized with the Shah of Iran. In contrast, my parents’ idea of living on the edge was changing up the flavor of Sealtest ice cream we kept in the freezer.

FYI… the Shah enjoyed playing charades. Who knew?

When we docked in Ft. Myers Thursday night it was dark, and we finally used the headlamps and taillights we’ve been carrying for 2 months. It was worth bringing them, even for that one little 1.5 mile ride. Biking in the dark is dangerous. Then we checked into the Matanzas Motel, which was fine, but we are not mourning the fact that it was our last motel room – we are truly sick of them. In the morning we rode a few more miles and picked up a rental car. We drove to a bike store in Clearwater that Dana used to go to in high school, and dropped off the bikes to be shipped home. Turns out it costs the same to ship them or take them on the plane with us. Shipping them seemed more practical. Then we drove to Dana’s mom’s house, got her car, and the three of us drove to Tampa airport to return the rental.

About coming home… we had been planning to drive home all along, but as the trip got longer and we got more homesick, we started considering flying home instead. We weighed the costs: money, time, aggravation, etc. Financially it was about even, so we are flying home because it is faster. Nancy T. will pick us up at Logan Wednesday afternoon. I will pay her back in Cambodian food.

Meanwhile, since Friday afternoon, we have been very busy visiting Dana’s family and friends. We are staying with Dana’s mom in Clearwater. Dana’s brother Dara, sister-in-law Anvar, and nephew Alexander came for dinner Friday evening, and we went to their house Monday night for home-cooked Persian food.

Saturday we went to visit Doug’s mother, Ruth, and his sister, Terry. You may recall Doug from earlier in our trip, when we visited with him in Easton, PA. Ruth gave us a tour of her extensive gardens – everything grows bigger and better in Florida. She told me not to worry about my garden being a hodgepodge of whatever, but I think I want to improve it when we get home. After the garden tour, the four of us went out for sushi and then for coffee at Starbucks. It was a lovely afternoon, and it was nice for Dana to reconnect with people he’s known his whole life but rarely sees.

Sunday we went to visit Dana’s friend, Rich, his wife Mandy and his son Sasha. Doug, Rich and Dana were friends in high school. Rich and Mandy treated us to brunch at Frescos, we walked around for a while, and then Rich drove us around some very nice streets in St. Petersburg. They kept talking about which houses are new, what used to where, etc. I simply enjoyed touring in an air-conditioned car.

Jeanne didn’t join us for either of our visits, so we came home both nights and I cooked dinner for her. I don’t think she ever really liked cooking, and now that she’s alone she never cooks for herself. So I used some of the leftover chicken from Friday’s dinner to make curried chicken salad Saturday, and bought all fresh ingredients for crunchy onion tilapia with mango and avocado salsa Sunday. Today I made a big pot of soup with all of her leftovers, plus a few hidden treasures from her freezer. (We did, however, convince her to toss the pasta sauce her late husband made. He died in 2011.)

Can you tell that I miss my kitchen?

Yesterday we drove around St. Pete for a while. We passed 3 of the houses Dana lived in a child, although he was unclear on the actual address of the first one. Then we went to his favorite used bookstore, Haslam’s – we were both relieved to see that it has survived:

And here is the Thunderbird motel, where Dana’s father stayed back in the day when he was visiting from Iran. It’s so retro – I love it!

Then we went to the Salvador Dali museum. We got a tour, which was necessary. I think I’d last about 5 minutes in an art history class.

Here is a Dali dolphin, which seems apropos for this trip

and a replica of the famous Dali melting clock.

Honestly, I listened to an explanation of the melting clocks, and I Googled it, and I still don’t understand it well enough to explain it here. It’s like when we were in Fredricksburg and I was reading an historic sign about Stonewall Jackson. A woman came over and asked me what the sign said, and I told her I had no idea. Which totally explains why 7th grade totally sucked for me.

Back to Day 52

12 Noon

In the No Name Pub on No Name Key. We are 3 miles off route, but so many people told us we should come here. Of course, it took us 5 miles to ride the 3. Bike math sucks.

As was the case yesterday, we rode a plethora of bike route styles getting to the 7-mile bridge. Everyone back home had been worried about it, so I was extremely nervous. Turns out it has an OK shoulder, so it wasn’t too bad. The old 7-mile bridge is still there, and they are working to re-open it as a pedestrian/bike bridge. I looked at it, and I can see why biking across it prior to 1982 would have been extremely dangerous. Based on this marker, it c!early was an accident waiting to happen.

Here is the old bridge as seen from the new one.

Here is the new one – notice the shoulder. Not quite wide enough, slightly messy, but perfectly acceptable.

After the seven-mile bridge we crossed two little bridges, that due to construction, had very narrow shoulders, but with light traffic they were manageable. And all of the small bridges have new pedestrian/bike bridges that look like they are close to completion. All of the communities in the Keys seem dedicated to the biking thing, and in a few years biking the keys should be quite pleasant.

It started pouring rain about 3 miles before the No Name, so we just rode 5 miles in the rain and are now soaking wet. Of course, the rain stopped as we got here. But now there is lightning, so we will relax and enjoy our pizza. But I must comment on Google map’s shortcomings when it comes to bike directions. It doesn’t distinguish between road bikes and mountain bikes, so it often takes us off road. Today it cost us two wet miles. It’s been worse.

5 PM

We stopped at a gas station 10 miles out of Key West so Dana could call work, and I took pictures because I thought it was cool to see chickens in a gas station. Now that we are in Key West, we realize that there are chickens everywhere. Silly tourist.

I still think the baby chicken was cool

After that, our last 10 miles were surprisingly stressful. I just kept praying that nothing would go wrong. We just wanted to get there. To be done. The last mile was the worst. And then…

Can you say anticlimax? Here we are at mile marker 0.

The coolest thing about this picture is the guy who took it. He was in line in front of me at the quickie mart in Marathon this morning. He was having trouble buying gas for his motorcycle, and as he came out of the store he saw our bikes and offered to trade. Don’t think I wasn’t temped. Around halfway through our day he passed us on rt. 1 and waved. And when we got mile marker 0, there he was with his buddy. We didn’t think to take their picture, hopefully we will see them later.

Then we rode down to the southernmost place in the U.S. Turns out it’s a big tourist spot, and there’s a long line for the photo op. Honking cars, crying kids, the whole shebang. So we just took pictures from a few feet back

And here is a kapok tree

And its historic marker

And here we are, soggy and dirty and tired. The big thrill is knowing that we don’t have to stuff our crap back into plastic bags tomorrow. I suppose we knew better than to expect balloons, but it would have been nice. We will spend a few days here without the bikes – I really want to see the Hemingway house. The ferry to Ft. Myers leaves Thursday at 6:00.

This will probably be my last blog for a few days. I want no responsibility for a while. I may blog on the ferry, not sure yet. And we will both blog when we get home. But before we go, we’d like to thank our sponsors: Gatorade, Ibuprofen, Sportique Century Riding Cream, Bacitracin, Deep Woods Off, Benadryl, and 50 SPF sunscreen.

Thanks for following us on our adventure!

On to Goodbye Florida