Day 58: Veteran's Day

Today I had the privilege of riding through a Veteran's Day parade with a veteran (Rick) who was wearing an "Americana" bicycle jersey.  People would've thought we were part of the parade IF we had been going the same way as they.  As it was, we were going opposite.  The nice thing was that the police let us go through even though they stopped and detoured all the cars.  (This was about 3:00 p.m. as we were going through Marianna, FL on highway 90).

So....today I learned (1) that Florida is not all flat, and (2) Florida is not all palm trees and flamingos   We did see 1 flamingo -- it was plastic and stuck on somebody's front yard.  On today's roadside we saw a PAIR of gloves, a flip flop, several baby diapers, and a raghead mop!!  (That was a first.)

Dennis & Lyndsey tagged along off and on ,taking photos of us on the bike, and checking out the lunch stop in Chipley (Surf & Turf, good food, everybody was there after Sunday services) and the motel in Marianna.  Thankfully they steered us away from the ACA recommended places (didn't look so good) and we went a few miles off route to stay at a nice Super 8 with a Walmart across the street and several restaurants within walking distance.  The funny/interesting thing was....when WE (Rick & I) rode through Marianna, we stopped at Winn-Dixie to get snacks and beer and wine; we bought a bottle for Dennis & Lyndsey too.  After this, Rick informed me that Dennis had told him there was a WalMart across the street from the Super 8 where we would be staying.  I thought, "Well, we could've stopped there."  However,  I have gotten to a place in my mind where I think, "get it when you can get it!".  And this proved a good thing today.  Because it was Sunday.  AND because in this county, on Sunday, no stores or restaurants can serve alcohol EXCEPT Winn-Dixie!!!!  Figure that!  I was really glad I bought a bottle of wine just for Dennis & Lyndsey!!!

So...this part of Florida....it is beautiful, but it's not beaches and flamingos   It's piney woods and swamps.  I kept looking for alligators today but didn't see any.  It IS very pretty.  Someone at the Waffle House where we had breakfast this morning commented that the part of Florida we were going to be riding through was like the "old Florida".  I think I understand this-- the beautiful lush land that isn't overwhelmed with stores and condos and people.  If it wasn't overwhelmingly humid and hot in the summers it could be a great place to live.