Finally I am off again. I have been packing Beyond for about a month! At. 7:30 this morning I strapped my bike on the back MR. NIGHT into the passenger seat and drove out of St. Pete! My nieces decided that I needed a travel companion for my trip and gave me a stuffed figure called MR. NIGHT to keep me company. He is dark blue wearing a suit and a bowler hat and covered in glow-in-the-dark stars! He is very cool and drove out of St. Pete! I missed all the morning traffic and sailed up the Sunstate Parkway to us 19 North past Crystal River then i jumped onto 120 and ran south of Gainesville through light rain and stopped in Williston, FL to rest and stretch. I had some peanuts and listened to rain on the roof and then went for a quick walk.
There were some nice old buildings with little shops. Non of which were open. When i got to the other side of the block most of the buildings were plant covered empty shells. it was kind of sad as i like the facades of the buildings. I could almost feel the lives and businesses that used to be there. I took an few snaps as I walked around inside them and the got back on the road, taking 120 to 24 to 301 to A1A to 95 then 5 miles to the Florida Georgia border. There were a few short heavy rain showers on 95 until to reached Brunswick, GA then it was clear sailing all the way to Savannah, GA.
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| To Canada and Beyond! |
I am camped for the night at the Skidaway Island State Park just south of town. After I arrived i rested and stretched and then road my bike out a trail to see the remains of Civil War embankments and an old still. Now I am eating cold thai green curry with tofu and drinking Heineken; waiting for the temp to drop a bit. There was a nice breeze earlier and it’s still now. There is a boardwalk that goes out into the marsh with w great view of the islands. there is even a picnic bench. I am thinking of having breakfast there!
Talk to you soon,
Allen
This morning MR. NIGHT and I had papaya, walnuts and orange juice looking out over the Low County of marshes and low islands. There are thousands of fiddler crabs! I remember as a child we used to camp on the beach at Myrtle Beach, SC and i used spend hours in the tidal flats catching fiddlers! It also brings back fond memories of my first job out of college working as an apprentice scenic artist at the Spoleto Opera Festival and then years later helping my friend Bob Devin Jones take his one man show Uncle Bends to Spoleto. Also thoughts of the Gulllah culture of escapes Slaves that lived on the islands. They developed and amazing dialect. There is a great movie about the Gullah called Daughters of the Dust.
THen I drove into Savannah, parked my van (her name is BEYOND) and bicycled all around the historic district. I was looking for some fruit for lunch as directed to a great fruit stand. Groves Market. They had fresh butter beans (they call them butterpeas) and barbecue sandwiches. So I had butterpeas, tomato/cucumber salad and blackberry/ blueberry cobbler for lunch and took the sandwich to have for dinner. I biked more until it was too hot and looked at art at the Savannah College of Art and Design and then had a limeade (made with no sugar?!) and read the paper until 4 pm.
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| Savannah, GA |
Then I drove out to Tybee Island went for a swim and rode my bike up the beach (water was refreshing and there was a nice breeze) Swam again and back to the campground. I have ate my barbecue sandwich with a salad and now I am drinking beer and writing. Last night I tried to load a Travelpod blog but it’s not MAC compatible so I am trying Picasa. Seems to be working, though the amount text I write might be a problem. We will just have to see. I am off to the showers, there is nice cold water here! See you tomorrow.
Allen
This morning the sky is overcast and temperature is a bit lower. I slept very little last night as it was just way too hot! I took it easy this morning and shifted stuff around in BEYOND. I am still getting settled. Also I have more stuff this year. Not always a good thing! I had a long chat with the people in the next campsite and then walked the rest of the trails at Skidaway. There was a nice trail along the edge of the marsh. Then I visited the nature center. It was basic but very interesting. They had a reproduction of a giant sloth skeleton that was found in the Park. The real skeleton is at the Smithsonian. It was about 10 feet tall! Very cool!
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| Skidaway Island State Park |
After my walk I packed up and drove to Durham, NC to visit my friend Jill Stansbury. North Carolina has less humidity and is cooler, and Jill has AC! What a treat. I know I will sleep well tonight. While I was driving my cousin Cabell Garbee called to say that he and my Aunt Polly and Uncle Bob are going to see Pilobolus Dance Company perform and do I want to go. Yes! Since they are one of my most favorite dance companies ever. It is part of the American Dance Festival here in Durham. What luck to be able to see them. I took some Modern Dance classes in college and did some choreography. if you have a chance see them.
Well that’s about it for today.
Talk to you soon.
I am try to put Pictures up on a website this year. it’s not working very well. I have a few pics upon Picasa.
http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/ToCanadaAndBeyond
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