Day 49 - Blackwater River State Park to DeFuniak Springs, FL

We were glad to see Dick Ward's blog post, and wish him continued recovery. He is out of his cast, is rehabbing his fingers to close, and expects to start riding again this week. We enjoyed his photos from early in the tour. The San Diego mountains and Imperial sand dunes were good reminders of early days riding, and a contrast to the current landscape.
We also send out our best to Julie White, our assistant leader and co-rider, who left us after Texas and rode home via the Natchez Trace. Please see her blog posts today with photos.
Yesterday's campsites had large gravel rectangles with grassy borders. Since we've had our fill of tenting on boulders in RV parks, most riders pitched their tents on the grass. At dinnertime a park person came by and said all tents had to be on gravel. This led to much speculation about sleeping without a tent.
Today was a short ride, only 50 miles. We were delayed briefly leaving because Bob Plant had a flat back tire. I mention this because it's not unusual to roll into camp with the tire and tube just fine, and have a flat overnight for no reason.
Another myth destroyed: Florida DOES have hills. We encountered some good rollers between the state park and Crestview. They call it Crestview for a reason!
It was a good day for flowers. Rhodri spotted purple-and-white blossom pitcher plants just outside the campground. Shortly past, Carol saw white death camas by the road.
Most of our ride today was on U.S. 90. Traffic was moderate. The road surface was very good, with a clean three foot shoulder. As always, we had a headwind. At this point we just ignore it, and downshift if strong.
Town names continue to be interesting; we went through Mossy Head and passed a sign for Niceville.
Tonight we are camped in a palatial RV park 3.5 miles off route outside of DeFuniak. Riding here, I thought this had better be worth the significant detour. So far it is. A big lake, swimming pool, hot tub, laundry facilities, and a clubhouse where we can cook in a kitchen and room to eat indoors. This is a bonus, as the blue sky was replaced by low gray clouds. So we may get some rain.
Most riders are here, waiting for Mitch to show up in the van with beer and gear (in that order). Linda's daughter Elisabeth rode halfway today on her hybrid bike. She wore out Ken and Bob G (see photo).
Carol and I cooked dinner tonight. On the menu were garlic shrimp with feta cheese, Spanish rice, and green salad (see photos). To celebrate our arrival in Florida, dessert was key lime pie.
Tomorrow we graduate to Section (map) 7 (see photo of Carol holding it). A real milestone!
Bruce