I only rode 48 miles today to give my legs a break. I plotted a new route that follows along the Gulf coast of Florida. I had better luck today finding a motel. I booked through hotels.com again and this time the room at Emerald Coast Inn & Suites was exactly what I wanted. Non-smoking, ground floor and a king bed. They have a guest laundry too. I’m a block from the boardwalk and I’ll head over there after my clothes are done and check out the restaurants. The ride today was a struggle at times. The headwinds were 20 to 30 mph according to the weather service. It felt like it too, especially over the long bridges. So far, I like this route better than the one that goes through the rural panhandle areas. I think the wind is going to be the same again tomorrow, but it seemed to be less gusty as I rode a little away from the beach.

Here’s the map from today, the map of the rest of the route and some pictures:

In the distance is the long bridge from Pensacola to Pensacola Beach Continued Just about ran out of gas before I hit the top of the bridge. They plop beach houses down wherever they can find a spot. And you can still see empty lots where Katrina took a lot of the houses and they weren’t rebuilt. The gulf here is a rich emerald green.

Heyoka standing guard like a postcard of a golden retriever. There’s a couple mile long stretch of undeveloped beach for the coastal nesting birds. Going into Navarre Beach. All houses and condos, no restaurants, gas stations or convenience stores The only brick beach house I’ve seen A cool looking dome house I stopped at an Italian restaurant and had lasagna. It was good.

Tomorrow, Panama City.

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