Freezing!

I can’t believe it but it was actually cold in Florida. Noreaster effects drifted down south and the early morning low temperature was around 50 degrees. That may not seem all that bad and it usually isn’t, but when all of the gear you are carrying is set for temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees it becomes a challenge.

We fought through it and packed up in record speed just so that we could get walking and find somewhere indoors to have breakfast. A McDonald’s was the first thing we saw. Neither of us are fans of the golden arches but they served us well in this situation. We sat and ate breakfast while letting the sun get higher to bring in some warmth.

We got back on the road and were quickly entering St. Augustine. I crossed the street to take a picture of the welcome sign. A young man followed me and told me he was a journalism student and asked if he could use my story for something. I gave him all of my info and said of course.

There was a huge draw bridge to enter St. Augustine and we had to wait at the top for a boat to pass under. It was really windy. Like over 20 mph constant winds. The views were beautiful though. The bridge went down and we walked through St. Augustine and took in the sights as we went. Great town. Cool history.

Wind was the word of the day for us. It was ridiculous. A 20 mph blast constantly challenging us head-on. We had to walk on another bridge to get out of St. Augustine and the wind blew my sun hat into never never land. I got that hat in Durango, CO on my last walk and even though I looked horrible in it I really liked it. It was gone forever though.

We grabbed some sandwiches at a Publix and kept battling the wind until we found an awesome picnic area that was perfectly protected from the wind. It was amazing. A nice and quiet lunch break.

After fueling up and knowing what we were up against, we got mentally prepared to fight the wind and it was easier being ready for it. We pushed hard knowing that we had no choice anyways. Then the most amazing thing that I’ve ever seen in my life happened. We watched a guy riding a bicycle while holding an open umbrella and using it as a sail. He was going the opposite way so the umbrella was catching the wind and propelling him forward. It was incredible haha.

We kept pushing. I was going slow. I had Domino in my cart all day because we were on a busy road that was too dangerous for her to walk on. So I had all that extra weight, plus the wind flying right in my face. I had no problem moving forward, but I was definitely going slower than normal.

We walked forever it seemed like until we came up to a gas station. We knew to stop here as there would be absolutely nothing for the next 10 miles. We got some snacks and water and while we were eating a guy came up to our carts and started reading the side panels.

He looked over at us and said, “seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit!”

It was the best reaction we had had yet. Randy was awesome. We talked for a good 45 minutes at least. His total interest in what we were doing was very satisfying after battling headwinds and idiot drivers all day. We were thankful to have met him.

We got back out to the long stretch of nothing and a cyclist with a lot of gear was approaching and stopped to chat. He was from Serbia and is riding his bike from St. Augustine to San Diego. He was just getting started. He took a video of us and our cause. Apparently, he is very connected in Serbia and we will be famous over there now. We’ll see…

A few miles later and we came to an empty parking lot which looked like a good enough place to set up camp for the night. We considered setting up on the beach across the street but decided that sand and possible high winds weren’t worth it. We could still hear the waves from the parking lot.

We set up then ate dinner. Then we walked over to the beach to look for shark teeth, which are claimed to be found often in this area. We had no luck but enjoyed the private beach while the sun was setting. That was that. Long day but still got decent mileage. Until tomorrow…