Bicycling Santa Rose Beach, FL

ML and I had brought our bikes along, intending to do two different bike routes.  We had been cold on the Blackwater River the last couple of nights, but the forecast was for a real cold front with 20-25 MPH winds.  We intelligently opted for a hotel instead of a campground.

The forecast was right - it was COLD the next morning.  ML, also intelligently, opted to send me off.  I put on all the clothes I had, with my rain jacket over my helmet to keep the wind off.  It worked except for my hands and fingers froze with my little bicycling gloves!

ML dropped me off at Navarre Beach, FL, on route 399, a two lane road with wide shoulders.  There was a path along the road, which was lined first with highrises and then with single family homes.

I couldn't help but think about the flood insurance issue that is facing us as people keep building multimillion dollar "homes" on the beach.  Seems to me it should be like the "old days": put up a shack or trailer that is worth nothing and when it blows away, no harm done!

Maybe we should allow no buildings worth more than $10,000 and not have any flood insurance at all.

It wasn't long before I entered the "Gulf Islands National Seashore."  I couldn't help but thank the federal government for preserving a beautiful stretch of beach.  I'm happy to pay taxes to keep highrises off the beach.

Instead of drifting snow, I had to fight drifting sand.  Luckily I had my rain jacket to protect me against the occasional barrage of drifting sand.

The gulf water was a much prettier color than this photo shows.  My camera just couldn't get the water color very accurately - or maybe it was the photographer.  You'll have to take my word for it, the water was different shades of a pretty blue.

Rolling hills!!!  Up and down!   Not many hills in Florida unless you cross a bridge.

With a stiff wind coming just aft of my right side, I made some pretty good progress.  Before long I entered Pensacola Beach, greeted by some mighty impressive highrises. 

From there it was beach housing and boulevards, not my favorite riding conditions.

I turned right at Pensacola Beach and rode over the bridge and turned right on Route 98, a major stoplight highway access from beach to beach.  I connected with ML at the Gulf Islands National Seashore visitors center, which was well worth visiting.

We learned that so many live oak trees were being cut in the late 1800's, that the federal government started an oak tree farm to grow oaks for shipbuilding. 

After we goofed around the Visitor's Center, we drove the barrier island that I had just ridden so that ML could see it.  Then off to the east on route 98, not a very fun road.

But we ran across a road sign for a Eden Gardens State Park.  Florida does an excellent job of creating and maintaining State Parks - often from "donations."  The creator of the Eden Mansion and Gardens died and left the grounds to the State of Florida. 

The mansion was closed (it's in the background of the photo), but we walked around it and looked in the windows.  Then we walked the grounds.

The grounds were beautiful, made especially nice with huge live oaks, the very oaks that made such great wood to build big ships.  I did my best with the camera, but I just couldn't get the reality of the majesty of the oak trees with their spreading branches.