Pine Manor

Last night, as I was writing down directions because my GPS is shattered, I realized that I have rarely been accomplishing the very first goal I set for myself way back on Day 0 February 13th: Enjoy the ride!

First, I left my heated gloves on the back of the bike and took off. Another time I left my bungee cords dangling and lost most of them. Recently, I left my swing arm bag open but didn't lose anything because a passing car hollered at me. Then the GPS snafu yesterday. All of these are and were easily preventable, but I've pushed so hard to get my photo at the next dealership or hit a national park visitor center before it closed or check into a nonrefundable campground reservation that I've lost focus on what's important: Enjoy the ride!

So, today I'm making some changes. I'm NOT going as far south as Miami, not even for the HDs and Hard Rock. I'm NOT going through Alligator Alley to the national park campground I reserved for tonight (nonrefundable). And I AM going the speed limit the rest of the time I'm in Florida. Fingers crossed I don't get run over.

With these new parameters, I packed up camp (it didn't rain 😁) and headed south to Canaveral National Seashore. I had a long breakfast along the way, grabbed my stamp, and slowly continued south.

I am so fortunate to have made and kept so many terrific people over the years. Today, I had lunch in Port St. Lucie with Larry and Terri, whom I rode with when stationed the second time in Germany. He's retired Air Force now and turned his Flight Engineer experience and some schooling into a pilot's license. They temporarily live in a wonderful RV park that's sort of in the country but only 15 minutes from a state park beach. It was wonderful to see them again!

After a nice chat, I made my way to the dealership just a little further south in Stuart, then turned westward. I had a lovely ride down Martin Grade Scenic Highway before swooping over the top of Lake Okeechobee and passing through LaBelle.

Read more here: https://floridascenichighways.com/our-byways/so…

I managed to miss the rain until around 14:00 when I hit quite a downpour. It didn't last long though, and I dried out quickly in the heat of the day. Now I'm in a hotel in Fort Myers for the evening enjoying the hot shower and cold air conditioning. And I am very happy to say that today I enjoyed the ride!

So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

Day 24 mileage: 376.6 (total 6327.7)
HD Dealerships: 2 (total 131)
National Parks: 1 (total 20 in 13 states)
10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 1 of 10)
MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 0 of 50)Read more