Into Florida

Hey, this is the the place to tour in the winter if you don't like freezing

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where is was written:The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and all the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in you hearing."

                                                                                Luke 4:14-21

Rural beach on the A1A coastal highway near Faver-Dykes State Park

White Peacock on the grounds of "The Fountain of Youth" tourist area in Saint Augustine

A beautiful tree lined street with Spanish Moss in Saint Augustine

Some outstanding Florida coastline...this is where the surf meets the turf!

Unique corner stand on Fletcher on Amelia Island, FL

Well what can I say besides "I'm living a very large life!" As far as I'm concerned, this is the place to be in America for the winter...at least while doing a bicycle tour. After crossing the Saint Mary's river in southeastern Georgia, I found myself with a strong tailwind pushing me into Yulee, FL and east to Fernandina Beach. Wow, was it nice to get to the ocean again and take a dip!

I enjoyed the white sands of Amelia Island and the noticeably warmer temperatures. Originally, I planned to spend significant time in Jacksonville but that changed and I found myself working my way down the coast toward Daytona Beach. The A1A road is the coastal road which I must say is the most beautiful road I've traveled on a bicycle. Wide shoulders, bike lanes, a flat terrain with priceless scenery all added to this opinion.

Saint Augustine and  "The Fountain of Youth" was a place I felt obligated to visit because of a tip from my dad. Although I did experience some rain on this leg, the warmer temperatures and outstanding scenery made up for any discomforts I experienced.  

Catching some bright Florida sunshine