The home stretch!

Pam and Bruce have arrived in South Florida and it is time to say adios to South Beach! We started our day bright and early at the Hilton (Bruce shot this bon voyage photo of us), and immediately began to experience the first in a series of outrageous and weird events. Within a few miles of the hotel we encountered flooded streets that were just not passable; that is unless you walked your bike through them in ankle deep water or rode through and kicked up a wake...we did both! As we got south of the city we were able to get on a pretty neat bike path that ran right under the metro. It was there that a dachshund puppy named Lady who was not on a leash ran right into Pam's path...luckily an accident was averted but it was a close call. We called Bruce to check in and found out that he had been sitting at a repair shop most of the morning due to a ruptured brake line in his car. It was eventually fixed but not until late day. Finally, just as we approached our hotel in Florida City we were turned back at the intersection by police and CSI and you name the emergency crew. No explanations were given. We backtracked and found our way to a different entrance and breathed a sigh of relief that we had covered 45 miles and reached the "Gateway to the Keys." We were joined shortly by Mom and Dad and then Bruce with the repaired car. The 5 o'clock news had two major headlines...the first being the unusual tidal flooding back up in Miami (been there, done that) and the allegedly naked man who shot a police officer during a traffic stop then was tasered and arrested in front of the Holiday Inn on Route 1! The policeman was taken into surgery for injuries to both hands. We certainly had enough excitement for one day!

Day two of our final four was much better! The weather was terrific; a little cooler and very sunny. We basically rode Route 1 the entire 47 miles. It was so much nicer being out of the city and back near the water. Our destination for the day was Islamorada and we made it by lunchtime. The hotel is oceanfront and lunch was just down the beach at a place called Lazy Days (a misnomer for the cyclists but the food was great!) We all thought Dad's shirt matched the blues of the sea. After our meal Bruce did some snorkeling and we all relaxed by the pool and on the beach. Another wonderful day!