Listening to the rain all night made me anxious about riding the last thirty-eight miles. After rising early, I suited up, shoe covers on, helmet cover on, cell phone bagged in a zip lock bag, including covers for my bar bag and rear top bag. Last night I had a delicious dinner at a classic Georgia mom and pop restaurant, Steffans, so I settled on the same place for breakfast. Eggs Benedict southern style jump started my engine for a 7:57 departure from Kingsland. Walking out of the restaurant the skies had miraculously cleared up, there is a god! Stripping off all my rain gear, I started rolling with the wind at my back. Thirteen miles in the first hour was fast for a touring bike fully loaded. The second hour was even better. The Florida border came and went. Half way through the third hour I was in Jacksonville closing in on Enterprise car rentals. Winding through the city took time stopping at lights and negotiating difficult multiple lane left hand turns. No sooner had I arrived after 36.65 miles, the skies opened up with a vengeance. I packed the rental car, changed out of my drenched riding clothes for dry casual clothes and headed out for Sea Island, Georgia for a few days of decompression at my brother and sister-in-law’s house.
The trip was a huge challenge and immensely satisfying. I met many really nice people along the way and enjoyed the beauty of the eastern coast. Hospitality along the way was outstanding. As I said when I crossed the country from west to east in 2015, America is huge, it is beautiful and it is full of wonderful people.
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