68 MILES  13 MPH     5 HRS BIKING TIME   6-1:00

Waiting in gazebo at 5:45 for OR & wg (Whitney Gonsoulin)-did not want to be called La. Dark, leave on river rd-then on 1 all day-not much to look at-overcast & cloudy until 10:30. At 15 m, wg leaves us behind-don’t see him until the end. Very little traffic early Sun morning-stop at 30  m-more breaks in shade. Find wg eating lunch-we eat fries. Security guard at Mary Pats gated community takes job seriously-show id & have to know address. Bar goes up-wg goes 1st, bar comes down on OR in front of me. MPat lives on golf course-played yesterday after having hip replaced-knee also replaced before’-her handicap same as OR. So glad to be here-she agrees to DRIVE me to BBUY. Takes 45 min for him to explain how to put pictures on blog-puts baby horse & Fran on. Hope I can do it. Go out to eat-pass by DAYTONA speedway.

MARY PAT-AMAZING 2002 CROSS COUNTRY WOMAN-Retired from Civil Service 2001. Worked at VA hospital, then did nutritional research in MD, including leadership training in ALASKA in preparation for MT EVEREST. She also got hit by car on our ride, tire was ruined-she was back on bike next day. She’s really nice too!

This is today-forgot my shoes-Mary Pat had to bring them to me.

Baby taking 1st steps-VIEQUES

Stayed in bed till 7:30-Armand was outside at gazebo reading. Whitney comes in at 9:30-go to breakfast at ice cream restaurant-have omelette. Whitney decides to stay or never see us again. Let him check in at 10:30.
Find out Terry owns motel-inherited it from Mom-promised her to fix it up. Called my friend Linda whose staying in our house. She was looking for cleaning supplies-DOMINIC had POOPED IN OUR PLAYROOM. I think he misses me. Armand is finally hungry-eats Thai food. I swim & eat another steak sandwich. Need more Calories when preparing to bike again. Call Mary Pat in Daytona-will try to get to her house tomorrow-65 miles-I hope. Armand had calculated 1,700 miles to MAINE-WHITNEY TOLD US IT IS 2,500-can’t do that & be home June 15.
Need JEAN as leader-she never made mistake in distance. Today is GOOD DAY.

47 MILES 12 MPH 3:52 BIKE TIME (6:30 to 12:30) RAIN-BETTER THAN SUN
OR/TX-Feeling little better (lost 4lbs yesterday) only had a little soup last night. Up @ 5:30 to sound of neighbor vomiting & coughing attack-thank goodness OR can bike-room was dark & depressing. Stay on Hwy 1-don’t need to see castles-just do miles. OR starts at 15mph-taking more breaks for water-dark cloud gives cover. Stop at Dunkin Donuts in Melbourne-eat chicken thing & tea-must still be sick. Going to stay-only 9:00-decide to bike to Cocoa-want nice motel. Map says to get off 1-construction-ask biker-says take A1A. Decide to get back on 1-finally get through town & have bike lane. Black cloud drops buckets of rain-Park bikes under palm trees. House has nice covered porch w/2 chairs-house is closed up. OW OW OW-OR just got stung by wasps living in chair. Smash their house-enjoy rain. Lets up-15 min-another downpour-find duplex-stay under overhang. Lets up-cars splash water on us-not again-see Baptist building-porch-no on there. On rd again-SOAKED! Get to COCOA-almost out of town-don’t see motels. Stop at EASY LOAN-no credit checks. Tell OR Dixie Motel is close-name sounds like our kind of place-cheap-don’t care at this pt. Larry says they have room-can wash clothes for $2.50-have internet-$61-perfect! Get room by large pool-OR washes clothes while I soak in large tub. Rest & go to pool-it’s spotless, beautiful clear blue water. Read interesting POOL RULES-max #16, max temp 104 (now maybe 80), don’t drink water-it is recirculated? DO NOT USE POOL IF SICK WITH DIARRHEA. Ask Larry about places to eat-go down to water-streets w/shops & restaurants. Compliment him about pool-says the person who does it all just walked out door. TERRY-TERRY, Just wanted to tell you how nice everything looks. Thanks, we try. Ask about motel, some of it was built 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s’-Remodeling 1 room at a time. Mention about our biking trip-50 m yesterday. Didn’t seem impressed. Ask him how he got here-born here, went to hs here. In the NAVY for 20 yrs, worked at BOEING on designing SPACE STATION, Started biking when some guys kidded him about his weight. Got into long distances-did several centuries. Then 2 yrs ago (age 60) biked the famous race in PARIS TO BRIE? BIKED 750 MILES IN 79 HOURS-CUT OFF IS 80 HRS. TERRY REALLY IMPRESSES ME-very modest person!!☺☺ Went downtown, cute shops, Cocoa Village Playhouse-FIDDLER ON ROOF is playing-tickets $24 for seniors-sold out except for 3 seats in last row of balcony. Take them-over at 10:30-decide to spend another night. Have steak sandwich at ice cream shop-best sandwich ever-steak is so tender on pizza bread-OR had salad.
Larry told us cast for FIDDLER could be on BROADWAY-EVERYONE IS A VOLUNTEER-all from this area. He was right-lead is a local minister-played part 12 yrs earlier. Both agree this is the BEST musical or play we’ve ever seen. The theater has completely been renovated-again by all volunteers-including stringing the chandeliers. TURNED OUT TO BE A WONDERFUL DAY. GOAL HAS CHANGED-MAYBE DON’T NEED TO BIKE TO MAINE-MORE IMPORTANT TO TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME & ENJOY WHAT YOU FIND ALONG THE WAY.

POOL at DIXIE MOTEL
We needed a rest day so
Whitney could catch us

Armand & Terry-most impressive person we met on our short trip.

73 miles 6 hrs 12mph 6:45-4:30 LONG HOT DAY
Up before Armand (now known as TX-wears Longhorn jersey). Hwy 1-5m,8m to get on A1A. Traffic is bad, scenery is ugly-something is wrong. TX rides back, I ask for directions-man says go back 3 m, cross bridge. Now see castles & water. FL is bike friendly-bike lanes & 3 ft cement sidewalks most of the time. Have shade in morning-now it gets very hot. Stop & visit NAVY SEAL MUSEUM-impressive & cool inside. TX starts to have trouble w/heat-he throws up-my neck hurts-heat effects me too. Think part of trouble is hydrating & food. Yesterday we ate NO dinner-just a 6″ sub & chips. Stop at store-get fruit-ch mk & donuts no good in heat. Go over 3 bridges-TX vomits again. Ask for nearest motel-Pink Flamingo. I see Pennwood Lodge-need to stop NOW. $75-Have 2 little beds-both shower & have to lay down. Couple hrs later walk 1/4 m to eat Chinese food. TX calls brother Whitney-he flew in & started biking today. Will catch us tomorrow.
TX had heat exhaustion today-already sleeping. Need to be careful.

COOLEST PLACE!
NAVY SEAL MUSEUM

JUPITER, FL 67 miles, 11.5 mph, 5 hrs 50 min biking time
He wakes me up @ 6-out @ 6:45-have to take bikes down 3 flights of stairs.
1st day for new mascot-large PINK MONKEY-SiSi (yes, yes in Sp)RIDES on top of my bag. Left SUGAR, TIGER, SNICKERS home-DOMINIC (my dog) chewed their ears off. Flat ride today, except for 2 not so hi bridges on A1A & HWY 1. Never saw so many $5,000,000+ mansions-perfect landscaping! 30m-stop for ch milk & ch muffin. Stop to take 1st picture-try to lift leg up over Si Sì-leg cramps-20 yrs last time leg went so hi. OW OW-Come take picture fast. Cant lift leg to get back on bike. Now we go up bridge-cramps again-have to walk. Stop for gatorade. Still feel cramps are close. Stop at Su bway-feel better. Armand is ready to stop. Can’t find laQuinta-see JUPITER WATERFRONT INN-anything w/water in name going to be expensive. Try anýway. Standing under tree-very hot now 3:00-He yells $109-YES, before price goes up-price in room says up to $400. Best room we’ve stayed in on bike trip-swimming pool, hot tub, bay rt outside rm. Swim, lay in sun-not hot now-listen to music-thought I could listen to it on bike. 1st time we’ve swam-TODAY HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL 1ST DAY!

5/8 (Fri) VIEQUES 9:30 Aerobics in pool-10 women & Armand-class is free & 70 yr old leader looks great. Then Armand & I walk to ferry-get tickets for 5 tomorrow-buý $5 best & prettiest smoothie ever. Find way down rocks to beach, back to hotel. Go to Jane’s for lunch-left overs still delicious. Armand plays tennis w/John & his group-we go shopping w/Jane. Buy zebra spoon & fork-just what I need for bike trip. Saw 10 iguanas at restaurant. Armand gets back-saw baby horse being born at courts. Another dinner out-had root beer float.

Will fill in days I missed later. Mario picked up Lynn & Donna at 9:15-looked happy. We took Chloe to Las Americas Museum-didn’t charge us the $2-she remembered us. Enjoyed it again-were the only ones there. Ate lunch @ Ben & Jerrys-20 high school kids came in after us. Mario picked us up-going to miss my Spanish teacher. We were right next to Chloe & Anne-got to listen to Chloe’s unbelievable life so far-will share later. Picked up our bikes at Performance $700-shipping & putting bikes together. Rode to Travel Lodge-1m-didn’t have nonsmoking room-lose deposit if left. Gave us spray-elevator didn’t work-had to carry bikes up 3 flights of steps. Went to grocery store for dinner. Ready for an early start tomorrow.
Really grateful to Jane for bringing us to San Juan & Vieques.

7:00 Breakfast at Jane’s-today is our BIKE ride-go to Blackbeards. Trail-no cars-just horses-see where ammunition was stored during war. Stopped for pictures-don’t see rest of group-only John is bringing up rear. STOP-FLAT TIRE-takes both of us over an hr to fix-pump was difficult to use-NO ONE CAME TO FIND US. John asks if I still want to finish bike ride-really don’t care about biking-just want to eat lunch. Hilight of day-came up on group of horses-mother had just given birth. Got pictures of babies 1st steps☺☺. Found group on mile long cement peer eating lunch-another wonderful meal. Go back to motel-play in water before dinner-very nice outside restaurant. I have to cut back on food or never going to get on bike. Decide to go back to San Juan because John & Jane are leaving Mon for NY-on Tues they fly to ISTANBOL-others going to San Juan on Sat. Hostel is now full. Jane likes DAHOUSE-Ask for cheapest room. $90-we get a room w/very loud music playing next door from 9:00-3:00 AM. OK-have earplugs.
FRAN-was the “oldest” women on our tour at 69. She had run marathons & took up biking because of knee problems. In 2002 she biked over 10,000 including our trip. At 83, she’s slowing down to 6,000 a yr-mainly because she has a new obsession-geocaching. With the use of her phone she has found over 700 hidden treasures-including 4 or 5 in Vieques-on our bike trip & on way to airport. She is always positive-she’s my hero.

(5/9-Anne helped me find all my lost pictures-now I just need to find how to put them on the blog)
Wed-8:00 Breakfast @ Jane’s-delicious. Shows us her guest room-I want to make reservations now. Then we load up in 2 cars (Armands permanent place is to crawl in back) & go for island tour. Don’t know how people drive here-no stop lights on island, very narrow streets w/cars parked on 1 side. HORSES HERE ROAM FREE & HAVE RIGHT OF WAY-everything is very dry-never saw where horses get water. Stopped at old fort-now a museum, lighthouse, ate lunch-went to pool (water perfect temp). Mary Pat taught me to throw rubber duck from 1 end of pool to other (never learned to throw). Went to eat again-bus picked us up-took us to Mosquito Bay on Caribbean. Completely dark so we could see luminescents-light up when disturbed. Just found out that John & Amy came here on their honeymoon. Was given 2 types of earplugs-wax worked to block out ROAR OF WAVES!

Go to Los Americas Museum-very interesting but closed from 12-1. Eat-our bags are locked up at hostel for lunch too. Time to go-cancel our reservation-taxis lined up in square. Agree on $80-can go to $100 (hr drive to ferry) Mario is from DRepublic-1st opportunity to practice my Spanish. Agrees to pick us up when we leave. Donna (Lake Tahoe), Lynn (Seattle), Mary Pat (FL)-are already there-all flew in today. 1 hr crowded ride-can’t even see water. John & Jane waiting for us-take us to Casa La Lanchita-a few min away & near their house. See our room-porch backs up to ocean-arrived in paradise. Fantastic dinner is served on roof that night. Jane & John (our hosts from NY-have home here), Chloe (AZ), Anne (CO), Fran & Fred (VA)-8 women from our 2002 Cross Country tour (out of 12) are here for our 7th reunion in 7 different locations. Amazing group-will share later about them. Everyone tired after long trip to VIEQUES. PARADISE-our room is not at night-the waves are so loud I can’t sleep😣😴 Remember seeing email about waves & earplugs.

Up early-went to cemetery at fort-no one around-just the dead. Going to be a day for museums, guided fort tour, beach. NO-everything is closed on Mon! Get on bus to beach-seniors pay .35. Meet 2 couples from CA-tell them our biking story of West Coast-miss beach stop because I can’t stop talking! Ride to end-told to get off-last stop. But we need to go to OLD SAN JUAN & We’re in New San Juan. Bus driver very nice-tells us  where to go.  Armand buys M&Ms & gatorade. Get on bus-see BBUY sign.  Need to ask how To download pictures from camera. NOT a Best Buy-we’re at a huge convention center-vendors for BB are setting up! Now we don’t have enough money for bus & no where to get change-it went for M&M’s.  Bus comes-tengo .sola .53. He lets us on.  Decide to walk to beach-see Capitol across street. Let us go inside-beautiful. Finally walk down to beach-reading sign in Spanish. A woman helps me w/pronunciation.  Turns out the other woman is her cousin from New Orleans.  Get a 20 min history lesson standing in the sand. Took trolley back-went out to eat Mex food-didn’t enjoy it-eating too much.  Talked to Jane-told her we would take late ferry to Vieques tomorrow-want to see museum. Donna (Lake Tahoe), Lynn (Seattle), Chloe (AZ) would be on the same one.  Canceled our reservation at the hostel-going to spend the time in Vieques.