I like it here... not sure how to put it into words cause I'm not sure what it is exactly. I do know that the flora is amazingly familiar, and every ride feels like a foreign adventure - and I love that! The people I have met have been genuine and welcoming and amazingly similar to me as far as personal values go. And reconnecting with my family has been on my mind for a long time now - its good to have it under way. OK, so they are not the people I would want them to be if I could choose, and they make some dumb decisions sometimes, and they talk real LOUD, but I came here with little expectations as to not be disappointed, and they have welcomed me with open arms. Family is what we have, not the thing we choose, and being with them has not been the thing I dreaded, and I have complimented it with the experiences I DO get to choose, which has led to people who share my values... and well hell, don't that just make you feel like there's a bit of hope left in this un-static, totally dynamic, bags packed, two wheeled life o mine...
Don't think too much, its sunny outside...
First Shop Meeting consists of "Burgers and BB's" grilled meat, tasty beverages, and competition BB guns that shoot fast and accurate. Not a bad group of folks here...
As I'm leaving, my new boss (on the left with vino and cigar) says to me "see you Tuesday, shop opens at 10 but I tell people 9:45 knowing they are usually late." that's the first I had heard of my "official" employment - not bad.
Indoor arsenal courtesy of "nerf"...
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| this is my new temporary home... |
I decided since I had Monday off to go for a big ride that was mentioned the night before, Palm Coast to
St. Augustine - Americas oldest city. About 32 miles (each way) of coast line and bike trail.
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| that's the bike lane...big enough that two golf carts can pass each other |
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| beach side.... |
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| ...river side. |
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| crossing the bridge to St Augustine... |
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| pirate ships... |
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| ...Spanish forts |
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| ...brittish universities |
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| I was happy to be here on Martin Luther King Day. He was actually beaten up pretty badly in the courtyard of this hotel after peacefully protesting being denied entrance by the owner. We have grown a lot as a nation but have a long way to go. |
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| and old shacks in the tiny alley ways. |
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| this guy... |
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| ...serves these...yummy! |
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| not much of a boardwalk but I rode the whole thing |
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| jungle paths on the way back |
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| back over the inland water canal |
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| through the resurrection moss and home for some well deserved food. |
"Work" consisted of about 6-8 tune ups, making junk bikes work as best we could, and fixing up a couple of classics... A great local shop that has welcomed me with work and cold beers, with legit Thai food right next door. GREAT dudes! Might be hard to leave when Alaska calls.
My commute home below, Dad had a HUGE bowl of chili waiting. Im going to try to convince him to get the license to sell it at the farmers markets, and jar it up for retail. Good stuff - been a long time since I had a bowl, brings back a lot of good memories.
I wanted to say THANKS! to those who have reached out to me in the last week, who knew how much I have thought about this trip, how much it means to me, and how potentially stressful if could have been. I have thought about what this could have potentially looked like for a long, long time, obsessing about the details and driving myself crazy with "what if's" and dramatic scenarios. Truth be told its been really hard to shed my expectations, but the last year has taught me that if you drop the expectations, and just walk into something with an open mind you will find what you need to find, maybe even just see things at face value. In other words, fewer expectations means fewer missed connections. If you are open to anything, anything not only CAN happen - but WILL happen. Take that with you wherever you go next - and enjoy the CRAP out of it.
S.
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| SI VERO!!!! |
