Monday February 9, 2014

Finally it has warmed up enough for us to cycle without jackets and leggings – yeah. It was a little overcast today, but the temperature was good 23 degrees, we had a good ride. The forecast was for afternoon rain.  The only bad thing was the headwind, constant for almost the whole ride.

Highway 90, the road we have been cycling on for the past couple of days, is known as the Walkin Lawton Trail. After googling his name we discovered that he was a United States senator. When he initially decided to bid for senate he was relatively unknown so he walked from Key West to Pensacola (1,003 miles).

When we arrived in DeFuniak Springs we headed for the Super 8. Although it would have been warm enough to camp, the forecast was for rain and it started to rain as we came in Defuniak Springs, any excuse to stay in a motel. I went into the reception to register and had my handy coupon in hand. Unfortunately it was an extra $5.00 for a ground floor room. No bargain here, however, we decided we would stay and carry the bikes up to the second floor. Anyway, the manager asked if we would be paying cash or credit, when I said cash I asked if we got a discount for cash or could we have a ground floor room for no extra charge, and for good measure I threw in the fact that we were carbon neutral and saving the planet. She laughed and gave me a ground floor room at the coupon rate, sometimes it pays to be cheeky.

She asked if I was English and told me that they had lived in Bolton for 17 years. We chatted about England and living in the US/Canada. I could still hear a little bit of her Bolton accent and she obviously recognized my English accent.

One of the good things about the Super 8 motels is the fact that they have guest laundry. I did the laundry while Ralf went to get dinner.