Today was our last day to ride and it was somewhat of an adventure. We talked about what route we should take. We wanted to get back to Ft Lauderdale around noon so we could pack up our bikes and ship them back to Pittsburgh. We finally decided to take the Mpath which is a bike path underneath the elevated rail road. We figured to take it to it's end which is in downtown Miami. We would wind up in the same spot regardless of which route we took to get there. We then decided to take Route 1 to Ft Lauderdale instead of route A1A. This would save us a total of 15 miles. We would probably be in heavier traffic but what the heck, we are seasoned road warriors!
The Mpath worked as planned, we were in center city Miami in short order. Then the roads we planned to take were blocked by construction and we had to feel our way around town. We stopped for breakfast at Macdonald's and discovered that their oatmeal is pretty good. A nice surprise. We continued to weave our way through the city, at one point, we were going over a draw bridge. I was a few feet in from of Keith and the cross arm came down blocking him from going further but leaving me in the middle of the bridge. Luckily the operator spotted me and raised the arm to let Keith through and we crossed before the bridge raised up. Just a little excitement for our last day.
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| Traffic in Miami! |
The one good thing was today was the first day that has been overcast and cool so it wasn't too bad. We continued up Route 1 and got to the hotel around noon. We cleaned up and went to Grandpa's for lunch. After lunch, we rode down to the bike shop and checked to make sure there were boxes and then we went to the Fedex store. We had problems with the boxes and the Fedex employes. They just couldn't seem to get interested in our problems. Keith walked back to the bike shop and brought back three boxes, not an easy chore I might add. We started to pack and the manager told us that one of the boxes wasn't acceptable because it had a hole in it. I walked back and got another one and found out that it also had a hole in in it and I thought that I checked it. I managed to make a new box out of it for my trailer. I got my equipment packed and shipped and went to the Starbucks next door to wait for Keith. The Starbucks was just as frustrating. One girl was taking orders and making drinks and the other employee was doing nothing. I left without buying anything.
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| Oysters on the half shell! |
Keith finished up and we started walking the two miles to the motel. We were tired, hot and frustrated and were desperately in need of a drink. We stopped in two bars but each was full of smoke so we continued on. We came to Tark's seafood restaurant. It was just a small store with a counter only plus some outside tables BUT it was smoke free, the food was outstanding and it was cheap! We ordered oysters on the half shell and they were so good we ordered another round. A man and woman came in and sat next to us and we started talking to them. She was the previous owner of the place. Her father-in -law had started the place and had 11 others at one time. We told them about the Halfway Cafe in the Keys and went to our room to do laundry and crash.
The trip is over and we go home tomorrow.
It was a very good trip and Keith and I had a lot of laughs. Next time we will try to take an alternate route home so we won't be riding over the same roads.
Can't wait until our next adventure!!
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