USA Tour - Day 1, Tampa FLA to Destin FLA (440miles)

The day started early with a hearty breakfast for the team including my introduction to biscuits & gravy and a bagel with cream cheese. We were all excited and raring' to go. Bags were packed and loaded into the chase truck, maps consulted, bikes fired up and we lined up to head off.

Early morning traffic was light causing no delay as we threaded our way through the Northern suburbs of Tampa and found our way north onto the I75. Even here the traffic was light and free flowing which suited our plans as we had many miles to cover that day. My previous visit to Florida had been in the Orlando area doing the tourist thing. I imagined the whole of the state would similar to this area, flat and wettish. Within a short distance I was proved wrong as the landscape transformed into gently rolling meadows lined with trees quite reminiscent of typical English grassland. The morning was bright, the air quite chill and crisp, as we progressed we hit one or two duvets of fog gently folded in the hollows. Small cold pools of air caught my breath as I rode in T-shirt and jeans, I didn't expect such coolness in summer in the southern states.

US traffic is a different make up from the UK mainly because of the amount of pickup trucks. I recalled my previous visit where I had been amazed at the copious pick-ups on the road and later in the trip just had to ask what the attraction was. Admittedly I could see how useful our chase pick up was but surely a van would have served the same purpose?

Miles passed through the same lush meadowland the air temperature now creeping up to "just fine" level. Eventually we turned west stopping at Perry for lunch, Ron elected for a Golden Corral which pleased me as I recall enjoying this chain on my last visit. A huge buffet of roast beef, fried chicken, barbecue chicken, ribs, mash etc, with some sort of green leafy stuff in a separate area called a salad bar. Hit the spot just right.

Back on the road we hit US98 heading towards the gulf coast and soon the strong smell of the sea embraced the air. Strong became very strong and it was obvious that seaweed rots quickly in the warm wet atmosphere, a potent if not too unpleasant smell. I caught my first sight of wild Pelicans on the water in the Gulf and soon some flying. This concerned me as experience in our city with the much smaller seagulls made me wonder just how much damage these huge birds could do in one "bombing "raid.

The whole coast road was a procession of beach homes, large and small, some on stilts some not. The further we went the more houses there seemed to be with vacant lots between with "For sale" signs. Clearly this area was popular and would become moreso. A pity really as it was almost impossible to see the sea for buildings.

We reached a long bridge leading into Apalachicola, a place name I never tire of saying, where we stopped at The Gibson Inn for an Amber Bock served in a cool dark bar with large ceiling fans. This was a lovely "colonial" style building in pastel blue which looked unchanged for a hundred years. While sitting on a rocking chair on the veranda we met John Hamilton whose family originated from Hamilton, Scotland, we chatted, took photos and then John sat on my bike and looked at the Scottish flags on the back. I explained that the yellow one was the "Lion Rampant" which technically, if flown without permission, is still an act of treason in the UK. As far as I recall the law has remained on the statute books since the Jacobite rebellion in the 18^th century

The journey continued until we reached Destin, a large resort town with loads of hotels and holiday accommodation. We all ate at TGIF with more Amber Bock which was made even better as it was free with some vouchers which our hotel had given us. A great start to the tour