This is exactly why plans suck.
I “planned” this trip loosely because I knew we’d be improvising at some point. All it takes is one thing to go wrong and it changes everything. So, I’m already a day behind In my wildest dreams, I was supposed to be renting a car Friday morning and driving back to Fort Lauderdale to continue my coast ride and meet up with Tom. Instead, I found myself pitching a tent in Boyd’s Family Campground, Stock Island, just outside of Key West. I had made it but was at least 1, maybe 2 days behind where I wanted to be. Meanwhile, Tom was barrelling on.
One thing I needed to do while here was to at least see the basic Duvall Street happenings which was made easy by taking a cheap public bus from the campground to the center of town. That and a beautiful sunset worked like a charm.
So, after spending the night camping on Stock Island, I rented a Ford Escape and threw my gear into it and headed to Daytona Beach where I could drop off the car and meet up with Tom on Sunday or Monday.
Couple of problem with that plan. One, the ride was really far and took me the entire Saturday to ride from Key West to Daytona, 450 miles away! I’m learning how big this state really is. Holding as true to form as possible I searched for the cheapest place to drop into and found the La Bella Oceanfront Inn.
For $89 a night it has a king size bed, no rugs, fairly clean, dimly lit and right on the ocean. Absolutely no amenities to offer except towels and WIFI. Above my road trip budget. Yeah, below my standards, but this is a trip to strech my limits. Two days here. I’m heading north on Monday to St. Augustine and back on the road again with Tom.
My Plan C 