Day 27 - 35

Almost there! Andrew sent me an email from Ft. Lauderdale where he and Joe stopped yesterday. Unfortunately, the adventure came to an end for Cam a few days ago who had to leave for Houston, Texas where he's starting work. Joe and Andrew, however, continue on just 3 days outside of Key West. Here's Andrew's account of the past 9 days:

Day 27 - 85 miles; Statesboro GA to Odum GA
A painfully boring day through rural Georgia. It was real hot that day and there wasn't much to see. Camped at a place called Happy Acres Resort. Was just a step above Blackwater Campground. Get us the hell out of Georgia. Not bad for 12 bucks I guess. The residents (permanent) were friendly at least, however it was a little weird having all of them standing outside watching us set up camp. I guess there isn't much else to do out there. It was real hot that night trying to sleep in a nylon coffin. Bleck.

Dat 28 - 68 miles; Odum GA to Folkston GA
More rural Georgia. This state sucks. Hot, humid, rain in the afternoon. Took US301 as a shortcut, took about 20 miles off of the day. Almost to Florida!

Day 29 - 37 miles; Folkston GA to Jacksonville FL
Florida at last! Sadly, this was the last stop for Cameron. He had to get off this wild ride and head to Houston to start his next adventure. In the morning, the weather called for a storm with 2 inches of rain per hour and 50 mph winds heading southeast towards us. Total blackness to our north and west. Pedaled hard getting out of Folkston and managed to outrun the storm. Got to Jacksonville Airport area early enough to go hotel shopping. Shortly after we arrived, the rain caught up and we watched it pour something awful from the cool comfort of our hotel room. Went across the street for a classy lunch at our favorite fast food joint: Wendy's. Later on, hunger struck again and we wound up at the Millhouse Steakhouse across the street (next to the Wendys). Appetizers and ice cold beers were ordered and consumed with a mixture of glee and sorrow, for this would be our last night as a three-man cycling team. We decided to move the party back to the hotel room and celebrate further with more beers and some pizza. Rock-n-roll, baby.

Day 30 - 0 miles; Jacksonville
Today Cameron packed, cleaned, and got ready to head out. We all went to the airport and said our goodbyes. Cameron, you will be missed. It just won't feel the same (although not having to share a tent is totally sweet). Good luck on your job and keep the rubber side down, brotha!

Day 31 - 67 miles; Jacksonville FL to St. Augustine FL
With newly acquired battery powered radios, Joe and I struck out with a song in our ears. Nice ride along A1A into St. Augustine. Arrived early enough to see the fort, check into the Hostel (side note: the hostel, The Pirate Haus, is a pirate themed hostel in the heart of the historic section of St. Augustine. It's pretty cool, with pirate stuff all over the place. It was nice being in a place where we were not seen as celebrities or freaks for cycling long distance. Everyone who passes through is backpacking around the world, from some country I've never heard of, hasn't slept in a month, or has some other wild travel story. Cool. We were just "normal" people there and it felt nice). We spent the afternoon and evening browsing St. George's street, poking fun at the shops, searching for a good corn dog, etc. Nice day. In other news, I lost my lucky hat today. I was riding behind Joe for a while, and it must have fallen off my rack somewhere on the road. That hat has been with me, providing ample head coverage (and oodles of style I must add), since the 6th grade. It has climbed the White Mountains, been with me through countless hikes and trips, and until now, had been headed to Key West strapped to a bicycle. RIP Hat. You will never be forgotten.

Day 32 - 75 miles; St. Augustine FL to Edgewater FL
Not much to see, nice beaches and mansions, mid 90's. Super hot.

Day 33 - 74 miles; Edgewater FL to Melbourne FL
Another hot, mid 90's day. To matters worse, I got 2 flats and Joe got 1 flat today. Everything in Florida has spines or is made of broken glass and rusty shrapnel.

Day 34 - 97 miles; Melbourne FL to Hobe Sound FL
Mid 90's again. Wouldn't have been so bad except I had to fix 4 (yes, 4, four, quatro, quatre) flats in the sweltering heat. I hate you, US-1. If anyone from the department of transportation in Florida is reading this (which I doubt, because it is evident that the cretans the department of transportation has working for them cannot read), please send a street sweeper out every once in a while. Thanks. Headwinds made the small bits of riding between fixing flats even more difficult. Ran out of spare tubes just in time to head off route and find a bike store (part of the reason the day was so long) and we didn't make it to the motel until 5pm. The water in the motel was a disturbing shade of yellow. I did find some discarded fuzzy dice on the side of the road after fixing my last flat of the day. They will no doubt give me good juju for the rest of the trip. Sweet.

Day 35 - 77 miles ; Hobe Sound FL to St. Augustine FL
Clouds in the morning made the heat slightly more bearable. Nice ride through multimillion dollar estates on A1A along the beach. The water is starting to get that bright blue color to it and we are quickly running out of mainland Florida. Almost there......