Gulf Coast Getaway, Day 5

Virginia to Mississippi
Thursday May 27, 2010
Copyright(c) 2010, Jim Beachy

We skip Park #6, St. Andrews State Recreation Area. The locals we talk to this morning describe it as a lovely beach setting with several nature trails and an alligator observation area. A great place to spend a day or several days, but not a sight-seeing stop for a traveling couple on a Gold Wing.

The early heat already has a firm grip on the day as we climb aboard the bike. Kitty's standard "And there we go" announcement in the headset signals that she's situated, plugged in, and ready. We ease out of the parking lot northward to catch US 98 west where we left it last evening.

The traffic this morning is quite acceptable, so I don't think I'm in danger of violating an important rule, but it's a rather nondescript four-lane as it runs through miles of shopping malls and car lots. After a while decide to try Rte 30-A, which runs hard along the beach and while slower, is also more rewarding. The speed limit is 35 mph and there are some buildings on the beach side of the highway, but we see spectacular vistas of sparkling white sand beaches and the vivid turquoise waters of the Gulf. But after a while, there's too much traffic, too many red lights, and too many kids on bicycles, so we opt for the faster road.

Yesterday saw the emergence of Slow-Down Guy, who's rather the antithesis of Solo Guy (who also rides with me from time to time). Slow-Down Guy generally doesn't exceed the speed limit, and his attitude could be summed up as "If 55 mph is good, then 50 mph must be better." He is here today, and rolls sedately through the beachfront communities that could be along most beachfronts in the US.

We make our way through Destin, renowned for having perhaps the best beaches in the country. Just west of Destin lies Okaloosa Island, a narrow strip of land and an interesting five miles of sand dunes with blue water visible on both sides of the island.

West of Oklaloosa Island we find the first open country we've seen on US 98 for about 70 miles. Slow-Down Guy is fine with the slow-down pace of the morning's ride but it's very hot, about 90F, and coupled with humidity, Kitty is feeling the effects of the heat. I consider making a run for it on I-10, but the Interstate is a couple dozen miles north and there's no major road to get there at the moment. So at Navarre, instead of seeking the Interstate, we decide to veer south across the big bridge to Gulf Islands National Seashore. Pleasantly, the temperature is about five degrees cooler and there's a breeze. This is another 35-mph stretch of about 20 miles but it's very scenic and offers a close-up view of shifting sand dunes and dazzling white beaches that are nearly deserted.

Yesterday, on the bike path at St. Joseph's State Park, we were startled to see dotted lines that separate the lanes, just like an auto route. Today there is a bike path but no dotted lines and mostly impassable to a bicycle because of blown sand several inches deep. At one location where there's no sand on the bicycle path, I park the bike (we've had no traffic coming or going) and walk onto the sand to get a picture of the bike with the large expanse of sand and water on the relatively desolate beach. I notice that the white sand is extremely fine-grained, almost powder-like, and much finer than the sand found on East Coast or West Coast beaches.

On the western end of the island, nearing Pensacola, we see a group of cars and people milling about. As we approach, we can see a Toyota pickup truck sunk to the axles in the fine white sand, with the drivers of several other pickups and a park ranger preparing to connect a tow strap to remove the unfortunate fellow's truck from the sand's grip. A person I presume to be the driver is talking to the park ranger. I'm pretty sure this is not a conversation I'd like to be having!
A long bridge into Pensacola ends our little island detour, and the temperature has climbed to 93F. I look at the route and decide to abandon the planned route and head to our son's house the fastest way. So I call up "KevHouse" on the GPS, and it routes us on I-110 north of Pensacola to I-10. We ride the remaining 125 miles on I-10, through the tunnel at Mobil, across the long bridge over the marsh near Pascagoula, and on to Gulfport.

From a riding perspective, US 98 has been a rewarding ride, one that I'd like to do again and again, from Tallahassee to, say, Tyndall Air Force base east of Panama City. From there until Pensacola, it's about 100 miles of strip malls, car dealerships, marine establishments, and thousands of high-rise and low-rise condos and vacation homes. The beaches appear spectacular and would definitely offer a spectacular place to stay, it's just not a great place to ride through. Those last hundred miles or so haven't offered a great ride but I always try to learn something from every experience. What I learned here is that my perspective of "beach" is somewhat narrow. I tend to think of East Coast beaches where there is a town or a 20-mile stretch of beach. Here, there are literally hundreds of miles of white-sand beaches where you can pick a spot, set up your picnic chair or a blanket, and soak up the sun almost year-round.

We fill up for one last fuel stop right in Gulfport. "I'm ready to be off this bike," says Kitty. I'm sure she's thinking more about the grandkids than the heat but it's been really hot all day and she suffers in the heat.

We pull into the driveway and unload our stuff, wait a few minutes for the grandkids to wake up from their naps, and have a joyous reunion when they wake up. The Virginia family has ridden their Gold Wing 1,352 miles the long slow way to see the Mississippi family.

I'll clean and cover the bike and trailer tonight, and then tomorrow we'll figure out if the rig fits into the garage with their minivan. Here we plan to be for the next five days over the Memorial Day weekend.

GPS Track, Day 5