February 3, 2015
Day 1: Seattle to Fort Lauderdale: A Warm Welcome
It would be nice to be able to say that the weather in Seattle was really cold or rainy when we left, but actually it was fairly reasonable. This was even at the unreasonable time of 3:00 a.m. when we had to get going.
What followed was the standard tiring but normal routine of dragging the bags to check in, going through security, looking at the expensive on board food offerings, and so forth. However we have no exciting conflicts at security over peg hammers, lighters, or stoves (all golden oldies), and United failed to lose, damage, or overcharge for our bikes.
We can report a slight thrill of anxiety flying over Texas and in to Houston. That is not because of anything with the flight, though. It was only from looking down from the plane at some of the landscapes from last year's ride.
On to Fort Lauderdale, and Ed Dennison easily found us and our intact luggage at the airport. Ed's wife Marilyn is an avid cyclist and reader of Crazyguy blogs. She had spotted us blogging our way through Florida last year, and agreed to put us up as we arrived this time.
We find that through this web site, people who we have never met can feel like old friends. With cycling as the first thing in common, it is easy to then find other shared interests. When we came in to Marilyn's place, we were accordingly greeted not only by Marilyn, but by her Co-motion bike with Rohloff hub, disk brakes, S&S couplers, and carry bag. Both made us feel immediately at ease.
We are coming to the end of a pleasant evening now, having put off assembling our own bikes until tomorrow.
The air here has that pleasant warmth and fragrance that we associate with southern locations. And of course, there are palm trees - always a thrill for people from the North.
Tomorrow we hope to extend our run of good luck, by finding our coveted camping gaz. Next day, we'll beetle off further South!
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