December 4, 2021
Little Talbot Island to Hanna Park
Saturday morning I awoke to the smell of coffee. Still snuggled up in my hammock, I pulled myself out and stood up. Matt proclaimed "that is the hardest thing you will do this morning" referring to getting out of the hammock. He was right.
We had coffee over planning our destination for the night. After exploring our options, we decided on Hanna Park. Hanna Park is just North of Neptune beach and just South of Mayport Naval Airstation.
We packed up and rolled out. I was navigating and missed our first opportunity to get back on the trail. Straight ahead into Little Talbot Island SP from the campground would have put us into the SP with views of the Atlantic. The ECG connects and slips into Little Talbot Island SP for a quiet tour of this beautiful park. We took the road instead and popped back onto the trail a little further down. Popping back onto the trail included me slipping my bike under a gate and Matt lifting his bike with gear still attached over the gate. I stood there, staring in shock at how strong he was.
We toodled down the Atlantic coast and stopped at Circle K for water. Shortly afterwards, we were in line for the Saint Johns River Ferry to take us across the river.
Pairs of dolphins were swimming and cresting the water as we crossed the river. Shortly after landing on the other side of the Saint John's we made a beeline to Safe Harbor Seafood Market. We picked up fresh swordfish and fresh olive bread for dinner. Shrimp for breakfast! Yum!! We sat down on the bench, devoured our breakfast and packed up the groceries. The fresh swordfish went into Matt's Ice Mule (a must when touring) and the bread went on top of his pannier. I can think of a few memes for our style of touring with bread.
Have bread, will travel.
Follow us to the picnic.
He's got the bread, but I got the butter.
Eat bread and pedal. Lol.
Needless to say we like to eat well on adventures. Today was no exception.
After a short jaunt we rolled into Hanna Park and set up camp. Soon we headed to my friend Kim's house in the Atlantic beach area to say our hellos and exchange some gear. Kim and I, recently toured from Maine to Buffalo, NY. The day before we ended our tour in Buffalo, I met Matt. He was heading East on the Erie Canal trail. He crossed over the canal and started up a conversation. I talked him into staying the night at the lock in Middleport. Although the 20 mph tailwind was tempting and I am sure he was torn, but this lock had showers, laundry, electric and water. Probably one of the best locks along the Erie Canal. Not a hard decision, lol.
We left Kim's house after a short visit and grabbed a coffee at Dunkin. Soon we were back at camp and started dinner together. Matt was on the swordfish duties and I was on the sides. As we prepared dinner, we snacked on buttered olive bread, needless to say that was delicious!
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We cleaned up after dinner with our bellies full. Shortly afterwards we grabbed showers and headed to the hammocks for a relaxing sway under the stars.
I was counting my blessings as I closed my eyes to end another beautiful day on adventure.
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 6 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |