day108

Day 108 (December 6, 2006) - Jacksonville, FL

I got up early to work this morning, waiting for the day to warm up so that we can go for a bike ride. By 11:00am we are heading out, pedaling along the coast direction south towards St. Augustine. We bike through Atlantic Beach downtown, a newly renovated downtown with little shops and restaurants - a bit sleepy even around lunchtime but not bad at all. Along the way, construction crews are working on the latest additions to the row of condo/timeshare buildings. Either the place is booming or they are expecting an influx of retirees soon. Many homes are up for sale, as well as some empty lots in nice locations on the oceanfront.

We ride through Jacksonville Beach to Ponte Vedra, halfway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. In Ponte Vedra, the houses lining the street become mansions, most of them in the typical "Italianate" style that is so popular around here. Their gardens are so perfectly manicured, they look fake. A big golf resort, with tennis courts and surf center in the middle of all this seems to be the focal point of attraction around here. What strikes me is the total desolation of the place: these beautiful mansions seem uninhabited. I don't know why, and this is something that I've noticed in many other similar places in the US, whenever you have a community such as this, you don't see people around enjoying what they have. And, there's no sidewalk. That means, that if you live here, you either spend your time inside or need to take your car to go out. I wouldn't like it.

On our way back, a couple of miles from the campground, Petr gets a flat and he decides to walk on the beach back to camp rather than changing the tube. So we split and I ride around the block. 40 miles later we are back to our RV. It's been a pleasant ride, flat and a bit windy, but warm overall. Shorts and sleeveless T-shirt. It could very well be the last ride on our trip. We will be home in 3 days. And I have biked a total of exactly 690 miles.

After a shower, we get on our Vespa to go out for dinner. The fridge is empty. I give in to Petr's desire for a Chinese buffet and full but unsatisfied, we return to camp. The racoons are out and about in the dark, they look really cute! After a couple of hours of work, I watch a DVD while Petr surfs the Web.