Skip to main content

Rested Enough?

Ellen has been a gracious hostess.  She has made me feel welcome and engaged me in lots of great conversation.  I have basqued in the aircondtioning, soaked in the food and beverages, and loved on Stinky the cat.

Tonight, after cooking dinner for my hosts and making a mess of their kitchen and stove, I have wheeled out my trike and locked it up, ready to roll in the morning.  All the bags have been hauled back in because there is a lot of theft in the area.  I will have to re-assemble things in the morning.

I am setting the alarm for 5 a.m.   It is going to be a hot day so I would like to be through the SunCoast trail by noon.  We'll see.  I did NOT arrange for a stop/sleepover part way.  Years ago, George and I rode the whole way from Inverness to Tarpon Springs.  83 miles.  Can I do it now in this heat?  I have packed nuts and salty snacks, a bottle of Gatorade and two thermoses of ice water.  There will be gas stations and restaurants and parks along the way for refilling the waters and refueling.  Since George and I rode to Tarpon, we moved 5 more miles away... 88 miles.

Several friends ride over 100 miles several times a year.  Preston rode his trike 100 miles in one day for every week of the year just a few short years ago.  Dana Thomas recently biked across Florida in summer heat.  Over 100 miles.  I am only 66, I got this!   Just the same, I might put a shout out for possible lodging in Brooksville just in case.

Today Ellen and I tried walking but it got too hot in the sun and we turned around (95 and humid).

Ellen took care of her husband living with dementia.  Now she is caring for her 93 year old Mom that has some short-term memory loss.  As we talked I have learned that her adult life has been about caring for others.  Children, foster children, homeless people, disabled old dogs, and me, all under the her momma-bird wings.

I hope to see her and Amy again at a Sister's on the Fly event.











Comments

  1. People bless and delight us with their caring and understanding. And that us such an encouragement as we travel through this life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have found that life would be very hard indeed if it weren't for the help of friends and even strangers. The acts of kindness humble me, yet raise up my heart in gratitude.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Six-Month US Tour Starts In Florida

Greetings from Fort White, Florida, We did it.  Despite mishaps and some angst, I am still feeling some angst, we have begun our 2024 Travels. Angst Last year we traveled together but I had Big Blue (my truck) and Lilac (my camper) with me.  And though I moved stuff into Steve's trailer and stayed with him, on travel days I was driving Big Blue on my own, and I had all the stuff that I don't use very often in my truck and trailer nearby. This is our first full season traveling with one truck and one trailer.  I am trying to adjust.  Steve is very accommodating and a good partner for this trip.  It's just me, worrying. And maybe some of the angst is world news, the US 2024 elections, and some of it is worrying about my son.   He just changed jobs and then in a few days he got laid off from the new job making him un-eligible for unemployment because he had not worked there long enough.  He will be fifty this year and I still worry.  So if you k...

Grateful for Head Nets in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota

Greetings from Grand Marais, MN on the western shore of Lake Superior, I hope this finds you well and smiling.  Thanks to those of you who commented or sent a reply or text.  I love hearing what you are doing and keeping in touch. I need to warn you, there will be a lot of pictures here, so skim if you want, pause if you are curious.   It is beautiful here near the Canadian border.  There are remnants of very old mountains, lots of waterfalls, and parts of the coast of Lake Superior look like the Northeastern coast of the U.S. We traveled north from Duluth to Grand Marais, some of the road runs along the coast with grand vistas.  We saw there is a paved bicycle trail in places.  The Gitchi Gami.  We parked and walked up it a way to get a better look at the lake and one of the car tunnels. At the top of the hill we saw a young woman learning to rock climb.  There are existing clips all up the side of that rock over the tunnel. There we also fo...

Amazing Views, Pheonix, AZ to Carlsbad, NM

  I am grateful not to have been in the path of Helene and Milton.  If I had a house on the coast I would sell and move to a safer location... or live on wheels like I already do. I say that, but when I moved to Inverness with George in 2016, it felt like we had moved to paradise. I was so happy to be surrounded by new friends, experience great winter weather with many sunny days, and enjoy sitting outside without swatting mosquitos.    I could send out an email to my biking friends that we were putting on a pot of chili and would love it if they came at a certain time to help us eat it.  And suddenly we would have a party of more than a dozen smiling folks. If you are wondering why people keep rebuilding in an area hit by hurricanes, it may be they just can't face leaving their happy place, where they have found a community of caring and fun.  It is their paradise.  As far as I know, the Inverness area may have gotten over 10 inches of rain from Milto...