Day 22, July 25. Dauphin Island Campground, AL to Pensacola, FL

58.71 miles. N 30.25 X W87.13

We didn’t get into a good rhythm today. We started out without breakfast, so we could make the first ferry off the island. We have a 60 miler to do today after the ferry and the earlier we can get at it, the better. The ferry left the island at 8:00 and put us back on the mainland at 8:40. By the time we got on the road, it was 9:00. Late to do 60 miles but do-able if one keeps at it. Tonight is Pensacola and, as is our usual policy, we stay at a motel when stopping in a city. The ride was flat as a pancake today, except for bridges and there were several of those. Most of the day was spent biking along the coast. We have seen more condos along the beaches than I thought possible. There seemed to be one after the other, for hour after hour. We left Alabama and entered Florida around 2:00 p.m. without fanfare…in fact we didn’t even know we were in Florida until we noticed the road number changed. No picture of us under the “Welcome to Florida” sign this time. We ran across a bike shop shortly before arriving at the inn. Spokewrench was able to find a match to the front tire he bought the other day and a kickstand to replace the one that exploded in Gosport, AL. The inn in Pensacola added to this unusual day. The first room where we were placed had serious, and I do mean serious, toilet problems. The front desk person changed us to another room. In this room, the remote didn’t work and the shower was cold. We complained again and the lady gave Spokewrench the codes to calibrate the remote. He was able to correct that problem…but the shower is still cold. We walked several blocks to check out a couple of restaurants for a burger. One was very expensive, we found out, after we were seated, so we left. The other was a pub and it didn’t quite feel right. So we walked back to the hotel and order out for pizza. Things turned out pretty well. We have a room that has a working toilet and remote, we have enough pizza for both supper and breakfast tomorrow morning, and the air conditioner is keeping the room “sleeping cool.” All we lack is a hot shower...oh well, 4 out of 5 isn’t bad.

Question of the day: The picture at the top of the page was taken from the ferry this morning. What is the function of the structure in the picture?