Time
for
Key West!
Day 1 - Tuesday 11/13
Dallas / Houston
to
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
360 & 250 miles
We started this trip Tuesday after work. I left around 2pm and Rick left around 3:30 so given he was about 100 miles closer we should be getting there around the same time.
Pretty uneventful ride on the interstate. I made it to the north end of the park where I quickly learned that entrance was closed for some reason and to use the southern entrance. Well, I looked at the GPS and there were about 10 roads heading into the park at the southern end of the park/lake.
I called Rick and he had just stopped for gas and a bite to eat and was only a few miles away so I stopped at some back road intersection and waited a few mins for him.
We made it to Chicot SP, very nice park with good sized campsites.
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.
Day 2 - Wednesday 11/14
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
to
Highland Hammock State Park, Florida
860 miles
We headed out around 5am so we could get a good jump on the day, this was not going to be a trip where we got a lot of sleep. Typical.
Of course the saw mill about a half mile away working all night didn't help much. Didn't know just how far the 'beep beep' of the trucks in reverse would carry, apparently, at least half a mile.... LOL
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP.
Another day on the interstate, we took I-10 aaaaaalll the way to Florida then I-75 south.
Mac (motomac) called me when we were in Biloxi, MS and he said he was near Savanah, GA and was going to try and make Key West today.
We passed Ocala, FL around 5pm and it was funny as this would be our stopping point the next day and the location for the FL-STOC event. I told Rick on the CB that we could just stop here now and forget about Key West but he told me I screwed that up by telling people we were going to Key West first and now we had to do it. My bad.
We made it to Highland Hammock State Park and set up camp around 10pm.
When we got gas in Ocala, FL a guy in a car told us if we could make it to Key West during sunrise or sunset that it was a religious experience. Well, OK... why not. We checked the sunset time (6:42am) and we were about 200 miles from the southern
coast. That's about 3 hrs, give or take a few mins. So, we need to leave by 3:42am which meant waking up at 2:42am. Which, since we changed time zones, would be like 1:42 am. And, to make sure we made it in time, 1am. That's 4 hrs of sleep.
I gave Mac a call to see if he and Gail made it to Key West and he answered and said they were in Homestead, instead. So, I was thinking, with our early start, we'd beat them there.
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.
Day 3 - Thursday 11/15
Highland Hammock State Park, Florida
to
Key West then Silver River State Park
770 miles
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP.
1AM CST sure comes up pretty fast sometimes.
We headed out with a goal of being on a bridge in Key West by sunrise.
It was a pretty foggy and drizzly morning but traffic wasn't too bad, just a lot of lights to stop for.
Around 6:30am, we noted we were not on the mainland anymore however, there was still land and buildings and our view of the horizon was blocked. We pretty much knew we weren't going to make the sun rise - oh well, at least we'd beat Mac to Key West, that would mean something.
We stopped for breakfast before we got there and Mac called us from Key West asking where we'd been. Okay, they got up early and were just about 20 miles ahead of us.
Oh well, we get back on the road and hit all the bridges between that point and Key West.
Then, we get there......
Pretty cool, sure is a long way to go for a tourist trap but you gotta say you did it at least once and you have to get a picture of the Buoy, and 0 Mile marker.
We purchased some souvenirs and then headed back to catch up with Mac. We took a turnpike on the way back but there were too many tolls so we exited and met up with Mac and Gail in Sebring, FL which was just about where Rick and I started the day - about 14 hours earlier.
We had a nice ride through Florida Thursday evening traffic and construction and got to the campground around 9pm if I remember correctly. Everyone else was asleep and so Rick and I made a campfire and BJ walked up and talked to us for a bit. Then it was time to get some rest.
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.
Day 4 - Friday 11/16
Rest - today was just about resting, doing some laundry and taking it easy and meeting those at breakfast and around the campground.
We even had an ST show up on a trailer - shhhhhhh... Kinda funny watching 12 guys with cameras running after an RV pulling a motorcycle on a trailer.
Day 5 - Saturday 11/17
Silver River State Park
to
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
850 miles
Just a note - Finally, IT WAS DAYLIGHT WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP.
We met up for breakfast again at Bob Evans and took the usual group pic.
Shuey honored me by presenting me with a FL-STOC clock - wow, I really appreciate that but he did all the work and should be thanked for that effort - I'll keep the clock at work so I can be reminded of the great ride and friendship I shared on this trip.
After breakfast Rick and I headed towards Texas. BJ's wife told him I-10 had been shut down due to some oil well fire/explosion. So, we planned to decide what to do once we got closer.
After Mobile, AL, I-10 started to get crowded so we did back roads all the way through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. It was actually a nice change of pace but around 10pm it was getting a little tiring. The GPS routed us the 'shortest distance' normally, this takes you on some pretty cool roads. Well, the GPS has settings such as 'avoid highways' 'avoid u-turns' etc.. things like that... One thing we noticed it didn't have was 'avoid ferries' ... Our shortest route sent us right to one and we weren't sure if it was running or not. Luckily, it was.
So, we had a nice late night ferry ride.
We finally made it to the campground about 11pm.
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.
Day 6 - Sunday 11/18
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
to
Dallas / Houston
360 & 250 miles
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP - and pouring rain.[/COLOR][/B]
Pretty typical ride home, rained on me up until Shreveport, LA and Rick said it rained on him the whole way back to Houston.
Here are all of my pics
and
Here are all of Rick's pics.
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