Everything is bigger in the states, the drinks 44oz (1.25L, 143g sugar) is the standard size people get for a drink in the garages as it’s usually the same price as a small and often includes free refills as well and this probably goes a long way to explaining the supersize people. It’s not so much, does my bum look big in this, more does my bum actually fit into it in the first place!
Naturally the cars are huge, though there are many more European size cars now than when we last travelled the states. But equally the pickups have got bigger at the same time too. And noisier. I don’t know if this is a macho thing but out in the sticks it seems you need to have a huge pickup which makes more noise than a Lancaster bomber with double rear tyres that stick out at least 15cm from the sides and are jacked up so high you can sit on the tyre (not tire) and use the wheel arch as a sunshade, a giant flag on a flag pole strapped to the back, a God bless Our Troops and a missing POW sticker to be a real man and if a girl can’t reach the door handle so much the better. I’m afraid the acceleration that rivals a tortoise on pot rather let’s the image down, but that’s those automatic gearboxes you require when you need to have a 44oz drink on the go in one hand for you.
Anyway, we said goodbye to the Oasis of Talahassee and headed back down the rail trail to the Wakulla Springs, a beautiful park where the Ranger at the entrance felt so sorry for us he didn’t charge us an entrance fee! It’s home to Manatees but sadly they’d all gone on vacation whilst we were there. It’s also home to the supersize single scoop ice cream which, in fact, is three scoops. Extra large scoops too, in a teepee sized cone, which also doubles as a hat. Huge is not the word. Very nice though!
Fuelled by sugar we raced down to the coast and the supersized weather. Apparently we’ve had very cool weather for the time of year but as we’ve said before it goes in cycles and we were reaching the end of the dry cool days and reaching a wet windy interlude. These last a day then you’re back to the next 4 or 5 days being cool, building up to the storm day.
Leaving our hotel we had been told we had plenty of time to get to the quaint fishing village of Apalachicola before the next storm arrived. Due at 2:45 it duelly started to build as we hit the 8km causeway just before the town 3 hours early. The sky went black, the wind built – naturally against us and the lightening started. We pedalled like crazy but as we came in sight of the bridge at the end of the causeway built to allow really really tall ships to pass through up river, the rain started. The road turned to a flood and Linda said that Hail stones the size of her thumb were bouncing off my helmet into her face. The bridge vanished into the storm and we had to stop at the side of the road and huddle by the crash barrier to wait it out. Everything vanished as the storm past and as quickly as it came it cleared. We were soaked despite our wet gear and pedalled on up over the bridge and to the nearest garage where coffee and a subway sandwich waited! The rain returned with us 1 mile from our hotel and we waited it out in the garage with almost every customer remarking that they’d seen us on the bridge. They could have given us a lift!
The rain ceased, the sun came out and we cycled on to our hotel arriving 2 hours before check in, but the Indian owner – who had worked in England – let us check in early as we looked like a pair of drowned rats.
A shower later and we cycled back into this lovely little town for a walk around on a beautiful evening, having a cocktail on a balcony as if the storm had never existed.
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