What's Fred Up To Now?: November 21

November 21 - Monday; St. Augustine, FL; 1 mile.
I slept soundly last night probably because I didn't have to worry about getting up at any certain time and being on the road. The guy running the Pirate Haus Inn fixed "pirate pancakes" for breakfast by first using one type of mix for the eyes/eye patch/smile then when that had browned, pouring another type of mix over the top. Cute - I'll take a picture if they have them again tomorrow. We also did laundry. I left for the bicycle shop and shipping store around 11:00 am. I should have read the sign on the door of the bike shop yesterday when we rode by on our way to dip our wheels. Anyway, when I got there this morning, the sign read that the shop would be closed Monday and Tuesday. I rode to the next block where the shipping store was located and the owner didn't think they had any bicycle boxes left since they had shipped five bikes last week. I left the bike and trailer at the shipping store and walked to the rear of the bike shop hoping to find an empty bike box. There was one there and I carried it back to the shipping store but was sure it was too small - and it was. However, by the time I returned, the shipping store owner had found one and it worked perfectly. I disassembled and boxed the bike. The owner let me bring the trailer inside to unload and disassemble it. Once I had everything in a pile, he packed a few more things inside the bike box then taped it shut. He then studied the pile of gear and trailer parts, scratched out a few figures on a sheet of paper and returned with a box that was about 48"x12"x12". It needed to be long for the trailer parts, tire pump and tent but I couldn't see how he could get everything into it - especially with the trailer wheels - but he did, and the last item in filled it up completely. The guy was good!

I walked back (this felt weird - no bike) to the Pirate Haus and arrived about 12:30 pm then called Gary to find out where the rest of the group was - hoping they were still eating lunch - I was a little hungry and very thirsty. I met them at Mehan's Irish Pub and satisfied by hunger and thirst with a juicy burger, fries and a (what else) Diet Coke. We met up with RJ and his wife just after lunch. He had grown a beard during the tour and was told by his wife that it had to go - and it was gone. After lunch we walked around the Castillo de San Marcos Fort then I walked all the streets of Old Town taking in the sights, reading the historical signs and shooting a few pictures. We're going out for one last group dinner tonight, then everyone starts leaving; RJ, Vicky and Ray tomorrow - the rest of us on Wednesday. We met Shirley (of Grant and Shirley who we rode with and met a number of times during the tour) after walking around the fort. They had just arrived and are staying until the 28th but will be spending Thanksgiving with some friends who live in St. Augustine. I also met a cycling tourist, Alphonso Eusantos, who is "taking life at 10 mph" and has been touring for 17,000 miles. His next destination is Central America by was of the Gulf Coast and Austin, TX where he hopes to convince a friend or two to join him. Good luck Alphonso!