Day 7

Day #7:  Bal Harbor-Pompano Beach (40.5 miles)

            The weather forecasts predicted rain all day today, so when we left our hotel this morning, we weren’t sure how far we’d actually go.  After going a few miles, we kind of got lost, for the first time on this trip. 

            We ended up going about 5 miles out of our way, but we did get a nice tour of Florida International University. 

I feel like I know the campus better than the students who go there.  We stopped to take a picture with a cool sculpture which happened to be called “No turning back”. 

It seemed fitting as we continued moving forward, even though we had absolutely no clue where we were.  Once we got back on the main road, everything was good.

            At one point we hit a great bike path on the boardwalk in Hollywood.  We were able to take an ice cream break there which was delicious. 

As we were leaving that area, someone biking near us said hello and because of the bags that we have on our bikes, asked about our trip and where we were headed.  Usually several people everyday walk up to us and ask us where we are headed.  He was very nice, and after talking for like two minutes while biking side by side, we said goodbye and he went ahead of us (like 5 times faster). 

            A few minutes later in Dania, we weren’t sure about which direction we should go in so we pulled over.  Luckily, while we were looking at the map trying to figure out where to go, the same man from earlier was biking back in the other direction.  My dad asked him questions about where to go, and he offered to go in that direction and show us.  This was so nice of him, and we probably would’ve gotten so lost without him, but he bikes so fast!  And even though he went slower than usual as a courtesy to me and my dad, we still were pedaling so hard, and probably went our fastest speed of the whole trip. 

            After he left us we found our way pretty well.  At one point we took a break and decided to find a hotel “only” about ten miles away.  My dad said there was a place called Budget Lodge with great Tripadvisor reviews, so we put that into google maps and kept going.

            When we pulled up to the Budget Lodge, there was the creepiest woman I’ve ever seen sitting outside.  She was literally straight out of a horror movie.  At one point, she smiled at me and I still have the heeby jeebies. 

At that point, we decided to go back to google maps and see what else was in the neighborhood.  Luckily, there was a Residence Inn by Marriot about a half a mile away.  Let me tell you, even though I was exhausted, I could’ve biked ten more miles just to get away from that place. 

            The Residence Inn ended up being perfect.  There’s a laundry machine in our room which means I don’t have to wear dirty clothes tomorrow, and my dad can stop wearing his clothes inside-out  to convince himself that he is wearing clean clothes, even though he has worn them before.  There are two pools, a hot tub, and the ocean – and we have made use of all of them - literally.   Its what my dad describes as “a machaya”. 

           

Thanks for coming along for the ride!