Day 14

Day #14: Fernandina Beach, Florida- Folkston, Georgia (50.6 miles- all by bike!)

We knew today would be a long day, so we tried to get out as early as possible.  We left our hotel a little after 7AM, and it was much cooler at that time than later in the day.  We did about 10 miles, before realizing that our Advetnure Cycling maps had us going a different way than google maps.  Normally, we’d follow Adventure Cycling, but since the google maps version saved 7 miles, we decided to go that way.  Unfortunately, after we turned, there was a sign saying the bridge ahead of us was closed, so we had to turn around and go the way which was 7 miles longer. 

We stopped at a few gas stations to fill up on water/Gatorade and to cool down.  

At one point, we saw a krispy kreme sign, so we obviously had to stop there.  It was a little misleading, because there wasn’t actually a krispy kreme store, but inside the convenience store they did sell krispy kreme’s, so we got that. 

As we continued, we could tell we were really close to Georgia.  We were riding through farmland instead of along the beach, and instead of the fishy smell of the ocean there was a strong maneur smell.  We rode through Callahan and Hillard, some of the last few towns in Florida before Georgia. 

As we approached the state line, we had already gone more than 40 miles and were exhausted.  Finally, we reached Georgia!

Entering the new state gave us a boost of energy  which helped us make it the rest of the way to Folkston.  It doesn’t seem like there is much going on in Folkston, although there is a federal prison here.  It also apparently is a good place for train watching.  

The Western Motel, the top rated of the three hotels in Folkston, cost $56.95 a night.  It’s the kind of place you stay when there aren’t really other options.  We did really appreciate the swimming pool though.

As we have been scouting out places to stay in these more rural areas, we have been scrutinizing Trip Advisor reviews more carefully.  When planning a normal vacation when we look at Trip Advisor we are trying to figure out whether the service or swimming pool is better at a Sheraton versus a Hilton.  In places like Folkston there aren’t any great choices, so you have to decide whether you prefer a moldy smell in your room, versus a bug infested room.  Many of the reviews are quite entertaining.   This is a funny review for a place in Folkston which we are thankfully not staying at tonight: 

             

Thanks for coming along for the ride!