Wednesday, January 24 - Sitting on the deck of the park store, as it's the only place to access wifi. We've been without at our sites for 5 days, so we're a little behind in our postings. Since Port Richie, we have moved three times, as we wend our way towards New Orleans. Sister Marilyn is flying in on Sunday, so we have a park booked for 5 nights, starting on Saturday.

Weather continues very much on the cool side. We've had one nice day since leaving Port Richie, but this weather doesn't want to move out. It's cloudy, a little breezy, and manages to climb into the 50s, so it's okay for walking but cool on the bikes. We moved to Cedar Key for one night, and it wasn't bad there. Our main reason for going there was Tony's Restaurant. They make the best chowder ever, so we had lunch there, and took away a case of canned chowder to take home. The town was dead, even though it was a Friday, so the weather appears to be having an  impact on tourism.

From there we went to two State Parks that we've stayed in before, St. Joseph's Peninsula, near Port St. Joe, right on the Gulf, and then on to Topsail, which is about 50 miles east of Pensacola. The weather at St. Joseph's was pretty good the first day, so we biked 10 kms to a store we knew of, and on the way back, stopped at a roadside spot called Skully's. The owner has a big flag displaying a skull and crossed swords, which his neighbour apparently doesn't appreciate. We asked the young guy if he sold beer. "Nope," he said. "Can't afford the license fees." He saw our sad faces, so said "But I can give you beer, right from the cooler here." So we took a Busch, which he wouldn't let us give him a donation for and sat and had a great chat with him. He's got three kids, moved here from Alabama where he'd been part of his father's restaurant for many years. He felt running a sizable restaurant had too many head-aches, so he came here, bought property; put up this little building with outdoor seating and take-out (two dishes only, gumbo and a shrimp dish), and thinks he's found temporary heaven. He has no debts, gets to spend lots of time with his kids, so seemed very content.

He had a guitar by his side, and with next to no coaxing, gave us a sample. He's very skillful, and revealed having done the road touring bit with various bands. He had at one time an agent in Nashville, which often led to his getting assigned to doing a tour with players he didn't know. He hated it, as often the band were doing major drugs, and lots of other stuff. So he gave it up. Paul is an interesting young guy, who seems to have found a fair measure of peace.

I also had a great chat in the park with a fellow from Alaska. He and his wife have made the great trek all the way to Florida, and will be heading back next week. I had seen him come in with his trailer, so wandered about until I found them, as I was curious about the roads down from the north. He said they are now really quite good, all paved, with numerous service stations along the way. We're thinking of such an expedition next year, as we have the Lahr Reunion in Vancouver, so might make a trip of it.

He was also an interesting guy, a retired Earth Scientist. His insights about climate change as they see it in Alaska were quite disturbing, particularly when the general attitude of the politicians is denial, the result of a lack of faith in science. He found that to be of major concern, with both of us agreeing to a lot of trepidation about what will be left for our grand-children. The melting of the ice caps, the extension of the Gulf stream further and further north, and other issues that can't be denied are ignored by the financial people, who see drilling for oil in the north as the way to go. We agreed that our main hope has to be that the younger generation will be able to rise to the challenges before it's too late.

Here at Topsail you will find one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere. Crisp sugary white sand that stretches along the coast for miles. This morning when we stepped on the beach, we were the only ones to be seen in either direction. No doubt the cold had something to do with it; although this is low season in the Panhandle, despite it being Florida. Our friend Paul of the little restaurant said he pretty much shuts down at the end of November, and gets busy again in the spring.

So it ain't snowing. We aren't complaining. We're well enough dressed, fitting in with the other folks around the park wearing their toques and jackets. We just hope the weather will be decent while we're in New Orleans, so we can show Marilyn a good time there. Time will tell, although the forecasts look like it's more of the same for another 10 days.

That's it for now. Fingers are getting stiff from the chill. Stay tuned. More later.