Thursday – Last Day in Daytona

This has been a great trip! I’m sure there’s more that we could have seen and/or done, but I believe we captured the flavor of Bike Week. We met a lot of good people, had a lot of fun, and wore ourselves out. Who could ask for more?

It was in the lower 40’s (wind chill 36) this morning, so we hung out until around 11. Out at the pool, an older couple (yes, older than us), were lounging in shorts. I spoke to their son (also shorts and t-shirt), and as I suspected, they’re from Canada. I didn't think anyone else (except maybe from Green Bay) would enjoy 40-something temperatures.

Main Street is gearing up for the big finish this weekend, and it was more crowded than last time. We walked the entire length and back, and saw some strange and wondrous sights.

Of course, for the guys:

I asked if I could take her picture for the guys at home. Wasn't she nice?

Linda suggested I ask her to pose with me. Do I have a great wife, or what?!?

By two o’clock, we were tired from the walking and sightseeing, so we headed back for “nap time.” At 6 o’clock, we went down to the beach. NASA was launching a satellite from Cape Canaveral (about 60 miles due south) between 6:15 and 7:15, and we were hoping to see it go up. We weren’t alone; people were standing out on the beach looking south as far as we could see.

As the sun went down and the temperature dropped, we waited. At 6:30 someone called out from their balcony “15 minutes,” so we waited some more. 6:45 passed, and we waited. We could see that the guys on the balcony were watching their television, so we hung in there. It was almost 7, and it was pretty dark when he hollered “15 seconds.”

Sure enough, we saw a bright red flame appear on the southern horizon and slowly climb into the sky. It gradually changed to a yellow star that continued to gain altitude until it suddenly winked out to the east of us. It lasted no more than five minutes, but it was really something to see.

That red spot in the middle of the picture is the rocket.

We had a quick dinner, and met a nice couple from Montclair, New Jersey. They showed us pictures of their 2007 Goldwing Trike with matching trailer. They were escaping the snow, and ended up driving through the flurries in North Carolina!

Tomorrow we unpack and repack everything, and when the temp gets up a little, we’re heading north. Our goal is Savannah, where we’ll spend the night. Then Saturday we’ll head home. At least we’ll have Sunday to recuperate!