Late start this morning. I don't wake up until 7am ,,and it is 8am before I am on the road. I check my mileage and figure I can make it to Perry Fl. with a little bit of a cushion on fuel. An hour into the ride I see something I cannot pass up. St. Marks wildlife refuge, and St. Marks lighthouse. I make the turn off of rt.98 the sign says 11 miles to lighthouse, hmm,,that's an extra 22 mile's I had not planned on. I pull off to the side of the road a figure up my mileage again, damn it will be close. I will pull into Perry on fumes but I think I can make it, its a gamble but one I have to take. The speed limit is 35mph through the wildlife refuge , I figure the slow speed will help me save enough fuel to make it. When I reach the lighthouse I grab my camera, explore and take some pics. ON the way to Perry my low fuel light was on for a long ,,long way. I knew it would be close,,,I have a 4.8 gallon tank and it took 4.5 gallons to fill up. From Perry I decide to stay on route 98, I ride another two hours and stop for fuel again in Inglis Fl. I had an interesting conversation here with a man named Chuck Pickett. I wish I would have thought to get a picture of him and his bike,,or at least traded contact info with him. I thought I rode a lot until I met Chuck, he has a Goldwing with over 400,000 miles on it. He has rode in the Iron Butt rally 5 time's and has been to Prudhoe Bay Alaska twice,,yes he showed me pictures to prove it. We sat and talked for about 30 minutes or so, this guy is the real deal,,a true long rider.
I leave Inglis and head for Tampa, arrive late afternoon and spent that evening and the next day catching up with an old friend. I first met Ken in 1987, I moved to Columbus Ohio and went to work at the same company as him. We hit it off right away and became best of friends, and we still are. I had not seen him in 13 years, but we stay in touch weekly by phone. Tuesday evening we sit and talk about old times and have a few beers. Wednesday I get the grand tour of Tampa. A stop at Brocatos for lunch. I am told they have been there since 1948,,a must stop if you get to Tampa.
That evening I pack my gear so I will be ready to roll early Thursday morning. Ken walks in and says, hey man, I wont see you in the am:, will be asleep so be careful ,,, "will do, was good seeing you again bro..lets make sure its not another 13yrs before we see each other again" we decide to try to meet once a year in Atlanta, his brother lives there and it is about the halfway point. I wake Thursday morning excited to be on the road again, yet I hate to leave my friend and his Family,,they are great people and they made me feel welcome.
