Day 36 - A mighty flood (kinda)

Departure:  Midway, FL      Finish:  Madison, FL  

Distance:    80.5 miles

Elevation gain:  2,551 feet 

Winds: SE at 10 to 15 mph

Weather:  Clear blue. 63 degrees at departure. 78 degrees at arrival.

On bike duration:   5 hrs, 7 minutes. 

Average speed: 15.7 mph

Total Accumulated Miles:  2,760.6

We had been feeling pretty smug about dodging all the local severe weather. Today, God laughed a little. We were stopped by flooded roads. It was fun actually! We went through it for about a mile. Several times the water was up to the hub of the wheel. Mostly the flood was moving slowly from left to right. For a moment however, the current from was strong enough to push me to the right, and took all the concentration I could muster. ultimately, two old ladies in a Subaru came toward me, pushing the water above the bumper. The driver said she had to turn around a couple hundred yards up. So, we all turned around. Dennis found a detour - added three miles to our route. 

That’s the big headline for today. But, we started out with a nice stroll through Tallahassee, including a perimeter view of Florida State University, and the beautiful amphitheater in the photo below.

Then we turned right onto the Old St. Augustine Highway, also called Canopy Road. Very scenic!

We ate our picnic lunch in the driveway of River Of Life Church, where Samuel Bass is the pastor. I have been amazed at the huge number of small churches in the Deep South. I have seen countless variations of Baptist, Pentecostal, and AME church buildings. Today, I also saw a sign at a residence announcing “drive-through prayer”. I should have snapped a photo.

Two miles to the East of our lunch spot we rolled into Greenville. The childhood home of Ray Charles. We found a very nice tribute to him with a plaque that told a brief story of his life. I never knew that “Charles” was actually his middle name - Raymond Charles Robinson. They called him “R.C.” Ray Charles died in 2004.

Again, Best Western Plus. The first “Plus” we encountered was in DeRidder, Louisiana. I still don’t know what the Plus is. I asked at the front desk if the Marquee sign came down in this week’s big storm. The answer was, “No, it came down during Hurricane Ida.” I looked it up. Hurricane Ida came through Madison on September 1, 2021 - more than two & 1/2 years ago. Evidently there isn’t a sign repair company in Northern Florida. But, the landscaping is well groomed!