39.4 mi / 11.8 mph / 151 ft. climbing
Home: Tomoka State Park

The lighthouse, the alligator farm, Anastasia Island State Park: all things on our list that we didn’t get to see during our week in St. Augustine, and all things we passed on our way south out of town and still didn’t stop to see. Unfortunately we’ll never be able to see everything, but in this case we needed to remind ourselves that three days of feast-making was how we consciously decided to spend much of our time in St. Augustine, and it was a good trade.

My Aunt Janet and Uncle Milan escaped Wisconsin winters for decades(?) by coming to the same beachfront rental several miles south of St. Augustine. They were part of my inspiration to visit the area, so it only felt right to see the place that had been their second home, even if the remodel might have rendered it unrecognizable to them. Just a couple blocks off A1A, and even closer to the water (via a public access path directly across the street), it’s easy to see why they loved it here so much.

At the end of Anastasia Island, the road tapes together a series of smaller islands, and true Florida beaches became visible to us for the first time. Thankfully the bridges continued to be very bike-friendly, and we even stopped in the middle of one to enjoy 2nd-breakfast and the elevated view.

Several miles later, the road itself ran right out along the water, giving us some rare Atlantic oceanfront riding without any houses blocking our view. A public picnic table was spaced every quarter-mile, but only one of them had a large bush sheltering it from the north, a requirement for us on this sunny but chilly day, when the strong steady tailwind would turn from friend to foe as we stopped for lunch. A couple playing cards was occupying it (proving the quality of the wind-break; any other place and their cards would have been flying!), but they graciously let us share with them.

At Flagler Beach we turned inland, climbed high over the Intracoastal Waterway, and then entered a magical section of “Old Florida”. Dense vegetation hemmed in the narrow road, palms and oaks and Spanish moss, and the hidden properties felt remotely rural, driven home when we saw the first cattle we’ve seen in weeks, lazing in their shaded verdant pasture.

As tantalizing as the houses hidden in the forest were, we essentially got to spend the night in the same forest, at Tomoka State Park. Our first Florida State Park made a good impression, with really hot water in the large, clean showers, a dishwashing sink, and even laundry machines! Also, as seems to be common here, our site came with water and electricity. The only challenge would be staying warm. It was already down to 53F by the time of our 5pm dinner (despite all the weather stations in the area reporting ~61), and it would get as low as 43F by bedtime.

Wait, no, we found another challenge, this one sitting atop my unzipped pannier, reaching into the food bag inside. A raccoon, so bold as to make that move while we were sitting by eating dessert, and then of course quite reluctant to move on. Crap. I had just read about raccoons being a problem in the Keys, apparently we didn’t need to get that far! If he was this bold, this early, we’re likely in for a long night of battles…