Folker and I treated ourselves to a proper seafood dinner last night that was super delicious. Folker got a preview of what is to come in Maine by having a Maine Lobster Salad and I decided to go with the trusty Coconut Shrimp. We got our taste buds warmed up before the main dishes with a half dozen raw oysters. Beautiful evening eating while watching some beach volleyball and listening to the life guard blow his whistle at overzealous swimmers pushing the limits in a red flag ocean.

We departed this morning in darkness and enjoyed a cooler morning with some periodic rain that felt like a warm shower. The air after the rain felt like stepping out of a hot shower with the bathroom door closed, muggy would be the correct term I suppose. We did enjoy a beautiful sunrise with waves crashing into the beach as we traveled back and forth between the beach and more palatial residential areas.

This morning we saw numerous road cyclists kitted up and zipping around getting in their rides while the traffic was minimal. One of these creatures of the morning pulled up and chatted with us and was the first American to properly recognize the Dutch Flag waving on the back of Folker’s bike. Folker finally felt like it was someone worthy of having a conversation with and we learned his cycling group will be heading to Belgium in a few days to cycle the country. We found this out after he told Folker he has cycled all around the Netherlands. He was an instant fan favorite.

I expressed to the local rider just how lucky he is to be able to enjoy these mornings of riding on such traffic free roads. He then explained it is all about the current season because come winter the snow birds migrate in and the condo buildings come back to life and the population triples. These snowbirds are mostly elderly with some still holding on to their freedom by driving themselves around town. Let’s just say it gets a little dicey for those prancing around in lycra.

Soon, we were making a left turn to go over a bridge across the Lake Worth Inner Channel to take us to West Palm Beach when I see a US Secret Service mobile security booth. Hmm. Could this be what I think it is? A quick map check and it looks like we are indeed riding past Mar-a-Lago. The number of secret service vehicles was interesting as they were parked in over watch positions in the lawn. One zipped by us on the bridge and then circled back after we started moving along. Perhaps they were checking out the camera crew setting up for a live shot from the bridge.

After crossing onto the other side of the channel, I noticed the huge American Flag flying from the compound that could be seen from West Palm Beach. I never fully grasped just how big the compound is until today and it made all the previously mentioned residences look like tiny homes.

While at West Palm Beach, some guy decided to be a wise guy and tell Folker the Tour de France was the other way. This went over as expected and Folker mean mugged him before asking him what he meant. The guy was at this point handed a shovel and he dug his hole. He said he thought Folker was French from the flag he was flying. Folker sternly told him he was Dutch. After some back and forth the man says he actually worked in the Netherlands for a while. The conversation ended with Folker telling him to go back to school and with me laughing hysterically and saying this was Le Poo Poo. We had a good laugh about this for a quite a while.

Folker and I soon got help from a local man walking a dog to find a good place for a coffee. He led us to a great cafe where we enjoyed a small breakfast. It was nice to set and relax for a while and reminisce a little on the day’s experiences so far.

Today was our easiest day cycling so far as the temperature was cooler and the winds were more favorable. We soon turned off the A1A and made it up U.S. Route 1 to our campsite by lunchtime and are sitting in the registration office in the air conditioning waiting for our campsite to become available. Another great day!