I spent a lot of time yesterday down by the state park’s general store and grill. I was very fortunate to be in line at the grill behind an older gentleman who asked the cashier if they offered a military discount. The lady acknowledged that they indeed offered such a discount and he replied “Thank you and you can add a beer to my order now!”

Obviously, I introduced myself and we began a conversation that lasted through lunch and a little past the time he probably thought he was going to spend at this particular location. His day had been productive as he had already been to the eye doctor, swung by the Ranger Station to get his Florida Lifetime State Park Pass offered to disabled veterans and now he had officially met a real life chatterbox.

Richie Farrell is a Vietnam War Veteran that is lucky to be here to share his story. The day he got home for an emergency leave to visit his mother who had suffered from a heart attack, the Tet Offensive was initiated and the site he would have been at that very day back in Vietnam was destroyed.

Richie and his wife later on worked on Wall Street for twenty years and he had some great recommendations for visiting NYC properly and generously offered some simple advice about investing in the market. How lucky am I to have met such a great human?

After a nice fish wrap and fries with my new friend, all the dinner required was just some ramen noodle soup and tuna cooked on my small camping stove. I have officially fallen in love with camp cooking.

This morning we had the opportunity to ride through St. Augustine with no one out and about within the entire city it seemed. It was truly blissful to be able to see such a beautiful and historic city lit up at night with all of its charm just bursting at the seams. It kind of blew me away this morning as I was not expecting such a beautiful scene to be honest.

After a great morning of riding up the coast line we found ourselves weaving through Jacksonville Beach and that is where the magic truly took place. A man and his son were returning from watching the sunrise on their beautiful bikes when they asked me if I was headed up the East Coast Greenway. After some back and forth, I get a closer look at the young man riding and it hits me square in the face. It is the RAGBRAI kid! I just met Brett and Alan!

They are famous in my world as Alan rode RAGBRAI with Ryan Van Duzer as a twelve year old. Translation for most of you, he rode across Iowa and with one of my most favorite humans on planet earth.

They rode with me for a while instead of returning to their home, which I wish I had known they offered up in Warmshowers because I definitely would have planned around that stop! Poor Folker was not sure of the two I was talking with and when I attempted to explain to him that they were YouTube royalty, he thought I was claiming they were a part of the band U2. Folker obviously needed that coffee they helped us find.

After a quick stop and lots of fist bumps, rubber duck squeaking and a test ride on the actual bike Ryan Van Duzer used to finish the Baja Divide and Huracan 300, I simply floated on down the road on cloud nine. What just happened?

It was not long before we found ourselves on the first ferry ride of this adventure and it was the best dollar I have spent in a while. A nice short ferry ride to get our feet wet again on this mode of transportation was a relaxing way to float across the river.

After the ferry ride and following a local cyclist’s recommendation, we found the Amelia Island Trail and took it almost all the way to Fort Clinch State Park. It was truly an amazing trail and provided some much appreciated shade.

The lady at the Ranger Station at today’s destination was so kind and generous and told us that we may not want to leave after we experience this amazing state park. I told her that I have already fell in love with it because of her. She is 100% correct, we have found another gem in Florida.