Hey Muthuh. How the Hell are ya??????
Yeah, Us Florida boys do drink on Sunday but only when we can get unsuspecting N.C.tourists to buy........So, Yeah we drink reg'ler on Sundays.........
Good to hear from you, sorry bout the "tourist" crack ....as much as we ride and travel.. I guess we're all tourists on a reg'ler basis.....
Yeah, Sally "Tankgirl" and I took a day on either side of this past holiday weekend, and rode the backroads of central Fla. Always a treat.... We live in such a diverse and beautiful state ( As long as you steer clear of "RatWorld" and a few other Urban Messes around the State) We were fortunate enough to be able to stay at the Griffin Ranch, ( As you probably know Jules is GREAT WITH CHILD...due in a month probably around the time you visit..) What an increadible place!!! Carl has done amazing things there. We didn't stay in the little cabin that you stayed in, but the new, almost finished two BR 2 1/2 bath cabin ... SWEET!!!! what a great place for two couples for any length of time... Hell, the bunkhouse would be a great place for our group to stay a night on the way to Daytona or a Keys run or whatever.... Very Cool.. But I happen to love places like that... Thanks for hooking us up.... All were totally charming and the feast was worth the price of the stay...That Carl can COOK!!! He had a pot of Chili that he had prepared to take to a chili cook-off that was so good that Jules convinced him not to take it!!!
We stayed Last Saturday night and around 4:30 am it started to rain, and rained steady till noon. We left right behind the rain to go to a girlfriend of Sally's just up in Pamona Park south of Palatka... So Carl, offhandedly said "Why don't you just go over on the Ferry?" To which I said "What ferry??? I know most of the St. Johns river and I don't know bout no ferry around here."
So he explains that this guy has a private ferry that runs across near Salt Springs. The Ranch is on 316 and the ferry is at the end of a dirt road that extends off the end of 316 East of the Ranch. So Carl sez...."Be patient - the road is 3 or so miles long but don't worry it will lead you there". So Seeking ever-new adventures, off we go.
When we get to the "DIRT ROAD" we realize that it has just finished 8 hours raining on a sand and clay road....but I sez to Sally "What the Hell, let's go." .... a mile into it and I realize Sally ain't havin' no fun. So I stop on a "relitively" stable spot and wait for her and ask- "Whatcha wanta doo?" She got that death-grip on them bars and sez "Well it's only 2 more ahead and 1 back - lets go ahead"
AFTER 5 MORE OF THE SAME I'm begining to question Carl's direction and sense of distance....at this point--his 3-or-so miles has alrady turned into 6. And although Sally is a quarter mile behind, I can see the blue tint to the air around her from the obligitory profanity or maybe it's just her skoot engine overheating from the low speed-high RPM of MUD-BOGGIN.....anyways I'm sure Carl's ears was-a-burnin...
After I passed the 4 mile mark, I couldn't see any benifit to stopping. I figger if you can keep fish-tailin at a reg'ler rythem, I'd just keep goin'. Anyway another mile ...(for a total of 7...), after another rest from the WHITE-KNUCKLED intensity of that stretch, we were there at the ferry landing. Flashed our lights, then Sally (after taking two huge, celebratory slugs on her handy Tequila flask called Dale the ferry guy (I'm sure this is not his inclination) on her cell phone. He comes across with this ancient old converted fuel barge which hauls two cars and a little sailboat-converted to tug-boat with the installation of an ISUZU BRAT diesel engine and a plywood cabin and a stick-in-the-steeringwheel-auto-pilot and a nifty little trailer-tongue and hitch affair that pivoted the boat around to push the barge the other way.....FUNKY, but way cool.
So the first thing Sally sez to Dale is "So tell me that there is an asphalt road that connects the landing on the other side, to the main road" and Dale drawls..."No'm you gotcha nother mile of slimy clay road to the hard road" Since he sez this with a half smile Sally takes it as a leg- pullin comment for what we just came through ....But as we got to the other side and gave Dale our $5 for the ferry cross, a guy in a pick-up drives up, takes one look at our bikes and sez "Me and my wife ride Harley's and you can't make it to the hard road on the mile of clay slime ahead"
He wants to go get his trailer and haul us to the hard-road... I say it cant be any worse that the 7 we just did and say "Lets go" It may have been the Tequila or all she learned on the way here, but she kicks it into gear and follows... I realize that the middle of this stretch is a quagmire, but find a trough on the very bottom edge and stay in it and go around a bend and see the other end and go for it hopping Sally does the same. 5 minutes pass and I hear the rumble of her pipes and here she comes with this guy alongside in the truck, who I learn later has offered to ride Sally's skoot through the mess.... She don't even answer the guy just keeps-on-gettin-it....8 miles of it and not even one drop.... pretty-damned good huh??????
Look forward to seeing you on the LEAP-WALTZ ...meanwhile we will scout-out some motels. Likely to be in Perry..not that far from Outz's Bar down Hwy 98...
Later ... Danny
