Bicycling Florida to Texas
Through
Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas & Oklahoma

2008 - May - June

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We got up early today so we would be able to get to DeFuniak Springs before expected rain in the afternoon. All morning we rode the bicycle under overcast skies that looked as though it would rain in one or two hours. We went through small towns almost every 5 to 8 miles. We stopped at most of them to take a very short rest. Just before noon we arrived in DeFuniak Springs. We put the bicycle into an unused ice cream parlor in our motel as we watched 500 drops of rain land on the automobiles parked in the street. In the afternoon the sun came out, the temperature went up but we were already off the bicycle. The good news was that it was cool all morning because of the overcast skies.

When we crossed the Choctawhatchee River the bridge was 0.6 miles long. Most of the bridge went over a swampy area. Even after leaving the bridge, the highway was built on fill dirt about 25 feet above the rest of the land. This elevated highway was almost a mile long and finally ended in another short bridge.

We saw a 10-12 foot alligator about 5 feet from the side of the road walking away from the road, towards the woods. However, by the time we stopped the bicycle and got out the camera we were unable to get a good picture. Not something we usually see as we bicycle down the road.

After we checked into the Hotel we got the bicycle out again and drove 3 miles to the post office to send some stuff back to Washington State. In all we got rid of 2.5 pounds of weight. Then we ate lunch, took showers and went for a walk. DeFuniak Springs is built around a circular lake. All the lake shore is a city park and the residential areas are the other side of the road from the lake. Most of the homes around the lake were built before 1920 and many are very large. We enjoyed the free museum in the old Railroad Depot.