Leg 13 - Jacksonville, FL to Wilmington, NC

Left Jacksonville, FL at 6:10 am after a good night's rest. When I got to the motel the night before I was so drained from the heat that I laid on the bed to rest and quickly fell asleep. An hour later I got up and had enough energy to shower and get some dinner at a local Italian restaurant recommended by the motel clerk. I got plenty of rest and felt rejuvenated for the days ride.

I packed the bike for rain. The weather forecast had isolated thunderstorms for the entire leg. I have rain fly's for the exposed bags. I didn't bother putting on my riding rain suit. The thought was that it would be just too many layers of clothes for the predicted weather. Rain gear over a leather jacket would almost be unbearable in 80+ heat. As it turned out I only hit a little sprinkle the entire day.

This was another four state day, FL, GA, SC, NC. I started out on the Interstate 95 but caught Hwy 17 in Brunswick, GA. I stayed on Hwy 17 the entire ride until arriving in Wilmington, NC.

The ride was absolutely gorgeous. Hwy 17 cut right through a Georgia state park. I came out of a tree lined section into an open valley about a mile long. The entire valley on the right side was filled with blue flowers stretching as far as I could see. It was an awesome site in the cool early morning.

My plan was to tack on the miles for as long as the air stayed cool. I started out in about 72 degrees and by 10 am the temperature was around 82. It would stay in the lower 80's the entire day, much different from the 90+ on yesterday's Florida leg. 10 degrees makes a huge difference.

I snapped this photo at a gas stop.

Mud truck

The truck pulling this trailer was a brand new shiny blue Dodge pickup. No doubt the guy spent the Memorial weekend mud racing. He's got quite a clean up job ahead.

While crossing one of the many suspension bridges on this leg, I saw a group of people walking the bridge. One guy in the front was carry a huge American Flag on a 10' pole. With the winds around 10 mph the flag and the procession of people was nice to see on Memorial Day. The bridge was over a mile long.

I stopped for a late breakfast at a small Mexican place in a tiny town in SC. I walked in and was greeted by a woman who said she didn't have a menu. She said she only had tacos. When I asked if she had huevos (eggs) she said yes and could make me huevos rancheros. When I asked for iced tea, she said she didn't have any, but would make me a glass. It all went down eagerly and was delicious along with a couple slices of ham. When I asked for a bill she simply put in a couple numbers on the cash register and came up with a total of $5.75. I happily paid it and tipped her $1.25. 

The winds picked up a little bit as predicted. Nothing like I had ridden in Texas or Florida. But enough to sap a little extra energy. I pulled into a Best Western in Wilmington, NC a little after 5 pm.

Overall, 440 miles and 11 hours of riding.