Beaches and Bikes

Our winter vacation has been going well. It has been nice to visit my family and catch up with some friends. I am glad I decided to bring my DEAN down with me. I usually borrow a bike, but having your own bike that fits is sure nice. It is also nice to be riding in 80 degree weather and feel that warm sunshine and cool Florida breezes....

Our next beach we visited was Deerfield Beach. . One of the local favorites. It has a good mixture of surf, sand and fine dining. ..Just as we found a spot on the beach Christopher started to head into the water to begin enjoying the day. Within minutes a large crowd started to gather. Someone said they saw a shark. Sure enough as I observe the breaking waves I saw a 6 foot Lemon Shark. Shortly after the life guards starting yelling for everyone to exit the water. Some swimmers did not want to leave the water. All I know is when I see a life guard waving his arms and blowing a whistle my butt' is heading to shore ASAP.....Christopher and I ventured about 1 mile South and decided to check out the waves. They were just too temping to pass up. We had a blast and really enjoyed the day.

Saturday I met Joel and Moe on one of their morning training rides. They are on Team zMotion based out of South Florida. Today's ride was about 70 miles long with an out-back on A1A up to Palm Beach. I don't know if it's the free buffet breakfast that is served after the ride, the beautiful ocean view or the team motor scooter that paced the group, but over 50 riders showed up for a nice early morning ride. It was nice to get in some good quality miles and the ride brought back some fond memories of when I called South Florida home.

Monday we headed to the Florida Keys for 2 days of snorkeling and sea kayaking. We got a nice room at Key Largo Resort at Manatee Bay. It is only 500 yards from John Pennekamp State Park which is a great place for snorkeling and kayaking among the mangrove trails. We tried to go today, but the park was completely full so we headed down south to find a local beach. Much needed testing was needed on our equipment. We finally did find a beach, if you want to call it that. Harry Harris Park was a site to see. It was like a miniature little island with a lagoon. We made sure our masks and snorkels were in good working order. We saw some very cool looking fish and a few lobsters. Carolynn had a little accident on the way down to the water. Those rocks were a little slippery.