Yesterday was a bit of an odd day with tension in the air from the outset. I think I suffered from not getting up and having a bike ride. 
There’s not much else to report. even Hadley Cat seemed in a funny mood and was relentlessly after my feet trying to bite them. So I spent part of the morning looking up kitten behaviour on the Internet. However normal service has resumed today. I had a ride out early on and took a few photos. Here’s one of Jacksonville Beach pier. There’s a couple more in the gallery.
Today has been washing day. Hanging up the clothes in the spare bedroom made me think how ludicrous some things are over in the US. Here’s a brief list:
1. Sunny hot weather yet you are not allowed to hang up washing outside, expected to tumble dry instead.
2. Moaning about gas reaching $4 a gallon yet driving huge 8 mpg SUVs.
3. Too lazy to park and get out of cars there are drive-in banks, chemists, and other stores as well as the fast food outlets.
4. The Presidential Election system.
5. The high cost of medical insurance and the large quantities of sugar rich foods.
6. Arriving at the cashier and paying more than the shelf price because tax is then added.
Rant over. I feel better for that. I also feel better now I’ve booked the hotels and car for our road trip next week 
Oh yes and it’s an “economy” small car not a SUV!
I had a lie-in this morning… I got up about 7:30am. As is becoming the custom I took to the beach for my morning bike ride. I love the sound of the ocean, it is one of my favourite sounds in the world. I don’t know if it is because it evokes happy childhood memories of family holidays in Paignton blissfully ignorant of mortgages, taxes, and the other complexities of life, one’s concerns limited to finishing the sandcastle before the tide came in or whether the icecream man had strawberry. While Goodrington Sands may have preserved steam trains working hard up the embankment that runs along its length, the beach here does manage to eclipse it. For starters it is huge. From Mayport Naval Base towards the north it runs southwards for best part of 30 miles to St Augustine where it is split by an inlet before carrying on miles further.
The section I have ridden has almost white sand, the properties separated from the beach by a narrow strip of dunes and vegetation. Thanks to its size the beach never seems crowded despite its popularity. Today I rode north almost at the water’s edge looking to my right at waves crashing in to shore. They are getting big enough to attract the surfers, a number already out at that time. They were joined by anglers with large rods thrust into the sand, the walkers and runners, and today’s oddity, a young woman collecting shells with a large bright green parrot watching proceedings from her shoulder. You see it all here I tell you. I rode for 25 minutes on the beach, enough to start feeling stomach muscles working, yet an easy task that flew by when compared to the same effort on a exercise bike in a grey Beeston living room. I returned by back road through the pretty neighbourhoods to call at the bank and health store at Neptune Beach “village”.
No doubt you can’t say this about all the rest of United States but one striking difference about this area is the polite and friendly nature of its people. Without exception fellow beach users will greet you with either a smile and wave of acknowledgement, or a “how ya doin’?” as you go past. The same goes for neighbours and strangers alike on the streets. A stark contrast to the streets at home where I’d be lucky to get a surly scowl from a passing Beestonian, trousers tucked in socks and fag on. At the risk of sounding like an old giffer, good manners cost nowt and it is a refreshing change to see people have them.
I got the map out this morning and worked out that yesterday Tina and I rode 10 miles. I’ve probably done about 5 today. Slacking. Tina has gone to work and I’m listening to some Ska and Reggae through the iPod speakers sorting out the travel for next week’s road trip. I’ve had my healthy breakfast with lashings of fresh pineapple and strawberries. I have to be good, I think we are going out later for a meal at a new Mexican restaurant with Tina’s friends. Apparently the sweets are enormous and delicious and I’m under instruction to have one. One final thought for today, cold showers might have been dreaded at school but after a ride here they are positively de rigueur.
Anyone who knows me at work will raise a wry smile at this or maybe even laugh… Given that I perpetually struggle to haul myself out of bed on a morning resulting in me sauntering into the office usually around 10am these days, it will come to a shock to my colleagues to learn that this morning I was not only up at 6:00am, by 6:30am I was setting off on a bike ride with Tina. The recent temperatures have been about 33′C (or 91′F in old money) so it makes sense to do any exercise early doors while it is still relatively cool. A decent plan, but slightly flawed if you don’t get back until around 11am when it’s close to maximum frying levels.
We started off along the beach and here’s one of the snaps I took en route. 
There were plenty of folk about even then, running, walking dogs, just walking, and one receiving tution from a personal trainer lifting weights. After a while we headed back to the road which runs parallel to the beach and took it all the way to Ponte Vedra, a district which seems to be just an enormous golf course with multi-million Dollar properties littered neatly around it. While the houses were enough to make you gawp, the highlight was stopping on a couple of bridges where we saw an alligator and turtles.
The return journey was broken up by a visit to Target and Publix, two staple US stores which I’m becoming very familiar with as I always seem to be in them. Amongst other things I swooped for Duffy’s “Rockferry” album seeing as it was only $9.99 (approximately a fiver back home) so I thought it rude not to. To give sustenance for the last leg we wolfed down a bagel and coffee in Publix’s deli seating area, and after collecting some books Tina had ordered, set off for home now in quite oppresive heat. It was a relief to get off the road on to the beach again and benefit from the sea breeze.
We’ve spent the afternoon roasting ourselves on Jacksonville Beach and while Tina has been at work this evening I’ve uploaded some photos from the trip so far. You can find them here, click me. I’m quite pleased with the ones from this morning’s ride.
There’s not much else to report. even Hadley Cat seemed in a funny mood and was relentlessly after my feet trying to bite them. So I spent part of the morning looking up kitten behaviour on the Internet. However normal service has resumed today. I had a ride out early on and took a few photos. Here’s one of Jacksonville Beach pier. There’s a couple more in the gallery. 
