April 23: Dauphin Island, AL to Pensacola, FL

After only a 3 mile ride, we took a ferry across Mobile Bay to continue east. This ferry only holds 18 cars, no coffee shop or bathroom, as we have had on Seattle ferries. It took about 40 minutes to make the crossing to Fort Morgan.

At the Fort Morgan dock, these pelicans posed for a photo.

The next 30 miles to Florida should have been a beautiful ride, as we were close to the Gulf for most of the time. But the 17-20 mph wind at our faces made it a slog. We did pass numerous bird watching sites.

Just opposite our first sag stop in Gulf Shores, we stopped for beignets – I ate them so fast that there is no photo of the delicious treats.

Further along the coast, I was intrigued by this church next to the beach.

From our cue sheet, we thought that crossing this bridge took us into Florida. In fact, it was another 6 miles to the state line.

And the cue sheet suggested great views at Perdido Keys State Park. I did take a photo from the boardwalk, but it was way too windy to walk to the beach.

Our lunch stop was at Trigger’s on the Gulf Beach Highway, less than 20 miles from Pensacola. Thankfully, the wind was reduced for those final miles.

We opted not to stop at the Naval Aviation Museum, located at the Naval Air Station. I was there 15 years ago, and we were all tired from the wind. And there was a bike shop next to the hotel, with several bikes needing adjustments/alignments.

We are staying at the Sole Inn, a boutique type hotel in downtown Pensacola.

It was our last margarita party, and Linda fixed jambalaya, to celebrate our days along the Gulf coast.

After dinner, I took a short ride to the historic and pier areas – seemed like a nicely restored area.

61 miles today; average 10.4 mph.