The Keys Day 3

Orangeburg, SC to Cocoa Beach, Fl:  441.4 Miles

After two hotels waffles, we left at about sunrise again.  We went through Orangeburg to avoid getting on the interstate as long as we could.  Taking a Low Country state road on a gorgeous morning was a perfect way to start the day.

Unfortunately, our "road" camera died.  It actually still took pictures, but the screen no longer worked.  This was the camera that we bought in Fairbanks, Alaska on our motorcycle trip there.  The camera we had taken on that trip died en route, and we purchased the Nikon Coolpix at a Fred Meyer.  It is sad to see it break, but that camera has been on countless adventures of all sorts.
As we got nearer to Savannah, we got back onto the interstate as the best option to continue south.  Once through Savannah, we got off the interstate again.  This was a smart decision for two reasons.  First, the drive through Georgia was nice.  Second, it started to rain and we stopped at the McIntosh County Academy to put on our rain gear.  There was a cop in the parking lot, but luckily he didn't seem to think too ill of us stopping there - our intent appeared clear.

Shortly before crossing the border, we got back on the interstate.  It spit rain on and off for the next few hours.  For a while around Jacksonville, it was raining very hard.  The dumb Garmin GPS took us on a very inefficient route through Jacksonville, but it was easy enough to follow at least.

We headed east near Titusville and stopped to eat at Dixie Crossroads.  Both the food and service were great.  There were countless geckos running around the parking lot, making it feel like we were finally in Florida.  After eating, we continued toward the coast, finally seeing the causeways that mark the eastern coast of Florida.

Traffic was mildly painful in a few spots, but nowhere near as bad as I presume it is during the height of tourist season.  We found our hotel easily and after resting a short time, we got back on the bike to look for a replacement camera.  After painfully driving through the worsening traffic to both Walmart and Target, we could not find what we wanted.  We may stop at one more Walmart on our way south toward the keys as our small waterproof Lumix Vario is a decent camera, but not as good on the road.

After the hot and sweaty ride, we got back to the hotel, then headed to the ocean that we had driven so far to see.  A small deserted park across from the hotel made easy access.  The beach was sparsely populated.

We walked down the beach a ways before checking our phones to find a place for dinner.  Rain was again spitting and threatening to get worse.  After stopping a few places, we ate at the restaurant at the International Palms Hotel.  We were not terribly hungry after the big lunch, so it was a good place to get a quick bite.
After dinner, the rain had largely moved off shore.  We walked the beach back toward the city park and our hotel before calling it a day.  Seeing the beach at night was neat, and the hot humid air felt ... tropical.