The Drive Down

April 12, 2021

Thick Blue smoke hung over my Brooklyn neighborhood and a fire blazed on my corner for the annual Passover Chametz burning. It was a weird beginning for our spring bicycle odyssey.

I was particularly nervous. My tour had a lot of complications; a dog, remote teaching, and timing with little room for error. I had reserved my round-trip rental car months ago for an entirely different itinerary. My plans had changed and I was unable to alter my reservation or book a new one-way rental to Florida, ostensibly because of COVID and/or spring break. The plan was to now drop off the car in St. Augustine and pay the consequence.

It was a 6-1/2 hour drive to Virginia Beach where I would be spending two nights with Klaus and Eileen, whom I cycled with on my 2018 TransAm tour. It was the first nice day of spring. I passed blooming cherry blossoms, forsythia, dogwood, and magnolia as I drove south. Just yesterday I had been running my heater while wearing a sweater and jeans. After the Chesapeake Bay bridge I noticed packed beaches with sunbathers in their bathing suits.

Klaus had both of his vaccinations and Eileen had her first. I changed into shorts and we enjoyed a few beers and then stepped out for a boardwalk stroll with Blanka. We stopped at the Neptune statue and then went to the Cavalier Hotel for drinks. It was a gorgeous evening and we we enjoyed the outside vibe. There was a small kerfuffle between Eileen and the staff at Eat. Klaus ironed things out, and I was able to enjoy an amazing piece of veal. Blanka later relished the bones.

During the night there were two shooting incidents a half mile from from my friends’ apartment. Klaus & Eileen had heard the shots but dismissed them as fireworks. By morning it was national news.

Saturday began with coffee and Brooklyn bagels. We suited up for a bicycle ride and I was impressed with my friends’ stylish new outfits. It was time to soon replace my faded jerseys and shorts. We took a 17 mile ride down the strip and then back along the boardwalk. Klaus found and returned a tourist’s bag that contained a cellphone and wallet. We were offered ice cream which we declined.

We cycled to First Landing State Park and pedaled down a bumpy sandy trail through the woods and along an inlet. Blanka seemed to enjoy the ride, and her wagon handled the terrain. I was disappointed to learn that our total day’s climbing was only 98 feet. On day number ten I’m worried about a 76 mile ride accompanied by 2175' of climbing. My rig weighs about a hundred pounds and I’m towing another eighty.

We enjoyed a non-kosher seafood lunch at Atlantic on Pacific. Afterwards Klaus and I sipped a few beers at Vibrant Brewery.

We cleaned ourselves up and drove over to Eileen’s parents house for Passover Seder. We were joined by Eileen’s brother and his girlfriend. Everyone except the girlfriend had at least one vaccination. Blanka got along well with their dog Riley. Blanka quickly discovered Riley’s stash of bones behind the television set, and fragments were soon spread across the floor. During dinner Blanka influenced Riley to break the no dogs in the living room rule. Blanka proceeded to hump seven year-old Riley’s rear and face. It was a great Passover dinner accompanied with a progressive Haggadah. We relished Matzo Ball soup, Beef Wellington, potatoes, and asparagus, and afterwatds Eileen produced a sumptuous panna cotta for desert. Eileen’s mom let a loud one rip and Klaus fell through his chair, upstaging the dogs. It felt so great to be part of Eileen’s family festivities, and it was the largest gathering that I had attended in over a year.
I slept well on Eileen and Klaus's living room couch. Blanka and I were up by 8am. We had heavy rain as we drove south. I got soaked at a gas station refilling the tank. It was a long drive to St Augustine, and I pulled into the hotel parking lot shortly after 7pm. On I-95 I had passed dozens of religious billboards. Several alluded to abortion. Others suggested substance abuse. The confederate flag count now stood at three. There was one in Klaus and Eileen’s neighborhood and I later passed two ginormous ones in South Carolina.

I checked into the hotel and Blanka and I drove to the historic center to walk around the fort and eat dinner at St. Augustine Seafood Company. Blanka was a big hit and everyone wanted to pet her. St Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America. The center reminds me of other Spanish New World settlements I had seen in Havana and Cartagena. It was thronging with tourists, about a half of whom were wearing masks.