Trans America Cycling Day 43 - Defuniak Springs, FL to Marianna, FL

The link to today's route and statistics is found here.

Today was an excellent day for riding.  We had cloud cover to reduce the heat and radiation, and the wind was a cooling crosswind from the north.  Probably the best aspect of the ride though was the superb shoulder on Hwy 90.  The road and shoulder were made of well compacted asphalt, not chip and seal, and there were few cracks to cause a bumpy ride.  This was probably the smoothest ride of the entire tour!

Do you miss Texas yet?  All the brisket, beautiful flowers, longhorns, cacti, antelope, the hill country, armadillos, etc?  I'm sure that the Texan in our midst is homesick.  Here is something to remind him of Texas.

Great Americans

Note: If you believe that you have a better caption for the above, please write your caption and your name in the comments section to the blog.  We could vote on the best caption at the dinner in Palatka . . . please Larry.  Perhaps Larry and Chuck might even have some type of award for the person with the caption that receives the most votes.

Singing about missing Texas like Kip does is the subject of a Jerry Jeff Walker Outlaw country song from the 1970's.  The name of the song is London Homesick Blues (The Armadillo Song).  It features a lament for Texas when living in Europe, so the song should hit home for our Swiss and Maltese cyclists.  The song is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhN2E4hRDKk

Outlaw country is a subgenre of American country music, most popular during the 1970s and early 1980s, sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music.  Jerry Jeff Walker was one of the outlaws along with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and others.

Armadillos have followed us from Texas all the way into Florida, so here is a little more on armadillos.

There is an armadillo song for children that explains why we see so many dead armadillos by the side of the road.  Their defense mechanism of jumping up to scare a predator does not work well under an automobile.  Actually, I'm not sure that you want children to see the YouTube song, but here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnySRU5pmR0

Charango instrument of the lute family made with armadillo shell

Another Armadillo's Song is a Bolivian legend.  It explains the genesis of the Charango instrument.  Here are a few excerpts from the version by S. E. Schlosser:

There once lived an armadillo who loved music more than anything else in the world. After every rainfall, the  armadillo would drag his shell over to the large pond filled with frogs and he would listen to the big green frogs  singing back and forth, back and forth to each other in the most amazing voices. "Oh," thought the armadillo, "Oh how I wish I could sing." . . . . . And so it was. The armadillo had learned to sing at last, and his voice was the finest in the land. But like the  very best musicians in the world, the armadillo sacrificed his Life for his Art.

The entire story, about a page of printed text is at:  
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/the_armadillos_song.html

BTW, homeowners with lawns don't like armadillos much, because they make sizeable holes in the lawn when digging for something to eat, like grubs and worms.  Even worse, their burrows are 7 or 8 inches in diameter and up to 15 feet long.  Burrows can even damage the foundation of a house.

Enough on armadillos and more about today's ride.  On riding out of DeFuniak Springs this morning one could make a detour to see one of the two nearly round, spring-fed lakes in the world.  There was a late Victorian era house on the west side of the lake.

Lake DeFuniak, a world famous round, spring-fed lake, one of only two like it in the world

Victorian era house facing Lake DeFuniak

Is it a “painted lady?” To be such a Victorian era house needs to be painted in three colors, and this appears to have two colors. One thing to be sure, it is a beautifully restored house.

Near the end of our route around Marianna the devastation of Hurricane Michael (October of 2018) was visible.  Michael made landfall around Panama City Beach about 50 miles south southwest of Marianna.  The attendant at the motel desk said that after the hurricane the power was out in Marianna for two months.  Wind was so strong that downed pine trees were blowing down the road!  Electrical generators normally costing $300 were in short supply and going for $1000.  Here are a few photos taken in Marianna immediately after the hurricane damage.

Damage in Marianna, about 50 miles from where Hurricane Michael made landfall

Hurricane damage in Marianna

More hurricane damage in Marianna

Here are a few photos taken during today's ride of the hurricane damage.

Roof destroyed by falling tree

New roof probably because of hurricane wind damage

Photos of the Navy Blue Angel flight demonstration team have been included in the blogs for the last two days.  The Air Force also has a flight demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, based out of Las Vegas. They also execute precision maneuvers at very high speed.

Two Air Force Thunderbirds perform Reflection Pass in F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft

Today we rode north of Panama City FL that lies on the Emerald Coast.  Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City was home to F-22 Raptor stealth fighters.  The squadron was moved to Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach after Tyndall was destroyed by Hurricane Michael.  The Air Force is eyeing Langley Air Force Base in Virginia as the new permanent home of the F-22 Raptor squadron that was formerly housed at Tyndall AFB. 

F-22 Raptor stealth fighters that were once stationed at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL

Formation of F-22 Raptors formerly from fighter squadron at Tyndall AFB fly over the Gulf of Mexico