Most of this ride, and most all coastal rides in Florida are pretty disappointing. Florida is so built up that it is hardly possible to see the water from the roadway. Instead, you see well landscaped buildings - luxury vacation rentals, hotels and the like. The obvious exception to this is the ride to Key West. That has miles and miles of ocean view. Even out on the panhandle, the view of the Gulf is limited, except for some spotty bridge crossings. This trip was the same - limited view of the ocean.
That having been said, there were some pretty cool things to see during this trip. The US Navy Seals museum is in Ft. Pierce, right on A1A. They were closed when I pulled in; but, I got some pictures anyway.
The Disney cruise liner was in port at Port Canaveral. I never cease to be amazed at how big cruise ships are. I also can't imaging how the lifeboats can possibly accommodate all the people that are on board. There was an offset gate that was big enough for a motorcycle to go through that led to the employee lot. It was from there that I took the pictures. The other gates would have taken me to palaces within the port where pictures would have been obstructed by buildings. It was interesting that nobody saw me and nobody asked any questions.
Cape Canaveral is a place I need to go and spend some time. I think I will put an invitation out to the local BMW motorcycle chapter and see if anyone wants to ride out there, do the tour and come back. I expected to see a little more from the road than I could. That said, I got a picture of a rocket booster and I was able to see the launch pad for a good amount of the travel on A1A. I can imagine that all the parking lots that face it must have been filled when the shuttle would launch. I can only imagine what a site it was. Interestingly enough, just south of the turn off on A1A, a space shuttle can be seen on the ground. I tried and other people were trying to get to it. It is way back in a junk yard. I couldn't get to it and people are probably not allowed back there anyway. I don't know if it's some kind of replica or what it is; but, it is interesting that it is just sitting there. I couldn't tell; but, it might just be a model. I couldn't find a place to get a picture of it.
From the Cape, I decided to not go through Orlando. Even though the trip would be longer, I would do much less stop and go and interface with cars much less...or so I thought. While riding on Rt. 50 just west of Orlando, a car decided to pass a large motorhome with me in the oncoming lane. It was too close. I had to go out on the shoulder...if you can call it that. It was only about 30" wide. I don't know why people take risks like that.
Other than that, the trip was uneventful. The trip home stayed in the 60's the whole time.
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