4/17/26
Hello from my family homestead in Waterford, Virginia! This is one of the last stops on my winter of travels, and I’ll share more in a later post. But now, I need to catch up on my ride from Palm Coast—near where I left off last time in Flagler Beach—to Daytona Beach, where I had the unique experience of sleeping on a boat in a marina!
When I left my host’s house in Palm Coast, it was quite chilly, but sunny and otherwise pleasant.
I pedaled through a nice nature reserve on my way out toward the coast, complete with the requisite Florida “boardwalk” bridges and vegetation.
Pretty soon I reached the ocean, and cycled along it for many miles. At one point I took a lunch break at a park, and warmed myself as best I could in the sun.
I also connected with a few more friendly anoles there, also warming themselves along the fencing.
Farther south, I stopped into the beautiful, lush Ormond Gardens. I first went inside to admire the art at the attached museum, although the main exhibit—of local children’s art, some of it extremely impressive—had a “no photography” sign, so I can’t share it here.
Then I went out and enjoyed the garden area, another beautiful jungle.
I especially enjoyed the turtle pond, and was delighted when the turtles seemed very willing to interact, make eye contact, etc—more than most turtles I had encountered in Florida.
Finally, I departed and finished my day’s ride, arriving at last in Daytona Beach.
My Warmshowers host, Nikita, who moved to the US from Russia some years ago, met me at the marina where he lives on his boat. We had some nice conversation, and he showed me on his map of the world how many places he had bicycled, which was very impressive. He is a much more “hardcore” cyclist than I, willing to bike in remote areas with rugged terrain and primitive camping. (Some of these trips he had done with his then-wife and two small children!)
He encouraged me to take a short spin around the marina in his kayak, which I enjoyed despite not being much of a “boat person.”
After setting me up with amenities, he left to stay at his girlfriend’s place for the night, so I had the boat to myself.
However, he was a consummate host, agreeing to drive me a significant distance the next morning so that I could reach a starting point close enough to my next destination that I could make the trip in one day, rather than having to get a hotel. He dropped me at the entry to the Central Florida Rail Trail in Edgewater, and from there I was able to cycle that magical trail (again!) to the Sunrail station in DeBary, then catch the train to my next host in Orlando.
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