Day 11, St. Augustine, FL to Hardeeville, South Carolina 211 Miles

Today was a short ride, only 211 miles, but a particularly eventful day for me personally, more on that later. We departed smokey skies in northern Florida due to wild land fires burning just northeast of us. The smoke only added to the discomfort that has been dogging us for days with record heat and humidity. This will come to have a severe effect on me later today.

   We decided to follow the coastline for the first hour of the day before intersecting Interstate 95 north to Georgia. We stopped in the City of Jacksonville Beach to walk on the beach and actually touch the Atlantic Ocean, hey why not, we came this far, and to snap some photos. The sand was more like white sugar, not at all like the sand on our coast at home. It was almost powdery. The local beach goers must have thought we were crazy dressed in long pants, long sleeved shirts and leather boots tromping around in the shallow surf line. Well, maybe we are.

   We were scheduled to meet a retired friend of Bob's and Lane's, Ed Elder and his wife Mary in Bluffton, SC, for a BBQ dinner, so we motored north through another cloud of smoke for more that 75 miles from a fire burning in Southern Georgia. I can honestly say that we taversed the entire state of Georgia on the Interstate from south to north without seeing anything but one gas station and one Harley-Davidson dealer.

   We crossed the South Carolina border and located our hotel and got checked in. We called Ed and he said that he would jump on his Harley and come get us and show us the way to his home. He and Mary live in a lovely home in a master-planned retirement community with all of the amenities that a retired person would need.

   We saddled up and followed Ed to his home. I had second thoughts about going because I was not really feeling well. I got to bed late working on the blog the previous night and did not sleep well. In the morning my stomach was upset so I only had a yogurt and a banana for breakfast. We didn't stop for lunch. While riding in the sweltering heat I only consumed one small Gatoraid all day and no water.

   As we pulled into Ed's driveway I got off the bike and removed my helmet. I told Lane that I was not feeling well and was going to return to the hotel. The next thing I knew I felt very light headed and dizzy. I don't remember anything else until I woke up sitting on the driveway with Steve rubbing my shoulders and asking me if I could talk. I thought it very odd, why am I sitting on the driveway and why is he asking me if I can talk, of course I can talk. Apparently, I passed out. Steve said the color went out of my face and he eased me onto the driveway so I wouldn't bang my head. Thirty seconds later I was emptying the meager contents of my stomach on Ed and Mary's driveway. I had not met them before, what an introduction.

   I was treated by paramedics at the scene and transported to the local hospital where I underwent several test and was diagnosed as suffering from heat exhaustion. I returned to Ed and Mary's later and enjoyed good company and an outstanding BBQ dinner with homemade desserts. Thank you Ed and Mary, both for caring for me and feeding me. Sorry about the mess on the driveway.

Note to mind file--DRINK MORE FLUIDS.

It's all right here in the diaries, mostly true, most of the time.

John and the Usual Suspects