Day 51 Cross Country Bike Trip
Today was supposed to be warmer and dryer, but someone forgot to tell the clouds that! It was a heavy mist as Tobey started off this morning, but it was a little warmer – high 50s.
I had windshield wipers to get rid of this stuff, but Tobey didn’t have that luxury to get it off his glasses! 
Fortunately, about 30 minutes down the road it did clear off and left us with just a little fog.
We stopped at the Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, just outside of the town of Ponce de Leon. We had to walk into the park from the road because they are replacing the entrance road and parking lot. There were cement trucks and graders, and MUCK getting to the pay station!
The spring has been used for social gatherings since the mid-1920s and was acquired by the state parks system in 1970. There are two limestone vents which produce approximately 14 million gallons of crystal clear 68 degree water every day! It was a little cool for us to take a swim, but I am sure it is a busy place on hot summer days!
There are a couple of small trails through the park so we walked them both. There was a sign warning about alligators, but since it was so cool we both felt safe. Apparently it is also a popular place for birders. We saw a few cardinals and a couple robins, so I guess we are birders, too!
The signs said one walk would take about 30 minutes and the other 45. We must be from Colorado because it only took about 30 minutes total for both! I guess if we had binoculars and had taken more time to stop and watch it would have taken longer.
Tobey spotted this sign as we went into Caryville. This had me intrigued, so I had to look up what the heck “worm fiddlin” is. 
Worm fiddling is a practice that dates back to the 1800s after it was discovered fiddling was an easier method of acquiring fishing bait than digging in the ground. It gets its name from the motion made to produce vibrations to attract ground worms. The contestants drive stakes in the ground and tap on the state in order to make vibrations which cause the worms to surface. Each round is about 10 minutes long. The first place team found five worms, the 2nd place team found one. Who knew? Last year, before the 7th annual worm fiddling contest, the town held its first “fiddling” parade complete with floats and royalty! It appears that this year’s event will be on May 5, so if you are near Caryville, you might want to check it out!
We have seen so many Waffle Houses since being in the South and the parking lots have all been full. Since neither of us have ever been to a Waffle House, we thought we should try it. We stopped at the Bonifay Waffle House for lunch. We shared a bacon cheesesteak sandwich with hash browns and got an order of waffles for dessert. Well, the people down here know their stuff – it was good! And the waitress and manager were so friendly.
Tobey got back on the road for the last leg of the day – from Bonifay to Chipley. 
It did warm up today – into the 70s , but it is quite humid. It was a “rest” day for Tobey today – he only rode 33.3 miles.
The link to his ride today is: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/31837511.
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