DAY 24 - 24 MILES

We hit 500 miles today, and it was the prettiest day of walking.  We walked the almost 3 mile Biloxi Bay Bridge on a 10 foot wide pedestrian/ bike path over gorgeous water and then walked along the beach in Biloxi. There were several structures showing the water lines of Hurricanes Katrina and Camille, and the restaurant we ate in tonight had a Katrina waterline above our heads on the second floor!!  There are still many concrete slabs on the water side from places that were demolished and not rebuilt, but the beaches are pristine and white, and the vegetation has come back. Several dead trees have been carved and preserved as sculptures. 

DAY 23 - 26.7 MILES

We walked to Mississippi!!!  Not too much along the road today, but we did see a few nice river areas.  Alabama has some rough rumble strips and not very good shoulders on the road, so some of us thought it was a rough walking day.  We thought the gas prices were good in Alabama a couple of days ago when it was $1.55, but in Mississippi today we filled up for $1.45. Today is the first day that we are not posting photos of us. Enjoy the scenery. 

DAY 22 - 23.8 MILES

We can't believe it's been 3 weeks since we left Jax Beach!!!  What a great experience it's been, and as we say, so far, so good. 

We said goodbye to Deborah and Jim, our Iron Granddaddy for two days, drove 56 miles to where we stopped yesterday, and leapfrogged the last 10 miles before catching the ferry across Mobile Bay. It was a beautiful 35 minute ride, and we saw lots of oil rigs, pelicans and some other boats. We were so lucky to arrive just in time to get on the ferry, and ours was the last car in the last space. Had we missed it, we would have had to wait 90 minutes for the next one. After we arrived, we leapfrogged another 7 miles on the island, then drove north off the island and walked another 6 before driving to a hotel. The beaches are very pristine and white with lots of dunes and cute houses. 

DAY 21 - 29.3 MILES

We walked to Alabama!!  Jim walked with us again today and after taking the 400 mile photo from yesterday, our route today was mostly along the gulf beaches. The road was good with a bike path most of the way, but it was pretty congested with lots of high rise condos, hotels, houses, a few shopping centers, restaurants and some nice beaches.  It is called the Redneck Riviera. We thought we might have a whole day with no trash or roadkill, but we did see a dead bat, and later when we were on a much more rural stretch, a dead raccoon. Today was really the first day we saw others out walking for exercise. Imagine that!!  

After walking, Jim said we had to stop at the Flori-Bama Bar for some beer because it is a famous place on the state line.  It is quite the joint- rated one of the top 10 beach bars, crowded, live music, and Jim got us their signature drink, a Bushwacker. It's like a cream colored slurpy made with 2 kinds of rum, some other liquor and amaretto. Most of us thought it was very good. We had a lot of laughs on the long car ride to the condo and didn't get back until after 6:00. Many, many thanks to Jim and Deborah for their generous and gracious hospitality. We had so much fun with them and will be sorry to leave their fabulous condo in the morning. 

DAY 20 - 23.5 MILES

Another milestone day as we hit 400 miles this afternoon!!  No photo since we were not together, but we will get one tomorrow. It was still windy but not as bad as yesterday, and there was not a cloud in the sky. We love staying at Jim and Deborah's and listening to the surf at night and being on the beach. The walk was pretty uneventful except that Jim walked with us, which was really nice. He even found the sign along the road that is in the photo. We also walked some on the beach road enjoying the homes along the way, stopped at Starbucks for 2 free Frapuccinos, saw some pelican statues in their military regalia, and celebrated Deborah's birthday at dinner with the biggest piece of key lime pie we ever saw.  It was really good, too. 

DAY 19 - 19.5 MILES

Muri greeted us this morning with a copy of The Destin Log, and not only was the article about us in it, it was on the front page with the photo above the line!  After packing up, we stopped at 2 places to buy some papers and then drive to where we left off yesterday. It was really windy after the thunderstorms last night, and we had planned to drive over a bridge and walk along the barrier island, but Muri's friend told us we would have blowing sand in our faces all day and should walk on the same highway as yesterday.  Since it was still incredibly windy, we decided to drive further and walk the stretch from West to East with the wind at our backs. It was a brilliant move, and we leapfrogged a lot and managed almost 20 miles when we were not sure we would walk any.  We walked on the beach a little, and the waves were really big. 

This afternoon we arrived at Pat's brother in law's condo. We are in heaven here on the 18th floor overlooking the Gulf. We may not leave.  Pat is staying at Jim and Deborah's, and the rest of us are in their rental condo next door.  Jim is an ultra marathoner (first in his age group ) and will walk with us tomorrow.  Many thanks to them for their hospitality. 

DAY 18 - 16.5 MILES

It was supposed to rain today, and we only wanted to get to a certain spot before we had to go over a long bridge to a different area, so we had a short day walking near the beaches. Maxine had to go to Muri's dentist to get a filling replaced. Many thanks to Dr. Jamison Plantz and his staff for fast, friendly and painless service.  After the walking we strolled along a couple of beach areas and were amazed at the white, fine sand and almost no shells. 

The big news today is that our article will be published tomorrow and is already online at www.thedestinlog.com 

We are spending another night with Muri and Tim, our fabulous host family, and watching the thunderstorms and tornado warning in the area. Thanks, everyone, for your calls, texts and emails. 

DAY 17 - 26.5 MILES

Today we drove south and then walked along the coastal road. There was way too much traffic and city life for us rural travelers, and unfortunately it was very cloudy so seeing the beach was not as nice without the sun. BUT we had the fabulous fortune of staying with a friend of one if Mary Kay's daughters.  She met us along the way and brought the managing editor of the local paper, who was just delightful and spent some time taking photos and video and talking to us as we walked around the harbor area. She plans to feature us in an article in the Wed paper. We'll post the link on Wed.  After a quick stop at Starbucks we went back to our hosts, Muri and Tim, who prepared a fabulous shrimp boil and shrimp and grits. It was a delicious meal and a most enjoyable evening visiting with them, meeting their 2 sons and petting their 2 labs.  We thank them so much for their hospitality. 

SPECIAL EDTION - MARY KAY'S 83rd BIRTHDAY

How many 83 year olds can say they spent their birthday walking across Florida!!  Mary Kay did. She even was the driver du jour today and started out at the sign in the first photo. Then she shuttled the rest of us while we walked, had a little pool time in the afternoon and sat for the video, which we hope gets posted, and then we took her out for a fun Mexican dinner at a local restaurant where she had a huge margarita, made friends with a local dude, and a little girl and got a birthday dessert and song from the waitresses. 

DAY 16 - 26.9 MILES

Today was another record day. We walked our highest daily total, hit the 300 total mile mark (we are at 317), and we celebrated Mary Kay's 83rd birthday.  More on that in a separate special post. 

Not too much special on the road today, but we did notice that there was less trash, about the same amount of roadkill,  a couple of us saw 2 white-tailed deer run across the road and jump into the woods, and we walked over a couple of small rivers. 

DAY 15 - 25.5 MILES

A record day. Must have been the great day off yesterday as we were ready to go again today. Not too much to see, but we walked through two towns, which is nice because town have sidewalks. We passed a cotton field and some cotton along the road, a swamp area where we saw some turtles swimming, and had a lunch stop sitting on a railing along the road and saw a dead deer. Might have to have another roadkill post sometime.