Changed motor oil & filter first thing in the morning. I still got off to a good start and was on the road before sunrise. Then I got trapped in some rush hour traffic in Tampa, so I stopped and got some breakfast there. Sometimes the traffic is better after you finish breakfast, but not this time.

Went to 4 different visitor centers in The Everglades, trying to find an award winning iron fence that my brother in law had helped to build. Never could find the damn fence, but near the Everglades are a very scenic areas with rest stops that are usually vacant, due to the mosquito's. Florida has gotten a lot of rain this year and it was absolutely the worst for mosquito's. There was an eye opener of a road sign too, near the Everglades.

Started riding towards Key West, which is a big event, because it is the 2nd corner of the 4 corners tour. The road is pretty slow. The road to the Keys is a 2 lane road with lots of stores and frequent views of the ocean. Surprising thing is that the water is so still. No waves crashing against the shoreline. Also Key West is filled with people riding little scooters, which work perfectly there. Motorcyclists will often wave to each other, but these scooters were having none of it. No waves and they looked at me like I was a nut when I waved towards them. Oh well, it was funny all the same.

The rooms there were a little pricey for my blood, as I rarely pay more than $100.00 for a nights stay. When riding, I am too tired to enjoy it enough. I just want a clean place to fall asleep and don't need the fancy amenities. The Mom & Pop places had already filled up for the night, so I rode for a while and then tried to sleep in a vacant parking lot. Too many damn mosquito's to be able to get any sleep. One really cool thing is that the Milky Way shows up in the night sky. I finally found a Holiday Inn in Marathon Fl., and grabbed a room at 1:30 AM.

Cumulative motorcycle return waves today:163