Today was my last full day of bachelorhood. Eleanor comes back Monday afternoon. (Emma will stay in Vermont a few more days with her grandparents.) And while I’m looking forward to see Eleanor, it was a great last day for me.

Florida is warming up into the 80s every day now, with endless sunshine and palm trees waving in the breeze. I took care of some business online and via phone in the morning, and then decided it was just the right sort of day for a bike ride.

Our campsite. Click for a larger image!

So I called up Brett and we headed out to the Pinellas Trail, a rails-to-trails bikeway that runs north-south along the coast. I’ve taken the old bike rack off the Armada because I got sick of it and sold it on eBay (that’s another story that I’ll explain later, but in short we do have a solution to the bike problem). But without anyone else in the car it was a simple matter to toss the bikes in the back and head over to Tarpon Springs, just a few miles away.

I recommend the bike path. You’ll see some older “historic” downtowns, and there are plenty of opportunities to cut over a couple of blocks to the waterfront. The trail itself is mostly scenic and very easy to ride. We took it about 11 miles south before turning back. And we stopped for ice cream TWICE, so you know it was a nice day.

I’ve spotted enough things to do in this area that I think we will stay here two more weeks. There are 2-3 parks to check out, some nature trails, the Clearwater beaches, several interesting restaurants, and a couple more old downtown districts. Plus, Brett has promised to teach me how to swing a golf club some evening soon.

Tomorrow I’ve got to finish getting this trailer cleaned up for Eleanor’s return. I am trying to make her homecoming as pleasant as possible. This is the first time we will have been without a child since we launched our trip last October. It should be a fun week!