The flamingos were out this morning in a large flock!

Photo by Devoman

But I slept in … and so did Emma, worn out from a big day of cycling on Saturday. I showed up for “breakfast” at site 164 around 9:00.

Herb, Rich, and Joe out for breakfast under the pines

The rally was supposed to end today, but it turned out that many of us were staying an extra night or more. By afternoon I counted 15 Airstreams still here, including Carol, Joe, Steve & family, and Wendimere & Bill.

Bill and Emma race to the beach

We decided to stay one more night. Taking an extra day turned out to be the right move, despite the high cost of this campground ($42 with tax). Instead of rushing out after the rally festivities, we got a chance to relax and enjoy a much less hectic day. Since we got a fairly nice day with temps in the 70s, I was also able to let the awning dry out before rolling it up. We’ve had rain every night and heavy dew as well, so drying things has been tough.

Emma took me, Joe, and Bill out for a bike ride to the beach, which is about a mile down a paved road. The sea was rough, as it has been every day since we arrived in the panhandle. The storms that keep passing through are really stirring up the water, so the “Emerald Coast” is more of a murky green.

On the way back, Emma organized a race. We took it easy because she still crashes regularly. Today she clipped the edge of the beach tram and landed in a big puddle, but got up feeling fine. So far she’s had about six spectacular crashes but no injuries. Everyone in the campground knows her now, either because she’s crashed on their lawn or ridden by screaming “Woo-hoo!”

This evening we had an “impromptu pot luck” which most consisted of leftovers of last night’s huge dinner — and it was good — and then at 7:30 we showed Superman 3 on our big screen for seven adults: Carol, me, Eleanor, Wendimere, Bill, Steve, and Misty. The kids watched “Cars” on Emma’s little DVD player in her bedroom. So yes, with a little creativity we can actually get seven people in position to watch a movie in here.

Tomorrow we will pack up and hit the road. Our date in Ruston is looming, and we need to cover 488 miles on Monday and Tuesday. We have no planned stop between here and there, but a few ideas and we’ll just see how things go …