Back on the road again. Heading north along the coast.Today is Wednesday, and we left Charleston after a leisurely start, taking the scenic route already planned by Craig, and endorsed by Greg our guide yesterday. After a while, we found a quiet section of road, and stopped to take photos of each other riding past. As we did so, the road suddenly got a lot busier! A good number of those that passed us, stopped to check we were all right - it was another demonstration of the kindness of strangers, which we have seen so many times on this tour.

We reached the southern end of Myrtle Beach at lunchtime, and stopped at the Conch Cafe. As you will see from the photos below, this restaurant had an idilic location on the edge of a beautiful white sandy beach that stretched for miles. The tables on the veranda, were all taken, but after just a few minutes we were given a table next to the railings, with a superb view of the beach and sea. As we enjoyed our leisurely lunch, we watched ospreys diving for fish, quite near to us … absolutely wonderful!

Plans are made to be altered/refined:- the second leg of our ride was to take us to Wilmington, but we rode on a little further, and we are now ensconced in The Harbour Inn, Wrightsville. En route we rode though mile after mile to touristy tacky outlets, with mini-golf attractions - you know the sort of thing. Richard (Mandy-Jane and Craig's son) would call it "cheeseville." With all this development, came innumerable traffic lights, so we were glad to put the Myrtle Beach "strip" behind us. Mind you, we did pass three Harley Davidson dealerships without stopping … no bad thing as we're running out of space for more T shirts! We also saw a few other bikers along this road, riding without helmets (which are not mandatory for those over 21 in South Carolina), one with a pipe stuck between his teeth. Of those who wear a helmet, very few are attired as we are: with boots, full length jeans, proper jackets.

Craig and I wandered down to the beach, just five minutes away form our hotel. Again, a beautiful long beach, white sand, and gentle surf. As we paddled, the water was quite warm - the gulf stream runs close by. Altogether another good find, and all the better for being unplanned. After a rest day, we are glad to move on, so our song of the day is "On the road again" by Willie Nelson. It's at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mckg0

195 miles today.

Codename Bluebird.

Codename Bumblebee

Nice spot for lunch:

Ospreys fishing provide the entertainment during lunch:

The obligatory group phot!