Day 43 We decide to hit the road - but in the truck going west!

Day 43  Yesterday was a great bike riding day and I went to bed tired, but happy with the miles.  I had seen that the next day was to be different, but how much could it change - right!?
Well, I woke up in the morning to not just rain, but POURING rain.  Again, looking at the weather predictions, they showed that more or less the next week was going to be days and days of constant rain.

In short, we declared victory and retreated!!  It took us all morning to get the tandem taken apart and re-packed for storing it in the truck. 

The rest of the stuff was placed in more efficiently than we had ever done, and at 10:12 am we hit the road home.
It was a great decision as we had rain all the way to Nashville - all the way - and at times very heavy.
So, I will soon get the totals added up, but what a great trip it was to the east on the bikes!  We crossed through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into Florida.  Many great views, and many great people to remember.
Yes, we are disappointed that we did not make the "whole trip".  That said, there comes a time that you just have to make a sensible decision, and we did.  I recall that Churchill once said;  "Americans always do the right thing - after they have tried everything else"!  Well, that is what we did.  We spent over 20 days riding our bicycles in the rain, hoping/expecting that the weather would change.  Yes, it changed - it got worse! 
Now, who knows.  One of these days we might just drive back to Crestview, Florida, put the bikes back on the road (On a sunny day!), and finish this trip.  If/when we do, we will finish this blog.  Until then, just look at the days we did, laugh at the pictures, and on the "wet" days be happy you weren't there!
Paul C