Florida (but that's not on the bleedin trail mate......)

Yes, Florida is not one of the 14 states we should be visiting on the trail, but that's were we find ourselves this weekend. Long story.....

There are several different ways one can hike the trail. Straight thruhike, all the way North or South. Or you can do a flipflop, where you hike to the halfway point, then flip to the other end, and walk back to where you got off. Some people start in the middle and work North, then go back to the halfway point, and hike South (complicated, sorry!). We met some of the latter in Maine in August, Phoenix and Tinkerbell. Then, as we are also on a flipflop (of sorts), we were hiking on the North Carolina/ Georgia border when we met Phoenix and Tink again. Then in a roundabout way we spent 4 days hiking through Georgia, climbed into Phoenix's car, and went to Florida, via Atlanta. ROADTRIP!

The last 4 or 5 days on trail are a bit of a blur, as we did very high mileage hiking, so as to have the weekend off to drive to Florida. But we did reach the Southern Terminus of the trail at Springer Mountain, and enjoyed Banjo country and the hospitality we have been given in the South. Its the bible belt down here, so a few cultural differences to get used to. No Alcohol sold on a Sunday, some counties are 'dry' so no alcohol sold at all. Blasphemy not tolerated either, so you gotta be careful of 'cuss' words. Don't even mention Allah, its just not worth it.

Atlanta, 8th largest city in USA i think, massive. Can't believe the size of the place. I really underestimated this place and enjoyed our stay in the City, real eyeopener.

Then, packed into a Subaru Impreza, we're off to Florida for the weekend with friends on the Gulf of Mexico. 85F and white Sandy beaches 200 yards from accommodation. There are Pelicans flying around, lizards on the ground, but no gators yet.
We've been made so welcome here, its another great experience in America, and can't wait to see what happens next!

G