Day 2 - Monday May 8

Is there a Doctor in the crowd? We both woke up in the middle of the night with leg cramps. Other than bananas (we shared one yesterday) what can we do to prevent them? Day 2 - Jacksonville Beach to Crescent Beach. Today's ride is around 41 miles and is entirely on Hwy A1A (or side-paths) with the exception of a few side street shortcuts in St Augustine which will take us by Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.  Located at mile 28.5,  in the area first explored by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 and settled by Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565, historic St. Augustine is the oldest successful European settlement in the United States. Colonial America started right HERE, 55 years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and 42 years before Jamestown! We plan to dip parts of our body into the Fountain of Youth water and see what happens. At mile 29.5, we will pass by the original Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. The idea for the museum was conceived by Robert Ripley in 1919 and was a big hit at the  Chicago World's Fair in 1933. This first Museum was built in 1950, a year after Ripley died. Today there are over 32 museums around the world and the company that owns Ripley's has more than 39,000 employees, and annual sales of $8.4 billion. Next door to Ripley's is the Historic Castillo de San Marcos - The Castillo de San Marcos is unique in North American architecture. As the only extant 17th century military construction in the country and the oldest masonry fortress in the United States it is a prime example of the "bastion system" of fortification, the culmination of hundreds of years of military defense engineering. Lots of sunny beaches today - Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, Vilano, St Augustine, Butler and Crescent. Plan to stay at Beacher's Lodge and Oceanfront Suites,  6970 A1A South , Crescent Beach, FL 32080 - (904) 471-8849.