Currently we are in Panama City, and tomorrow we will bike to De Funiak Springs. Since I last posted we went to Perry, Sopchoppy, and Apalachicola. Most bike days are really fun because you just ride at whatever pace you want and stop to see anything you like.

In Perry we stayed at a middle school, and we all went out to Calhoons Saloon for a drink. It was the first time we really spent time together in a relaxed non BnB setting.

Next we moved on to Sopchoppy where we stayed at a Southern Baptist church. Our hosts were really nice and fed us well, but there were a few times I felt a little uncomfortable since I'm not really religious at all. People say that Florida is not the south but the pan handle definitely is. Most of the locals have southern accents and there is a large religious influence as wel as a lot of good old southern hospitality.

Apalachicola is probably my favorite town that we have stayed in, but my least favorite place that we have stayed. We had arrangements to stay at an abandoned high school that has been taken over by a nonprofit, but since BP is renting the rooms we were supposed to stay in and working out of the school we had to stay in gym. The gym itself was okay, but the bathrooms had not been used since the school was closed, and therefore they were covered in mold. The school was in a great location though and it only took a few minutes to walk into Apalachicola's cute downtown.

Like I said BP was working out of the school we stayed at since the oil is supposed to hit the beach in Apalachicola in a couple of weeks. About 25 percent of the population of the city works for the fishing industry, and another 30 percent work for tourism. With the oil approaching the shores, everyone is scared for their jobs and their homes.

When we stopped st a gas station on the way out of town an older guy stopped us and said to take a picture because this place is going to be a ghost town when the oil comes. He has worked in the fishing industry his whole life, and this is his home.

Today we had a semi day off since the house we were supposed to build at hasn't broken ground yet. About 15 of us went down to the beach to go swimming. Panama City Beach is extremely touristy, but the gulf itself is beautiful. We went simming and it felt so nice to be in the ocean. It is crazy that we are some of the last people who will see the gulf like this before the oil comes. I had know idea when ai chose the Southern route that we would be biking through the middle of such a huge environmental and economic crisis. Its a sad and crazy thing to witness.