Day 46: Lake Helen to Orlando

I didn’t get to meet my Warmshowers host Gary in person because I woke up so early yesterday. I left Gary’s camper at sunrise and rode about 8 miles to the Good Eats Diner in Deltona for breakfast. I had a fulfilling western omelette.

Riding through some residential neighborhoods

After breakfast, I rode toward Orlando and cycled on the Seminole Wekiva Trail for a over 10 miles. On a portion of the trail there were paintings on the fences that were very interesting. The trail was also used a lot by cyclists and pedestrians in the morning.

Paintings on the Seminole Wekiva Trail

I arrived in Orlando around 11 AM and decided to eat a banh mi sandwich with a Vietnamese coffee boba tea at the Blended Bistro and Boba. The boba tea was very good.

Around 12:30 PM, I arrived at my Warmshowers host Jon’s apartment building after riding close to 40 miles for the day. Jon was very enthusiastic and told me about his cycling trips with his wife from a few years ago. I was impressed by his photographs that he took while cycling on his recumbent trike.

Jon's postcard

After taking a much needed shower, since I didn’t take one at Gary’s the day before, I did laundry. Then I walked around downtown Orlando and had some craft tacos at Tin and Taco. They were very tasty and a little different than regular Mexican tacos. I would call them Mexican fusion tacos.

Craft tacos at Tin and Taco

Architecture reflections in Orlando

I walked over to Lake Eola Park. There were so many people there for a running event. I saw some swans, ducks, and other birds. I didn’t expect to see all these animals with so many people and they weren’t even afraid.

Downtown Orlando

Animals of Lake Eola Park

Lake Eola Park

I stopped by the Publix grocery store and bought a bag of fruit gummies and a bag of honey roasted pistachios. I was trying to find beef jerky but didn’t see them. As I was walking on the street, I ate the whole bag of fruit gummies.

I saw an interesting looking building on the way back. It was the Orlando Public Library. I decided to go in and have a look. I really like the architecture of the library. It also has a large collection of music CDs.

Orlando Public Library

Around 6 PM, I arrived back at Jon’s apartment. Soon after, Jon’s wife Earline came back. We chatted for a while before I went to sleep on the carpeted floor in Earline’s office.

First time riding a trike

Earline and Jon

This morning, I woke up before 6 AM and will ride to Withla.