Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail

Today we biked 22 miles, all through lovely woods, on a paved and mostly level trail, except for the 4 miles that ran through the Paynes Prairie Preserve. The "Big Sink" and "Hammock" sections in the photo below were especially scenic and were quite hilly and curvy. It's been 2 years since I wintered in Florida, and the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees is as wonderful as I recall it being.


We had a respite from the upper 80s of yesterday and appreciated the cooler 70 degree day. The trail was damp in places from an overnight rain, and the rain resumed just after we finished our 2 hour ride. Seeing the the early blooming trees and plants is another treat of watching Spring down here.

After the ride, we headed to a mall for some shopping and found a Boston Market to eat lunch at. Our local one back home closed over a year ago, and I loved the chance to have the delicious meat loaf meal again. Ellen had a chicken pot pie which was also outstanding, and of course the side dishes here are the best of any chicken place.

My other page for the trails in Gainesville