Day at the beach

Thought I'd take a trip over to the coast since the weather was spectacular.

The ride on the Kal Haven trail is well known but

 the western half has been rejuvenated and resurfaced.

There are several upgrades along the way 

with rest areas added to the more scenic spots.

and the surface has been graded and

 the packed limestone surface expanded.

Of course you never know who you might meet along the way.

Several smaller bridges have been replaced with steel structures

At the end near SH. They've made extensive upgrades with steel piling along

 the Black River and erosion control to prevent  dramatic washouts 

during the river floods

and despite the local protests, the "iconic" covered bridge has been replaced as well.  The campground at Van Buren State Park was overflowing.  It's nice to have a modern campground with showers and toilets but it's truck loads of kids crammed together to "experience" the outdoors and rough it in a trailer park.

With the weather as perfect as it could be, the town was en-thronged with tourists. So much that it took an hour to find a seat at a bar to order a burger at 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon.  It was in the the 60's during Thursday, so the beachcombers headed indoors and left most of the beach for the grazing seagulls.

It's always beyond beautiful on the coast 

and off the coast when taking a few days for the trip.  

The temps remained in the 50's to 70's for all three days 

which made the 130 miles pedaling a virtual dream.