Laundry was top priority this morning. Even though we had rinsed things out in the shower, they were still pretty gross. Sheena and I went to the laundromat and Paul took the bike bags back to the car wash to give them a good spray down. While we were there we saw someone else throwing completely muddy clothes into a washer so we knew exactly what they'd been up to! It's fun to meet the other people on the trail that are riding through.
Although it wasn't raining today we were sure the trail would still be really muddy, however, almost all the water was drained off. It was so great, we were just beside ourselves! All the through-bikers that we passed had such huge smiles on their faces--everyone was so psyched to have good weather and dry trail after the last two treacherous days.
It was fun to see Harper's Ferry--we didn't go into the town but could see how cute it was from the bridge. There was a train coming out of the tunnel just as we got there and they have the train bridge fenced so that you can go up and stand really close to the passing train. It's quite an experience!
Right around that area there were a ton of people walking around so it was a bit of an obstacle course riding through and dodging all the pedestrians. Once we got past that section we passed an area where the Potomac goes through some little rapids--maybe class 1 or 2 at the most, but it was fun to see since the river has been so wide and languorous the whole time we've been following it.
We met Mom and Dad and the girls in Brunswick for lunch. We found this great Mexican place--El Sloppy Taco that had wonderful food! I told the owner she needs to move to Pittsburgh because we don't have any good Mexican restaurants there. She said in a few years when she branches out and expands, she'll put one right next to my house. :-)
We thought the girls might ride with us after lunch but Evelyn didn't want to and Sierra had some issue with her leg. Turns out it was probably for the best because Jonathan's knees got really bad again on the last stretch and he had to call for a car pickup.
While we were still riding together, though, we got really close to a great blue heron. It didn't take flight until we were about three feet away from it! You see these birds from a distance and you know they are big, but seeing one that close with its wings spread open made me realize just how incredibly huge they are!
I waited with Jonathan at White's Ferry for dad to come with the van. It turns out that Paul and Sheena were with him--they had been riding ahead of us since lunch and had already arrived by the time Jonathan called. It was about six more miles down to the Lockhouse where we were staying for the night (Lockhouse 25) so I rode by myself the last stretch. Just as I was pulling onto the trail to start out, there was another through-biker that passed. I was relieved to not feel alone on the trail so I rode behind him for some time. However, he was all loaded down with a ton of gear and I was itching to ride faster as I had been riding slow with Jonathan the last 20 miles. Finally I passed the guy, realizing that if anything happened to me he'd be coming down the trail shortly. Turns out I must have really been hauling because I made it to the Lockhouse just after dad, Jonathan, Paul and Sheena got back in the van!
The Lockhouse is really cute but even more primitive than the other one. No electricity, and the water is little hike away rather than being right there in the yard of the house. In the other house we used the dishes and washed them the "old-fashioned" way, but I have to admit that hiking 15 minutes to get water has broken our resolve and we are resorting to paper plates. So much for being authentic! :-)
The strange thing is that the other Lockhouse (with more convenient amenities) was really secluded and private, whereas this one is not at all. It's right adjacent to a popular boat launch so there's a whole parking lot full of cars right by us and plenty of people around--one kind lady even hopped out of her car with her dog, walked him around so he could poop right beside our front porch, then hopped in the car and drove off. Oh well. Most of the people we've seen have been really friendly and many of them wanted to know how we reserved the Lockhouse to stay there.
The girls did a show for us out by the lock--they'd been rehearsing it for at least an hour. Their "set" included such areas as: their house, the playground, the choir practice area, and the donut shop. There was a lot of going to sleep, getting up and going to choir practice.
No lights here, so supposedly we are going to bed with the sun. Except I'm here writing the blog by battery-powered iPad and Jonathan is reading an academic paper by the light of some sort of wind-up flashlight. Makes for an interesting backup soundtrack to accompany the crickets out our window--the cranking of the flashlight every minute or so.
Tomorrow it's only 30 miles down to the National Mall in Washington DC! Hard to believe the trip is coming to an end!
No comments:
Post a Comment