1000 Miles, 100 Miles, continued

After leaving Goose Creek State Park a few days ago (that was the night of day 11) we headed to Plymouth, NC on day 12. The riding was fun, not very hilly, and our bodies have seemed to agree that we will be biking every day for a while. Lunch in Plymouth was at a lovely cafe called The Garden Spot. We had dessert too but ate it too quickly to get a photo of it...

We didn't know where we would be camping that night-- our maps didn't have any reccomendations for the area where we would need to stop around Winton, NC. In some ways it made it harder to bike ahead when we didn't know exactly where we were going. On this trip we've been faced with a lot of things we can't control-- weather,

other drivers, availability of resources (often a gas station us the only building we pass for many miles). We made it into Winton though and took a seasoned bike tourer's advice to ask the folks at the fire station where would be best to camp. As we were coming into town we asked where the station was and found out that the volunteer firefighters were having a meeting. When asking where would be best a man offered for us to stay at his house with him and his wife. What followed was a really lovely and unexpected evening getting to know this couple, getting to know the small town of Winton, and getting to take showers! 

Here's the view down to the river behind their house:

On day 13 we crossed over into Virginia and had our first 100 mile day. The last couple miles were admitably loops around the Chippokes State Park campground to to reach 100. It was a fun long day and we slept very well.

Day 14 brought us through Jamestown, VA and on to Richmond where we spent the night in a hotel by the airport in part because there's not much camping in such a big town and in part because we needed a break. We had an excellent dinner at Ma and Pa's diner. Jonathan got a bologna burger and said he felt properly full for the first time in a while.

On day 15 we went though the city of Richmond we reminded us of Atlanta and ended up camping at our first KOA campground which was easy but expensive.

The next day, 16, we got to stay with our aunt and uncle and cousins south of D.C.-- it was wonderful to be with family! We ate a big dinner (Jonathan was full again!), talked, and walked around their neighborhood. Here we are before leaving the next morning: 

We biked into D.C. that day (17) and took a half -- about 40 miles--so we'd have time to explore. Jonathan's mom helped set us up to visit the office of our Representative, Mr. Rob Woodall, to talk to his staff about the transportation funding bill. It was a cool visit and we got a great view of the Capitol from their balcony: 

We stayed in the International Student Hostel and biked around town without our bags on our bikes ( hills were like nothing!). Dinner was at a fun falafel place.

On day 18 we biked out of D.C. and into Maryland in a downpour. We're not in the photo because we're trying to keep the camera dry!

Thanks to the generosity of friends we were able to stay in the home of friends of our friends near Baltimore this past night. They warmed us up after the day long storm with delicious hot soup and good conversation.

Today, day 19, we'll continue this adventure! We've gone more than 1100 miles and have about that much left to go.