This day began much the same as the last day ended. Packing
or unpacking in the rain it’s all the same, you get wet. Just about packed I
looked out the window of my motel room and saw the rain teaming down. I sent an idle tweet calling for it to stop. And
the rain stopped, just after I left the parking lot. Do you think Mother Nature is
following Twitter?
I couldn’t leave Orange County without stopping to take a
look at Orange County Choppers. It was a little (a lot) bigger than I had
imagined. I don’t know what I imagined, but it wasn’t a shop like this. They weren't open and I didn't want to wait.
Once again I decided to travel the byways. Through town
after small town, uphill and downhill, clutching, breaking, breaking, clutching
… my forearms began to ache. By 1pm I decided I needed a freeway break and Dan
set his sights on I-81 south (which according to his calculation would cut 90
minutes off the ETA.) Traffic on the interstate was heavy but it was the break
my arms needed.
Today I met a woman at a gas station. She was white haired and
bent, maybe not as old as my Mom but she had to be in her late 80s. She asked
if I knew how much farther to Philadelphia. I didn’t. We chatted. She used to
teach fourth grade in Philadelphia and now she lives in Virginia. She writes
poetry. She gave me a poem and invited me to visit if I ever get to Charlottesville.
In the middle of the Appalachian Valley in the middle of a
Maryland cornfield runs a creek called the Conococheague and that’s where my
day has ended, in Snug Harbor. You can’t find it with a GPS, you have to follow
the signs. It’s home to some goats, some chickens and a campground kitty. It’s
a peaceful campground by the water’s edge. Tonight I shared my dinner with some
hungry squirrels, not on purpose – they stole it when I wasn’t looking. I spend
so much time fretting about bears and it’s always the squirrels that get me in
the end.
Evil squirrels. Is your Twitter handle here on your site somewhere? If so, I must have missed it and I do believe that the weather is on Twitter...
ReplyDeleteYou found me on Twitter - thanks for the follow Richard. I don't tweet much ... and I just found the "find me and tell me what the weather is where I am" app on my smart phone. Who knew!
DeleteThat looks fabulous, I can almost feel the peace and tranquility oozing out of the photos. Lucky you.
ReplyDeleteEl D. It was a beautiful place to lay my head (in hindsight, after riding 6 hours - 5 in heavy rain to the next stop, I should have stayed another day!)
DeleteYour day may have started with rain as you were packing but you sure found a nice area to pass the night.
ReplyDeleteWhen we used to camp in BC the whiskey jacks used to sweep down and steal the food from our plates.
Woman vs Nature :) Nature one, woman 0.
DeleteI was assaulted and robbed by squirrels once. I was walking to school in the spring through Mount Royal Park. I was the only human on the mountain. A cute little squirrel came shyly towards me, very cute. I went into my bag intending to tear a crust from my salami sandwich to toss to the cute little furry critter. When I looked up, 20 or thirty squirrels had come out of the woodwork and were converging on me from every quadrant. I was surrounded. Then two of them took a run up each of my legs heading for my lunch. Fear of rabies (who knows if that was a legitimate concern) caused me to toss my sandwich which quickly disappeared under a squirming mound of fur. I ended up having to buy a lunch.
ReplyDeleteEvil squirrels indeed!
David - they are (cute but) nasty little rodents. I should have learned my lesson with all the chew marks on my top bag from PEI squirrels and from losing half my food to Baker City Squirrels .... but oh no! They did it to me again.
DeleteWhat a beautiful area to ride and explore. Don't you just love talking with people on the ride too! Make the best friends that way! Enjoy the trip!
ReplyDeleteI do and I'm finding when you travel alone you meet so many more people than when you are with a group.
ReplyDelete