Despite the many trials this week, we still have been seeing the beautiful countryside. We pedaled through Lancaster county and were amazed at the Mennonite and Amish families working the fields with horse power. Many people waved at us going by, it was so neat to see such a diverse culture right here in the same country.
We are in the south now. We crossed the Mason Dixon line a couple of days ago!
When we got back on the road after being at the hotel for our day off, we met another touring parternship, two young women riding from Rhode Island to Austin, Texas, where they are going to discover and live in the city for awhile. We sat and shared stories in a small cafe in Maryland for about an hour, sharing similarities and differences. They didn’t stay dry the night before in their tent and are mostly camping out in woods that look safe or ask people to camp out on their land. They don’t have a stove and eat more simply than we do. They also have puppets with them and are earing some cash doing street perfoming in cities along the way. I was inspired by the strength and resolve of this young women. They are on the same route as us all the way to Nashville, and we will be leap-frogging with them for the next few weeks, and I would not be surprised if we see them again!
We are now in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We biked here yesterday and met Teena and Kay in the back veranda of the Richard Johnston Inn. Coming in through Historic downtown, Fredericksburg, I was immediately struck at the beauty and history of this town, and our jaws dropped when we entered into this beautiful B and B. We are being spoiled rotten during our time here already (even though we ended up in the room that the two ghosts David and Margaret frequent most.) Last night we had a wonderful Italian dinner with Uncle Bob and Aunt Betsy and cousin Melanie. It was great for me (Alexa) to see the other side of Anthony’s family. Uncle Bob and Teena look soooo much alike!
This morning we had a wonderful breakfast in the big fancy room with the big fancy table and brought our bikes to the bike store for a tune up and now are just hanging out in headquarters (teena’s room) having conversation and sharing from our hearts.
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Hello Alexa & Anthony, Hope your trip is going safe and well. I wanted to give you a heads up on our MS Ride. I raised a total of $4700.00+ to help fight MS. The weather was the best it has ever been in 12 years. Deb was a real Trooper. She rode 76+ miles across New Jersey. It took Deb and I about 8+ hours to reach Ocean City. My brother Bruce, his daughter Brynn,her girlfriends Tara and Chris rode back the next morning. We took the bus. We all had a wonderful time and plan on doing it again next year. Hope to send you pictures soon. Take care , give each other a hug, and Bike, Bike,Bike. Lonnie Kolarz
Update, dooods!