Two states left, Kentucky and Virginia, and I am officially on Eastern Time. I have roughly 875 miles to Yorktown, Virginia, and another 200 up the coast to Washington D.C. The hospitality I've encountered over the past few days, and few weeks, has been mind-blowing. Temperature and humidity have remained fairly high, but I think I am finally acclimating. I've had the chance now to ride with someone else for a few days, and really had a great time traveling with him. Thanks John, I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon!
Day 45:
Left the hut and hit the road with John in the morning. The day seemed to drag going up and down the hills, and getting lost for an extra 8 miles (missed our turn) at the end of the day didn't help. After 87 miles, I was much relieved when we arrived in Goreville, Illinois. As we are pulling up to a cafe to grab dinner, a lady walked over to us from the gas station and said she would call her pastor to unlock the church basement for us to stay in, which was completely amazing. We weren't sure about our lodging that night so this was such a relief after a hard day. We got dinner (free desert for cyclists!) and went over to the church. The basement had internet, a kitchen, bathrooms, AC, and couches to sleep on. So lucky.
Day 46:
Got breakfast at the same cafe (for another free desert), then John and I hit the road again for a short 50 mile day to Elizabethtown, Illinois. Well, again we missed our turn, and it ended up being a 72 mile day. We still got there, and the bed and breakfast let us camp in back for $5 and included a shower and dip in the hot tub. Before settling in, John and I went to a restaurant floating on the edge of the Ohio River for dinner. They weren't so veggie-friendly, so I dragged John all over the little town looking for someplace else, only to end up back at the floating diner (thanks for hangin' in there with me John). Two grilled cheese sandwiches, a salad, baked beans, corn, fries, and two orders of fried mushrooms later we went back to the bed and breakfast and slept in the open on the deck.
Day 47:
We knew the three older guys (Dee, Richard, and Mike) were just behind us, and we wanted first dibs on beds at the hostel ahead, so John and I were on the road by about 6AM. We road 10 miles to Cave In Rock, Illinois, and crossed the ferry over the Ohio River into Kentucky. As soon as we got to the other side a storm blew in and within 30 seconds we were pretty drenched (though it felt great). At 2:30 we arrived at a church hostel in Sebree, Kentucky. They were just finishing up a funeral service and had a huge table filled with food that they let John and I loose on, so we ate a few plates of food then went downstairs and got cleaned up. The church basement was pretty awesome, and later the older guys showed up. That night, the wife of the church's pastor (Violet, who is incredibly kind) made us all a huge dinner, and we all sat down like a big family, shared stories, and ate some delicious food together. This was one of the greatest experiences of my trip so far. Everything was just perfect, thank you Bob & Violet Hardison. (68 miles)
Day 48:
John decided to take a rest day in Sebree, and I was feeling pretty fatigued myself, but I saw a fire station hostel (YES!) in Utica, Kentucky, 29 miles down the road, so I decided to just do a short day. I got there, and the store clerk at the gas station across the street told me it was unlocked for cyclists, no one is there but go in and make myself at home, so I did just that. They had mattresses set up, a shower, washer and dryer, and kitchen, not to mention a huge bay with a few fire trucks parked inside (everything but a fire-pole, maybe next time though). Two cyclists, Colby and CK showed up a little later. Check out Colby's blog here, and CK's blog here. CK, a grad-student from Hong Kong, studied astrophysics and had a telescope for us to do some stargazing that night. Too much fun.
Day 49:
I made everyone breakfast then left early in the morning. On my way to Hudson, Kentucky I stopped at the Rough River Dam and went swimming for a while. Colby showed up, and we hung out there for a bit. That night I stayed at the Double L Grocery past Hudson, and the owner and his wife, Arnold and Lucy, made Colby and I dinner and let us camp under the awning of their store. For dinner we got to pick fresh corn and cucumbers out of their field, which tasted amazing. Along with some fresh tomatoes, peaches, and chips, they even made me a couple grilled cheese sandwiches (a total of four for the day). Sitting down and eating with strangers like a family feels great. Meetings like these really help if you're feeling homesick, thanks Arnold and Lucy. (72.6 miles)
Higher it goes.
View of the Ohio River while crossing on the ferry.
Resturaunt on the Ohio River in Elizabethtown, Illinois.
I'm glad I didn't upset him taking the photo, the fence between us wouldn't have phased him much.
Is there a fire here?
Rough River swimming hole.
Heh, shoulda asked if you could drive the fire truck. It's awesome how accommodating people are to you. But damn those floating meatshacks!
ReplyDeleteI would have asked, but no one was really there. Yeah, I am just blown away by how nice some people, places, and towns can be. For a floating meatshack, it wasn't a bad floating meatshack.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, forgot to say nice beard. Looks like you're trimming it, though -_-
ReplyDeleteHow are the stars out there?
ReplyDeleteThe beard is untrimmed. It just looks decent from that angle, but normally I look like the homeless vagrant I am.
ReplyDeleteThe stars were okay. He showed us Saturn and Mars, as well as the Moon (which was the most interesting to look at). He's going to love Nevada though.
You better have that beard ready for staying at the College house again ;)
ReplyDeleteThe beard is ready for anything.
ReplyDelete