Day 42 – You want to split it?
I swear there’s not much better that falling asleep under the stars and waking up in the morning breeze. I love it. Today was another gloriously laid-back day. Most of the morning was off-set from the cue sheet because we stayed in a different city than was original and there was construction on top of that, so for a good chunk of the morning we had only Dan Henrys to go off of (“Dan Henrys” are markings that our staff makes on the actual road with chalk that tell us to go left, right or straight). It was kind of nice to relinquish directional responsibility for a while, and only have the road to pay attention to. The sky was threatening rain all morning, and we decided to stop at Tim Horton’s for a second breakfast and coffee while we were still dry. I made sure to get a good picture of my three donut holes I bought next to Ben’s three large frosting-filled donuts.
Pennsylvania marked state number something-or-another today, and the scenery was rich with green, hills and valleys, rocky streams, and offered us some good mild climbs to prepare us for the mountains coming up. As we were coming into a little Pennsylvanian town, we hit Kathy’s stop. She warned us not to take pictures of the nuclear power plant we could already see on the outskirts of town coming up, because a policeman specifically stopped to inform her any photographs of it would be confiscated. National security issue apparently. It’s too bad because I have never been so close to such a plant. We crossed a bridge and rode so close to one of the three structures that we heard the roaring water and could see it pour down the sides of the huge formation. I have huge trepidations about using nuclear plants for energy, but honestly the things were so massive and downright remarkable to see up close.
My chain broke for the second time today, well it would have if it wasn’t caught in time, and luckily Dave was within reach to offer me a master pin to fix it. Luckily for Sean he pulled on his garbage bag raincoat just before the rain hit, and it’s too bad for the rain because I didn’t get a picture. We were soaking and cold when we saw a little diner flanked by bikes on every wall. I love how obvious it is to find where the Big Riders are. I had a grilled cheese and watched Ben and Sean scarf down ¾ pound burgers and then claim they were still hungry. Ane and I ordered a brownie-sundae type desert to split, and then ordered another one to split when we decided it wasn’t enough. If that’s not classic Ane and I style I don’t know what is, but it’s always better to split things. The cook and the staff were so great here, and they even gave Ane and I free tee-shirts. The generosity we’ve received across the country continues to blow my mind.
When we go into camp today it was still raining. We’ve been making it our style to be among the last to ride into camp, and by the time we go there everyone was huddled up around a campfire and under some tents covering some picnic tables. Except Jody that is, who snuggled up right under the gear truck with her thermarest and sleeping bag all rolled out between the wheels and her wet clothes hanging up along the underbelly. Ben and I figured we were already soaking so we stretched out on the grass and enjoyed the feeling of the rain coming down. For all of the camping and canoeing I’ve done in my life, I’d never done that before. As I was laying there with my eyes closed, I had the image in my head of what a calm lake looks like in the rain: all of the drops identified by the co centric ripples radiating outward and creating the intricate pattern and texture as they bounce off other ripples. That’s what I felt like, the surface of the water that is, because I could feel each chilly drop hit me. It was an awesome sensation, until I got cold.
The rain let up enough for us to put up the tents and shove our stuff it before it got wet, if was even still dry. I am very lucky to have so many dry bags I am using from canoe trips because many people’s things were soaked from sitting under the tarps. Hopefully soon enough we’ll find us some washers and dryers, and until then we’ll made the best of our mildewy smells.
Pennsylvania marked state number something-or-another today, and the scenery was rich with green, hills and valleys, rocky streams, and offered us some good mild climbs to prepare us for the mountains coming up. As we were coming into a little Pennsylvanian town, we hit Kathy’s stop. She warned us not to take pictures of the nuclear power plant we could already see on the outskirts of town coming up, because a policeman specifically stopped to inform her any photographs of it would be confiscated. National security issue apparently. It’s too bad because I have never been so close to such a plant. We crossed a bridge and rode so close to one of the three structures that we heard the roaring water and could see it pour down the sides of the huge formation. I have huge trepidations about using nuclear plants for energy, but honestly the things were so massive and downright remarkable to see up close.
My chain broke for the second time today, well it would have if it wasn’t caught in time, and luckily Dave was within reach to offer me a master pin to fix it. Luckily for Sean he pulled on his garbage bag raincoat just before the rain hit, and it’s too bad for the rain because I didn’t get a picture. We were soaking and cold when we saw a little diner flanked by bikes on every wall. I love how obvious it is to find where the Big Riders are. I had a grilled cheese and watched Ben and Sean scarf down ¾ pound burgers and then claim they were still hungry. Ane and I ordered a brownie-sundae type desert to split, and then ordered another one to split when we decided it wasn’t enough. If that’s not classic Ane and I style I don’t know what is, but it’s always better to split things. The cook and the staff were so great here, and they even gave Ane and I free tee-shirts. The generosity we’ve received across the country continues to blow my mind.
When we go into camp today it was still raining. We’ve been making it our style to be among the last to ride into camp, and by the time we go there everyone was huddled up around a campfire and under some tents covering some picnic tables. Except Jody that is, who snuggled up right under the gear truck with her thermarest and sleeping bag all rolled out between the wheels and her wet clothes hanging up along the underbelly. Ben and I figured we were already soaking so we stretched out on the grass and enjoyed the feeling of the rain coming down. For all of the camping and canoeing I’ve done in my life, I’d never done that before. As I was laying there with my eyes closed, I had the image in my head of what a calm lake looks like in the rain: all of the drops identified by the co centric ripples radiating outward and creating the intricate pattern and texture as they bounce off other ripples. That’s what I felt like, the surface of the water that is, because I could feel each chilly drop hit me. It was an awesome sensation, until I got cold.
The rain let up enough for us to put up the tents and shove our stuff it before it got wet, if was even still dry. I am very lucky to have so many dry bags I am using from canoe trips because many people’s things were soaked from sitting under the tarps. Hopefully soon enough we’ll find us some washers and dryers, and until then we’ll made the best of our mildewy smells.
posted by elizabeth at 12:01 AM
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