Day thirteen - the kindness of people we know

Woke up refreshed! Took Benadryl for sun hives last night, apparently that makes you sleepy... Not sure the beer helped.
Had a glorious catch up with Eliza this morning, thank you so much for breakfast! Marie's friend Noah stopped by fresh off playing on a cruise ship and bought the third round of mimosas. Then we biked 54 miles.
Today was pretty much my favourite day of biking yet. We took the bike Washington route from Baltimore to DC and encountered fewer cars than we have in a day the entire trip. Kudos Christine! It was nice and sunny but not too hot due to the intermittent cloud cover and shade producing trees. Even ended up on some bike only paths for a while. It was not unhilly but I was so excited to have some room and quiet that I have already glossed over that part.
It became less ideal when the trail we were on was closed due to construction. It was late afternoon already due to the breakfast catching up and we were baking in the sun with up to ten miles left to go. No choice but the apparently unavoidable city entering turmoil. We survived despite a few wrong turns on some terribly nonintuitive streets. Church vs chapel? Big difference. In some cruel twist of fate the steepest long hill we have conquered yet was the last before we reached our resting place. Marie fell over on her bike twice today. Made it all the way up though and we have a REST DAY TOMORROW! First in five days. We have the ten day stretch coming up. Uhhhhhhh.
Going to the national zoo which is free and allegedly has two koalas, we shall see.
Already love Marie's friends Matt and Leshia who have, in true form with this trip, been absolutely gracious hosts. Looking forward to spending the day with them tomorrow.
We have talked a lot on this trip about the kindness of strangers, but I would like to take a moment to point out how lucky we are to know so many fabulous people who are so good to us. Thank you family and friends for your support and making sure our lives are not hard.
R
"I see the rock, I hit the rock" - Marie
Bike tour tip: I know everyone gives this bike tip but I was a doubter until 3 days in, CHAMOIS (shammy) BUTTER. Converted.