Philly!

I just want to start of this post by saying, this trip has humbled me. Personally, I have felt every emotion imaginable more than once and intensified. There is a lot of time during the day to think, rethink, and over think. Everything. I have had some really high, highs, as well as really low, lows. I don't think anything could have prepared me for that. Another humbling aspect is the kindness of strangers. I had started to become very jaded about our society, with everything we hear about in the news, that I was overlooking the good that still existed. This trip has opened up my hope for the future in America. I'm truly grateful for all the kind people we have been given the opportunity to interact with and the hospitality both friends and strangers have shown us.

With all that said, on to today! I'm rather tired, so this may be brief.

We started off the morning saying goodbyes to Peri, Lindsey, Doug, and Daphne. We stopped by the beach for a few quick photos and headed out. For those of you who don't know, the main reason for this trip's route is because I have never been to New England and have not seen much of the east coast. Today was biking day 6, and we went to a 6th different state. All six of these states, I had never stepped foot on - minus maybe an airport. To get to Philadelphia from the NJ shore, it was a pretty straight shot. We were greeted w a US Navy blimp. We then pedaled, and pedaled, then pedaled more. Fortunately, it was not blazing hot so our skin got some
rest for the better part of the day. A few stops here and there to eat, hydrate and rest, we made it to the outskirts of Philly after 65 miles. We hopped on the light rail to avoid a sketchy part of town we warned about. We hopped off at City Center, stopped at a beautiful fountain and headed to my friend from UHS/UNI, Ruth's apartment. A quick shower, change of clothes, and we were ready for a good meal. We ate Ethiopian food (a first for me) and it was great.

We came back to Ruth's and I started fighting with my handle bar tape, and finally got one side done. Ruth came home and we got to mingle and catch up, plus see a little bit more of the city.

Now, I must go and shut my eyes before they do it for me in this post.

Big thanks to Ruth for letting is stay!

Goodnight,

-M