Woohoo! New State Day!

Today, Robyn and I woke up to see some ominous clouds lurking out the window. We ate breakfast and said goodbye to Marcy, Truman, and Mogley. Thanks Marcy for being a wonderful host!!

We got on our bikes, rode to through downtown Wilmington to the river to view the old battle ship (great suggestion!). Soon, we were on our way to South Carolina. For whatever reason (maybe bc it was our tenth day in a row riding?) I was dragging a bit today. Also, for whatever reason(s), I made it through the entire day without applying sunscreen. Smart Marie, smart - my body has not acclimated that much. Ouch.

We arrived at the South Carolina boarder and took our obligatory 'new state photo.' Then, it was off to the Myrtle Beach area. Those pesky, skin-burning clouds held out with no rain until we sat down and waited for my mom to meet us! Yay mom! She's going to spend the day with me tomorrow, while Robyn catches up with old college comrades, on our rest day. I'll re-join Robyn tomorrow and get into mischief then (ok probably no mischief, really, we're old ladies now, remember?). Actually, this will be the long distance and time I've been separated from Robyn since our tour started. Bizarre.

We fly home in a week, dang!
-M
Ps - Kate nicknamed Robyn and I, Kanga and Roo. I felt it necessary to take a photo in front of the gas station logo, just as Robyn decided to be a goober in the SC photo.

Grab Your Kleenex

Rewind. Let's finish yesterday:
We got to the hotel, had a nice dip in the pool, showered and went exploring. Jacksonville! (NC, not Fla - this journey isn't finished yet kids). So, things to note about Jacksonville, NC: it's a military town, you cannot drive/bike/anything through the base unless you are a marine, it's a strip mall mecca. Also, there are no crosswalks for pedestrians, so no walking! Well, it's more like sprinting across 6 lanes of traffic.

After that adventure, Robyn and I relaxed until my friend Scott, from high school, came to meet us for dinner. Not only does he drive 2.5 hrs, he treats us to dinner! Seriously, he was an awesome prom date (and friend) and has continued that until adulthood. It was really nice catching up. I have to admit, I love the friends that I have, that even after not seeing one another for 4 years, you can sit down and chat as if you had been keeping up with one another daily.

Will full bellies, we said our goodbyes and promptly fell fast asleep. Funny how a 10:30pm bed time seems oh-so-late. We've turned into old ladies!

This morning we awoke with the realization that this was our last day with our 'bike convoy.' We ate yet another delicious breakfast, packed, and took some group photos. So sad. We got rolling down Hwy 17, only a 53mi day today. A few stops, then all of a sudden we were in Wilmington! CVS on 17 and Gordon ::sniff:: was were we all stopped to say goodbye. Leaving Gary (Gar-bear), Kate and Kevin was so hard. It was great having other bike tourers around to talk to/laugh with/bike with. Just as they probably saw us as 'kids,' we were grateful to have some guidance. Plus, I laughed SO HARD, so much, with them. Robyn and I had to take a moment after leaving to collect ourselves. Wwwhheeeeewwww!
Bike tour convoy? I'm completely for it.

Okay. Now that I'm re-collected, I can go on with this post. We are currently in, Wilmington, staying with Marcy, Harriet's boyfriend's mom. Super sweet and nice! We had a delicious vegetarian lasagna and now, Robyn's wish may just come true. We are going to go see Prometheus.

Today is the first day where I could count the days to the end of trip easier than the days since the beginning. I have not counted any days to the end, but now since it is less than 10 days away, it's getting harder. My 'real life' back in Seattle seems so surreal. Woof!

Cheers to another great day on bike tour!
Marie

Day twenty-two: made it to Jacksonville! ...North Carolina

Had a nice and easy day. Did about 40 miles to another fabulous hotel! Who knew bike tour could be so cushy? It was hot but we had a breeze and some rolling clouds above us. Gary broke a spoke about ten miles in this morning but we were only a couple miles from a friendly bike shop. It's all good :)
R

Day twenty-one???: over the hump

Some of you may have gleaned from Marie's posts that the last few days have been a little tough on me... But I am better now! The ocean swim last night was totally restorative. I washed off two days of headwind, plenty of sweat, a remarkable amount of sunscreen and the hottest day yet (no cloud cover thank you very much.) Marie has been a champ dealing with all of my whining.
Was a little bit cranky after getting up at 3:30, packing up furiously, riding 6 miles, grabbing a 5:00 ferry, then riding 13 miles to another ferry at 7:30, but I napped the whole two hour ride.
When getting off the boat we ran into a guy named Marty who is touring opposite of us from Jacksonville to Maine, he gave us some extra snacks, very nice. There were also three people on tour who had been on the boat with us who we had chatted with in passing, they were pulled into the conversation and Marie and I decided to see if we could caravan with them. Fabulous decision! Kate, Kevin and Gary proved to be great company and similarly paced, a great fit for us! Together we battled yet another day with constant headwind and no cloud cover. Be it the new blood or the realization that ibuprofen might be a good solution for my sore tush, today was so much better than the last two.
We even changed our plans from making it to a warm showers yard to camp when they invited us to stay with them in a hotel in Pine Knolls. The last ten miles were a bit dicey when traffic picked up and so did the wind. Ultimately, we made it the the Hampton Inn and snuck all of our bikes in the back. The hotel room is actually giant and perfect with a pullout couch just for me and Marie. Thanks Gary for using those timeshare points! We plan on sticking with them for the next couple days till Wilmington. Here's to staying positive.
R

PS - We saw 12 bunnies on Orcacoke Island. There was a group of boy scouters that kayaked 50mi that infiltrated my dreams. The 2.5 hr ferry was $3 for one plus a bike! Gelatin is lame and in so much unnecessarily! Whoever said Chicago was the windy city had not been to the NC coast. Everything I consumed today came out of my pores. AT&T is insufficient on the East Coast.
BIKE TOUR CONVOY!
-M

That is twelve alive bunnies, one dead one.
R

Nothing Like Riding 40 mi for Your Cup of Joe

Yes, it's true. I rode 40 mi for a cup of coffee - well, it was on the way. We also were out of fuel, so I couldn't make the last little bit that I had.

After getting an unrestful night's sleep, with the peacocks howling and the yet fly flapping, we managed to get on our bikes and bust out 40 miles by 11:30. We stopped for a while at a cafe to eat a bit, rest from the sun, and charge some devices.

We then biked on down the Outer Banks, which was beautiful. A big sand dune in a lot of places, with little refuge from the sun. Nearing the 'elbow' of the island, we stopped in a plaza to get food from the grocery store, toothpaste and such, and more fuel. A quick stop at the Hateras Lighthouse and we were on our way in search of a campsite for the evening. I had called ahead to a few near the ferry we needed to get on the next morning, but they were all $45+. Making my disapproving face, we biked toward them, but came upon a state park campground that was less than half the price.

Rolling in, we unloaded our bikes, set up our tent, then hit the water. Yes, this campsite was a short walk from the beach. The water was a good temperature to have fun in, while the sunset around us. A cold shower followed, then we began cooking. Robyn opened a can with the swiss army knife (I merely stabbed holes in it) while I prepared spicy mac and cheese. With full bellies, we laid down for another unrestful sleep. Robyn was worried about animals since we were close to a lot of shrubs/thick greenery, and the flapping of the fly from the wind kept us both tossing and turning.

An early morning wake up call - 3:30am - so we could pack up, bike 6.5 mi to the ferry, to catch the 5am ferry, is how we are beginning our day.

Almost the weekend!
-M

Bonus: road kill

That is all I am going to write about, feel free to skip. Don't worry, I will spare you photos.

We have seen quite a bit of road kill in the last 850 miles of our lives, I am gaining quite an appreciation for the different types.
Of course there are the different animals and where they occur regionally. There have been plenty of turtles, but I think I didn't see my first one until outside of DC. Deer were very popular in Virginia, saw about four or five but all within that state. Opossums and raccoons have been fairly consistent throughout, at least one a day. I am not sure how there are any squirrels left alive in these united states. Seriously. Those things must reproduce like what all, knowing that thirty percent or so will be wiped out by passing cars alone. Rabbits are a bit more careful or quick, only seen about four corpses. Good thing, it is harder to see the cute animals torn up. I had never seen a dead bird on the side of the road until this trip, now I have seen many. Not sure how they fall victim to cars, poor flight plans I guess. Saw a really pretty yellow bird today and a pelican on one of the bridges. We are even in a wildlife refuge. I did see one baby alligator/crocodile tail, the most rare square on my road kill bingo card.
The state of decay is also of note. Somehow the most pleasant seems to be mystery pelt, a dried out flat bit of skin and fur often bleached beyond even color recognition. The half decomposed, exposed skeleton are perhaps the most fascinating, like a biology lesson laid out on the side of the road. A tie for my least favorite between the less fresh recent dead, by far the stinkiest and generally covered in flies, and the very fresh recently dead, the horror of their final moments still frozen on their furry faces. That sort of trauma sticks with you.
We saw a dead kitten this morning, probably prompting this post in a weird way. Tiny, all grey, so vulnerable, luckily it was faced down and we were spared that particular image.
R

North Carolina! We'll be here for the next 4 days.

Marie is updating the post because if Robyn updated it would sound like this:
'Long, flat, hot, butt hurt.'

I cannot deny, today had all of those aspects, my butt even started to hurt. I lay here now listening to the frogs, cicadas, and howling peacocks, in our slowing cooling down tent, in which Robyn swears we have a bug. Personally, bugs give me the heebie geebies, so I'm going to pretend that is false.

This morning started off with a fabulous breakfast, Kim baked before she went to work! Delicious apple pie, cereal, coffee, mmmm. We said goodbye to Kim and Dave and we're headed toward NC by 8am. Getting started early is key now, as the sun definitely is a scorcher, especially when there are no clouds.

Quicker than I anticipated, we crossed over the North Carolina border! We spent four nights in Virginia! Crazy how we crossed so many New England states in the same amount of time! This is the last new state for me on this journey. At high noon (is there a low noon I wonder?) we took a two hour lunch break/rest/nap, so our tushies could rest and we could get out of the sun.

Trekking on, we crossed a loooooong bridge into the Outer Banks. After a quick stop at the visitor's center, we headed to the beach so Robyn could rest and I could play in the water. I love the water. I could watch it for hours, fascinating.

After a nice dinner, we headed to the campsite. I am a little curious as to where heck we are? We roll up and there is a peacock walking around (and then howling (screeching) later). Robyn says it sounds like Kevin from up.

We are now bathed (in something other than our own sweat and sunscreen) and hopefully falling asleep early so we can get up early to avoid some sun. Though, during our break tomorrow, I'm going to try to even out my awesome tan lines.

Best wishes,
-M