5 more days 'till our booties get a break!

Hello friends! Sorry for the long delay, but we have been peddling hard. We have made it from sea to shining sea and are now in Washington D.C.!!!! Only five more days until New York! Special shoutout to Daphne who has been organizing our arrival fiesta!

A lot has happened since we last left you.....

Day 70: 64 miles Bloomington to North Vernon, Indiana.

We were sad to leave Bloomie-town, but Victoria packed us a delicious lunch of pasta salad and chocolate cake which made it a little better. We biked to Muscatatuk Park, and as soon as we entered the park, a tunnel of trees and a river made the temperature 30 degrees cooler. We set up our tents and started walking into town to find dinner. A nice guy gave us a ride into town, and coincidentally when we were done eating, there he was, and gave us a ride home. It was so peaceful, except for the loud sounds of drag racing that went on ALL NIGHT.

Day 71: 77 miles to Cincinatti, Ohio

The plan was to camp in Aurora, but we got there so early in the day, that the three of us decided to keep on peddling to Cincinnati.

Since there was no campground, we stayed in a hotel... with a pool!

Unfortunately the pool's rule #1 made me lose my appetite for swimming.

That night we watched the finale of the Olympics, and Karin's aura was shining bright.

Day 72: 69 miles to Hillsboro, Ohio
rode out of Cincinatti on a gray-ny day and camped out that night.

Day 73: 36 miles to Chillicothe, Ohio

Chillicothe is Ohio's first capital, and a really cute town. We had planned to keep going, but there were no campgrounds to be found for miles. When we stopped for lunch, we met Lee who treated us to some "buckeyes," which are homemade peanut butter cups. We had planned to sleep in the park that night.

Later, I ran into Lee again, and he invited us to stay at his super cool place that was filled with lots of vintage/old school toys. (THANKS, Lee!!) It was especially awesome not to have to sleep in the park, because that night the city was getting lots of rain from "Fey."

No on ISSUE 12!

Day 74: 60 miles to Athens, Ohio

We biked in the chilly rain. Karin found the Inhale yoga studio and we thought we could go in and ask, "Namaste at your house?"

We ended up at a delicious organic Mexican restaurant, Casa Nueva, where we met Scott who said the magic words: "Do you need a place to stay? I have a hot tub." (Thanks, Scott!!)

We got to play with his blowgun.

Thank goodness we all are still getting along as good as ever!

The cold grass was just the perfect treatment after soaking in the jacuzzi.

Day 75: 59 miles to Mountainwood Park, WEST VIRGINIA
In the morning Scott took us to "The Gathering Place" a organization that he runs to help people with mental illnesses.

I got a one way ticket to Coolville

Crossed a rainy bridge into WEST VIRGINIA!!!
Country road, take these mountain mamma's home!!

The first stop in WV was Parkersburg. To our surprise, we found a LEBANESE restaurant! They were so sweet too! They treated us to a delicious feast, and called the local reporter.

Roger came over and interviewed us, and we made the paper!!

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/508771.html

Roger suggested we stay at Mountwood Park. He had a friend there who rented out a beach house for cheap. (by beach, they mean lake)

There were deer frolicking all around us.

Day 76: 65 Miles to Belgium, WV
The morning was so rainy we didn't want to leave our cozy home.

People in WVa are so nice! Like Danny, who pulled over on the side of the road with cold lemonade for us. He used to do bike touring too, and, after chatting for a bit, he gave us the keys to his place so that we could stay there, even though he was going to be away!

He told us that he makes Indian stuff, and not to get freaked out by his things. We biked on to Clarksburg where there was an Italian festival. We watched these cute dancers and grandma pantomime put on a show.

It got dark before we had gotten to Danny's house, and HWY 50, our route, was closed to bicycles because it turned into a big interstate. We hitched a couple miles with some guys who were already hitching with another guy.

Then we encountered another detour, that we couldn't get around, so we hitched once again (only a few miles!) with Doug and Scott. We stopped at their house and got to meet their cool family, who also invited us to stay, but we were already set on going to Danny's.

THANKS!

We finnaly made it to Danny's house, and it was SO cool. He is an amazing craftsman and artist, and also a coalminer.

Day 77: 49 miles to Oakland, MARYLAND

That morning leaving Danny's house, we couldn't find a store or place to get food. We saw a sign which led us to Sandy and Melanee, whose restaurant was closed, but they put on a pot of coffee for us. Then they shared their breakfast with us, and also donated to the cause. THANKS GUYS!!! Their niceness and positive vibes gave us that extra boost to climb 4 MOUNTAINS!!

The Appalachians are our last final hurdle, but they were also a pleasure. The weather was cool and the scenery was so lovely. And the long, windy downhills were SO much fun.

We popped into Maryland for the night and stayed at the top of Backbone mountain.

A nice girl helped reunite us

Day 78: 49 miles, Romney, West Virginia

Early morning at the top of the foggy mountain felt like a dream.

We got to Romney early, but there was no where to hang out, so we ended up hanging out on the lawn in front of the gas station. There we met Sherri, who invited us to stay in her YURT! This was her bumper sticker:

I'd never been in a Yurt before!

Sherri writes books about psychic connections involving people with mental illnesses. She also reads Tarot, and gave us readings.

It's amazing how huge the Yurt is inside. It's like a tent and a teepee mixed with some elegance and class. I slept on the massage table.

Thanks, Sherri!

Day 79: 53 miles to Berryville, VIRGINIA

Today's ride was downhill and euphoric as we crossed into a new state!

Day 80: 69 miles, Washington, D.C.
We rode 40 miles on the W&OD trail. Lovely.

Stopped and had the BEST PIE!

Ceci's friend Laura left Balloons and signs all along the trail..

She even made T-Shirts!

After the party we biked to Anna's house, Ceci's cousin, who is hosting us tonight.

5 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!