Day 63, March 29

 I am so excited for the next and long-anticipated adventure on my list that I may well wet my pants. The bike ride 185 miles along the Chesapeake and Ohio Towpath intrigued me since the day I learned of it almost a year ago. We’ll catch the path in Cumberland, Maryland, and ride it for 4 days to its culmination point in Washington, DC.  Americans in the late 1800's dug canals along which mules pulled cargo from city to city.  This particular water highway for commercial trade which we will bicycle, the C&O Canal, follows the shallow Potomac River.  It fell into decline when the railroads were able to out-compete the canals which were plagued by floods and endless maintenance problems.  Now the canal path is a bike riders delight, and I will enjoy every moment of it.  

We are staying in a campground on the banks of the Potomac River more than halfway along the C&O Canal.  Tomorrow, we'll embark on our week-long adventure by driving to and parking in Cumberland, MD, and riding the mostly down-hill gradient path to the thriving metropolis of Paw Paw where we have rented a room from a canal enthusiastic named Dave.  But I am getting ahead of myself as that is tomorrow's story.  As I will not have my laptop with me, I will do my best to blog from my wee phone but may have to settle with more pictures than verbiage.

Good deeds:  Because we are early in the year for biking the canal path, the National Parks Visitor's Centers along the canal are not yet open to supply me with a map of the canal path.  There are tunnels and locks and lock houses and museums and visitors centers and myriad points of interest along the way which I would like to know of to anticipate.  Finding a small bike shop in town, we inquired about such a map, and the proprietor became quite animated over our adventure.  He searched his store and produced a fabulous book all about the towpath and everything I should expect to see along the way complete with side trips to towns for food and drink.  He told me he was happy to give me the book for free in exchange for a repeat visit at the end of our journey to give him a full report.  I promised to do just that and handed him $20 which he tried to refuse until I told him that he needs the money as a small business owner and I need to do something kind for somebody today, whereupon he graciously accepted.  Finding new friends is a huge part of the fun we experience daily.  Next I passed along to my next-door neighbor and new campground friend all the fresh fruits and veges from my fridge.   And finally I let the lady behind me take my turn in the long and very slow moving line at Walmart.  She had three young boys hanging off her, and I remember well those tiring days.  She was most grateful.  Cause that line was moving very very slowly.  

Three amazing things:  1- I have planned this rather complicated week ahead with intricate detail as it took some time and maneuvering to make all the pieces fit together.  Where to start and stop the trip, where to eat each meal and sleep each night, where to safely leave Bambi for a week, and what to do in DC over the Cherry Blossom Festival that we will participate in.  Which clothes to pack since we'll be going to church on bike in DC this Sunday, getting panniers for the bikes, and figuring Amtrak tickets for the brief trip we'll make to/from New York City to watch my grandkids play at Carnegie Hall next Monday.  Oh, and what to do with our bikes in DC while we train up to NY?   How to shuttle us and our bikes back to Bambi at the end of our adventure, and a million other details and logistics that comprise this exploit all had to be ironed out.  And now, after so many months of planning, we're here and about to embark!  Oh how will I ever get to sleep tonight!  2- Realizing that we needed last-minute supplies for the bike journey including cold and wet weather gear, we had to make a trip into Walmart this evening, that nasty place I find myself at all too often.  We are not close to one, so with some frustration we set off for the long drive only to realize at the check out counter that neither of us were in possession of our wallets.  By the time we returned to the trailer for wallets and then back to Walmart then home again...well, tempers could have been short, words could have been said, blame could have been placed, but instead, my sweetheart and I shrugged and laughed and enjoyed the journey.  He's such a darling.  3- My sweetheart hadn't been in this new campground long at all before he made friends with the single guy camped next door.  We continue to meet thoughtful, generous, kind souls everywhere we go on this USA tour.  New friends are a delightful treasure.  As is a charismatic husband.