Day 64, March 30, Chesapeake and Ohio Towpath bike ride

 After a 2-hr drive to the starting line, finding safe parking for the truck for a week, buying lunch, and packing our bike panniers, we finally set out on this epic 185+ mile bike ride into Washington DC. The day started with cold drizzling rain, but the sun came out and shone on us for our afternoon ride, and we arrived in the small township of Paw Paw, WV, tired, hungry, sore, and thirsty. We will stay the night with trail enthusiast Dan at his Bed & Breakfast and after a hearty breakfast in the morning will resume our eastward trek along the Towpath next to The Potomac. 

Has been so beautiful and so full of history and so remote as we travel through thick woods full of wildlife. We saw osprey, egrets, blue herons, wood ducks and geese, cardinals and blue-winged teals and kingfishers. Then there was an entire herd of white-tailed deer. Oh, and maybe a million turtles sunning on logs. Oh, and awesome beaver dams all up and down what remains of the canals. Then there’s the rich history of the canal which operated for almost 80 years. More than once Aaron and I could almost see the ghosts of men driving their mules as they plied goods up and down the canal in barges. Every couple of miles we came across an aqueduct or a rebuilt Lock Home where men aided the barges through the locks. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the Towpath, and it is only occasionally that we see anybody at all. It has been everything I expected and hoped for. We will surely sleep well tonight. 

Good deeds: Jessica, the manager of Fairfield Inn of Cumberland, MD, was very generous to allow me to park my truck in their lot for a week free of charge. The public parking lot looked quite sketchy to us. To show our appreciation, we gave her a Costco sized bag of cashews as well as a bag of sugary to-die-for banana chips. I also gave another generous  tip to our server tonight. She looked at me askance with that “seriously?” look on her face, but then I smiled and she smiled back and she winked her gratitude. 

Three amazing things: 1- The sheer number of turtles we passed on the canal blew the circuits in Aaron’s sweet head. He absolutely loved all the wildlife we enjoyed coming across and scaring up. 2- Dinner was a lovely home cooked breakfast meal of omelette, eggs, bacon, fries, and a slice of blueberry pie to share, all for $14. All served in the ambience of an old Victorian home turned restaurant with one cook/owner and one server. Gotta love old-town rural America where the only shopping option is Dollar General.  3-While we are definitely feeling our age and are quite sore and tired after only 29 miles of biking, still we’re upright and healthy and capable still of making this trip. For that I am most grateful.