We made it!

After a few days of quiet anticipation, we finally rolled in to Portland, Maine last Friday. It was exhilarating and amazing to think we had come so far and reached our goal!  Our ride through New Hampshire and Maine was really beautiful as we encountered more rolling hills and lush foliage than earlier, by the canal.  The villages we passed through had histories that went further and further back as we went east.  There was signage at almost every turn at times, pointing put historical markers from colonial and revolutionary times. We celebrated Portland by eating lobster ( Tino loved it...I thought it was overrated...), walking through old town and along the waterfront, and touring lighthouses.  It is a beautiful town, and we learned our way around pretty well in 4 days. Our host, Luke, was wonderful, allowing us the use of his car for the time we were there, and the weather was perfect for walking, sitting in outdoor coffee shops and drinking wine at a sidewalk table in Old Town.  Then, we took care of some business, sending home a box of items, and repacking our bikes for the train ride to Boston.  We took the train from Portland to The North Station in Boston, but our host here lives in Peabody, so we too another commuter to Salem, where we barely got off with our bikes before the train started moving again....whew!  Our host, Deb, met us at the station and took us to her beautiful, quiet home here in Peabody.  She has a pool, so we got a quick swim in, and a little sun bathing before she cooked us a gourmet meal.  So nice!!!!!    She is so sweet, and took us to the train station again the next morning so we could explore Boston.  In Boston we walked the Freedom Trail, and ate lunch in a tavern that supposedly started in 1636 or something....so cool!!!  We saw the USS Constitution, and Bunker Hill, and climbed the monument to look out on a foggy day in Boston from way up high.  Today, we will spend the day getting our bikes ready for the plane tomorrow, and this evening Deb is taking us to the beach to see the Atlantic one more time and have supper outside.  What a wonderful way to spend our last week out here! We are very thankful for such gracious hosts, that have become new friends....what a blessing they are!  

Home tomorrow night!  Can't wait to see everyone again!  It has been a long and wonderful summer, but I missed everyone!  Here are some pics of some of the last of our adventures....( for now).  :)

New York State...and starting week 10!

We had a great time hanging out with friends in Cambridge Ontario. We enjoyed 6 days of rest, fun, laughter and good times catching up.  Thanks to Rob, Rhonda, Emily, Ben and Jake for such a nice break!  Unfortunately, I lost my pictures that I took, so I can't post any at this time.  I was able to recover some, but can't figure out how to post them on this blog.

   We went to Niagra Falls with Rob and Rhonda, who dropped us off there, so we could continue our journey.  New York has been a great state to bike in, with bike routes clearly marked and great shoulders.  We are making good time, following the historic Erie Canal all the way across.   Since we left Michigan, we have entered a land where towns are called villages, and church spires reach up from quaint downtown squares. Where towns are only 10 miles apart, and Victorian homes line most of the streets.  It is also the land of 90% humidity and funny accents....(yes, THEY have the accent!) :)

We reach Portland within the week!  Hard to believe we have come so far.

Coffee time!

Niagra Falls

Good friends

Strolling in Paris!

Lake Ontario

Leaving at the border.

Riding along the Erie Canal

Canal locks

Wow!

Beautiful upstate New York

Old graveyard...gravestones from the 1700s!

Lake Michigan, Rail Trails and Canada.

We continue to meet sweet people along our way, like the man who was sitting by us in a small cafe, and bought our lunch when he found out we were bicycling across the country.  We stayed with such gracious hosts the night before we crossed Lake Michigan, who provided us with a gourmet meal, and a hearty breakfast on the morning we had to wake early to make it to the ferry.  Our first glimpse of Lake Michigan was through a cloudy haze, and it was beautiful, as it's massive size blended into the horizon.  The ferry ride was great, and the first thing we did was go into the quiet room and take a nap!  The crossing was 4 hours long, so we had plenty of time to rest, relax and take in the aura of the last coal fired steam ship ferry still working in the US.  

Our tour through Michigan was like a love-hate relationship.  Either the roads were sweet and indulgent, as in paved bike paths for miles and miles, or cruel and abusive, as in gravel shoulders, rough patching and rude traffic.  We enjoyed an entire day of 80 miles or so on rail trails that ran through the quiet countryside.  However, the side roads were almost impossible to ride at times, and some of the main roads had only gravel for shoulders. 

We had another interesting chance encounter that led to a beautiful place to stay one night.  The process went something like this,,,,

   We looked up hotels online for a small town called Memphis, Michigan. Only one was listed, so we called the number that was advertised. The lady who answered said the hotel hadn't been operating for several years now, and we had reached the bar that used to be attached to it.. Tino asked if there was a campground in the area, and she said she didn't know but she handed the phone to a guy named Ed at the bar, who said we could probably stay in the city park. When we got to the town, we stopped at the bar and asked for Ed, and bought him a beer while he told us that he forgot there was a blues festival in town, but if we wanted we could stay at his parents' place in the gazebo by the lake, to which he gave us directions.  We arrived completely unannounced at Ed's parents' place, introducing ourselves by saying, "Ed said we might be able to set a tent up here for the night."  Without even raising an eyebrow, Clyde, Ed's dad, simply nodded, and showed us around the place to the bathrooms, showers, and chicken coop, from which came the fresh eggs we ate the next morning.  Sweet!!!

     We had heard that the Sarnia Crossing into Canada was busy and could be a bit sketchy for cyclists, so we decided to take a 40 mile detour and cross at Marine City with a ferry going across the St Clare River. We stopped at a pub for burgers and drinks before a short ride on the car ferry into a quaint, small town called Sombra, Ontario.  The second half of the day was more difficult, as we headed north again to Sarnia, since we had a pretty heavy headwind, along with bad smelly air from the refinery, making it unpleasant.  But after a good night's sleep at our host's house we woke refreshed and pushed on to a campground that night, then to Rob and Rhonda's place, old friends and welcome faces as we rolled into Cambridge. Enjoying some much needed r&r with good friends before we head out for the last leg of our trip.

Our ride across Lake Michigan, The Badger.

Oh yeah.....

Another state line!

Beautiful rail trails.

Almost impossible roads..trying to share this with traffic on a loaded bike was an adventure, for sure...

A chance encounter leading to a beautiful place to pitch our tent for the night!

Happy to be "home".... For a few days, anyway.