Sharing Chapters

Photo left: (my photo) We rode with Melanie for a day in Wyoming. A good place for added company. There were very few services.

When touring on a popular route, such as the TransAmerican Trail (established 1976!), you are part of a constant flow of cyclists. Cyclists are traveling east, west, fast and slow. You may see them only for a moment, as you blister down a mountain pass, having time only for a nod and smile of acknowledgement. Or, you may meet them at a gas station, and share a chocolate milk, conversation and a campsite that night. They might be gone in the morning (speedy tourists!), or wave good-bye, because they're going to stay to catch the town's festival. You could meet them once, or many times over.

We met Melanie on the second day of our trip. After dozens and dozens of variables played out, we also saw her again later in Oregon, Montana and Wyoming, but never after that (we took a week off in Colorado). In those places, the chapters of our TransAmerica stories collided.

Melanie sent me these photos that she took of us in Oregon and Wyoming last summer:

A reflection of us taking photos of the halfway-abandoned town that we spent the night in.

A collection of bicycle travelers, sharing space in a mid-renovation building, still filled with nails, planks and sawdust. We didn't mind, though-- we were ecstatic just to be free of the mosquitoes!

We look so clean! This is before we even got to Eugene, OR.

Mia didn't even have her panniers yet!

(She bought a full set of Arkel bags in Eugene.) (Long story.)

These photos are interesting to see, because while they're of us, they're from someone else's memory of their tour. We're characters in someone else's story, and this is how we appear.

Notes from the Tour

I found my stash of cards, notes and addresses from my summer's bike tour. It's just a small sampling of the wonderful people and places we came across.

We got to ride one of these! The ride is A-MAZ-ING. And at the time, sitting on a lawn-chair-style seat sounded MUCH better than our saddles!

Two (married) sergeants touring across the U.S. They each had a child's trailer packed to the brim with gear! We wondered how long it would take for them to shed the excess.

Suggestions written in and torn out of a Moleskine journal.

Her mom, like my touring partner's mom, also rode the TransAm in 1976!

Sami gave me a brown sack full of free donuts. :)

A sweet couple gave us a ride in their truck on a hot, humid day when we were behind schedule. Then they dropped us off (and paid for) a bed and breakfast! WOW!

Then a good friend of mine spotted us another night at a beautiful  bed & breakfast! Perfect timing, we got to rest up before the toughest part of the trip. And it smelled like fruit punch outside. Oh, but the card is from a couple from South Africa that we had dinner with at the B&B. Wonderful folks. They were patient with our story telling. :)

Paul has truly ridden all over the world. Including in the Andes in the heart of winter. Wow. We camped in the same city park that night. He was gone before we woke up in the morning (quick packer, as a skilled touring cyclist would be). We were on his tails for a while, though! We once came within an hour of him-- we knew because we saw his name in a journal that a grocery store kept for touring cyclists to sign. ..but we never caught him. Or maybe we did.

Staying in a Botanical Garden and meeting the amazing people that make it happen was one of the coolest places we got to stay the night!

We could either climb over a 11,500' mountain pass in the middle of a lightening storm.. or stay at Todd and Barb's, have dinner, share stories, do laundry, take a shower and go for the summit (11,500') in the morning. We stayed with Todd.

He's been on the road awhile. I think he was close to (or past?) 10,000 when we met him.

We frog hopped these silly boys for some time.

Our favorite Belgium couple. They were both in their 70's and quite overweight when they began-- but that didn't stop them from riding across the U.S.A! Sure, it took them 5 months instead of 3, but really-- I don't want to hear your excuses.

Riding with a Buddy

This one just about sums up a huge part of our trip:

me taking photos, and Mia being in them.

While there are many ways to experience a tour-- solo, with a friend, two friends, lots of friends, a stranger, people you meet, a guided group-- for me, I am happy that I travelled with a buddy, and of all people, a best friend. 

Because I get to say to someone:

"Hey, remember that time we got spooked by the fog and moved across the street to camp in front of the church?"

"Hey, remember that time we spent like the WHOLE DAY at the breakfast buffet?"

"Hey, remember that bird that landed on your BIKE? And that baby turkey that POOPED on you?"

"Hey, remember that uphill headwind going into Yellowstone when 8mph was all we could muster and we ran out of water? Then we split two candy bars and a soda and had dinner with that really sweet family at the campground and slept in the cab of their truck because we thought we were going to be eaten by a bear like the guy the other week and the kids gave us each a little flower bouquet and a sharp stick.. and THEN we actually used our sharp sticks in Rawlins to open our buffalo salami when we were trying to buy a cheap dinner at a farmers' market but actually kinda spent a lot and I got cinnamon bun you were jealous of so I went and bought you a cookie that was like TWO dollars because I felt bad?"

Those stories don't necessarily warrant a story told to another person-- but I can still get a nod of acknowledgement or a smile from my riding buddy,

"Yeah, that was HILARious."

HERE IT IS!! What We Saw: TransAmerica Bicycle Tour 2009

What We Saw: TransAmerica Bicycle Tour 2009 from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

This summer, my bud Mia and I rode BICYCLES across the WHOLE FREAKIN' U.S. Follow the "TransAmerica Tour" link in the Contents bar to the right to see more photos, read more stories and start planning your own tour.

You're entitled to adventure. So GO GET IT! Stop telling me that you're too old, too fat or too tied-down. We all know that these obstacles have been circumnavigated time and time again.

And please, if this inspired you-- share with others! Whatever your or their adventure may be.

Yes, the show is 20 minutes long-- but it is fast-paced and musical! Stop reading and WATCH!!

By request, the playlist:

1. Funiculi Funicula, Andrea Bocelli
2. On the Road Again, Canned Heat
3. Just a Girl, No Doubt
4. One Red Thread, Blind Pilot
5. Boy With a Coin, Iron & Wine
6. You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
7. Shut Your Eyes, Snow Patrol

TransAmerica Q & A: What did we eat?

One of the most common questions we got about our bicycle tour across the country was:

WHAT DID YOU EAT??

What you eat depends on these factors:

1. Your budget.
2. Calorie/energy needs.
3. Available resources.
4. How many days you've been on the road.

BIG BUDGET & EATING OUT

Convenience and Weight Savings

If you have a plump budget, you can eat at restaurants for nearly every meal. This can be an attractive choice, since you can avoid the chores of cooking, cleaning and carrying all the things you need to prepare a meal (stove, fuel, utensils, whatnot). 

Time Savings

You may or may not save yourself time. Mia and I would spend foreverrr in the grocery store (2 hours!) to find something that 

• A) wasn't too heavy
• B) was filling, 
• C) had enough protein
• D) was at least half-appealing to eat
• E) was affordable
• F) could be cooked on high rather than a simmer, and 
• G) we could agree on. 

Eventually we sent just one person into the store in an effort to hurry up! Oh, and we also had fun trying to avoid TBHQ, a frightening preservative found in a lot of cheap, processed foods. Avoiding high fructose corn syrup, which I ordinarily do, would have been impossible (according to our appetites). 

Options

Eating out may be convenient, but doesn't mean that you are awarded many options. In Wyoming, we came across one diner that was the only food resource for at least 50 miles in either direction. 

Meeting Locals

Convenience aside, eating out is a prime way to meet the locals. While sitting out a rain storm, we ducked into a McDonald's and got to chat with 4 hilarious elder gentlemen who were pretty amused with us. Their southern accents were so thick that I kept asking them to repeat what they had said. Eventually one man said, "You ain't a foreigner, you know what I'm sayin'!" Except.. I didn't. Ha ha! I always brought my helmet inside to encourage such locals to inquire.

LOW BUDGET & 'EATING IN'

As mentioned, we spent a lot of time in the grocery store because we had so many factors to consider. We would have eaten out more often, but we were motivated to eat in so we could:

1. Save money.
2. ....uh, save money.
3. and to maybe get a few more veggies and a bit less deep fry in our diet.

A sampling of what we ate:

BREAKFAST

--Powdered milk + cereal (sometimes cold oats) + fruit (fresh or dried), we had to eat several bowls of this to be satisfied.

--Scrambled eggs, cooked very, very quickly and with great care. (The stove is either ON or OFF.. no simmer!)

--Hot oatmeal + fruit, etc.

We tried to not cook for breakfast, because it took so much time-- but we (I) would be more satiated after eggs or oatmeal than cold cereal, which meant that we were less likely to have to stop for second breakfast in another hour.

A successful tactic that many other touring cyclists used, was to eat a snack when you wake up, ride down the road an hour or two, then stop at a diner to have a hearty breakfast. This got you out of camp much earlier, but required the buck$.

LUNCH

We mostly ate 1 of 3 sandwich options, depending on our mood and needs:

1. PB&J

2. Cheese sandwich

3. Cheese, veggie, & sometimes meat sandwich. When we really craved it. This didn't seem to be very cost effective for us.

SNACKS

--Crackers + cheese

--Cheap granola bars

--Bananas, other fruit

--Snickers, other candy

--Ice cream

--Gummy worms

--Pop Tarts

--Donuts

--Can you see this list degenerating? :)

DINNER

--Pasta & beans, & sometimes a can of veggies.

--Dehydrated soups when we could find it, plus bread.

--Chili & bread.

--Breakfast burritos out of the gas station. Oh, delicious. 500 calories each! I would have two, and a few snacks to top it off. Probably some ice cream for dessert.

Having the Adventure Cycling maps was very helpful, though-- because we could see that a grocery store was up the road, and count on (most times) buying dinner food at the end of the day, instead of lugging it around all day (and up many hills). We only got sorta screwed a few times. Always keep a lightweight emergency food option in your bag (Ramen and some candy bars).

CALORIE/ENERGY NEEDS

One thing is for certain: you will need a LOT of calories! Possibly more than you can imagine. The most important thing is to listen to your body, and if you haven't heard your body talk about hunger before-- you will. If I didn't eat enough at dinner the night before, I knew the next morning and for the rest of the day until I dug myself out of an energy deficit hole. And then I discovered Snickers ice cream bars, which pretty much solved that problem.

Also, don't be overly influenced by how much others you are traveling with are eating. Mia and I found that our "hunger graphs" were slightly different. She was hungrier than I was in the beginning, but soon I was putting down more ice cream than she could-- or would.

 

A quickly rendered and highly scientific display of hunger over time.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

So, you want to eat a vegetable-rich diet with whole grains like usual? I wouldn't count on it. Get used to donuts. This is just SOME of what I ate in the same day:

Gas station chimichanga & coffee.

Pop Tarts.

Soda.

That's salt from the chips I was eating on my fingers.

Don't eat fast food sandwiches that are only 99cents. That was disgusting.

A McDonald's sausage biscuit on the other hand? AWESOME.

We were going to have some plain cheese sandwiches,

then someone gave us cucumber out of their garden!

I ate one almost everyday. Right around 3 or 4pm.

& FINALLY, HOW MANY DAYS YOU'VE BEEN ON THE ROAD

If you have extraordinary discipline and a tight budget, you can live on PB&J and cheese the whole way. For us, we eventually became tired of the monotony and the effort. We ate out more and more as the trip went on and resorted to cheaper and fattier foods to satisfy ourselves. We also found that we spent much more on food and much less on camping than we had anticipated. 

So that's what we ate! Please leave a comment if you have question about something I did or did not cover!

Startled

Every time I come across any map of the United States, I am startled at how big it is. Did we really ride bicycles across all of THAT? No wonder people were so impressed! That's a long way!
How did we become so ambitious?

Say, anyone know some good rivers to paddle? Bicycle-rafting has me curious. I think a ride-paddle-ride tour is in the works.

So Says a Brew Snob

TransAmerica Bicycle Tour 2009, Flashback Memory # 1672:

SCENE: [Mia and RJ peruse a diner menu, calculating calorie to cost ratios, while the waitress approaches the table.]

WAITRESS: Can I get ya'll anythin' to drink?

RJ: Um, yeah. What do you have on tap?

WAITRESS: The usual.

...[awkward pause.]...

RJ: Uh.. what's that?

WAITRESS: [Her face: are you kiddin' me??] Bud. and Bud Light.

RJ: Oh. Okay, thanks. I'll uh-- I'll let you know. Thanks.

TransAmerica Q&A: Where did we stay?

One of the most common questions we got about our bicycle tour across the country was:

WHERE DO YOU STAY AT NIGHT?

Well, that is both totally up to you and quite nearly, totally out of your control. Touring has funny contradictions like that.

For us, we were not only on a budget, but also interested in having a "ground level" experience. Staying at a hotel every night would have been feasible (given that we had money to do it, which we didn't), but it would be a wholly different tour. In a hotel, you can always wash up, always sleep well and never meet the locals. On the ground, you make personal sacrifices (those daily showers and a soft place to sleep) to realize that you're really not making much of a sacrifice. Indeed, you make a profit. A profit of creativity, insight, willpower and new conversations. All worth the 'price.'

To cut to the facts, here's the pie of where we stayed:

• State parks & private campgrounds
• City parks
• Homestays
• Churches
• Fire stations
• Someone's yard

STATE PARKS & PRIVATE CAMPGROUNDS

The west was full of state parks and recreational areas. We were also still pretty green to touring. As a result, we stayed most at 'official' state parks and private campgrounds. Some had special hiker/biker rates, some did not. We paid anywhere between $4 per person and $23 for one tent. Though the host at the Virginia City RV park tried to tell us that we had two tents. ???

CITY PARKS

Once we hit Kansas, we stopped seeing state parks or any private campgrounds (or any postcards, for that matter!). Instead, we learned that most towns allowed cyclists to stay in the city park! (Think TOWN park. This is small-town America.) Most towns just ask that you let the police know that you're there. As a bonus, most parks in Kansas come with a POOL (thus showers) and were usually free for cyclists.

FIRE STATIONS

We heard that the local police could be helpful in finding us a place to camp in town, so sometimes we just went straight to the police station to ask where we could pitch a tent in town. If the town was accustomed to hosting cyclists, a police officer would direct you to the city park, as usual. However, we also found that police can be kind of stingy about the law. Which is good, I guess. But fire fighters aren't!

Fire fighters are AWESOME. They're often happy to let you pitch in the grass or they might even invite you inside for a shower and a truck tour. 

HOMESTAYS/SOMEONE'S YARD

Acquiring a homestay is part luck, part art.

• You're more likely to find a homestay if you're actually in a pickle. Such as a stormy forecast or pending darkness. You're not going to get a homestay because you're being lazy or a wimp!
• Take off your sunglasses. People want to see your EYES and see that you're trustworthy.
• First, ask indirectly. "Do you know a safe place, out of the rain that we could pitch a tent?" This allows the person an 'out,' or an opportunity to say 'no' if they're not willing or able to host you. 
• If indirect inquiry fails with several people, and you're becoming a bit desperate, be more direct. "Could we just pitch a tent in your yard? It's getting dark and we can't ride any farther. We'll be out really early in the morning."
• Know your customer. For Mia and I, we look quite harmless and as young women are perceived as vulnerable. We're more likely to be helped by a mother who is concerned for our safety. If you're a scruffy guy that could pass for a bum, you're more likely be to be helped by a scruffy guy that kind of looks like a bum.
• Be genuine. Maybe it sounds contradictory at the end of this list, but I don't like to be manipulative, just honest. I just lay my situation flat out there. 

CHURCHES

Traveling on a well-established Adventure Cycling route, we found many churches that were accustomed to housing cyclists. These churches were often prepared with a cyclist guest book, a donation box, a place to shower, cook, launder and even access the internet. Don't expect ALL of these services at every church you encounter, but at the very least, you can at least find a safe indoor space to sleep. On a 3-month tour, THAT is luxury enough!

HOTELS, BED & BREAKFASTS

The only hotel that we ever stayed at was on a goof-up day. We somehow got off route and rode at least 50 miles on the Blue Ride Parkway instead of 30. The Parkway is beautiful, but lacks services and certainly is NOT flat, as it follows the ridge line of the Appalachian Mountains. Anyhow, long story short-- it was dark, the area looked sketch (unsafe), and for the first and only time on our trip, we paid for a hotel (and ordered pizza).

However, we were the recipients of jaw-dropping kindness when we were put up in a bed and breakfast, first by complete strangers, then again by a treasured friend of mine. We will always remember those experiences vividly and fondly. The timing could not have been better, as it quenched our thirst for rest before tackling the notorious hills of the east.

Do you have more questions? Leave a comment!

A state park near Yellowstone.

On a popular route, you're more likely to meet other cyclists!

Some parks are quite nice!

Other parks are quite basic.

In a church, be sure to ask first where it is appropriate to sleep!

This church asked us to not use the pew cushions, but sleeping between the pews was fine.

Except on Saturday night. ;)

A storm chased us out of our campsite,

so we ended up in this barn instead!

In Charlottesville, we had a hard time getting a yard or homestay until we started asking directly. We thought that it would be easy to find a place to crash in a college student housing area, but we forgot what a bubble colleges can be. People looked at us like, "and WHY are you asking to camp in my yard?" We finally succeeded when I explained what I thought was obvious, "we've been riding our bikes since Oregon."

If you're fortunate, you'll have the opportunity to stay in a unique place

like this botanical garden!

We were riding to an Illinois town with no real plans on where we would stay

when we were caught by a group of recreational cyclists.

We traded phone numbers and Greg was kind enough to take us out

to pizza, then let us stay the night!

When we arrived in Baker City, OR-- we weren't sure where we would stay because there was a huge motorcycle rally going on that weekend! Every campground and hotel would be booked to the brim! Before we even had the chance to ask anyone, Joy found us and invited us to stay! We even took a day off in Baker City and enjoyed our time with Joy and Ray.

The most luxurious and appreciated night I have EVER had.

A surprise courtesy of a friend.

The ONE TIME we booked a hotel. Of course it rained the next morning.

We had to walk our bikes for 2 and 3 miles downhill because our brakes wouldn't work

on the wet, oily streets. And then I walked through Poison Oak. Good thing Mia knows what it looks like!

Things I Learned on Tour

TransAmerica Bicycle Tour, Looking Back: Things I Learned

I am both more capable and more vulnerable than I ever knew.

After pedaling over 4,000 miles to the east coast, swimming in Atlantic waters leaves one empowered. If I can adventure by leg power and good wits across a continent, what else can I do? What's next? BRING IT ON!

Swimming in Atlantic waters can also leave you a bit cocky.

I can do ANYTHING now!!

That over confidence, fortunately, is tempered by wind, rain, lightening storms, cruel climbs, hairy descents, mechanical problems, impatient drivers, hungry stomachs and sores in very unfortunate places. For three months we were

e x  p    o        s       e    d .

While we did travel successfully and smartly through many remote places, it only took one bum tire in Booneville, KY to realize-- CRAP. This trip could fall apart as instantly and unexpectedly as this tire.

We met a cool kid in Virginia who had.. ALMOST.. ridden across the country. Only ONE WEEK away from finishing, he and his friend became dehydrated to the point of puking. It ended their trip.

So as we neared the coast, only days away from finishing-- I just kept reminding myself. It just isn't over yet. Every single day takes both determination and luck. Every day.

But, boy. When you-- if you do-- you look back and see. DAAAAng. I woke up each morning with determination and luck on my side (okay, maybe I wasn't so determined EVERY morning. Especially at the end there, I thought real seriously about renting a car and sagging Mia for a day because that dang knee, you know.). Anyhow. I woke up each morning and DID IT! Even if by just barely. WE did it. 

I am, we are-- more capable and more vulnerable than we know.

Hoosier Pass, CO

TransAmerica Bicycle Tour, Looking Back: Hoosier Pass, CO

In the West, climbs were in the styles of passes. You went up up up, saw an elevation sign, then went back down down down. Having a racing background, we were usually unfazed by "small" passes-- those that top out at 5 or 7,000 feet. But boy, in a small town-- people were sure impressed, if not confuddled (I made that word up).

"You're going to go up THAT on a PEDAL BIKE?!!"

"I wouldn't be able to ride A MILE up that thing!"

"You're NUTS!!"

In one little town, Virginia City, MT, is where we heard the worst of it. The whole town dropped their jaws at the idea of even THINKING of riding a bicycle up the hill just out of town. We started to become a little wary. This is the most we've heard about a hill. How bad could it be?

Answer: we got to the top and wondered if there was more. I had buckled in for a pain fest and it never came. We were up in 20 minutes. The MOST talked up hill of the entire trip was the smallest "pass" we had gone over.

BUT! Oh, ho! When we were in Frisco, CO, where bicycles permeated every street, people told us not to worry.

"Oh, Hoosier Pass? Yeah, don't worry about it. It's not that bad."

"Hoosier Pass? I ride up it after work. It's not a big deal."

Um, excuse me folks-- this is the HIGHEST POINT ON OUR ROUTE and you're trying to tell us that it's NOT A BIG DEAL?!!

And actually, it wasn't so bad! It was only the last 2 miles that got nasty with switchbacks. I had to attack them at race pace to get up. And don't forget that my bike and gear weighs at least 80 pounds instead of under 20 like my race bike. And each time I gulped down water, I had to gulp down some air immediately afterward due to the high elevation. And I did stop once to take a break, but I did ride the whole thing. Really, not bad. ;)

Windy Wyoming

TransAmerica Bicycle Tour, Looking Back: Wyoming

It is fascinating to learn that every state can leave a surprisingly dissimilar impression on each touring cyclist. When we were in Yellowstone, we met a charming Belgian couple in their early 70's who were riding the TransAm (so stop assuming that it's a trip for "young people"!). They had happily just left Wyoming. For them, Wyoming was a place of wind, endless sagebrush and little services-- and so it became their least favorite state.

And yes, it was windy.

And there was a lot of sage brush.

And there were very little services.

But I LOVED Wyoming!

I rode with the horses for miles.

I adored open space for miles.

The landscape was fascinating for miles.

Maybe it would have been nicer without the wind.

But, no really--  I love riding in elements. Wind, rain. The mind wanders on a long ride, picking up random things to ponder. Like that black tar line that shows up in patterns on the road. What is that all about? 

But when there is wind or rain or some other challenging element, it naturally narrows my focus. Soon what I am thinking about is riding, not about the last movie I saw.

And I like that.

It's coming, it's coming!

TransAmerica Bicycle Tour Update

Wow, have I really not blogged since Kentucky?

I think I'm going to miss referring to my life by states.

"Oh yeah, that was Wyoming, remember?"

Well, suffice it to say that WE FINISHED! 

In the next week or two I'll be sifting through photos, sharing the stories that I had no time to post. I'll also try to create some more 'useful' posts that talk about practical points like what we ate, where we slept, what we carried and what not. Also, stay tuned for a grand finale slideshow! I'll be sharing a 20 minute version with friends, but will probably have to snip it down to 10 minute for uploading here on this blog.

Now.. I have 4,000 pictures to sort through.

And that's not really an exaggeration. 

A Touring Cyclist's Brain

My brain can handle the ever-changing and contrasting life of bicycle touring. I like to not always know where I'm sleeping that night, but having faith that I can 'figure it out when I get there.' I like eating what's available and meeting whoever's around. But the other day, we were leaving a large town after half a day of errands and my brain was on a full tilt whirl. It was like that one time I had 3 or 4 Redbulls while studying in college. Except without the Redbull. Then I got back on my bike-- and even though I had to exert brain power to safely navigate through traffic and find my way out of town-- I was suddenly in a place my brain knew. And I was okay again.

Here's a smorgasboard of events:

We had to drive to Lexington, KY to buy a new tire.

We're in Virginia!

We eat ice cream before dinner!
(and I have it at least once, sometimes three times, a day.)

We had McDonalds that morning.. and this for dinner.

And tonight, we are spending the night at a botanical garden.

And tomorrow, we go up 'VESUVIUS', by far the MOST talked up hill of the entire trip.

Says a cyclist, "it will probably be the hardest hill you ever climb in your life."

Current location: Lexington, VA

Thank You Posts

I've been thinking a lot about my Thank You Posts lately. Sometimes it seems that I am writing strings of Thank Yous which makes the touring life seem far more plush than it is. And then I think about those who have helped us, looking up this blog, seeing their Thank You after 5 other Thank Yous and feeling like their help perhaps wasn't needed. And then I skip a Thank You, because maybe the readers are bored of the Thank Yous, but I never forget how I never wrote a Thank You post for that one awesome home stay (i.e. Todd & Barbara in Frisco!) and then it just gets awkward to go back.

Basically, the dilemma is:

1. appropriately thanking people
2. without making them feel like their help was just a drop in a bucket
3. and without creating misleading ideas about bicycle touring
4. and not boring readers.

Hm.

Currently blogging out of Steve and Erica's place in Blacksburg, VA. (So close! ..yet so far away.)

There will be a huge backlog of photos, thoughts, reviews and more to come soon!

Snug Hollow

Okay, this is going to make us sound quite spoiled after posting about our stay with Greg and our hitch to a bed and breakfast, so here's a picture to make you feel sorry for us:

Oh, wait-- that's my free sundae at the Bluegrass Festival.

There! This is what our typical 'accomodations' look like these days. Good ol' concrete pavillion and the storm of the century goin' on all night. You're lucky if you can find a spigot and fortunate if you don't feel compelled to clutch your pepper spray all night. And food? We've now eaten at McDonald's TWICE in one day. The sausage biscuit is actually not bad. And the dollar menu is a real deal! ..anyway..

We were totally BLOWN AWAY when a good friend of mine texted me,

When you get to a town tonight
find a hotel, a nice one,
and call me with the phone number.

I wish she could have seen us. Our smiles just about blew off our faces.

We didn't mean to pick out SUCH a nice one, but Snug Hollow Farm-- "an organic farm with 300 acres of glorious wildflowers, creeks, abundant wildlife and the simplcity of country life.."-- was perfectly where we needed to stop. Berea was too early and the next town was much too far.. come to think of it, we realized that we would have to either fall behind schedule or strand ourselves in the middle of no services. The timing was incredible. And to top it off, she even bought us fresh-out-of-the-garden dinner, complete with wine, dessert and pleasant company.

We loved EVERYTHING about Snug Hollow.

• Barbara, the InnKeeper, charming yet direct.
• The house held an infinite amount of treasures to discover.
• The property actually smelled like "fruit punch".. seriously.
• A REAL dinner and a REAL breakfast.
• Other travellers to meet.
• We got to sleep in seperate rooms!
• We stayed until checkout time.
  

THANK YOU,

Laura!