Greg & Camille Go Bike

Train from Wilmington to DC after work on Friday the 21st.

Saturday spent with the family.

Morning walk with Erika, Camille, Greg & Carly.

Afternoon trip to the natural history museum. Greg enjoyed the exhibits exploring the depths of the oceans and learning about some of the terrifying and amazing mammals from our not too distant past.

Morning walk with Erika & Carly Biked to Erika's new co-op/apartment and received tour from the real estate agent. Split up from parents and meeting up at the wharf. Where's the wharf? We waited not at the wharf for no reason and then eventually found them. No more time, said good byes and had to get biking.

Biked along the water and then by the Jefferson Memorial. Followed the path to Alexandria as we'd done a few times before and this time actually kept going. Lots of people on the trails which was a bit frustrating but some of them had their cute doggies! One had a doggy in their bike's front basket and another guy wore his dog in a backpack while biking. The rest of the way to Mt. Vernon was nice off-road trails with a bit more hills than the Alexandria portion.

We finally made it to Mt. Vernon. Stopped and briefly considered getting food from the food court (we were hungry) but decided the options were lame! (There were a bunch of other options coming up) Instead we got Pizza! Vocelli Pizza was calling to us. They have a Veggie-Palooza flavor and the chef seemed extremely excited to make it for us. He came out and chatted and announced that he just made us the best pizza ever. "I hooked y'all up!" He also told us that his vegan daughter initially asked for it and he decided it really is the best pizza ever. We devoured that pizza right in the parking lot and whole-heartedly agree. We plan to make many return trips.

Oof, we had to climb hills right after eating that whole pizza. Greg felt like a pizza. Ugh. There were some nice trails alongside the road. A bit later we passed through some kind of art park that featured a bunch of artwork on the side of the road. There were a bunch of buildings that looked abandoned but not sure what was inside. A gigantic bird flew overhead and settled on an old smokestack as we left.

We accidentally veered off from US bike route 1 as it crossed a bridge over the Occoquan River. In the distance we could see a foot bridge crossing the river, so we doubled back to check out the bridge. It was a real treat. There was a nice waterfall at one end of the bridge and lots of other people (especially families) enjoying the area. Continuing on, we passed through downtown Occoquan which we agreed was really cute. We stopped at Mom's Apple Pie and picked up a slice of both Strawberry Rhubarb and Blueberry pies.

Most of the remaining route to the hotel passed through neighborhoods featuring a bunch of hills. After leaving the neighborhoods though, we were disappointed to find the I-95 overpass that Google wanted us to take was absolutely awful. There was no shoulder and very heavy traffic zipping by at high speeds. We did not trust biking in the road here, so we biked/walked through the grass alongside the road. We followed a well worn path here which you would think would make it obvious that there was dire need for at least a sidewalk here.

On the other side of the overpass, the last couple miles were alongside big box stores and through a large shopping mall before finally settling in at the Best Western. Shortly after arriving, we joined a call with Camille's family to celebrate her dad's birthday. After, we excitedly ate the pies and crashed pretty early.

We woke up early and had enjoyed the complimentary breakfast as soon as it was served. Setting out from the hotel, we had to start out the day with another I-95 crossing. Not fun, but not as bad as the previous night. Most of the day was spent following East Coast Greenway (instead of the big 40-ish mile detour that the ACA route wanted). We enjoyed a mix of nice wide paved sidewalk/trails in the morning and some time spent on the shoulder of roads. Some roads had very narrow or no shoulders, especially a couple mile stretch as we passed the National Museum of the Marine Corps. We took a brief detour through the museum grounds and stopped at an overlook before continuing on.

Around 8:30 am, we stopped at a Panera instead of our original destination and setup to work from there for the morning. Camille worked while Greg researched routes/accomodations for the next couple days. We ate brunch & lunch here before continuing on at lunch. The next leg of the trip started out with plans immediately changing. Google was routing us into a private neighborhood and the people at the gate house made us turn around. Instead we had to stay on a high traffic major road which fortunately had a passable shoulder.

After less than 10 miles, we arrived in Stafford at the Germanna University library. The library was a relatively small computer room where we setup for the afternoon until the library closed. Camille was excited that they gave her a stress less kit full of snacks (it must have been because she looked so studious).

Back on the bikes for the third time today, we continued towards our B&B in Fredricksburg. The roads were fairly low traffic with some scenic views (including a beautiful marsh), but there were also some very steep hills. We ate the last little bit of our food on a road side stop and discussed our shared ravenous hunger. As we approached Fredricksburg, we passed a Dollar General and excitedly stopped. We munched on some food in the parking lot. Greg especially enjoyed the box of cracker jack. The last few miles were primarily downhill and we arrived at the B&B with plenty of time to spare before sunset.

Camille cleaned up first. After she took some nice bike trails to a nearby grocery store while Greg cleaned up too. The store owner and his buds were creeps. After returning, we had a nice quiet night inside. Camille made some delicious curry and a lot of cous cous (with a little chopping help from Greg) and we watched a couple episodes of The Diplomat. The bed was wonderful and we slept great :)

We decided not to move until the evening and spent the day in Fredricksburg. We spent the morning at the B&B, Camille working and Greg on the computer. Breakfast and lunch were both a combination of leftover curry from the night before and eating giant containers of blueberries and greek yogurt.

Near lunch with checkout looming, we quickly packed up and moved a few blocks to the library. Camille settled in to work there. Greg joined her part of the afternoon and wandered the area a bit as well. Nearby, Eileen's bakery provided both lunch and some tasty treats. He also walked to the local bike shop for some spare parts (master links) and to a nearby ATM to get cash for the ferry. There were a few campground options for the day and we called to book at Leedstown Campground, right on the banks of the Rappahannock River and the Rappahanock National Wildlife Refuge.

After Camille wrapped up the work day, we set out for the campground racing (?) sundown. Today's ride was awful. ACA had us on route 3 while Google had wanted us to take longer side routes. We should have listened to Google. Route 3 started out with an accetably wide shoulder but pretty quickly the shoulder became extremely narrow often barely wide enough to contain our bike & panniers. Meanwhile there were multiple lanes of rush hour traffic wizzing by. We've ridden on on worse roads (East Coast Greenway/US-17 in South Carolina comes to mind), but this was certainly the least enjoyable experience in a while for either of us. Maybe it wouldn't have been quite as bad if not for the rush hour traffic. Oh and at one point a truck appeared to coal roll us (although from the left lane) dumping a large amount of black exhaust only as they passed by the two of us.

At one point along this stretch, we took a metal health break stopping at a farm stand. We picked up some carrots, tomatoes and zucchini. The owner/attendant for the farm stand seemed impressed by our biking and was insistent that "she couldn't do it". She was very friendly and wished us safe travels.

We celebrated finally turning off US 3 with a pee break on the side of the road by a housing development. We were on a lower traffic road now and with wind and a fair amount of hills, but at least this stretch featured some nice views. We especially enjoyed the wildflowers and cattle. Some drivers still seemed to want to antagonize us though with at least one driver featuring a baby on board bumper sticker making the closest pass of the day. Such a consistent commitment to safety...

After passing Port Royal, the road calmed down considerably and we enjoyed a nice relaxing ride through wooded backroads and sparse residences. Shortly before 7:30 we arrived at the campground, greeted by the owner Lori. We appeared to be the only campers present (although there were a fair number of abandoned RVs) and she gave us our pick of campsites. We chose a waterside outcrop and quickly ate dinner and setup the tent. It quickly became pretty chilly so we turned in early and tried to get warm.

It was cold last night and neither of had packed the right camping gear to keep warm (especially Camille) and temperatures dropped to 43 F. Greg just had a sleeping pad & light summer sleeping bag (which he offered to share). Camille had only a sleeping pad and sleeping bag liner. She supplemented by wearing almost all of her clothes. Not a great night for either of us, but we were treated to a beautiful sunrise over the water in the morning and a full choir of interesting and varied bird songs. The campground owner, Lori, briefly passed through in the morning and waved us off.

With the forecast calling for awful weather Friday through Sunday, we were concerned about getting stuck on this side of the Potomac/Chesapeake with minimal options for where to sleep or access to wifi. We decided to push for a longer day of biking to get as close as possible to Crabbe's Charter Fishing with the goal of crossing Thursday morning or night. That meant it would be a 50-ish mile day and we needed to manage around Camille's work schedule.

We started the day with a morning ride from the campground to Art of Coffee in Montross. We spent much of the ride on calm, low-traffic roads through wooded areas and with a short unpleasant stint back on route 3. At Art of Coffee, we set up in their comfy, but noisy outdoor seating and stayed there most of the day. In the early afternoon, we briefly moved indoors for Camille's meeting. We had both breakfast and lunch here and stayed until they closed up at 3 pm. Camille stopped work a bit early for the day and we got on the road around 3:30pm with 40-something miles to go for the day.

While Camille was working, Greg connected with Captain Crabbe to confirm his availability tomorrow and discuss potentially ferrying over the Chesapeake to Crisfield, MD instead of across the Potomac. We were considering biking up the eastern shore of Maryland to get back home. Based on cost (more than dobule), the longer distance (+100-ish miles) and concerns with Camille's knee, we ended up deciding to just cross the Potomac and stick with the original route.

The rest of the day was a bit grueling with a constant strong headwind and a fair number of hills. Thankfully, we largely continued on lower traffic roads through farmland and especially enjoyed the many beautiful fields of vibrant red and yellow flowers. We took a pit stop at the gas station. Greg got some ice cream! Near the end of the day we stopped again for groceries at Dollar General. Camille was jealous from earlier and got ice cream too. As we were considering getting on the main road, an older gentleman asked "Are you biking on the roads around here? You have more guts than I do." We stuck to the back roads most of the remainder of the way to the Bay Motel arriving just a bit before sundown.

There were some folks relaxing in the parking lot chatting and they seemed interested in our trip and impressed that we'd biked from DC. For some reason, travelling from DC they seemed certain that we must "have that good weed." Expecting an early morning, cleaned up, ate some dinner (cous cous, broccoli, tuna, tortilla, almond butter, ice cream) and settled for bed.

We set off from the Bay Motel when the sun was still a hair below the horizon. We retraced the last few miles from the previous day and thankfully the roads were just as sleepy as we felt. Just short of 10 miles we started seeing signs for Crabbe's Charter Fishing and a couple turns later, Captain Crabbe himself! He and his wife Bonnie were prepping the boat for our voyage across. We were leaving from a dock right by their home and it was a really beautiful area. Bonnie pointed out a goose sitting on big nest on a nearby dock. The nest was surprisingly large and easily visible. We learned that Danny had started ferrying cyclists across decades ago after a cyclist randomly reached out. At some point Adventure Cycling Association had added him to the map and now it was a recurring request for him.

Bonnie stayed behind while Captain Crabbe carried us across. It was a short ride and we were thankfully that we were thankfully to sit in an area enclosed on three sides. We were comfortable for the crossing but whipping winds would certainly have changed that. After just over half an hour, Danny docked the boat at the Point Lookout State Park boat ramp. While we were unpacking our bikes, he pointed out a young bald eagle. Apparently, they don't have the white crown until they're getting closer to adulthood. "I'd pet them if they let me."

We said our good byes and were back to moving. The original plan was to go to a Courtney's sea food restaurant (which we'd confirmed the day before had wifi). Courtney's required a 2 mile detour each way though and we had extra time before Camille started work. Instead we made a last minute decision to head for St. Mary's, enticed by the great reviews for Enso's Kitchen. We were a bit anxious about how we'd find wifi for Camille.

Once we arrived, there was a line already queued up at Enso's and while there seemed to be a wifi network available we had issues connecting. In the end, we setup Greg's phone as a hotspot and setup in a comfy spot at a nearby picnic table under some trees. Greg picked up breakfast sandiches and some delicious donuts from Enso's. There were only two flavors of donuts (cinnamon and vanilla frosted cinnamon?) but they were actually really great. Camille realized that the donuts were actually made with sour dough (or something similar). Greg was oblivious but thought they were tasty.

Enso's was in old St. Mary's and there were lots of field trips passing by with teachers shepherding herds of little visitors. We didn't explore too much but could see the foot print/skeletons of a bunch of old buildings and the old town hall. Greg wandered a tiny bit checking out the reconstructed state house and read a few of the informational signs. Apparently, St. Mary's was the 4th permanent European settlement in the US and the original capital of Maryland colony. The settlers first landed there in the 1630s, it became the capital in 1660s and the capital later moved to Annapolis in the 1690s. Today, it's a pretty small town with fewer than 1000 permanent residents and a college with 2400 seasonal students? Approaching noon, our quiet peaceful spot was invaded by a large gathering of history students from the nearby college. We refused to give any ground though and toughed it out despite their noise for more than half an hour.

At lunch, we were back on the road heading to Lexington Park. There were some surprising hills on the way but after less than an hour, we arrived at the library in Lexington Park. We spent the afteroon in the library before moving to the hotel. Camille was cranky and needed a nap. We went to El Rinconcito for dinner. When we walked in there Mariachi music playing and Camille turned to Greg and said, that's how you know this place is legit. She wasn't wrong, the food was great. Camille Filete de La Diabla. Greg had a whole fried tilapia. Both were delicious. After we walked to the Donut Connection for dessert, initially intent on getting some donuts, but after realizing they had iced cream, we pivoted. The employee talked Greg into Mint Moose Tracks while Camille got Cappucino Crunch.

Back at the hotel, we watched some more The Diplomat and crashed early.

The weather was pretty terrible with high winds and visible flooding outside (1-2 inches on the day and flood warnings). We stayed inside with Camille doing a normal work day.

Greg did a couple errands. Walked to the nearby Filipino grocery. Laundry at the hotel: washer was nearly broke; heard/saw a rat in the dryer exhaust tube when preparing to the switch the laundry over (gross!); the vending machine stole his dollar (but he found 75 cents alerady dispensed). At 4, he took a trip to the movie theater to watch the Dungeons & Dragons movie. It was okay. Camille had a short call with her friend Max and then took a ~30 minute walk to the park nearby and got soaking wet.

At night, we watched the end of The Diplomat and the first episode of Beef. Camille finished off the night with a bit more work.

Meals:

• complimental breakfast but no eggs, WTF!
• lunch & dinner were from groceries. fish balls, tomato, okra, Pan de Sal with tuna or ube, ube hopia

We expected a long day of biking. Early start with complimentary breakfast at the hotel. We were packed and out the door around 8:30 am. Passed by a small farmers market (w/ Unforgoatable soaps) and then a quick stop at the Donut Connection. Early in the day we apparently passed through California and honestly, it wasn't impressive. I guess we didn't miss much by postponing the California trip.

The route started of a bit gross biking on the bike lane/shoulder of a heavily trafficked highway followed by parking lot biking by big box stores. We were a bit worried about the rest of the day would be like this, but the rest of the day proved much better. Soon, we turned into neighborhoods which eventually gave way to a mix of farmland and light residential carry us through most of the day.

We were treated to views of lots of animal friends along the route with horses, goats, cattle, sheep, chickens and roosters, plenty of birds (both seen and heard), cats and event a few dogs. One of the dogs gave chase dashing through some tall grass before quickly giving up. There were many puppies for sale as well with homemade signs advertising labs, lab retriever, beagles, poms, jug (pug & jack russel terrier), walker and other puppies for sale. There were signs along the route advertising to look out for horse & buggies and we actually passed by a few (although we weren't shameless enough to snap a close up picture). It seemed like half the houses we passed had a buggy sitting down the driveway and there were tons of signs advertising handmade wood products.

As we approached Charlotte Hall, we picked up a nice bike trail and followed it for ~6 miles. There were more than a few others out the trail including, walkers, bikers and a pair of kids riding around in a gold cart. As we approached the Charlotte Hall library, we enjoyed a nice break on a board walk overlooking a marshy area and snacked on some of our groceries (pan de sal w/ube & tuna; separately...). Quickly stopped at the library but didn't stay long.

Back to the road and we traveled through plenty more farmland. The next 20-something miles were much the same with tons of farms (and many farm animals than we'd seen so far in the trip), some rolling hills and signs of Amish (?). Just after crossing a bridge over Allen's Fresh Marsh, Camille finally picked up her first flat on the new bike with a big chunk of metal sticking out of her tire. We learned that the her tires are an absolute pain to remove and literally snapped one of the tire levers when first trying to get it off. Thankfully we had a few spares. After ~20 minutes sitting in the hot sun, we were back on the road. Not for long though, because the smells wafting from Captain Billy's Crab House enticed us to stop. We shared some delicious fried Haddock, blackened scallops, hush puppies and a no alcohol mango daquiri. Yum!

Next stop was Chapel Point State Park. We were hoping for some nice views of the water, but the little water front that was available was mostly occupied by families enjoying the day. There's apparently a paddle in campsite available here but it was already completely occupied by one of the families. Our original plan for the day had been to stop at La Plata and spend two nights to wait out the storms on Sunday. Neither of us were excited about spending another rest day at a hotel alongside a highway full of big box stores, so we made a last minute decision to carry forward to Indian Head which was right by the water and seemed to have a different tone. This decision did mean that we'd cut off about 40 miles of biking out and back down a peninsula to the south. Maybe we'll save that for a future DC trip.

We now had about 17 miles left for the day and we made quick work of it. The early portion was a bit gross sharing the road with some unfriendly drivers. One lady called us morons when I waved to say hi (they were leaving their driveway). Shortly after, they screeched by and the car following them was so aggressive that they basically forced a hummer coming from the other direction off the road. Along this stretch, there were a lot of fancy gates at the head of driveways and long windy driveways leading up to hidden or cliffside mansions. A lot of the houses just seemed really pretencious and Greg hates all of them. Grrrrrrr. It wasn't too long though before we reached 225 which was pretty hilly but featured a really wide and mostly consistent shoulder. We had a real treat for the last few miles hopping on the Indian Head Rail Trail and some great views of the Mattawoman Creek.

At the hotel, Camille showered and then walked to get groceries while Greg did the same. We were still pretty full from the feast at Captain Billy's (~3:30) so supplemented with snacks: cracker jack, popcorn, yogurt. We started watching Howl's Moving Castle but gave up and went to bed after about an hour.

Camille cooked a delicious breakfast (egg omelette) and later lunch. She finished up some work while Greg had computer time, too. We checked out Clarity Coffee for a couple of drinks, snacks, and games of battleship & chess. After overhearing the barista say he was from La Plata, we learned we were saying the town name wrong (PLAY-ta, not PLAH-ta).

The night before, a man handing out flyers for a local campaign had told Camille that there was a boardwalk in town not to be missed. Just a short walk away, it was sunny, calm, and hot completely unlike the forecast. The scenery was nice with a shady pass through some woods followed by river views with crashing waves. We discovered the reason for the complaint we'd read on a Google review; the board walk truly wasn't functional, just barely recreational. There was no seating or allowed activities, and it couldn't serve as a conneting pathway (it's just an out and back). Nonetheless, we were still glad we went.

After, we walked to the Dollar General Market for a few more snacks (ice cream!) and to pick up a puzzle. Back at the hotel, we made quick work of the puzzle while finishing Howl's Moving Castle. We had leftovers for dinner while journaling and route planning to round out the evening.

TODO

TODO