Cumberland Maryland to Washington D.C. on the C&O Canal Trail

Friday May 25^th

We tried to sleep in but the train tracks very close to our hotel window and there were a lots of trains early in the morning.  We walked down the street and ate breakfast at the Queen City Creamery.  They also make their own ice cream!  We had eggs, bacon, fruit and a scone.  It was nice to take out time and read the local paper.  There is a huge bluegrass festival just out of town this weekend called Delfest.  We thought about going but decided we didn’t really want to contend with 12,000 people!  Lots of people at the hotel are either her to bike or for the music.  

We took a walk after breakfast and found the C & O Canal trail which is going to be the path for the second half of our journey.  We went to the Visitors Center for maps and toured the Canal Exhibit.  It was very informative.  I am getting more excited about riding the trail after learning more about the history of the Canal.  My father has ridden this part before 12 years ago with my stepmother.  He is looking forward to riding it too.  Then we walked around the Canal area and downtown for a while.  We walked across the river and up the hill to an art museum and enjoy a show by a local watercolor painter. There were lots of paintings of local scenes around the canals and boats and the mountains.  

We did a loop around that end of town and found our way back to the Queen City Creamery for a cup of their homemade ice cream.  I had something chocolate with malted milk balls and it was very good.   The temperature was getting hot so we went back to the hotel for a nap and to write postcards.  My father had broken a brake cable the day before so we put on the spare I was carrying.  We had to borrow a pair of wire cutters from the hotel.  Later we walked down the central pedestrian street to hear the free music.  At one end a country band was setting up so we walked to the other end where the school jazz band was playing some fine tunes.  

We decided to have dinner at the Crabby Pig down by the canal.  And we enjoyed some good fish and ribs.  Then walked back through the music and listened to a local rock band play Squeezebox by The Who.  Then I had a beer at the local pub and walked back to the room.  It was really nice not to have to ride today, especially in the heat of the afternoon.  Unfortunately they don’t have the hotel pool ready just yet.  An evening swim would have been just the ticket! 

Saturday May 26

We are up fairly early and head down to the hotel restaurant for brekkie but it’s full so we walk over to the Creamery but it’s closed.  We go back to the hotel and our favorite receptionist tells us the Crabby Pig is open.  She works there too.  So we pack up or bikes and ride there.  We have eggs bacon and potatoes and lots of tea and water.  We jump on our bikes and we are off down the C & O Canal Trail!  The sky is clear and soon we have the canal on our left and the Potomac River on the right.  The trail is not quite as well groomed as Allegheny but it’s nice and shady.  

We encounter our first mud puddles but they are not too bad.  Henry warned us about them at the top of the mountain.  The hot dry weather has dried them up some.  We are riding downhill from about 688 feet down to sea level.  Downhill al the way!  Cool!  We just cruise along passing lots of locks an an occasional road to a town.  The locks are very cool.  They are a very ingenious way to move boats and and down stream.  They are sturdy and easy to operate.  It’s very cool to see them up close.  Some of the canal still has water in it and some of the locks are closed and some open.  

At lunch time we leave the trail on the recommendation of our next innkeeper and ride a half mile down the highway to Paw Paw, West Virginia and have lunch at the Gas Station Deli.  There is a big car show going on and lots of people around.  We order ham n cheese subs and cottage cheese then we talk the lady into selling us some english muffins and cheese to bolster our thin food supplies.  As we are having lunch the car show has a car parade outside our window.  So we have lunch and a show.  

Then we bicycle back to the trail and right around the corner we come to the Paw Paw Tunnel.  It’s 3,118 ft long and built at much cost with about 5 million bricks.  There is a ranger standing at the entrance who encourages us to walk our bikes through and gives some history while we are digging out of lights.  I was glad to have a head light and a bike light as there are no lights in the 2/3 of a mile long tunnel.  It got pretty dark in the middle and you can sense the canal just over the wooden railing to your left and hear lots of water dripping and running down through the weep holes in the roof of the tunnel.  The wooden railing of worn from years of towropes dragging over it and the trail surface was pretty rough with many puddles. It seemed like we walk forever until finally we emerged into the light at the other end.  

We mounted up and rode the last 8 miles to Little Orleans to complete our day of 43 miles.  We were unsure whether Little Orleans was up the road from the 15 Mile Campground.  We rode an extra mile down the trail and turned around and rode back.  Then we went up the hill and through a short tunnel to Little Orleans and Bill’s bar.  They told us our Little Orleans Inn was to the left, down the hill, over the bridge, left again and up the hill.  Finally we made it!  And there was Steve and his dog Brandy to greet us.  We cleaned up and rested then Steve drove us back to Bill’s where we waited forever to served some pretty unappetizing fried chicken and onion rings.  Al least the beer was cold!  We drove back to the Inn and Steve set us up to watch a video about the history of the Canal.  It was interesting and then we read until bedtime.

Sunday May 27

We slept in a bit and Steve served us great French toast made on his homemade bread with fat sausages.  It was really tasty.  We were back in our room and decided that we liked this place so much that we will take our day off here instead of taking 2 nights in Hancock.  Steve was amenable to that.  Then he drove us up the mountain to an overlook were we could see the whole 6 mile loop of river that cutting the Paw Paw tunnel eliminated on the C & O Canal.  

Back at the Inn I found a copy of the book Under the Tuscan Sun last night and spent most of the morning reading it.  We had lunch on the porch and walked down the road for a swim in the creek.  It was much warmed than I expected it to be.  We swam in a pool next to the road with a series of culverts moving the water under the road.  We found that we could sit in the gush from the culverts and get a water massage.  It was wonderful.  We walked back up the hill and read some more.  I am really enjoying Under the Tuscan Sun.  It talk a lot about my favorite subject.  Food!  

Then Steve offered to drive us an another guest Martin to another restaurant for dinner.  We drove to Berkeley Springs, WV and ate at Tari’s Café.  I had some tasty crab soup and roasted eggplant on pasta.  Very nice.  It started to rain very hard while we were dining.  Steve insisted on running to get the van and picking us up.  The rain slowed down quite a bit by the time her returned.  But it continued to rain through the night, very hard at times, with lots of lightning.  We read and listened to the rain on the roof until we slept.

Monday May 28

Steve served eggs, underdone potatoes and bacon this morning.  But the rail has stopped so we load up and ride 10 miles into Hancock.  We decided to ride on the asphalt trail that runs parallel to the trail here because of all the rain.  It was strange being on the hard of the Western Maryland Rail Trail, but it had very informative signs and got us into Hancock very quickly.  

We ask a local guy how to get to our hotel and rode up to the Comfort Inn on the hill and showered then we ate or usual lunch.  We biked down the hill to see if the Hancock History Museum was open.  It wasn’t, so we crossed the street to Weaver’s Restaurant and Bakery and had a dish of orange sherbet.  We rode back to the hotel for a nap.  Then we rode back to Weaver’s again for a dinner.  I had a piece of their homemade caramel apple pie with vanilla ice cream.  It was really tasty.  There is almost nothing as pleasing as really good pie!  Then back to our hotel for the night.

Tuesday May 29

The morning was warm when we started and it was predicted to get hot.  This may be our first hot riding day.  We continued down the paved WMRT from yesterday until it ended in a parking lot with no instructions on how to get back to the C&O Trail.  Nice!   We decided to ride down the auto road to the entrance to Fort Fredrick State Park.  We should be able to find the C&O Trail there.  We rode a couple of miles and some very steep hills and finally turned into Fort Fredrick.  I took a tour of the fort.  It was pretty basic and I was the only visitor so far that day.  The people in costume were very informative and helpful.  

About an hour later we were back on the C & O Trail.  It feels good to be back on it.  I like the gravel and don’t mind dodging the occasional mud hole and fallen branch.  It’s very pretty, even thought there isn’t much water in the old canal bed.  The Potomac River on our right is very pretty and there are people in boats and kayaks floating down fishing.  It’s fun to listen to them laughing and calling to each other as we spin by.  Soon we have ridden the 25 miles to Sharpesburg and the weather hasn’t gotten to hot.  There are afternoon thundershowers predicted but we are ahead of them so far.  

I use my phone GPS to locate the Red Roof Inn.  It’s a mile away from the towpath along the auto road over rolling hills.  We clean up and are resting while we decide where to eat dinner when we hear a big clap of thunder and the rain come down in buckets.  After some debate we call the Chinese restuarant across the street but they don’t deliver.  We find a pizza hut in the next town and order a large ham and mushroom pie.  Forty minutes and they will have it at our door.  They are pretty close.  The rain has stopped but it’s still nice not to have to go out find dinner.  We watch Tv and read until bed time.

Wed. May 30^th

Today we are riding 22 miles down to Sharpesburg, MD which is the site of Antietam which was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  There were about 23,000 casualties, missing dead and wounded from both sides.  The sky is clear as we ride back down the road and onto the trail.  Soon we are riding through puddles and mud and soon my feet are wet, but I am enjoying it.  The air clear after the storm and everything is green and lush.  By lunchtime we arrive at Sharpesburg and ride up and up and then down and up again and finally we find the Antietam Guest House and no one is home.  We leave a message and sit on the front porch and eat our lunch.  We haven’t heard back yet but discover the front door is unlocked so we go in and find the phone number for Antietam National Park.  It’s only a mile up the road so we dump our packs in the hall and ride up to the visitor’s center.  

They have a great movie and then we get a map and bike about halfway around the guided tour.  It’s a fascinating and somber place.  It’s has been carefully maintained so it looks like ti would have looked during the battle.   We go back to the visitor’s center and tour the exhibits and then bike back to our rooms and the hostess has returned.  We get the tour and the lowdown on restaurants and I settle in front of the TV to check the weather.  It looks pretty good for tomorrow but not so good for the rest of the week. A little later we walk down the street to and have a beer and some good jambalaya for dinner.  We walk around the corner to a shop that makes it’s own ice cream for dessert.  Then I walk around to find the post office so I cam mail some postcards.

A little more TV, and soon I am yawning so I look through the bookcase, but most the books are bible or history oriented.  I find an Amish cookbook and head up to my room.  We have separate rooms tonight and it’s a real luxury.  I read Amish recipes until my eyelids get heavy and then dream of Amish feasts!  God night.

Thursday May 31

We have cereal, fruit and tea for breakfast and then walk a few blocks in search of a Mennonite Bakery.  After asking for directions we find it and it smells great inside.  The shop, is staffed by three or four women dressed in the long skirts and the hair bonnets of the Mennonite tradition.  We each order a pastry and walk back to our rooms and eat them with another cup of tea.  They are delicious!   

We tidy up the kitchen, load our bikes and ride up and down the hills and back to the trail.  It’s a fine morning and some of the mud has dried up on the towpath.  Soon we come to section of the trail that is in bad condition and we have to take a six mile detour onto auto roads.  We ride up the hill between a red barn and a beautiful stone house, which looks well kept but empty.  We ride around the barn and down the driveway.  A Park service truck is pulling in and they stop for us, so I ask them about the house.  They reply that the Park Service now owns it and the have repaired the outside but it’s empty and they will just let the inside rot away.  It’s too bad as it’s a wonderful structure.  We say goodbye and pedal out onto the auto road.   

We ride along on country roads over rolling hills with almost no cars, then we go around a corner and start up a steep hill.  I pass my father and ride to the top and wait and wait.  Finally I go walk back down.  He has bike flipped over and is working on something.  I walk to the bottom and he mis-shifted and has jammed his chain badly on the rear wheel behind the chain rings.  We try to pull the chain free but it’s stuck and a few cars whizz by so I carry the bike across the street to a driveway where we are on flat ground and out of traffic.  We try everything we can devise to free the chain but we can’t get much leverage with the wheel on the bike, but can’t take it off because of the jammed chain.  Finally I get out my chain breaker and take a link out of the chain and we are able to unthread the chain and take it and the wheel off the bike.  Then we both stand on the tire and by pulling on both ends of the chain we are finally able to yank it back out.  I check and there is no damage to the chain or the gear teeth.  So we put the tire back on, rethread the chain and put the link back on.  We run the pedals and it feels good.  

As we are cleaning up a young guy comes out the house attached to the driveway and comes over to see if we need help.  Turns out he is from Dade City, Florida but recently bought this house.  We have a nice conversation and then we are off up the hill again.  We make it back to the trail without any trouble and it’s great to be away from cars again.  It really is wonderful to ride with out having to think about cars other than when we cross the occasional road.  We pin on down to trail and about lunchtime we find ourselves across the river from Harper’s Ferry where we are spending the night.  In order to get across the river we have to carry our bikes and gear up a winding metal staircase to the railroad bridge above our heads.  We remove our bike bags and carry our bags up.  Then go back down for our bikes.  We reload and ride across.  We are now also on the Appalachain Hiking Trail which runs from Maine to Georgia.  

We ride across the bridge which shared with an active railroad track but divided by a fence.  We can see some kayakers taking a break on an island in the middle of the river after running white water above.  We wind down the other end of the bridge and we are in the historic section of Harper’s Ferry which is mostly a National Park.  Because this is where John Brown raided the armory for weapons and tried to start an uprising to abolish slavery in our country.  We ride up the cobblestone street to our hotel The Towns Inn.  We are early but we ask if we can get into our room.  We have to wait on the proch for a while but it is pleasant in the breeze.  The sky is a perfect blue and it’s warm with a gentle breeze to keep us cool.  We are shown to our room which has bunk beds and the bathrooms and showers are one floor down.  I look and all the rooms are set-up this way.   Kind of an odd set-up!  

We clean-up and go across the street to a pub for lunch.  We sit on the porch looking over the river at the mountains and enjoy a local craft beer and a sandwich.  We decide to tour the historic district after lunch we walk back down the hill and onto the bus that goes up the hill.  We get there only to discover that it’s just a visitor’s center and parking lots!  We buy postcards and get back on the bus down the hill.  We tour a lot of the houses which are set up with exhibits about the history of the town, the construction of the railroad, the canal, the making of weapons and John Brown and his raid.  It’s all very interesting and we continue viewing until we have seen most of the exhibits including on about how Merriweather Lewis gathered his supplies here before meeting with Clark to find the Northwest Passage and explore the Pacific Northwest.  Very interesting place with lots of history.  

We walk up the street for ice cream and then go back to our hotel and read until dinner.  We walk next door to the restaurant attached to the hotel and sit in the courtyard.  We have a nice conversation with a young couple who came up from Washington to go rafting.  They had a great time on the river.  She works for FEMA so we talked about that.  Then they left and we enjoyed our dinner and then went for a walk up the hill.  This is a very pretty town with lots of historic buildings and wonderful architecture.  We find a beautiful catholic church.  And walk up a path and find ourselves at Jefferson Rock.  We share it with a young couple as the sun is setting.  You can see a long way up the Shenandoah Valley.  The Shenandoah River connects with the Potomac River at Harper’s Ferry.   It’s a great view with the sun setting.  We walk further up the path to a local cemetery.  Then back down past the remains of an old church as the lightning bugs are beginning to flash.  

I decide to walk up the hill and soon realize that there are no more pubs open so I return to the Town’s Inn and have a glass or porter and talk with some other bicyclists.  The weather forecast is for storms beginning in the afternoon possibly severe and continuing over night.   We are only riding 10 miles to tomorrow but have to ride the final 50 miles of our trip on Saturday.  Some of the others are riding 50 miles tomorrow.  I say good night and take a hot shower and attempt to crawl into the upper bunk in the dark.  There is not much headroom and a railing but finally I wiggle in.  There is no light up here so I read by headlamp for a while and the doze off.  It’s been a really terrific day!

Let’s hope the weather doesn’t get to severe for the final days of our ride!

Friday June 1st

Well it’ looks very stormy today.  We have eggs and bacon next door for breakfast and look at the weather forecast.  Rain predicted for the day and severe storms for the afternoon and evening, but clear and no rain tomorrow.  So we decide to stick to our plan.  So we load up and ride five miles down the road to Brunswick, MD where there are a few restaurants.  We are staying in a Lockkeeper’s house tonight with no water or electricity.  It’s five more miles down the trail.  

We have decided to hang around town for a while and then order a couple of hot calzones to take to the lockhouse for dinner since we have to way to cook anything.  The weather is holding off so far so we walk around town and find our way to Beans in the Belfry which is an old church that has been converted into a coffeeshop.  It’s very funky and comfortable.  We order tea and settle into comfy chair with the newspaper and spend a couple of hours reading. We ask the owners if there is a newsstand nearby where I can get a magazine as we are going to be in a lockhouse for the night.  They tell I me can just take a book from their shelves.  I find one of stories from Roald Dahl’s childhood (he wrote  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).  Then we walk down to the pizza shop but it’s still closed.  We ask at the firehouse across the street and are informed that it will open soon.  We walk down to the visitors center and tour their canal museum.  It’s small but very well designed. 

 Then we walk back to the restaurant and they are just unlocking the door.  It’s just about noon and we order a calzone and a Stromboli and sit down while they bake them.  We get them to wrap them up well and bag them for us and we walk back to our bikes as the sky is getting dark in the west.  We load the food and start the five miles to the Lock house.  Two miles down we begin to hear the patter of raindrops.  We get out our raincoats and speed the remaining three miles.   

The rain is just getting started and we get our gear onto the porch just before the clouds cut loose and the rain comes pouring down.  We look through our information but we can’t find the combination to the key lockbox.  There is a phone number on a sign so I get phone out and call it.  There are s series of phone mailboxes to leave messages about the different lockhouses, so I leave a message in the right mailbox and hang up.  I notice that I have a voice mail so I call it and the message is from the Park Service that they emailed the wrong code and here is the correct code for the lock box.  What good timing!  I get the key out erase the message and unlock the door.  We are in!  So I leave another message on the Park Service voicemail that we are in.  It’s railing very hard and the sky is very dark.  We open some of the shutters so have some light and settle in.  We still need a flashlight at the table to see what we are eating because of the dark clouds.  We each eat half of our hot meal and have some dried fruit.  We have to lockhouse ourselves tonight and there are two bedrooms upstairs.  I choose the front room and pull out my sheet, make the bed and settle in with my book and flashlight to read and listen to the rain pounding on the roof.  It’s wonderful to be warm and dry in a 200 year old wood and stone house between the Potomac River and the Canal with the lightning booming and the rain pouring on the roof!  

I take a long nap and the go downstairs.  It’s still raining hard so I settle into a rocking chair.  And we watch the rain and the trains on the tracks on the other side of the canal.  For at least an hour there is freight train on the siding while commuter trains from Washington D. C. rush by.  We relax and read until there is too little light to see.  Then we eat our dinner of cold calzone and peanut butter bagels by flashlight and head back to bed to read.  It’s been an interesting day.  Once again I fall asleep to the sound of trains.

Saturday June 2

We went to sleep early and are up with first light and the early trains.  The rain has stopped and the air feels very clear.  We have our PB, Cheese and Bagel Breakfast, use the Port-o-let outside, sweep out the Lockhouse as instructed and at 7:30 we begin our final day on the C&O Canal Trail.  Soon we are dodging puddles and dripping trees.  But the sun comes out the sky is blue and we splash through puddles and slide around in the mud but keep a steady pace down the trail.  I send a text to friends from St. Petersburg who are visiting Washington that we will be riding into town this afternoon. 

 We stop to look at the beautiful Monocacy Aqueduct.  It’s a stone bridge that carried the C&O Canal over the Monocacy River.  It is a lovely structure and the Monocacy and Potomac Rivers are running high and muddy from all the rain last night.  We ride on 35 miles to Falling Waters Park where the C&O skirts some very rough waterfalls on the Potomac River.  We stop and take a well deserved break.  We eat lunch from our packs and watch tourists load on a replica canal boat that was built in Albany. NY where I used to live.  Then we walk out to see the falls.  They are tremendous with lots of water thundering through many chasms and channels and lots of blue herons out fishing for lunch.  

We walk back and load up to the pedal the final 15 miles and around the corner is another detour around trail repair.  Another couple of staircases to climb.  This time there is a board running up one side of the staircases so I am able to push the bikes up the stairs with out taking off the packs.  We ride along and old asphalt road that is very old and rough.  This is continues for a few mile until my butt is sore from bouncing.  Then there are more stairs down.  I run the bikes down and we are back on the Towpath.  The trail is much dryer here be we have to ride slower because there are lots of walkers and other bicyclists.  There are also lots of kayakers in the canal and on the river.  We work our way down into the Washington. 

We are just past lock number one when I see my friends Peter Belmont and Laurie Macdonald on bikes headed our direction.  They have come to ride the final miles of out trip with us!  IT’S great see them!  We exchange hugs and talk about the ride for a few minutes and then ride on to the Francis Scott Key Bridge.  Peter takes our picture and we leave the trail with plans to meet them later and ride over the bridge and on the Streets of Arlington about half a mile to The Inn of Rosslyn and 51 miles later our ride is done!   The clerk at the Inn takes our picture and gives our room keys and we clean the mud off our bikes, put them in our room and relax for a while.  Then we walk up the hill and settle into a sidewalk table at Red Hot and Blue Barbeque for a dinner of pulled pork and their own brew.  I am going to meet Peter and Laurie later so I have a bowl of Brunswick Stew.  The sky is blue and clean and the temperature is dropping so we walk back to our hotel and relax.  

A little after 8 pm Peter and Laurie call me and I ride back across the Key bridge and into Georgetown to meet them at their hotel for a drink.  I have to ride through the traffic snarl and throngs of people of the Friday night bar scene.  It’s very strange and a little unsettling after the peaceful ride on the bike trails.  I arrive alive and set on the steps for a few minutes until I see them coming up the sidewalk.  We walk into the Tabard Inn and it’s a very cozy place with a fireplace and a nice restaurant.  I can see whey Laurie likes staying here.  We settle on stools at the bar and order some microbrew beer and hummus and chips.  We spend a couple of hours talking about bike trips and our ride then I say my goodbyes and ride back through the wildness and traffic of Georgetown and over the Key bridge to our Inn.  I take a quick shower and fall exhausted into bed.  The ride is done!  What great ride!  Good night.

Sunday June 3^rd

We have bagels and tea and donuts for breakfast and since the Inn doesn’t have an airport shuttle on the weekends my father walk off towards the subway with a map from the front desk.  I fold up my bike and get my gear all packed and watch a documentary about the making of the movie Animal House.  It’s a funny film.  A couple of hours go by and my father has not returned with the rental car.  I begin to move all out gear to the front hall and outside.  Another half hour goes by and finally he rolls up in a midsize rental.  We squeeze one folded bike into trunk.  It just barely fits!  And the other on the back seat with garbage bags to keep the upholstery clean.  The rest of gear goes in the trunk.  

We check the room and I set us a course for Kentuck Knob which another Frank Lloyd Wright House on the way to where my van is parked.  We miss a couple of turns but finally find our way to the Interstate and off we go.  We stop in Cumberland and have lunch at the Crabby Pig again.  We see our friend from the hotel and say hello.  Then we drive to Kentuck Knob and enjoy and ice cream and then the house tour.  It’s different from Fallingwater but still very lovely and a fascinating design.  We tour the sculptures on the ground and I see my first Andy Goldsworthy work live.  

Then we drive on the Boston, PA and get there just before my GPS runs out of battery as the rain starts.  We decide to drive down to a bar by the trail and eat.  We have a sandwich and a beer and the rain stops while we are eating.  We drive back to my van and it rains again but  it finishes as we begin to unload.  My father sorts out his gear and the Yough Shore Inn owner Lynn comes out with some letter for me.  I get her permission to camp there for the night and we thank her.  My father has al his gear sorted.  The bike and some other stuff will ride with me and the rest goes on the plane with him.  We hug good bye and he heads for the highway back to Washington D.C. Where he will catch a plane home tomorrow.  I am sorting gear and backing the van when about 10 minutes later he shows up again.  There is a tree down in a power line blocking the road out.  I get out my maps and find him a new route.  

It takes me about 45 minutes to sort everything and pack the van.  There is no sign of my father so I bike back down the bar for a couple of drink then ride back and it has gotten very cold!  No sign of my father  so I climb into BEYOND pull of the bed and my sleeping bag and crash hard.  The first part of my trip is over it. Has been great to ride with my father. I will miss him during the rest of my trip.  Have a safe smooth fight home Pop!  See you in July.

Boston PA to Cumberland, MD on the Great Allegheny Passage

June 5

Hello Friends and family.  We made it all the way to Washington!  Here is our adventure:

Mon    May 21

We are up early after kind of a restless night in the Oriental Room at the Yough Shore Inn.  Our hostess Lynn puts out a breakfast buffet at 7 am and we feast on bananas, cereal yogurt, bagels juice and tea.  

Then we check our packs, put everything extra in BEYOND load our bikes and at 9:am we hit the trail under a cloudy sky.  The weather forecast is good and we head off in the same direction as we rode yesterday.  We set a steady pace and we are off.  

There are fewer people than yesterday afternoon and we see lots of rabbits, birds, a beaver, muskrat, squirrels, and a few kamikaze chipmunks.  They run across the road right in front of you and barley miss being squashed by your front tire. 

The have the beautiful Youghigheny  River on our left and on the other side of the river is an active railroad track.  We are riding on a railroad track that was turned into a bike trail.  It was the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. 

It was built to bring coal and other goods between the East coast and the Ohio River.  It eventually beat out the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and caused it to be abandoned.  The towpath was turned into a bicycle trail as well and we will be riding it on the second half of our journey. 

We stop along the way for pictures and to read the informational signs along the way.  We pass two small waterfalls on our right.  One on which run down whitish rocks like a mineral was being deposited from the water.   The second waterfall runs down reddish rocks like it is depositing iron on the rocks as it falls.  Interesting how different they are!

Soon the sun is peeking through the clouds and we roll into our first town.  It’s West Newton, PA.  We deiced it’s too early for ice cream so we roll on.  We see a few other riders but not as many as yesterday.  T’s wonderful too be able to see the different moods of the river as we ride.  There are often train rolling along the other side of the river.  Quite a few freight trains.  We steadily pass houses, farms and fields and soon we are thinking about lunch.  

We decide to eat at the next town and ride on … and on.  There are no crossings here.  My GPS says there is a Pizza Hut half mile from here but there is no road crossing!  So finally we find a picnic bench and eat granola bars with peanut butter, nuts and dried blueberries and Nutella.  Glad we had some supplies!   

I call our hotel to tell them we are getting close.  We are about 8 miles from Connellsvile where we are spending the night.  After a rest we ride on in.  It’s good to see a town!  We have finished our first 31 miles and it’s 3:30 pm.  My phone GPS guides us to the Greenwood House once I get it set for bicycle it works pretty well.  It’s on the main truck route into town and pretty noisy.  

No one home so I call again and the owner says to go to the house across the alley and Ursula wil let us in.  I go over there and no one is home.  I am getting irritated and I really want to remove my bicycle shorts and take a shower and I am sweaty and my butt is sore.  Ursula rolls up in her car and let’s us in and it feels great to wash and sit in a comfy chair.  Ursula tells us that Bud Murphy’s across the bridge has great pizza.  

Our hostess shows up and we get settled and pay.  We are asking about how to get to a supermarket and Bud Murphy’s while watching the sky get very dark.  Our hostess offers to drive us to the restaurant on her way home and we can walk back past a super market.  It’s just about half a mile.  We go for it and soon are sitting in a booth at Bud Murphy’s drinking a cold Iron City draft and eating salad.  Soon we had a tasty pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza.  It was very tasty pie.  We took two slices to go and headed back.  

The rain was elsewhere so we walked to the supermarket for cheese and bagel thins.  We stopped at the Dairy Inn for ice cream and they gave us huge scoops for $4.  What a deal.  We walked back to the room and we were still the only people there.  The TV didn’t work but there were DVD’s so we watch The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind then crashed for the night.  It was a good first day!

Tues.  May 22

The trucks started rolling about 5 am so I moved to the recliner in the living room and sleep for another hour and a half or so.

There was a small fridge and sideboard in the living room and all the breakfast stuff was there.  We had cereal, bagels, juice and fruit.  Not too stiff or sore this morning!  We load up and are back on the trail by 9 am under more overcast skies.  It’s almost chilly this morning but just out of town the trail starts to climb gently up the Allegheny Mountains.  We down shift one gear and head up.  It’s not much of a change but we are definitely going up.  

Today we are riding 29 miles today but we will climb all day.  There are lots of signs about the coal mining and the history all the railroad and we see the remains of a series of coke ovens up on the hill.  We have the trail to ourselves and can hear the rapids in the river.  We see a few canoes and fishermen along the way. Lot’s of birds, squirrels, chipmunks along the sides.  A few other bikers come along the other way but nobody going our way.  

Soon we cross a long bridge over the river and stop to watch rafts and canoe shooting the rapids below.  The sun has come out and warmed the air and it is a perfect day to be biking or running rapids.  We bike on into the town of Ohiopyle and stop beside their old train depot and our lunch.  Cheese, bagels, nuts, PB and granola bars.  I bring out the dried cherries today.  They are really great to put a bunch in your cheek and slowly chew on.  

We walk around town and find and ice cream store.  We drove through town on our way to see Falling Water.  This is a very pretty town.  They have god ice cream and home made dark chocolate coconut clusters!  After and hour we get back on the bikes and ride the 12 miles into Confluence, PA.  We have to ride across a bike- pedestrian bridge into a sweet town and down a quiet pretty street to the Parker House.  

There was no one there so I called an soon the owner drove up and showed us around.  It’s a big place and we are the only ones there.  We clean up and settled on the patio under the trees with a good book.  Soon we are both dozing so we go up to our room.  After a short nap we walk across another pedestrian bride to the other part of town to a local diver bar for a beer n burger.  The local characters have lots of opinions on the weather and questions about our trip.  We have a nice chat with them and walk back to the House.  

We are still the only ones there.  We find a TV room and settle in and watch the weather forecast and then watch Deadliest Catch for a while.  Then we head to our room and read until we fall asleep.  Another good day on the Passage.  We climbed all day but the grade is only about 1.5% and we made and are feeling good.  The weather forecast is good for the morning then possible afternoon showers.  Good night.

Wed May 23

We could hear the trains in the night but not too loud and we slept well.  Breakfast is not included here so we walk back over the bridge to Sister Café for breakfast.  I order pancakes and get three huge cakes!  I eat maybe two and am completely full, maybe too full.  We walk back, load up the bikes and get rolling.  It’s a beautiful clear morning and going to get warm soon.  We are riding through some grassy fields as well as forest today.  

We are continuing our climb as this will be 34 miles of up today.  We soon say goodbye to the Youghigheny River.  She has been singing sweetly in our ears the last few days.  I will miss her.  We cross some other bridges over pretty streams and spin our way up the mountains.  This is our longest uphill day.    We have to detour around the 849 foot long Pinkerton Tunnel as it closed.  They have huge equipment working ontop of the tunnel.  Soon we are spinning on up the trail. 

 Before we know it we are rolling into Rockwood were we stop beside the trail under a gazebo and eat our usual lunch.  There is a bike shop and hotel across the trail, which has a series of bicycle wind vanes on the roof spinning in the breeze.  Today has gotten warm and it’s nice to have lunch in the shade with a little cooling breeze.  I ly down and close my eyes for a few minutes then we saddle up for the 20 miles into Meyersdale. PA.  Up we go and soon some clouds start rolling in.  It’s cools a little and we feel a few raindrops, but  it’s just enough to cool us down.  

Soon we come to the Salisbury Viaduct which is a 1908 fott long bicycle bridge on an old train trestle.  We are way up over farmers fields, a highway and train tracks.  We breeze over a farmer spreading silage and the stink of manure wafts up to us.  We roll on dodging occasional raindrops and soon we round the corner and there is the old Meyersdale Depot.  

We park our bikes and walk inside.  They have historical exhibits, postcards and some cool train dioramas.  We get directions to Yoder’s Hotel and zoom down a steep hill and around the corner there it is.  Again no one is there.  I call and leave a message and we walk across the street to the Dongess Motel and Drive-inn and get big scoops on mountain berry ice cream.  As we are finishing them up I see a truck pull up to the hotel.  It’s our hostess.  We pay up, put our bikes in the basement and head up to our room.  It’s a very plain hotel with apartments as well.  Our room has a bed and a fold out couch.  I take the couch and we take a nap.  We are almost to the top!  Tomorrow we will cross over.  

After a nap we walk to Missy’s diner and decide to have the soup and salad bar.  I try the chili but it is very sweet.  I am not a fan of sweet chili so I go back and try the cheeseburger soup.  It’s okay but not my favorite either.  At the salad I pick some purple things which I think are beets but come to find they are hardboiled eggs that have been pickled in beet juice.   I try the Italian Wedding soup.  It’s a nice chicken veggie soup.  I have some canned fruit for dessert.  We walk around the town then head back to room and rest read and watch TV until bedtime.  

Most of these places have cable TV which I don’t buy at home so I get hooked into some of these program I don’t see at home like Deadliest Catch.  Soon we call it a night.  We just have a five miles more of up!  See you tomorrow.

Thursday May 24

We get up and cross the street to the Dongess for breakfast.  We have been warned that the pancakes are even bigger here.  I felt weighed down by the cakes yesterday so I choose eggs, bacon and rye toast.  It’s a good breakfast.  Just what we need to pedal back up this steep hill to the trail.  

Soon our bikes are loaded and we shift way down and head up.  This is much steeper than the trail and I am out breath when I get to the trail.  It’s a relief to be back on the gentle incline of the Passage!  It’s overcast again and threatening to rain on us this morning but we pedal on and over another high bridge then we see a short tunnel under a road it’s painted with a mural about the Eastern Continental Divde.  We made it!  We started our ride at 720 feet and just about 100 miles later we cross 2392 feet and preare to head down the 24 miles to Cumberland. MD at 600 feet.  

We stopped and talk to Henry from Chicago.  He started in Washington and is headed for Pittsburgh.  He says there is lots of mud and puddles between Cumberland and Washington.  We tell him that he will enjoy the beautiful ride down ahead of him.  Soon we jump back on our bikes and start the run down to Cumberland, MD.   We fly through the 3294 ft Big Savage Tunnel.  It has been renovated and has lights but it’s still a fast run in dim light.  Very cool!  I had fun taking pictures as I zoomed through.  

Then we have the 957 ft Brush Tunnel that is not lit.  This one is really fun but too short.  I think I have some pics from this one!  Soon we fly into Frostburg and stop for lunch.  We eat our lunch by the trail, then decide to walk the half mile up the hill into town.  We go up the hill and find the old depot where the tourist stem train out Cumberland stops and we check out the ancient turntable they use to turn it around for the run back to Cumberland.  

We find a store with ice cream and have butter pecan and walk back to our bikes.  We want to get down before the afternoon rains start.  We have a lovely run down along the steam railroad train tracks.  We are glad the train is not running today!  There are quite a few people riding up from Cumberland.  It would fun to ride up and zoom back down!  Be reach the bottom and ride along a river and cross a bridge and in in Cumberland.  With help from my GPS we ride through town and find the Holiday Inn.  

This is Memorial Weekend and we are going to take a rest day tomorrow.  So we pay for two night and learn there a manager’s happy hour in 30 minutes.  We clean up and head down for $2 draft beer and free pizza, wings and hot soft pretzels.  The hotel managers are there we ask them lots of questions about what see and where to eat during our stay.  After we eat I do a load of laundry and watch tv until it’s finished.  

Then I take a walk to a local bar for a beer.  It’s a good selection of beer but the place has no charm.  So I finish my beer and walk around the downtown.  It’s pretty well buttoned down for the night at 9:30 pm.  So I hea back to the room and soon call it a night!  We have now finished the Great Allegheny Passage!  We will rest tomorrow and on Sunday we wil ride the C and O Canal trail down to Washington D.C.  Hope you all had a fun Memorial Weekend!

The New River Bridge and Falling Water House

Sat 5/19/12 I am awakened just before dawn by a musical chorus of birds in trees above BEYOND. I listened for a few minutes and then dozed off again until the light was up. I peeked over the edge of my bunk and my father was still asleep. Very unusual for me to awaken first. I could just see the top of his hunter orange stock cap peeking out from the top of the blanket. When I turned over and rocked the van he woke up. It was chilly so I had him turn on the furnace. I hadn’t used it lately and was happy to feel the warm air surge out of the vent. Soon we were dressed and warm and back from the bathroom. I made tea and my father took his weekly special medication were he can’t eat or drink and thing but water for 30 minutes. He also has to stay up right so we sat and listened to The People’s Pharmacy on the radio. It was an interesting program. Soon we were on the road again. Back on I-77 headed north. We took the short cut north on 19 to I-79 with be at the helm. We had to stop for gas and the station also had good ice cream so I bought us a couple of Magnum bars. The ones with the vanilla ice cream, gooey caramel and a chocolate coating…yum! At 9:45 am we were back on the road with ice cream in hand! We were flying along and then we dropped down on to an amazing bridge over a deep gorge and the New River. There was a visitor’s center and park so we pulled over and spend a while there. They had a nice exhibit and the history of the area. Lots of logging and coal mining and now white water rafting and kayaking. They also talked about the amazing bridge we just drove over. It spans 3030 ft across the gorge and the roadway is supported by a single ach that is 1700 feet across and almost 900 ft above the river. It’s truly spectacular. We walked down the boardwalk to get a better view and some pictures. As we walked back up the stairs my father needed a rest so we sat on a bench and I wrote a post card. When we got back in the car he ate some energy gu and we got underway. He fell right to sleep for an hour. He woke up hungry so we stopped at the nearest place. Pizza Hut. We had salads and Hawaiian Pizza. We took half the pizza with us and drove on into our campsite near Morgantown, WV. We have been in two really clean places so far and this doesn’t measure up. We ended up in an overflow site which was fine but right near the road and a long way from the restroom, except for a pretty nasty outhouse. My father was not up for a hike so we researched Fallingwater, which is Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous house. We are very close and decided to drive over in the morning. I had a faint internet signal but was able to make a reservation for 11:30 am. We also researched the bike route from the C&O Canal trail to our hotel in Arlington. Seems like a fairly straightforward ride, and less than 2 miles. We will be staying at the Inn at Rosslyn. I made us a salad and reheated the beans and rice and pizza for dinner. There read and crashed. But it was fairly quiet and we slept well. Sunday 5/20/12 We woke up about 7:30 and I made tea while Pop did his medicine then we got on the road for Falling Water. We are very excited to be going to see the most famous of frank Lloyd Wright’s houses. Falling Water was built right over a 20 ft waterfall. We set our GPS and off we went. It took us over hill and dale through some really beautiful landscape. We stopped to photograph one beautiful old farmhouse and to buy blueberry yogurt for breakfast. We rolled through Ohiopyle PA which will be one of the stops on our bike trip. It looks like a very fun little town. It was also exciting to finally cross part of the trail! It looks very cool. Four miles further down the road we pulled into the driveway for Falling Water. Finally we are here. It’s about 10 am and our tour is 11:30 so we break out the food and have brunch and tune in a classical music station. Violins, cereal, blueberry yogurt, peanut butter and Nutella! Yumm! At 11 we walk up to the visitor’s center and check-in then stroll on down to the house. We walk down a mossy walkway surrounded by mountain laurel and around a corner and there it is! Falling Water. It is just as amazing in real life as in the famous photos. The house just hovers of the waterfall and leans into the hillside above the stream. Just lovely. We are allowed to take photos only outside the house so I walk around and take lots of shots. Then we join our group of 15 and our guide leads us in. It is wonderful that the owners left the house furnished when they gave it to the Penn Conservancy. It is wonderful to see all the art and the furnishings. There are paintings by Picasso and Diego Rivera amongst others and at least one Tiffany lamp in every room. The house is full of windows so your gaze is directed outside in every room. It really does push you to enjoy the surroundings. Frank Lloyd Wright also built in most of the furniture. All the couches and desks and fireplaces are all permanently place and there are places were the natural stones from the site are incorporated into the house. It truly is an amazing structure. I encourage everyone with a love of architecture, art and design to make a point of visiting. After out tour we poked our heads into the gift shop, then walked back to BEYOND. We loaded up and headed for Boston, PA (look for McKeesport, PA on the map) where we are starting our bicycle adventure. We drove over some very steep and twisty roads. Past old country churches and blooming flowers. Until we arrived at the Yough Shore Inn on the Youghagheny River. We unloaded and met our host. Lynn has decorated each room with a theme. Everything from Jungle to Las Vegas. We are in the oriental room. It’s a fun place. We quickly unload and get into our bike clothes. We get our bikes out and go for a warm up ride toward Pittsburgh. It should be about 25 miles to that end of the the trail. It’s a lovely afternoon and we quickly find the trail turn right and off we go. It’s a dirt and gravel trail and there are lots of other bicyclists and walkers going in both directions. The river is on out left and there are lots of blooming flowers. I can smell honeysuckle and wild roses. We pass a few small waterfalls on our left as we cruise along. We set a good pace and soon we rock mile markers are steadily flying by. We ride about 15 miles and I am wondering why the surround area seems less inhabited. We are supposed to be headed for Pittsburg. After an hour and about 11 miles my father decides to take a break. I ride on and soon I reach the town of South Boston and realize that my fears were correct. We have ridden in the wrong direction! Damn! The Bass- Akward Boys strike again! I ride about 2 miles back to were Pop is resting and we head back down the trail. We just have to laugh about it. Well at least we will know which way to go in the morning! On or ride back we see a female wild turkey walking along beside the trail. We get off our bikes and watch but she has absolutely no fear of us. I have never been this close to a wild turkey. She is quite beautiful! After a while we ride on back to Boston and our Inn. We shower off the dust and I make us pasta witch clam sauce. We eat dinner and watch the Pelican Brief on tv. Now this will be the last installment of my log until we finish the bike trip. I will not be hauling my computer with me. If I find a computer along the way I will post a few thoughts. I will be back in early June. Wish us luck!

Great Allegheny Bike Trip

Allegheny Bike Trip 5/17/12 My father and I are off on another adventure! We are driving from Home in Florida to Pittsburg, PA. From there we plan to bicycle to Washington D. C. on the Great Allegheny and C& O Canal Bike trails. So here we go....! We loaded up BEYOND and drove out of St. Pete at 10 am on Thursday morning. It was overcast and a nice temperature to be on the road. We had smooth sailing up to Crystal River where we stopped at the Park for a pee and to stretch our legs. Amazingly my father had never seen this Park! I was please to be able to share it with him. Then back in the saddle and we drove up 121 to 25 to 301 and stopped just short of Starke, FL for a quick lunch at Subway (my father loves Subway!) A quick tuna sub on whole wheat and my father takes over driving. I was sleepy from being up late the night before so I lay down on the floor in the back of BEYOND for a nice nap. I work up when we stopped for fuel just before getting on to I-95 and took over the helm. 10 minutes later we drove out of Florida and into a Georgia rainstorm. We were pounded for a few minutes and then it rained fairly steadily until we pulled off I-95 and headed to our campsite in Rincon, GA. We found our spot and relax for a bit. Since the rain was over and the sky clearing, we decided to drive into historic Savannah, GA. I love old Savannah! It is very beautiful with the square and huge live oak trees and a plethora of Historic homes and buildings. We found a parking space and got on our bicycles and rode down along the River and around some of the squares until my father announced it was time to eat. We found a Mediterranean restaurant and ordered gyro and sampler platters. While we were waiting for our food my father had me look up the phone number of friends, who used to live next door to us in Tampa and now live in Savannah. I found a number for them, but when I rang it was disconnected. Too bad! We enjoyed most of the items except the tabouli which had a metallic taste (hunh?) and the rice which was way mushy! The rest was tasty. Then we biked back to the van and walk for a while until my father was ready to go and we headed back to the campsite. I finally have a GPS unit in BEYOND after seeing how incredibly useful it was in Turkey where navigating by map is virtually impossible. It was not much use getting into Savannah but was right on getting us well –fed and sleepy troopers back to the campsite! We had the whole tent area by the lake to ourselves so it was nice and peaceful. The rain had cooled off the air so we up on our pile jackets and ate blueberries with yogurt and listened to a cool program called The Story which was talking to people and their jobs. There was a cool story about a woman who lost her job in the Salem OR planning office who was losing her job so she transferred to a job captaining a cable ferry across the Willamette River. And another story about a man who drives a truck for a steel company. They were very interesting tales. We tried to call Pippa as Pop had left some of his paperwork at home but she was out. So I walked off to the showers and tried to call Audrey but she was unavailable…..too bad I wanted to tell her about Savannah! After a hot shower I was whipped and headed back to the van and climbed into the top but and read for bit. Then I was asleep and my father cam from the showers and I woke up briefly as he got ready for bed then I curled up in my blankets and was out for the night. What a great start to our adventure! See you tomorrow! We were up by 7 am and soon eating a combination of wheat chex, muesli, and granola with yogurt and blueberries on top and hot tea. I checked my email while Pop did his medicines and got ready. Soon we were rolling north and listening to all the news people talking about the Facebook Initial Public Offering and death of Donna Summer. What a strange combination of subjects. I remember enjoying all of Donna Summer’s hits so it was fun to hear them again. I think the Facebook this thing has been blown way out of proportion. My father was at the helm as I hate driving through South Carolina on I-95. The road is only two lanes and it’s rough and there are always a disproportionate number of rude drivers blowing by. So I navigated us up to I-24 and then I-77. We stopped gas and it too awhile to the pump to work. While my father was pumping gas I bought and test drove a new tooth brush as I discovered I had forgotten to pack mine. Soon we were in Charlotte NC. And decided to stop in the rest stop a little ways north for a picnic lunch. We hit some stop and go traffic but soon enough were parked in the shade eating carrots, apples, sesame sticks, cracker, cheese, peanut butter, nutella and blueberries. It was fun to nosh and watch the people walk by on their way to and from the loo. So many different shaped and sizes!. Soon we had cleaned the dregs and were on our way. We rolled on up the road and about 3 pm we rolled into Wytheville, VA which is the town closest to our campsite for the night. We followed signs to the tourist office and chose a place for a hike. We headed out but soon realized our map was crap and spotted Skeeter Dogs which listed hot dogs and ice cream on their window. My father loves ice cream so we dove in. There was a couple at the counter eating hot dogs and a very old lady behind the counter. We spotted the ice cream freezer and made a bee line for it. We were hugely disappointed as it was stocked with cheap ice cream sandwiches. And the old lady couldn’t help us with directions either. Luckily her daughter came out of the back and was able to point us in the right direction. Soon we were on the right rocky road and pulling into Crystal Springs Park. (GPS couldn’t find it) It was lovely but damp as they had a hard rain last night. We put our bathing suits and a towel in my pack and carefully picked the driest route out to the trail. Soon we were climbing up a hill away from the stream. We had some easy switch backs and the trail wiggled around. We stopped and swung on some Tarzan vines (yes, we have pics!) then continued down the trail. Soon we could hear another stream we switchbacked down through the Rhododendron bushes and there was the spring. It was little an emerald in a dark ring. The sun was shining on the sparkling water as it fell over a small fall into the pool surrounded by a necklace of dark Rhododendron bushes. I stripped down and was soon in the water to my chin. It was a very chilly and my feet went numb. My father stayed on the beach and photo documented the latest chapter of my obsession with cold water! Soon I was out and shivering in the sun. Really glad I packed a towel! After warmimg up and getting dressed we were back on the Crystal Springs loop headed for the van. The trail became really wet and we found ourselves bushwacking up the hill in an effort to keep our shoes dry! We ended up with damp feet but finally made it back to BEYOND. What a nice side adventure! We drove to our campsite were I made black beans and yellow rice and salad for dinner. We are down in a valley here in Southwest Virginia and have no cellphone signal but I did get a sweet text from Audrey and a couple from my sister-in-law Martha with funny pictures of my niece W clowning around. We feast and then read until bed. I head off and take a very hot shower. It’s even chillier here than last night. Glad I packed a blanket and sleeping bag as my father only brought a sheet and he was almost chilly last night. I will give him the blanket and keep the windows zipped up it stays warmed down below were he sleeps! As I am climbing into my bunk I can hear the waterfall in the stream next to us and a bullfrog ker-whumping a ways upstream. What a nice campsite. It has been another fun day. Everybody get outside and have some fun! Until tomorrow! Peace. I AM TAKING PICTURES BUT I FORGOT TO PACK THE CABLE TO LOAD THEM ON TOT HE COMPUTER...SO PICTURES WILL BE POSTED LATER.