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.