Day 22 (9/27/11)

Well, I am getting close to home and in familiar territory. I barely looked at the GPs today and the few times I did glance at it, it was just to see how many miles were remaining and if I was going to hit the Washington Beltway at rush hour. Of course I did, what should I have expected..... and in the rain too. When I left the motel this morning, it was spitting rain, and the clouds looked pretty ominous, so I donned the rain gear immediately. Anyone who has ever ridden will tell you that the best insurance AGAINST rain, is to put on your rain gear. You guessed it. It did not rain, the clouds dissipated and I cooked while riding along. Several times I thought of stopping and taking it off and each time, the clouds looked darker and more like rain any minute. My route took me up into the very South East corner of West Virginia. I exited I-81 took VA Rte 100 north until I hit U.S. Rte 219 and then headed north on it until I hit I-64 E. That took me back over to I-81. I had accomplished my goal of hitting WVA. I have ridden extensively in WVA and it never ceases to amaze me how nice their roads are. I guess it helps a lot to have a long tenured Senator on the right committees to get federal highway dollars. In any event, I enjoyed my brief time in the state, zooming up and over tree covered mountains and around beautiful sweeping turns. It was short lived though and I ended up back on the interstates. I was getting really hot and dehydrated, so I stopped for a quick snack and filled my camelback bladder with ice and some ice tea. I decided that despite the dark clouds, I would take off the rain suit. You guessed it... It rained. OH well, it actually felt good and the only thing that got very wet was my lower pant legs. They eventually dried as I rode along, but not nearly as fast as they would have in the 5% humidity of death valley. My mouth was watering for dinner at Chick & Ruth's Deli in Annapolis, so I decided to push on and transit the DC area at rush hour. Traffic was heavy, but I have to say not as bad as I expected. Drivers stayed in their lanes, signaled when changing and did not make abrupt maneuvers. Totally unlike the South Carolina traffic, where everyone was on a cell phone, and thought they were a NASCAR driver. The VA and MD police must really have cracked down on cell phone use, as It was rare to see anyone with a phone to their ear and I did not see a single person texting. These folks one way or another have found out what it takes to survive in heavy traffic on a daily basis. There were lots of ear buds, but I have to say, it was not a bad trip at all. I have found taht rush hour traffic is totally different than other times of the day. People know where they are going and for the most part, drive well. I did not take any pictures along the way as I was feeling the pressure to do my part to be safe, besides there was nothing I wanted a picture of so badly that was worth risking my life for. I arrive in Annapolis and had a fellow on the street take my picture in front of Chick & Ruth's. He asked about trip. I gave him a card and he said he was going to donate. Pretty amazing! Annapolis, and specifically Chick & Ruth's always brings back great memories of the many times we have sailed into Annapolis or came down to watch David play water polo when he was at the Naval Academy. We always would make a point to eat here at least once. Often we would have half of the water polo team along with us. The owner Ted Levitt has become a friend and he is an inspiration to anyone that wants to raise money for a charity. He has donated many hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research from tips people have given him for performing magic tricks in the resturant. He also organizes a charity each year called "Faces of Valor" to support the families of sercicemen and women and first responders that have suffered or died while serving our country. He is one of a kind, and a person to be admired. My dinner was delectable as always, and a fitting last evening meal for my trip. As a side note... on my way around Washington today, I saw the largest ambulance I have ever seen. It had the cab of an 18 wheeler and a huge ambulance behind it that was at least 40 feet long. The markings on the side said Walter Reed Hospital. I wondered if it might be used to ferry severly wounded servicemen flown into Andrews AirForce Base to the hospital? While I was sitting having dinner, I called David to see how things were at his home with Jess and the grandkids. He said that Jess had a bad day as a close friend and someone she had dated in highschool had stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan and lost parts of both legs and an arm. He had just been transported to Walter Reed. I have no way of knowing if it was him in the huge ambulance or not, but what a coincidence. Our prayers go out to him and his family. They can work wonders there, but the trauma these young men and women go through we can't even imagine. The next time you see or meet one, please thank them for their service! After dinner, I headed over for our boat in Rock Hall, MD. When I arrived it was quite humid and the marina manager suggested I might be more comfortable in the marina's library with the air conditioning as opposed to my boat which has been covered up in the sun all summer. I did not give that one much thought.... I am rolling out my sleeping bag in the marina library and game room tonight. I am really going to miss coming down here. I have been coming to this marina since the early 70's and these folks feel like family. The facilities are immaculate and it is just one of my "happy places". In many ways, I will hate to see the boat go. Life moves on I guess. One more day left in the ride, one more state(Delaware) and a short day at that! I plan to ride to the A.M. Kulp elementary school and visit with the kids there that have been following my trip. That should be a lot of fun.