Not only sights, but scents have been notable just a few days into our journey thus far: lilacs, freshly cut grass, lots of manure in the farm lands, and car exhaust along the long busy stretches with narrow shoulders and big trucks. One town smelled like freshly baked cookies for several blocks. It was blissful.

After forking over a hefty sum last night just for a place to set up our tent and hitting a bike shop in Wrightsville today to get Jamie’s derailleur adjusted (hopefully for the last time) and get Greg’s rear wheel trued up, we wanted find a frugal way to spend the evening. We started scouting out a park as a place to do some rogue camping, but a few kindly joggers told us about a shop a couple of miles away called Shank’s Mare (quite an appropriate place to end up considering our mode of travel) that would allow us to set up camp alongside of their store for free. We got a glorious view of the river at sunset, some clean facilities to use, and a free place to rest!

The weather is gorgeous and we are looking forward to putting in more miles tomorrow. After breakfast of course. And after tonight’s culinary curiosity of macaroni and cheese-powder with a side dish of broken saltines smothered in PB&J, we are ready for some serious noshing.