12 Sept.
Rain and more rain followed by mud and more mud. The Boogs do not get rain on the days that they both ride (see Pacific Northwest,Denmark, Southeast, Middle America, and recent Europe trip, for proof of concept. Today Sharon told long walks and I rode in the mud, lots of it.
Mud increased while riding from Williamsport to Hancock.
Had to take off my shirt and change before going into a lunch restaurant. A perfect diner-family restaurant with all the classic American dishes, home made pies and waitresses that smile and act perky. Very perky and friendly and helpful – just have to give them a fistfull sized tip.
We also ate dinner there. When QB puts up the pics proof positive of items like curley fries, pork chops, club sandwiches that make a mockery of "tower food".
We will miss the Canal-Apple Day as it starts afternoon of the Morrow. They do have a parade for us, will try to document.
After lunch rode the Western Maryland Rail Trail. A perfect asphalt surface. It runs paralled to the canal trail and is, of course, without mud. Did a 20+ mile loop at high speed (high for me) just to see if I could do a 50 mile day and still feel OK. So far, so good. Maybe it was the curley fries.
Pics are of Dam 5, one that Stonewall Jackson repeatedly tried, and failed, to demolish. The canal was thought to be very important to the North for supplies and commerce. The Dam was well defended and cannons were not strong enough to destroy it.
As a side note breakfast at the B&B in Sharpsburg was good but the company was excellent. All civil war history buffs, we expertise on the revolutionary war thrown in a well. Three other couples, from different parts of the US, one with a confederate flag on his car, were visiting the battlefields and other items in the area.
Question for the day: is a confederate flag display still a marker for segregation? Is it stilll considered racist? Everywhere?
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