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Tuesday, September 16, 2008, Jim and Pat Harding's house, Phenix, Virginia
It has been such a blessing staying with the Bonheims; they are so hospitable, we felt right at home. We finally said our goodbyes around 12:00 and headed to Liberty to pick up our bikes, which had been sitting there in the bike rack in front of the Schilling Building for the last four days. They were fine, but Becky's still had the flat tire I didn't want to fix on Friday, so I had to fix that. We had to go a little off course and take back roads to Rustburg. We saw two lost lonely adorable kittens which ran over to us while we were riding. It was hard to finally say goodbye to them since they were running after us when we left. Paul, especially, had a hard time; he wanted to keep them. We found a roadside tree loaded with crisp apples; so we stocked up on them. As it started to get late, we asked some guys in a car if they knew of a place to pitch a tent. They suggested visiting a lady in the nearby house who might be able to direct us. She made some phone calls and after a while, Jim and Pat Harding come over and invite us to their beautiful house. They all made us a delicious dinner and let us take baths and sleep in their beds. What a wonderful day it has been. God has really provided. 42 miles.