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Friday, October 17, 2008, home of Jamie and Gwyneth Arrison, PORTLAND, MAINE!
Well, today we finally made it, all the way to the finish line, Portland, Maine. Last night was cold, our coldest so far, but we managed to sleep ok, at least I did. We started out well, eating the breakfast Pastor Humphreys gave us and saying our goodbyes to him and Marsha, a nice lady from the church. He gave us the names of two other pastors he knew in Portland who we should call when we got there. So from there we picked up our bikes at the fire station and rode off toward our final destination. The weather had cleared up by morning and it was a beautifully sunny ride. We passed through York, which was preparing for its annual Harvest Festival. Booths were being set up, food was cooking, all very festive. We stopped by a bike store and I bought a mirror to replace the one broken in yesterday's fall. It was great to see behind myself again while I rode. Next we headed to the Nubble Lighthouse, a picturesque tourist sight on the ocean, and it was beautiful. Everyone rode today, which is what I like best. During the ride I saw an apple tree laden with ripe apples alongside the road, so we loaded up the panniers with them, a nice refreshing, nutritious snack. As we approached Portland, I called Pastor Jamie and he said we could stay with him and his wife. He was even going to make a dinner for us! We were all excited about knowing we had a place to stay in Portland, dinner included. I decided to take the scenic route, knowing that, even though it was longer, it would be safer than the main road, which was already starting to get hectic as it approached rush hour. It turned out to be a lot longer because I took the advice of someone at a store for a more direct route. Oh well. It was ok. It was almost nightfall by the time we crossed the final bridge leading into the town of Portland. What a thrill to finally see the Portland sign! We had made it. We were so excited blowing our horns and celebrating that we didn't realize we had passed up the photo opportunity until a half mile past the signs. So we parked our bikes and ran back to the signs on the bridge for the historic photos. We were all smiles. Later we met up with Gloria, John, and Sarah for a family picture in front of the main welcome sign of Portland and took a nice family picture, capturing our thrill at finally realizing our dream. We rode with our lights on in the dark to Jamie and Gwyneth's house and met their children, Faith, Dena, and Alex and had a nice night talking and sharing with them. Later we went back to the store and bought 5 containers of ice-cream, including a new delicious flavor I had never tried before: New England Blueberry (or something like that). It was great. Unfortunately, I think they only sell it in New England, so we might never taste it again until we return to Maine. The whole evening, I wore a smile on my face, knowing we had arrived at our destination, finished our course, and accomplished our goal. We all were tired by the end of the evening and slept well on the warm floor. I lay on the floor reflecting on the trip before falling asleep.
68 Miles.