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Monday, October 6, 2008, Best Western, near Orange, New York
A lot happened today. After packing up and getting ready to leave, we discovered that Willie's tire was flat again. While we were waiting for Willie to fix it, we had our Bible time. At around 10:30 we pedaled to a McDonalds and it occurred to me that they may have some leftover breakfast items they would like to get rid of. They did and we got them at half price since they were going to throw them out anyway. Because Willie's bike was getting so many flats, I decided to buy a couple new tires to replace them if he got another flat. The whole area leading up to New York City was pretty urbanized and congested, and we passed through some unsavory areas that I wouldn't want to be stuck in close to dark. No maps showed me how to pass safely through the city so I asked a bike shop. Nope, he didn't know either. All of the surrounding areas were seedy. It was getting close to 4:00 and we were too far away to pass safely through the city, so I decided to go around the city and when we got to the other side, we could drive back with the van and go sight seeing. So we headed west. We finally got out of the bad areas and I asked around about places to put up the tent for the night. No camping anywhere. Finally a guy told me about a wooded area that should be good for camping. It was a nice place with a grill and picnic table, pretty secluded too. We put up the tent and grilled up a bunch of chicken and turkey wings. By the time we were done, it was dark and the kids were talking in the van with the light on. Suddenly a police car pulls up and tells us we can't stay there. We explained the situation and he was sympathetic and let us stay, but "officially" told us to go, even though he wasn't going to come back to check. We went to bed late, after 11:00. After midnight, a sheriff car pulls up, then a couple more. To make a long story short, we ended up packing everything up after midnight and the sheriff escorted us to a Best Western, lights flashing. $150 a night. I was mad and wanted to ride to Connecticut through the night rather than pay that amount, but I did. The lady was going to charge us for two rooms because we had nine people, but she made the exception when we began to leave. 51 miles.