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Monday, October 13, 2008, behind big old white church, Einsfield, Massechusetts
Michelle woke up early and made all of us delicious French toast with their own homemade maple syrup. Uuummm Good! I'm not sure how many I ate, but I was the last to leave the table and was well fed. After breakfast we went for a walk to see the sugar maple trees and see the plugs that were tapped for the syrup. Going down the road with both families looked like a school field trip. A neighborhood dog scared some of the kids, but meant no harm. Before saying goodbye, the Slates accompanied us to a park next to a beautiful lake on our way toward Massachusetts and I gave the kids rides on the back of the tandem. We all had a good time and it was hard to say goodbye to our new friends. They are a great family, and I hope we see them again. The road to Rhode Island was very busy, and we didn't have a detailed map to show us other options, so we decided to bypass R.I. and go directly northeast to Massachusetts. We stopped at a gas station with a picnic table to eat all of the food that our generous friends had given us. When it started getting late, we found a place to stay at a church. The pastor gave us permission to camp behind a big old building out of sight on the grass. I cooked up some egg goulash concoction which everyone seemed to like; then we went to bed. Oh, I forgot to mention that I discovered taped to my handlebars two fifty dollar bills. I don't know for sure who taped it there, but it was another reminder that God provides. 41 miles.