[bike] from sea to shining sea

Let's go back to where I left off in New York.

It was harder to find places to stay in New York. We ended up staying
in more less-than-ideal places such as patches of grass next to fire
stations. After Ithaca, we ditched our plans of going through the
Catskill Mountains, and instead went to Albany. We were surprised to
find ourselves in an extremely small town with a country kind of feel
about 15 miles from Albany. There, we asked the owner of an antique
store to stay in his backyard.

Donny Doin was an ex-marine and had lots of stories of how mischievous
a child he was. He built an open fire for us, and we shared stories
for the rest of the night. In the morning he cooked us a warm
breakfast: ham and cheddar quiche, home fries, and tea. He had also
experienced a time when he ate only peanut butter and jelly for a
month, so he felt sorry for us.

That day we climbed the Applachian Mountains and entered
Massachusetts. We passed through Williamstown. I thought back to the
last time I was there for a Purple Valley frisbee tournament in
October. I thought: I ate at that Dunkin' Donuts, and now I'm passing
it on my bike!

We stopped after only 50 miles in Plainfield, MA. It was a small town
up in the mountains. The town was so small and quiet that we heard
nothing but the sound of animals during the night, even the howl of
wolves.

On our last night of our trip, we ended up in Wilmington, MA. We were
worried that we would have to leave town because we were constantly
getting rejected for places to stay. Finally, Seager called a number
for a lodge on a telephone post, and reached Ed Torell. He was another
friendly man who offered us full services, and let us sleep in his
camper. Actually, he had phoned two of his friends to come over (as
backup in case we turned out to be bad people.) He almost couldn't
believe himself when he realized he invited three complete strangers
who saw his number on a telephone post, to come to his house. We were
very grateful for his faith in strangers.

The ride was only 20 miles from Wilmington to the Atlantic Ocean. We
ended our 2 and a half month journey in Beverly, a suburb just north
of Boston. Up to that point, we still couldn't be too sure that we'd
get to the end without any accidents or troubles. But alas, we dipped
our front tires into the big salty sea. WE MADE IT!

After some more adventures of picking up bike boxes at local bike
shops, and carrying them to FedEx, Seager and Ariel packed up their
gear and bikes. We nearly took over the entire sidewalk in front of
FedEx trying to sort everything out. But within 2 hours, they shipped
everything home. Off we went to the train that would take us to
Boston. That night, we had three dinners: first at Bartley's (famous
burger place), then Toscanini's (lots of ice cream), then the Asgard
(good beer and conversation).

Seager flew back to Eugene Friday morning. Ariel and I baked peach pie
to celebrate the end. This trip has made us all brothers and sisters.
I think we will continue to insult each other endearingly and have
pointless arguments for a long time.

Thanks for all the encouragement and support that you guys gave. It
really did help us keep going when those hills and traffic were bad. I
hope to see you all soon! Maybe even bike tour together someday!

THE END
MinWah