Day 30: Water Everywhere!
Posted by the girls on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Even though it was raining this morning, we decided that we needed to bike. Judy had already been so generous to let us stay two nights, three would've been too much. We woke up early since the showers/thunderstorms were meant to be worse later in the day. Judy made us pancakes with sweet potatoes and flax...mmmmhmmmmm!
It was nearly impossible to find a route that wasn't closed though. Every highway we wanted to take had closures because of the floods. After calling the Missouri Department of Transportation several times, we figured out a possible route. We decided to head northwest toward Millersville. We thought we could stay in Millersville if the First Baptist Church would let us camp on their lawn. Even though it was raining, we made good time and reached Millersville by 10:30am. We were able to get an early start and it was closer than we thought (about 18 miles).
We stopped at the church anyway just to check it out. We were immediately greeted by the pastor, Daniel Hale, and two parishioners. We chatted for awhile outside of the church and then Dan asked us if we'd like to get something to eat from the convenient store across the street. We walked over there, ordered some grilled sandwiches, got some hot chocolate, and sat down to chat. We were so happy to have met Dan and learn a little bit about his life. We will not forget his kindness and generosity. Thanks, Dan!!
Dan assured us that we could make it to the next city, Fredericktown. We hadn't planned on going that far because we were afraid of heavy rains in the afternoon. He told us, however, that the rain was supposed to be steady, but not get any worse. Lo and behold, we made it to Fredericktown less than 3 hours later (for a day's total of 54 miles). The rain was steady indeed, but no lightening or flooded roads. By the time we rolled into Fredericktown though, we were shivering and chilled to the bone. Since we hadn't stayed in a hotel since Huntsville, AL we thought we deserved to splurge. We followed Dan's directions and made it to the Madison Inn Lodge. After checking in the the friendly manager, we immediately took off our drenched clothing and dipped our feet in hot water in the bathtub.
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching TV, eating, updating this blog, and drying out the rest of our belongings.
We are looking forward to a dry (but cold) day tomorrow. Hopefully, we will bike the 63 miles to Ellington...
It was nearly impossible to find a route that wasn't closed though. Every highway we wanted to take had closures because of the floods. After calling the Missouri Department of Transportation several times, we figured out a possible route. We decided to head northwest toward Millersville. We thought we could stay in Millersville if the First Baptist Church would let us camp on their lawn. Even though it was raining, we made good time and reached Millersville by 10:30am. We were able to get an early start and it was closer than we thought (about 18 miles).
We stopped at the church anyway just to check it out. We were immediately greeted by the pastor, Daniel Hale, and two parishioners. We chatted for awhile outside of the church and then Dan asked us if we'd like to get something to eat from the convenient store across the street. We walked over there, ordered some grilled sandwiches, got some hot chocolate, and sat down to chat. We were so happy to have met Dan and learn a little bit about his life. We will not forget his kindness and generosity. Thanks, Dan!!
Dan assured us that we could make it to the next city, Fredericktown. We hadn't planned on going that far because we were afraid of heavy rains in the afternoon. He told us, however, that the rain was supposed to be steady, but not get any worse. Lo and behold, we made it to Fredericktown less than 3 hours later (for a day's total of 54 miles). The rain was steady indeed, but no lightening or flooded roads. By the time we rolled into Fredericktown though, we were shivering and chilled to the bone. Since we hadn't stayed in a hotel since Huntsville, AL we thought we deserved to splurge. We followed Dan's directions and made it to the Madison Inn Lodge. After checking in the the friendly manager, we immediately took off our drenched clothing and dipped our feet in hot water in the bathtub.
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching TV, eating, updating this blog, and drying out the rest of our belongings.
We are looking forward to a dry (but cold) day tomorrow. Hopefully, we will bike the 63 miles to Ellington...
