Day 5: Furbys, Shoe House, Susquehanna
Posted on 24. May, 2009 by carlos in Touring
With only 25 miles laid out for the day, we woke up and left later than normal. The entire town of Lancaster shuts down on Sunday except a few breakfast places, grocery stores, and all of the churches.
Wrightsville, PA
We instantly knew that after crossing the ‘Veterans Bridge’ into Wrightsville, we were entering 8th grade America History class.
There was an elderly couple sitting on the steps of what looked like a house built during the Civil War. Turns out, it was. The couple had lived in the house for 61 years, the same number of years they have been married. After chatting a few minutes with the man about the women he has loved, the wars he has been in, and the people he beat up for his wife, he asked if I wanted to take a peek inside the house. Ella, the lady, led me inside. She passed by 100 year old paintings and furniture that belonged in museums to show me a Furby. She grabbed the Furby and started screaming, “Dance! Dance! Dance!” to which it replied, “I’m scared.” We turned around, and went back outside. Ella, you made my day.
Haines Shoe House
Deb, tonight’s host, mentioned that we should make a right on ‘Shoe House Road.’ It was exactly what we expected, and more.
According to RoadSideAmerica.com, ”The Shoe House was built in 1948 (and completed in 1949) by Colonel Mahlon M. Haines, the flamboyant “Shoe Wizard,” for advertising purposes.”
Stats
Miles today: 29.28
Total miles: 196.23
Flats today: Carlos – 1, Joe – 0
Total flats: Carlos – 1, Joe – 0
Crashes: Carlos – 0, Joe – 0
Waves from cute girls: 2.5
Crossing the Susquehanna River.
Tiffany, our host from Lancaster, painted Joe’s bike!
Made it to York PA!
Joanne
24. May, 2009
/was it 2 1/2 in cutess or 2 1/2 waves?
LOVE the paint job. Keep up the good work!
Daniel Philipson
24. May, 2009
Hey guys hope you’re having fun, be careful at all times and im happy for you both, i know its not easy.
Alice Philipson
25. May, 2009
Glad you got your bike jazzed up, now all you need are some cool shaped reflectors on your helmets. Maybe a dancing Furby.
John Lascurettes
25. May, 2009
I want to know what constitutes a half-wave by a cute girl.
Heather Hollaway
25. May, 2009
This post made me smile! You guys are having so many great adventures already! =) How amazing this journey will be!
Kudos to Tiffany for the awesome paint job on Joe’s bike =)
Baby Sinead
25. May, 2009
Awesome post! So jealous of the adventures your having.
Carmen Villadar
26. May, 2009
You guys totally ROCK! I love how you use all Social Media tools to document this amazing journey. It’s great being able to follow your ride. A Big GEEK Hug to both of you. WooooT!
Colin
26. May, 2009
Carlos,
Good luck, man. It’s a great journey from coast to coast. I made a rule with the people I rode with: if someone wanted to stop and see/touch/lick something we always stopped. I’m sure you’ll do the same.
You’re going to meet some great people. I’ll be following you along the way. Have fun!
Cheers,
Colin Hunt
ARES ‘97
MMS ‘00
MHS ‘04
Colin
26. May, 2009
Also, I read Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” which helped inspire me as I pedaled. Here’s one of my favourite quotes from “Song for the Open Road”:
Allons! whoever you are, come travel with me!
Traveling with me, you find what never tires.
The earth never tires;
The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first—Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first;
Be not discouraged—keep on—there are divine things, well envelop’d;
I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.
Allons! we must not stop here!
However sweet these laid-up stores—however convenient this dwelling, we cannot remain here;
However shelter’d this port, and however calm these waters, we must not anchor here;
However welcome the hospitality that surrounds us, we are permitted to receive it but a little while.
…
Forever alive, forever forward!
Thought I’d share. Cheers,
Colin
Michael Daly
27. May, 2009
Amazing photo of dog and USA. Congratulations on Day 5 on the road. I look forward to following your trip and seeing you again when it’s over.
Tina
27. May, 2009
You guys are getting some amazing photos – thanks for sharing them with us! Love the pooch!!
Tina
John Bender
28. May, 2009
So glad I came by to check out your blog. Just five days and such great adventures already. Looking forward to hearing about your night in the firehouse and the thunderstorms. I love the heavy weather of a mid-Atlantic summer.
Aloha and happy riding!
John on O’ahu
aka @AlohaJohn