Day 40 - A Filling Dinner (June 11th, 2024)

City To City: Newton - Eureka

Miles: 76

Miles Total: 2,655

Flats: 9

Video: https://youtu.be/8Mya95szQlE?si=E1T2E6WRb65yUeHc

The Stray Cat

Chopping Potatoes And Onions

Tending To The Grill

It was another morning of early rising and getting on the road. Matt and Mark said they were going to Eureka, too, but we started off earlier than they did.

Once we got to the main road, a train was stopped, blocking traffic.  A local biker happened to be passing by, and without asking us where we wanted to go, he shouted to us, "Folllow me.  I'll get you past the train."

After about twenty miles, we took a break and were slow to get back on our bikes.  We didn't see Mark or Matt, so we continued.  But after five minutes, we see them riding at a fast pace.  Then Mark says, "We saw you, but then you got back on your bikes and sped away!! We thought you were trying to drop us!!!

"No," We replied.  "We didn't see you!"

We traveled together until we broke for lunch, at which point Matt and Mark went to eat at a Mexican restaurant, and we ate outside a public school.

A worker was outside, and we asked if we could eat at one of the tables.  The guy replied, "I'd be tickled if you did!"

So, we ate lunch there, and the guy brought cold bottled water to us.  As we were finishing, a stray cat came over, and I, having a soft spot for cats, fed it the last piece of summer sausage.

We didn't wait for Matt and Mark and continued on our own. We went up and down the hills. They weren't steep, but they were kind of long.

Once in Eureka, we went to the city park, but the showers didn't work, and we were miserable because of the heat. Luckily, the city said we could take showers at the pool for free.

The pool had a sign saying Free Swim Day, so Henry and I took advantage of it, and jumped into the pool.

We washed our clothes in the showers, and since it was so hot, it didn't take too long for our clothes to dry.

Matt and Mark came later and were thrilled it was a free swim.  Henry and my dad went to the grocery store and got the town's famous meat for dinner.

So, Matt and I chopped onions, Mark chopped potatoes, and Henry and my dad got the park's grill going.  Then we realized we needed a spatula, so Mark went to the pool, asked to borrow one, and returned with a long-serving spoon that worked just as well.

Once the onions, potatoes, and hamburgers were cooking, Mark, my dad, and Henry tended to the grill while Matt and I chatted and ensured the tables and benches didn't blow away.

Dinner was delicious, and we had a feast.  Finally, a meal and muffins for dessert, we were full.  And soon after, we set our tents up, put our rain flies on, and went to bed.  But it was hot, and with no ventilation, we didn't unroll our sleeping bags,  after enduring the stuffy air for a few minutes, I got too miserable to stand it, and opened up the rain fly on both sides.  And then we were able to sleep (after a while).  It was supposed to storm, but it ended up going somewhere else.