Must We?

The Chair of Sovereignty

Day 58

There is no way around Pennsylvania. At the start of this trip, we endured the not-so-wonderful aspects of it along Lake Erie, and by the end of today we will have endured the not-so-wonderful aspects from it's northern border beside New Jersey all the way to Reading. As I have not traveled every mile of this state, perhaps it is fairest to say that Pennsylvania does not do borders very well, whether it is with another state or a body of water. It gets busy, poorly distributed and sprawl-y. You can tell that the snow in the areas will end up a grayish yellow by the end of the day in which it fell.

Anyway, this morning we pack up all of our things which have been strewn around High Valley for the last four days. Elizabeth and Douglas walk us to the Girl and send us off with waves and blown kisses. We drive one last time along the lovely stone walls, and head south on the Salt Point Turnpike. In Poughkeepsie we cross a stunning bridge spanning the Hudson and head west on the 44/55 and find this ride to be quite beautiful.

Once we're hungry, magically the most adorable bakery pops up ahead of us in Gardiner, a little unsuspecting town at the foot of the Shawangunk ridge. Their menu is vast, so we go with the first thing on it, The Natural, a grilled chicken, bacon and tomato sandwich that is just perfect. We finish that off with some local ice cream: Almond Joy and Kahlua Calypso.

After lunch we ride up and over the mountain range that seems to rise from the earth out of nowhere. At the top, we get a grand view of the Hudson Valley. It is spectacular. We enjoy our gorgeous ride a little longer, then we're in Pennsylvania.

At the end of this 200 mile day is Reading, PA, a town that we chose because of it's proximity between Elizabeth's and Winchester, VA. I'm sure this town is great once time is spent here, but initially it's a confusing knot of highways. We Priclined a room last night, so we have to find it instead of throwing the white flag and staying somewhere we can actually see from the highway. Ah, Priceline, it is always a gamble.

The hotel is really nice once we find it. We settle in and then go to some we're-not-a-chain-but-we-look-just-like-a-chain eatery called Viva. It's only appeal is that we can walk to it in our flips flops, and not get suited up and back on the bike. The food is fine there. You can get five tapas plates for $20. Staring at all the people getting light-up margaritas for their birthdays, we eat and recover from the long day.