Success!!

We made it! Day one is done:) Thank you one and all for your well wishes and send off messages. We truly appreciate your friendships. Let me do a quick recap of the past few days as quite a bit has transpired. On Thursday as we were furiously trying to tie up all our loose ends before heading out, everything that could go wrong did: our garbage disposal died, our garage door opener died, our home computer, air conditioning, and pond filter died the week before. Not to worry though, as our good friend Walt is going to make everthing right while we are away. Also, Joel's Mom, Elaine, is watching our house and our dogs. Gratitiude to both!!

So, the journey began at 9 am on Friday. Mom, Dad, Joel, and Holly packed up the Towncar, loaded the bikes on the back and headed east. We made it to Portsmouth, NH in time for beverages at a brew pup and a tremendous dinner at the Black Trumpet and a much needed sleep. We finished the trip to Calais, Maine on Saturday with a mandatory stop at LL Bean's in Freeport. Wait till you see the biking shirt Holly found:) The Greystone Inn in Calais was our destination for the night, and we could not have picked a more perfect spot. Candace and Alan are the perfect hosts! They recommended a great spot for dinner, Heslin's on the St. Croix River, where Stefanie treated us royally with fish chowder, lobster, and fresh Maine bluberry pie. Once again, we enjoyed a much needed deep sleep in preparation for day one. Breakfast at the Inn was amazing. We shared our meal with Bob and Rachel from DC who have been vacationing up in Canada. Hopefully we can see them again as we pass through the Capitol! So, funny story. Joel had set his Verizon phone for a wake up beep at 6 am so we could pack up our stuff and be ready to ride. It went off at 6 but it was really 5 because the cell towers across the river in Canada sometimes change Verizon time. Needless to say we were up and ready to roll and no one else was! Mom and Dad had a great surprise for us to send us off. They donned bright green Amidon Chase Car shirts and had a huge send off poster made for us as well as stick ons for the car doors that say East Coast Greenway/Maine to Florida/Holly and Joel. Super!!
The ride to Machias was about 50 miles on a trail, through a nature preserve, up and down hills, and on a road with little or no shoulder. No worries. We made it, and had lunch at the Route 191 Diner to boot. Dinner was at Helen's Diner which is owned by the same couple as the Schoppee Farms Inn where we are staying. It is all good. Tomorrow is another day and it brings to us another 77 miles! I will post again in a few days. Love you all:)