Day 47 Gettysburg to Poolesville

Leaving Gettysburg was harder than most of the towns we have spent our rest days in. Beyond the tourist and historical spots to be seen, the town itself was a very pleasant place to be. Early on we discovered The Ragged Edge, a coffee, pastry, sandwich shop. John and I stopped by there for breakfast and I fell in love. Great food and brew and an awesome atmosphere. Later in the day I returned to have lunch while John had lunch in a nearby brew pub. I caught up on a couple blog entries and chatted with other patrons. It was a great way to while-away the afternoon. Later I explored the town and found a new purse and some earrings. Just as the day was about to wined (wind?) down, Jessica called to see if I was interested in going to a movie. Buck, a Cannes film festival winner, was playing at the local theater. It is a documentary about the real horse whisper. It was will worth the time.I give it two thumbs up.

Our lunch spread.

We began the day welcoming back Glen, Caitlin's father, to the ride, and singing Happy Birthday to Caitlin. Today she turns 18, a memorable day for most people, made even more memorable by her father's visit and the closeness of Washington DC. Caitlin's mother sent real New York bagels, so our breakfast was much better than the norm. After our briefing on the day's route, John and I took off. We had planned to stop at The Ragged Edge on our way out of town since we had a mere 63 miles to go that day, but changed our mind and got on the road. It turned out to be a good decision, since 5 or so miles into the ride, we got a flat. If we had stopped for coffee and a flat, we would have been at least an hour behind the group. Not a tragedy, but also not a great way to start the day. On top of the flat, there was a reroute due to construction. It ended up adding 8 or so miles, turning the day into a 69 mile day.

We made it to Maryland!

Our day ended in Poolesville MD and a dinner celebration at Bassett's Fine Food and Spirits. Bridgett was back with us and sprang for the dinner :) Free food is good food! On a typical day we will burn almost 5,000 calories, so as  usual, we all ate like there was no tomorrow. It is going to be a challenge to go back to eating normal amounts of food upon our return! Bridgett handed out certificates of accomplishment. I cannot believe tomorrow is the end. I a looking forward to seeing my family but it will be hard to say good- bye to all our friends.