August 24 - Charles City, VA to Yorktown, VA

Michael

As there were no breakfast places nearby, we ate a breakfast of cranberry muffins and chocolate bit brownies made by Barbra.  Thanks, Barbra!  Personally, I was glad that there were no breakfast places nearby.  Based on the number of brownies eaten, I am pretty sure Craig was as well.

Gloria, Eric, Craig, Steve, and I headed out around 8 AM.  The first five miles were on a pleasant country road with a few morning commuters, but not too many.  One we reached the Virginia Capital Trail (a paved path completely separate from the road), we had a very comfortable ride all the way to the Colonial Parkway.  The Colonial Parkway was rougher than most pavement, but not as bad as what I expected.  Since there were no marked lanes and it was wide enough for 3 cars, we were pretty relaxed.   We took the Colonial Parkway all the way to Williamsburg where we were met by Marcus, Lauren, Linda, Mason, Ann, Deb, Rachel, and Barbra.  We had an excellent lunch at the Blue Talon Bistro in Merchant’s Walk next to Colonial Williamsburg.

l-r - Steve, Linda, Michael, Craig, Rachel, Marcus, Lauren, Gloria, Deb, Ann and Eric

l-r - Marcus, Lauren, Gloria, Deb, Ann, Eric, Craig, Linda, Michael, Craig and Rachel

After lunch the five riders set out for the last 12-14 miles of our trip.  We continued on the Colonial Parkway all the way to Yorktown, but traffic had definitely picked up.  We tried to figure out where all the cars came from and were going to, but to no avail.

Although the roads were relatively flat today, the scenery was rather pretty.  The hills were gently rolling with multiple grand views of the Chickahominy River, James River, and York River.  The James River and York River were so wide that it was hard to tell whether you were seeing the James River or the York River, or the Chesapeake Bay.  We saw a few deer, but like most of the deer on this trip they didn’t hang around for pictures.

We finally arrived at our final destination, the Yorktown Victory Monument, where we met up with the crew from lunch as well as Rachel Powers and her daughter, Olivia.  Bob, Gloria, Marcus and Lauren know Rachel from their Bangkok days.  Rachel's daughter was the last bike rider to join our ride and we were delighted to have her join us.  She single-handedly brought the average age of our riders down significantly.

Toasting Bob

After showers and a happy hour (where we were joined by Pat Barner and Bob Randolph), we had our celebration dinner at the Water Street Grille.  Then by ones, twos, and threes, people left to move on to their next great adventure.

Guest blogger Barbra FiteThe second day as SAG was equally exciting, since there was no WIFI at the
charmingly rustic Rivers Rest and I had no cell reception Gloria was kind enough to
let me use her phone to plot a route. Unfortunately I got lost! The numbers of the
local roads just didn’t match up to what I had written? Luckily I stopped a jogger
who was kind enough to help me. She wasn’t sure of the road numbers but told me if
I kept going straight for a few miles I see a stop sign right near the big bike path. If I
turned left I would be heading to Williamsburg, Yeah!! I decided to ask her if she
knew of a convenience store (where I was suppose to meet the riders) on that road.
She looked confused the asked did I mean a “little old country store” I told her that
would do and she told me where to find it. The Sandy Point Superette was amazing -
- I was back in the 1950’s. The gas pumps didn’t take credit cards and I went inside
to pay and get help. The lady behind the counter had a 1940’s hair do with rolled
hair and I was waiting for her to start sing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy:” at any
second. She was really sweet and helped me pump gas. The Superette is an amazing
place.

The riders never found the place and texted me to meet them in Williamsburg. I got
there early enough to walk around and soak in some colonial history before meeting
everyone for a lovely lunch at the Blue Talon Bistro. The rest of the trip was scenic
and green and another pleasant drive to Yorktown, and the end of my well-intentioned SAG duties. I had a great time and met some really great people. I am
really impressed with Gloria, Eric and Michael.  They have made an incredible journey
and deserve all the kudos they receive!!