ning- that would not have been fun! Even with the cold, today turned out to be a wonderful day! Our miles totaled 63.84 today.
After having a week off of relaxing and sleeping in, we woke up nice and early today. The roads look like they are passable, so we got everything all ready to go and packed. Joey woke up with a little bit of a stuffy nose, but nothing too extreme. I took a shower this morning because after leaving somewhere like this, we never know when the next time we will get another one is. We had a little cereal for breakfast this morning and had everything all packed by about 9. Papa Mike and Raven came over this morning, so we got to seem them one last time before we left. It was so sad to leave because we had such a great time here in Leonard. Not only were we going to miss Michael and his family, but I was really going to miss the little doggie. Oh how I've grown to love Angel; before her, I never knew how much I loved little doggies. Angel is so cuddly, portable, quiet, happy, energetic, and just plain adorable. One of my favorite memories of this week is just sitting there relaxing with a cute little doggie in my lap curled up under the blanket. I think part of the reason that I loved little Angel is that she did a lot of things that cats do- like nuzzle their way under covers, pounce when she plays, etc. I definitely got my animal fix to hold me over for a little while. We got back on the road a little after 9 after saying all our goodbyes. It was definitely cold out, probably around 20 or so when we got going. After having been off the bike for a week, it was a very weird feeling once we started riding. It reminded me right away of how it felt when we first pulled away from the apartment in Buffalo at the start of our trip, over 11,000 miles ago. The weight of the bike and all the gear was very noticeable and I felt very wobbly at first. Joey made a comment within the first half a mile that he felt like he was "really far off the ground." It's truly amazing that it only takes a week for our muscle memory to be gone like that. So, there we were, beginning the next "leg of the trip," from Leonard, TX to Altamonte Springs, FL, with a "little" detour to Kansas and Missouri on the way! We didn't even get a mile into the ride before we had to stop to put a little air in Joey's tires. Despite having checked them in the house before leaving and them feeling fine, it was a different story once we were out in the cold and riding on them. They felt a little too squishy for what they should have been. Shortly after we got the tires pumped up, we saw Papa Mike coming down the road in the truck. Raven, Anthony and Michael were accompanying him as they were all on their way to the shooting range to try out the new gun that Anthony got for Christmas and was excited about. We waved one last time and then headed our separate directions. There was a little snow and ice on the road here and there, but for the most part the road was nice and clear. It sure did feel really cold though since we had been spoiled by being in a nice warm house for a week. We were all decked out in our pants, coats, heavy gloves, face masks, hats and booties. The riding wasn't bad because our bodies generated enough heat that we were warm enough. The only hard part would be stopping for lunch. With it being this cold out, we knew we would be going out to eat so we didn't have to freeze our tooshies off cooking, eating, and cleaning. Grammy sent some gift cards to Subway as part of her care package/ Christmas stocking stuff, so that was the plan- subs for lunch! We were really excited when we opened those because we knew they would come in handy on this next leg of the trip. It took us about 5 miles or so to get comfortable on the bikes again and be "back in the groove of riding". The first 20 miles or so to the first town, Bonham (where we went for Christmas Eve Service and for dinner), wasn't too bad. There was hardly any traffic on the road, which was good because for most of the way on that road the shoulder was lacking. We could really feel it in our legs because of having not ridden in a week. I think the cold really amplified that soreness too. After a little searching, we found the Subway in Bonham and enjoyed a nice hot chicken terriaki sub with extra sweet onion sauce for lunch. Although it was a little early miles wise, and time wise to have lunch, we knew it would be the only Subway for quite a while, but also hoped that taking an earlier lunch would give it time to warm up a little outside. We dragged our feet a little because we didn't want to go back outside, but at the same time were excited about getting down the road to cross into Oaklahoma. From Bonham, we had about 20 miles to go before reaching the border. We were quite happy today because for the most part we had a tailwind, which would have not been the case had we been able to leave yesterday. Just before leaving Texas, we made a quick stop at a little convenience store. Just before we went inside, a guy came up to us in his car and told us to be careful because there was A LOT of traffic on this road and there was no shoulder at all once we crossed into OK. We thanked him for his concern, but had a hard time keeping in the giggles because of how insistent he was about how much traffic there was on this road. We tried to reassure him that we would be careful and that there really were hardly any cars on this road (which was NO lie, in the last hour, maybe 15 cars have passed us going either direction- almost no traffic here!). The guy was trying to be funny and said "No there really is a ton of traffic on this road- look in your rear view mirror once in a while!" It was nice of him to be concerned, but compared to a lot of roads we've been on, this one was virtually a ghost road. We crossed the Red River into Oklahoma and were happy to see a welcome sign. Yet another state down- Texas is now just a memory like all the rest we've done. Now on to making more memories in Oklahoma. Although we were hoping the sunshine would come out today, it was cloudy and actually a little foggy all day. Temperature wise, it did warm up nicely to somewhere around 40 degrees during midday. We ascended and descended through rolling hills shortly after getting into OK, but yet still managed to make pretty good time with the tailwind. The one thing that I have enjoyed about being back out in "farmland" is that we pass so much livestock, that all react differently when we ride by. Sometimes we have whole herds of cows running in their fenced in area next to us, while other times the cows just simply stare at us. The same goes with horses, we have the runners and also the stare-ers. It is a lot of fun to see the animals frequently and see how they react to us going by. It really breaks up the riding time and makes it go by much faster. The day went by and we never once saw the sun. We kept riding along and passed through our first little town in OK before heading onto Durant. Although our legs were feeling it from the cold and lack of riding the past week, my knees were giving me the most trouble. They used to hurt quite often on the other trips and in normal riding when I was back home. It's been quite a while since my knees have hurt this much on this trip. I have a feeling that the cold air really takes a beating on them. I'm sure they will get better as time goes on and they get used to riding again. After a quick potty stop at a convince store about 5 miles from Durant, we were riding along when a white vehicle pulled over on the other side of the road and rolled down their window. The driver, who looked VERY familiar to me, said "I'm Hatton Humphrey's mom!" Hatton is one of our faithful followers of the trip and used to live in southern OK. He called his Mom, who lives in Durant, and told her that we were getting close, so she decided she would go try to find us! It was such a great surprise! His Mom, Beth, gave us directions to her house, which was about 5 miles north of Durant. Now we were just SO excited after that. We told her we would be there in about an hour since we had around 10 miles left to do, but I think with our excitement, we made a lot better time than that. We just couldn't believe that we were going to be inside where it was nice and warm tonight- and have a nice hot shower to warm our bodies up! By the time we got to her house, it had started to get even colder out. When we got to Beth & Jim's house, we pulled our bikes right into the garage and got settled. Beth took us on a quick tour of the house and showed us some amazing stuff- a bed, and the best thing anyone could ever ask for- a Jacuzzi bath tub!! I was going to be in heaven later! When Jim got back from a quick trip to the store, we sat down to a super yummy meal of beef stew and cornbread hot out of the oven. It warmed us right up from the inside out. We still couldn't believe that we were there enjoying a beautiful meal with them- what are the odds that we would have just happened to come through the same town that they lived in!? If we wouldn't have met Michael and Papa Mike, we wouldn't have gone to Leonard, TX and probably would have cut into OK someplace else. I am still amazed at this trip- everything has worked out so well. Everything we've done and everyone we've met has lead to something else, almost like everything was supposed to happen according to some kind of plan. My motto that everything happens for a reason- good and bad, has held true. After a wonderful dinner and great conversation, Beth got a nice hot bubble bath ready for me. It was like stepping into a paradise. Fit with candles and a glass of wine, I don't think it could have gotten any better than that! The hot water and Jacuzzi jets felt great on my sore legs and knees. I was definitely in heaven. As we were riding through the cold today, this is the last thing I pictured myself getting to do today- what a treat. I love the surprises that the days bring while touring- that is one of the things that keeps me going strong. I stayed in that heavenly water for a little over an hour. It was a lot of fun because when the jets were on, so many bubbles would form that you could get lost in them. Then you turn the jets off for a little bit and they would go down a little. It was the ultimate bubble bath! I can't remember the last time I've taken a bubble bath, but that is definitely something I need to do a little more frequently! It was so incredibly relaxing! As I sat in there, all I could think about was the cold weather and how we would be riding in it again- that was enough to make me want to stay in the nice hot water as LONG as I could. Beth had a nice snuggy bath robe for me to wear when I got out, and it was just so comfy! Before going to sleep in the nice comfy bed, I threw a load of laundry in to get everything all cleaned. It had been a couple days since I'd done it last, so we had "regular clothes" and it's always nice to have nice fresh cycling clothes. The bubble bath made me feel totally relaxed and I knew between that and the super comfy bed, I would get a fantastic nights sleep. We are so blessed to be indoors today because we watched the weather channel for a little bit this evening and they called for a chance of freezing rain this eve
ning- that would not have been fun! Even with the cold, today turned out to be a wonderful day! Our miles totaled 63.84 today.
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Well, it's just as we thought, we woke up to the roads still covered in a thick sheet of ice and snow. There was no way we would be able to ride on roads like that. So, one more day here in Leonard! I had cake for breakfast again today because I just can't get enough of it. Somehow we got watching the series on Netflix called The Walking Dead ( actually, Anthony got us started watching it); we ended up watching a TON of episodes of that today. We played a little Foosball here and there- and I actually won! I've come close a few times, but always get beat right at the end. Since we didn't really do anything today, we weren't super hungry, so we just had a snack for lunch. We made some nachos in the microwave and were in heaven. The sun came out a little and it was enough to start the melting process on the road, but by that time, it was already after 2 and it made no sense to leave since there was only a few hours of daylight left. At one point this afternoon, the boys went with Scott to Bonham to check the vending machines. They ended up being gone for about 3 hours. When they got back, we were still doing the same thing as when they left- watching that crazy show. We definitely had a total couch potato day! That show really gets you with the cliff hangers at the end of every episode and the fact that the next episode starts automatically. Even though we did absolutely nothing productive today, I really enjoyed it because I got to cuddle with little Angel ALL day! It is so cute how she borrows under the blanket to get warm and is content there all day. She doesn't mind if you pick her up and cuddle her and she just can't get enough attention. The best part is that she is travel size. The long standing joke now is that she's going to join us for the rest of out bike ride. Scott and the boys came home with stuff to make spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner tonight. Boy was that yummy! I was so stuffed by the time I was done; I must have had 6 pieces of garlic bread on top of all the spaghetti I ate. What a great dinner! Despite being stuffed, a couple hours later I still had room for cake and ice cream! What a fun day today. This week really has been a little vacation from our vacation! I am so glad we had a chance to come see Michael again as well as meet some of his family, and even get to see Papa Mike again! It was just such a great time. The road cleared up significantly by the end of the day today, so things are looking good for getting back on the road tomorrow.
Christmas is here! Merry Christmas everyone!!! What a crazy night we had last night! Around 1 am or 2 am, it started to storm. It was raining really hard and the thunder and lightning was incredible. For an hour or so we laid there awake listening to the storm. The lightning flashed for longer than I've seen lightning flash before and the thunder boomed really loud. When we woke up this morning, the rain was still pouring down. Poor Santa must have gotten soaked last night! Shortly after we woke up, the thunder and lightning started up again. Michael and Scott went to a family member's house near Dallas and dropped Anthony off at their Aunt Julie's house (where Papa Mike was) down the street from where we were. After a hot shower and some breakfast (which for me was chocolate cake- what better!?!) Joey and I headed upstairs to the game room and played a little Foosball. It worked out pretty well because then the kids could have their Christmas in the morning. After about a half hour or so of playing, Papa Mike, Anthony, and Raven came over in the car to see if we wanted a ride over to Julie's since it was pouring rain and cold out. Normally we would have walked, but on a day like today, we would have been soaked for the entire day if we did. We were very glad they came to get us! The Christmas parade on TV was just finishing when we got there. Along with the three that came to get us, there was Julie, of course, her husband Dale, Grandma Pat and her husband, and Michael's Mom, Lisa there. It was a very good group to get to spend the holiday with. Shortly after arriving, we had a chance to talk with some family back home and even Skype with Joey's family and brother Andy, who is in China for a year teaching English. For the rest of the day, we just relaxed. Unfortunately there weren't any good Christmas movies or shows on, but that's ok. Joey had fun playing a few video games with Raven and Anthony for a while. Raven let me borrow her colored pencils and a piece of paper, so I had fun drawing and coloring. We had a very yummy dinner of ham, potato salad, baked bean casserole, and strawberry jello stuff. It was nice because it was an eat when you're hungry set up, so we all ate at different times. Later on, the rain turned to sleet and then eventually to snow. The crazy thing was that the rain never let up today, and the snow was coming down just as hard. Before we knew it, there was an inch, then two, three and so on. It truly was a white Christmas!! Now that is something we definitely did not expect here in Texas! It was actually kind of nice because it made us feel almost like we were home, even though it wasn't the same because our family wasn't there, it did help a little. Joey and I each had a cup of nice warm hot cocoa made with milk, the perfect thing for a cold snowy day! Later on it was time for pie! There was pumpkin, apple and pecan, and whipped cream to top it off. It was so nice to get to spend the holiday with friends; I am really glad that we ended up staying!!! Later on that night, we headed back over to Scott's house and hung out with him and Anthony for a while (and the little doggie, Angel...oh how I love her, she is so cute and cuddly. She will be missed VERY much when it's time to leave!). When we got there, Michael had already gone to bed because he wasn't feeling very well. The walk was quite treacherous as the roads and sidewalks were totally covered in ice and snow. It almost never snows here, so there are no snow plows- we may just end up being stuck here tomorrow (even though we planned on getting back on the road), if the roads don't get better by morning. Guess we will see what the morning beings. So, we survived our first Christmas away from home, it still didn't seem 100% like it really was Christmas though just because I didn't get to do all the fun Christmas things like decorating, making cookies, listening to Christmas music 24/7, wrapping presents, etc. That really gets you in the Christmas mood. I think that made it a little easier, though. Even still, I can't wait til next Christmas so I get to do all of those things and be with the family, only 364 more days!
Christmas eve is here! I can hardly believe it. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and some cake from yesterday for lunch. Later on today, we went over to Michael's Aunt Julie's house for a while. The kids played some video games and we all relaxed. Later on, those who wanted to go, got ready to go to Christmas Eve Mass with Papa Mike. Julie, her husband Dale, daughter Raven, and myself headed off to Bonham with Papa Mike. Everyone else stayed back at Julie's house with Michael's Grandma Pat. There was a candlelight service at the Methodist Church in Leonard, but no one could figure out what time it was. Dale had called the church a few times, and never received an answer. It was about a half hour drive before we reached the little church we were going to. It was a beautiful church that was quite tiny and had been there since 1898. Luckily we got there in time to get a seat. There was probably only room for about 75-100 people to sit. It was actually kind of funny because the pews were pretty tiny since they were over 100 years old and the people were smaller back then. A group of guys came in that looked like they could have been football players- seeing them all smooshed in a tiny pew was pretty funny. It was a pretty nice service, although I was a little disappointed because we only got to sing one Christmas song. I'm sure if we went to the midnight mass, there would have been more, but it still surprised me that there wasn't more for the earlier mass. I think it was different too just because none of our family members were there, which makes not feel completely like Christmas eve. Either way, I am so glad that we ended up staying in Leonard so that I could go with friends, that made a big difference. The priest was pretty funny, and it turns out that his birthday was tomorrow, too! After the mass, we all headed to the Chinese Restaurant in town, where we met up with the rest of the group. We were all going out to dinner to celebrate Michael's birthday yesterday, as well as Christmas Eve. It was very yummy and a lot of fun! I was super happy because they had my favorites: chicken and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, and the little Chinese sugar donuts! After we were all stuffed to the brim, we headed back to Leonard. The 6 of us in Papa Mike's truck made a little side trip before leaving Bonham. There was a house that had the most amazing Christmas lights, right in town. When we pulled up, we saw saw a sign that said to turn our radio to 104.3- they had their own radio station! The house lights were synced to each Christmas song that was being played. It was pretty amazing! There were also people waiting out at the end of the driveway when we got there. They were handing out candy canes! They really knew how to spread the Christmas cheer! We still have no idea how they even go about making the lights so that they do that. When we got back to Leonard, we headed back to Julie's house for a little while. All of us watched a couple movies, one of which Home Alone 3 and another being a Christmas movie. Somehow we ended up going to bed kind of late, but it didn't matter so much since we had such a great day. Tomorrow is Christmas!
It's Michael's 15th birthday today! Since I was craving some french toast for breakfast, Papa Mike, Joey, and Michael ran to the store and got everything we needed. Joey did the honors of cooking breakfast, and I helped some too. Yummy-- I ate so much french toast! This afternoon, we took a little road trip with Papa Mike. Raven, Michael, Anthony, Joey and I all hopped in his truck headed to McKinney. On the way we stopped at the Race Track gas station that Joey and I stopped at on the way to Leonard. Again- just an awesome store. They have every drink you could ever want and about 20 flavors of each of those drinks. Some of the group got tea, or coffee, while others got icees. Joey and I each got a HUGE 54 oz Icee- but we couldn't resist getting the big one, they were only $1.39 each! We worked on those Icees for about an hour. Our next stop was the Verizon store. For a few months now, my phone has been dead for the majority of the time since it no longer holds a charge. I've been thinking about getting a new battery, but I knew that was going to cost 40-50 bucks, so I kept putting it off. Papa Mike had an old phone that had been sitting at Michael and Anthony's house for a really long time. It just happened to be the same phone that I used to have and loved. The best part is that it is in perfect working order- and holds a charge for a long time. Scott said that no one was using it, or would use it and that it was just going to sit there and that I was welcome to it if I wanted it. So, at the Verizon store, I switched over my number from my old phone to Papa Mike's old one and am all set with a long lasting battery phone! We made a quick stop at Lowes to get some cable to make a dog run for Maggie and then headed to Costco! Oh what fun we had there. While Papa Mike did all the shopping he needed to do, Raven, Joey, Michael, Anthony and I had SO much fun going to all the free sample stations. Some we would go back to 2 or 3 times. We were so full by the time we left there that it was just like we had "lunch at Costco!" We had a little time to relax before it was time to celebrate Michael's birthday. We sang to him, of course, and he blew out his candles. Cake and ice cream time!! Later on this evening, we went to a family friend's house for a Christmas Party. The food was amazing and we had a great time talking with some of the people there. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves too since they got to decorate t-shirts with glittler glue and exchange presents. We had a busy day today, but it sure was fun!
It ended up working out really well that we stayed an extra day yesterday because then we would easily get to see Papa Mike again. Originally we planned on him just tracking us down through our SPOT to see each other for a brief time. But, he has been driving since Thursday and will be here today. Papa Mike arrived around lunch time. Shortly after getting here and seeing everyone, another ice cream run was made!! I was happy having just ice cream for lunch. I spent a LOT of time with the little doggie today and playing on the tablet. The "kids" played outside and played more video games, as usual. Later on, we headed over to Michael and Anthony's Aunt Julie's house where we watched a couple movies, one of which was a Christmas movie! We had chili for dinner- which was pretty funny since we've had chili for the past couple nights and Julie had no idea. Either way, it was awesome. We also got to snack on some pizza rolls. Somehow we ended up staying up pretty late and were up at midnight to wish Michael a "Happy Birthday." Michael is all excited because his Dad gave him a car for his birthday and they just brought it home this evening. Although it will be a year before he can really drive it, he's super excited, which he should be! Another fun day! It looks like we will be staying until Christmas!!!
Well, last night proved to be an interesting night. I woke up around 2:30 am and wasn't feeling very well. My stomach was doing flip flops. A little while later, I threw up! I can't remember the last time that's happened. I hope that I'm not getting sick or have a stomach bug. I am pretty sure that the main cause was eating too much chilli. It was so good! I think that the spicy ness must have just not agreed with me since we haven't had a lot of spicy food lately. This morning, I didn't feel as bad as I did last night, but still wasn't feeling 100%. I took a shower hoping that it would make me feel better, but all it did was make me super tiered. I laid back down and slept for a little over 2 more hours. After that, I was feeling better. Either way- we ended up staying today just because I wasn't feeling good. I didn't eat any breakfast this morning because I just wasn't feeling hungry- which makes no sense, because I feel like I should have been really hungry. Today was another day to relax and play with the puppies. Raven came over again and we played some Foosball and air hockey. Joey, Raven, Michael and Anthony decided it would be fun to play with the air soft guns and 4 wheeler. I have no idea what they were doing, but they seemed to be having a blast. We all got to enjoy pizza for lunch and watched another movie this afternoon. This afternoon I walked to the Post office and spent and hour at the library. We watched a few more movies for the rest of the day, and had some chili for dinner. Michael and Joey made another ice cream run, so we got to have a little more ice cream, too! Papa Mike left from NY yesterday and is heading our way. He should be to Leonard tomorrow, so we plan to take another day off here so that we can spend some time with him, too. Another fun day in Leonard.
We slept in again this morning- but I slept in even later than yesterday. Joey woke up earlier and began to play video games with the other 3. I didn't wake up until almost 10:30!! It was so nice. Although everyone had already eaten breakfast, there was a little left for me. Scott made biscuits and gravy, sausage and scrambled eggs- what a great way to start the day. For a good majority of the time yesterday when we were watching movies, I had fun making little bicycles now that I had a new spool of wire. Today, I just relaxed, did a little typing here and there, and played with the doggies and the kitty. When the "kids" got tired of playing video games, they went outside to play for a little bit and then came back and played more video games. This cycle went on almost all day. We all had a nice big bowl of ice cream for lunch and had some awesome chilli for dinner. We watched some more movies for the rest of the night. I'm really loving just spending time being couch potatoes! Tonight we watched a Texas based movie since we were in Texas (Texas Killing Fields) and an Adam Sandler movie since Michael and Anthony are convinced Joey looks like him. Joey wants to get back on the road tomorrow because like usual he likes to keep moving, but I'm hoping that we stay another day. Guess we will see what happens.
When I woke up, the boys were already headed off to school, but they got out early today since their winter break starts tomorrow. Joe went with Scott to service the vending machines in McKinney and I stayed home and relaxed. Little Angel cuddled all morning and had quite a long nap on my lap. I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa while I typed. It was so nice to sit in a comfy bed for a while, it was just so relaxing. At one point I got a call from Joey and Scott saying that Anthony needed a dollar to get into his Christmas Party, so I had a little field trip over to the school in the nice fresh air. Joey and Scott got home around lunch time just as I was sitting down outside to eat my lunch. It is another beautiful day, so I was out their for that reason, but more importantly, to have some quality kitty time with Fuzzy. She is such a cute friendly kitty. The boys played outside for quite a while today both football and baseball. Later on, we got a chance to meet Michael's Aunt Julie and his cousin, Raven. Scott made chicken and dumplings for dinner, which as so good. Anthony, Michael, Julie and I went on an ice cream run to the grocery store and were very happy to find out that the really good kind of ice cream, Blue Bell, was on sale. So, we got 3 half gallons- yes real half gallons, not the reduced size! Between the 7 of us, we put a pretty good dent in the ice cream, that's for sure! For the rest of the night we watched a couple movies, and later on, Joey, Raven, Michael, and Anthony played some video games. A fun filled, relaxing day, topped off with ice cream- can't get any better than that!
We were up and about by around 7:30 this morning. Once we were all packed, we planned to head to the grocery store to get some cereal and milk so we didn't have to have oatmeal. As we were coming around the front of the church, I stopped to take a picture of the front of the church, like I normally do. At that same moment, a car pulled in and the guy inside asked if we wanted a cup of hot coffee. Being the kids that we are, we asked if he had any hot cocoa instead. He said "Sure! we've got hot cocoa!" So, back towards the church we went. They guy that pulled in was the Pastor and his name was Jerry. He had us bring our bikes right into the church just so we didn't have to worry about them. After he put the water on for the hot cocoa, he began looking for it. It was then that he realized that they didn't have any left. We told him that it wasn't any big deal because we had a few packets in our bear canister. Pastor Jerry said that instead of that, he was going to do something better- just take us out for breakfast! We were so surprised, but very excited too! So the three of us hopped in his car and we headed off to one of his favorite places to go for breakfast. On the way, he showed us one of the roads he likes to ride his mountain bike down a few days a week. When we got closer to the "dive"restaurant he was taking us to, he realized that he didn't have cash and so we changed our plans to go to someplace that would accept credit card. It's funny because the place we were originally going to is probably one of the few places left in the city that take cash only. Either way, it worked out just fine. He took us to a place called La Madeleine which served French cuisine. We both got amazing cups of hot cocoa with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. I had fancy cinnamon french toast with syrup, strawberries, blueberries and mandarin oranges and whipped cream on top. AMAZING! Joey had an all American breakfast with eggs, sausage and a croissant. We had a great time talking with Pastor Jerry and hearing about some of the trips he's taken while we ate. When we headed back to the church, we met the assistant pastor, who was equally as excited about our trip. What a great way to start the day. When we headed out, we rode on the sidewalk for a while to avoid the traffic, but when the sidewalk ended for no reason, we had to cross over the two lanes of traffic and the median to get to the road on the other side. From there we took the road instead, which turned out to be a very good thing because the sidewalk on the other side of the street ended a short while later too. We rode through the old downtown section of McKinney which helped show that the town did used to be small at one time. It definitely wasn't anymore!! It was pretty quick from there to get out into the country- finally! No more of those crazy roads. The road going out of McKinney was nice- there was a nice big shoulder and wide open spaces. At one point we stopped at a gas station for a quick break. It was actually a pretty neat little store- there was even free coffee for a certain time period. The wind pushed us all the way to Leonard. Two days in a row with a tail wind- what an amazing thing. The road that lead to Leonard had lots of rolling hills that kept it interesting. Joe got a call from the bike shop we dropped the wheel off at and they said that if we can get the bike shop we bought the bike at to email them proof of purchase, then they will be able to turn the wheel in for the warranty. When we made it into Leonard, we headed to the library for a little bit. It was still pretty early when we got to town, so we still had an hour or so before Michael would get out of school. After we killed some time at the library, we headed over to Michael's house since we knew he would be out of school soon. When we got there, we found that he had put the flags that were on his bike during his trip out on the front porch so that we knew it was the right house- just like he put the flags out by the road so we knew where to find us if Joey and him got to camp early. There waiting on the front porch for us was the package that Grammy sent us. We were so excited, so we opened it right away. Inside we found the maps for Oklahoma and a couple other states along with that. There was also everything we would have gotten in our Christmas stockings if we were home-right down to our Christmas orange!! We had fun having a little Christmas away from home. Shortly after we had our little Christmas on the front porch, Michael's Dad Scott got home. He was home for about 2 minutes when Michael flew in on Papa Mike's trike just to check if we were here yet. Michael was here for about 2 seconds before hew was off to his after school sports. We got to meet Michael's little brother, Anthony, a little before Michael came back home. The boys helped Scott for a little bit before throwing some baseball and football. I had fun playing with their big dogn Maggie and their little tiny dog, Angel, and the kitty named Fuzzy (originally Mr. Fuzzy until she had a litter of kittens and they realized it wasn't a he!). Later that evening we went out to the buffet at the restaurant down the street with James, Scott's partner in his vending machine business, and two of his kids. The food was great- chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, beans, salad, pizza, and pretty much any comfort food you could ask for. It was wonderful! We stuffed ourselves to the brim and then headed back to the house. For the rest of the night, we just relaxed and watched a couple movies. The next couple of days are going to be fun hanging out with Michael and his family! We had a nice short day of riding today as we only rode 34.35 miles today.
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