Goodbye Delmarva

I got up a little before 7, got myself around, and came down to find my host had spread out all manner of cereal and fruit, some donuts, English muffins, the whole nine yards to pick from. While I ate breakfast, she suggested to me that I should take Seaside Road, a nice quiet side road, rather than the well-shouldered but heavily trafficked 13, as my way to get down to the bridge tunnel. It added a couple miles, but seemed well worth it to me, especially since I had plenty of time to make it to the bridge for my scheduled 1pm pickup. By a little before 8 I said my farewell and hit the road.

This time I took the proper road rather than the road through someone's farm that Google directed me last night, and then back over the same stretch I had gone yesterday for a ways. I made it down through Bellhaven and then Exmore, tiny little towns, but the last I would see for miles, as I crossed over 13 and soon got on the aforementioned Seaside Road. It was quiet and rural, though without too much to see.

I made good time though, and soon was near the top of the peninsula. I took a little time to bike over to Kiptopeke State Park and take in the sights. Then I biked on a short, about 3 mile, but very nice and scenic trail down to the welcome center. I only had to be on 13 for all of a moment before reaching the bridge police station.

I stood around for awhile, unsure what to do, until a police officer came up to me and said I should go inside to arrange a ride. As I went to do so, another asked if I had already called ahead, which I said I had. He told me to wait there for awhile, and before long a man came to drive the van to take me across. He helped me lift the bike inside, and with panniers still on (providing some padding, actually), he had me lay my bike down on the van floor, and then said let's go. I would have preferred to secure the bike better, but I wasn't going to argue. He had me pay the toll to cross when we got up to the bridge, and that was the only charge for the service. I worried a little about it Bree just laying down in the back at first, glancing back at her periodically, but then accepted she would be fine. I tried a few times to strike up a conversation, as we drove over the stunning bridge, with two spans of tunnel (to allow boats to go over), but he didn't seem too interested. So I just appreciated the view of the bridge.

We got to the end, got my bike out, and that was all there was to it. I took a moment to confirm Bree was okay, and then headed on, less than 10 miles to go to my cousin's. It was a little surreal, having spent the morning going through rural Delmarva, being driven across the very long bridge, and then suddenly dropped off into a major metro, now biking through heavy traffic. There was also the realization that if I had not been before, I was definitely in the South now, seeing more than one Confederate flag on the way. But drivers were very polite as I biked on some major roads. Though I still got off onto side roads as quickly as I could.

It wasn't long before I arrived, to find my Amazon package I ordered with my new bottle and a new tube of chamois butter. My cousin texted to ask if I had crossed the bridge yet right as I arrived, to which I could respond with a picture of Bree in front of her house. She contacted her neighbor to let me in and I was done for the day, and a couple days after, planning to take some rest time. I'm excited to spend some time with my cousin and her husband.