Day 14 - Wabash, Indiana to New Haven 64 miles today

We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant in Wabash this morning before starting our day.  We left the restaurant at 7:00AM and within a mile we were biking up and down hills. The first 8 miles were a lot of hills but once we got up onto the high plains the winds took over and we had a great ride.   When we came into Wabash yesterday we found out that Wabash was in the valley so of course, we knew today we would have to have some hills to get back out.  We biked through the Salamonie River State Forest which was a very pretty bike ride and then past the Salamonie Reservoir and dam area.  Once again, the flooding is very obvious and there are still trees in flooded areas.

As we were biking through the Salamonie River State Forest we met a gal driving a horse and riding a sulke.  As our bike got closer the horse was a little skittish but did okay. 

It was really a great day for biking (other than it was really hot - 92 degrees when we got to New Haven, Indiana) but we had a great tailwind almost the entire way.  After several stops in small towns we arrived in New Haven by 1:00AM and checked into a Holiday Inn Express and immediately put on our swim suits and enjoyed the pool.  We will spend the rest of the day relaxing and getting ready for another ride tomorrow.

We are about 10 miles from Ohio so we will be saying goodbye to Indiana and looking forward to biking in Ohio.

There were pretty flower beds along the road - we have certainly seen beautiful landscaping and gorgeous spring flowers as we bicycle along!

We bicycled right through the Salamonie River State Forest!

John is always smiling!

Great day for a bike ride through the woods!



A gal and her horse going out for a morning stroll!



How cool is that!

Salamonie River (fisherman standing in the water)

Flooding is still apparent in this area as we bicycle across the bridge!

Day 13 - Monticello, Indiana to Wabash, Indiana 6-3-2011

We were expecting a fairly hot day today, in the 90's, and Gary and Marilyn had to drive back to Pickerington, Ohio later in the afternoon so we decided to set the alarm for 6:00AM and hit the road early.  After packing up Gary discovered he had a flat tire on the bike and we spent about 1/2 hour repairing the rear tire.  By that time the owner of the Lighthouse Inn, Bonnie, came out by us and offered us breakfast seeing that she was up anyway.  So after fixing the tire we decided to stay and eat breakfast at the Lighthouse Inn and then got under way about 7:10.  We had a very pleasant ride to Royal Center where we stopped at a convenient store and picked up a lunch to eat at the local park.

On our way to Royal Center we saw three deer and several turkey's which is probably the most wildlife that we have seen since we left Deb & Dennis.  (you can read into it what you want) lol

After lunch we said our goodbye's to Marilyn and Gary.  Marilyn and Gary headed back to the Lighthouse Inn to load their bike up and head back to their home in Ohio.  John and I continued on towards Wabash, Indiana.  Twenty miles after leaving Marilyn and Gary we were back into hills, mashing gears, and we managed to break a chain which took 45 minutes to repair.  After repairing the chain we came across three young boys on bicycles that gave us directions to the closest restaurant.  Thanks boys, we enjoyed a good cold drink and ice cream cones.

We then finished off our last 18 miiles to Wabash and arrived at the Wabash Inn around 3:30 Eastern time.

We had several great days biking with Marilyn and Gary.  We have gotten to meet such wonderful people and made such special friends and we consider Deb, Dennis, Marilyn and Gary great friends and we always have a great time when we are with these two couples.  Thanks to both couples for making our trip extra special by joining us as we travel to Bar Harbor, Maine!

Gary repairing the back tire - we woke up and got ready to bike and he noticed he had a back flat tire!

John standing back ready to jump in and help Gary if he needs it!

We loved biking with Deb, Dennis, Marilyn and Gary on this trip - it's sure is nice to have such great friends!



Three young men were so helpful in directing us to a place to get something cold to drink and ice cream!  Thanks guys!



It seems like there are a lot of sheep and goat farmers along this route!

It sure is nice biking where there is shade when it is so hot!

Day 12 - Watseka, Illinios to Monticello, Illinois 6-2-2011

We got up and met Gary & Marilyn for the continental breakfast at 6:00AM.  After eating Marilyn and Gary hopped in their van and drove to Monticello, Illinois.  Once they arrived in Monticello at the Lighthouse Inn they unloaded their bike and headed back to meet us at Rensselaer for lunch and then all four of us would continue biking back to the Lighthouse Inn.  After Marilyn and Gary left Watseka John and I got on our bike and headed towards Rensselaer in hopes that we would arrive there before Marilyn and Gary.  Well that didn't happen - in fact Marilyn and Gary were in Rensselaer about 1-1/2 hours ahead of us.  We had headwinds and they had tailwinds plus we had more miles to bike to get there than they did.  Upon arrival in Rennsselaer we went to lunch and then we all got on our bicyles and headed to Monticello.  Monticello was 6-1/2 miles off of our route but our hotel options were very sparse so we decided to bicycle the 6-1/2 miles  to the Lighthouse Inn.

Marilyn had kept telling me on our way there that biking the extra miles was so worth it because the Lighthouse Inn was such a beautiful B&B. John and I ended up biking 77 miles and we were beat and those last 6-1/2 miles off route seemed to take forever. Once we arrived at the Lighthouse Inn we were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful home, cottage, and B&B that the owners, Mike and Bonnie had. As soon as I showered I had stepped outside and ended up walking over to one of the decks where Mike and Bonnie were sitting. They were so hospitable and friendly and made you feel at home immediately. Bonnie told Marilyn and I all about there B&B and then took us on a lovely tour of their beautiful home and rooms that they rent out. To anyone that is traveling in the Monticello, Indiana area this is an upscale beautiful B&B and I am sure that you would enjoy yourselves if you stayed there. You can find out all about their beautiful B&B by going to the following website: http://www.thelighthouselodge.com/


After we were all cleaned up we hopped in Marilyn and Gary's van and went to the Rivers Edge Lounge for delicious Rib Eye steaks. It's amazing how hungry one can get when they bike 77 miles in one day. lol We enjoyed good company, good drinks, with good friends! What more could you ask for?

When we got back to the Lighthouse Inn Mike took us out on the pontoon boat to show us the beautiful homes around the Lake. What an enjoyable evening and a great place to stay.

We then went back to the cabin and everyone called it a night.

This town reminded me of my 17 year old Grand Daughter Brook - love ya Brook!

This was a beautiful home that we bicycled by in Brook, Indiana



We were biking passed a home and this cute little Chocolate Lab started following us.  He just ran his little heart out to keep up with us but finally gave up.  He was such a cute little guy and looked so happy running along side our  bikes.



Biking along and enjoying every minute!

The front of the Lighthouse Inn in Monticello, Indiana on Shafer Lake owned by Mike and Bonnie!

Cabin that we stayed in by the Lighthouse Inn

John and Gary decided what route to take the next day!

The dam that we passed on our way to the restaurant for dinner!

Sitting out at the patio at the restaurant enjoying the view of the river and good company!

Now doesn't this look inviting!

Lighthouse that is in the front yard of the B&B - Mike and Bonnie had it all restored and it is a working lighthouse!

We kept biking passed such beautiful purple flowers!

In the Rec Room and Breakfast area of the B&B!

Gary, probably checking the weather for tomorrow's bike ride!

John waiting for the pontoon ride - really he was so tired I think he would of been the happiest if he could just go to bed!  lol

We had a great time on the pontoon ride - Thanks Mike, you and Bonnie are wonderful hosts!

Mike giving us a ride on his pontoon boat and showing us the lake properties!

There is a amusement park called Indiana Beach that draws people from all over the world to this area!

Life is good!

Day 11 - Kempton to Watseka, Illinois 6-1-2011 - 56 miles

John and I got up about 5:30 this morning and anxious to get on the road and out of Kempton.  To say it was an interesting place to sleep at would be an understatement.  When Marilyn and Gary dropped us off at the house in Kempton we decided that we would bike to Ashkum in the morning and they would bike from Watseka to Ashkum and meet us for breakfast at "The Loft" where we all ate breakfast.  John and I had left Kempton earlier than planned and we had beautiful perfect biking weather with the wind to our back so we made the 18 miles in record time and actually arrived at the restaurant about an hour early.  That was okay we rehydrated and read the paper while we waited to eat breakfast with Marilyn and Gary. 

On our way to Ashkum we biked along drainage canals that were dug by the Army Corp of Engineers to drain the marshlands in the area so that the land could be used for growing crops.  Some of these channels were 20 to 25 feet deep.

After breakfast we all got on our bikes and headed towards Watseka.  What a perfect day - fantastic weather with cooperating winds, beautiful scenery, and great company.  What more could we ask for!  We arrived in Watseka before noon and got unpacked and then we headed out biking again.  We had only biked 38 miles to get here so we decided to bike to a neighboring town (head winds all the way there) and totally enjoyed the ride back with the winds pushing us back to Watseka. We stopped at a cute little coffee shop and had lunch before heading back to the Super 8.

Once we got back to the hotel we did laundry (there were washer and dryer right next to our room) and the four of us played Eucher in the lobby!  It was interesting because we had learned to play Buck Eucher with Dennis and Deb earlier in the trip and now we played Eucher with Marilyn and Gary.  Although they are similar they are definitely a different game. 
After the laundry was completed at John and Gary beat the girls twice in Eucher we went out for dinner and then back to our rooms.  We are planning on heading out early tomorrow and everyone was tired and ready to call it a night.

Good food, good weather, good friends makes for another great day!

John standing with the bike along side one of the drainage canals built by the Army Corp of Engineers!

Canals used for drainage!

Interesting car we saw along side the road!

Enjoying a great day of biking with Marilyn and Gary!

Flooding on the Iroquis River near Watseka!

This water tower made us all smile!

Day 10 - Wenona to Kempton, Illinois 6-1-2011

Before we had gotten to Wenona yesterday we had called the number for a bed and breakfast in Kempton to make sure we had a room for Tuesday night.  We spoke with David and he said the bed and breakfast was closed because the man that had been running it had died and they sold the home to a family that is now living there.  He did say that he would rent us a room at the home that he calls the World Adventure Club House in Kempton.  We were relieved to at least have a place to stay.  So on Tuesday morning we got up early and headed to Kempton around 6:50AM - we had 58 miles to bike and it was a great day with the wind in our favor the majority of the time.  The few miles that we had to bike south was headwinds but fortunately we didn't have more than 10 miles or so of biking south.  We arrived in Kempton around 1:30 and went to the World Adventure Book store to see if we could check in to our room.  When we had called earlier and talked with David Hatcher Childress, he had told us that there was a restaurant that we could eat at.  Once we arrived at the book store we found out that the restaurant was closed but would open up later that day.  We checked in and then one of the book store employees named Joe walked us over to the house. We met David Childress on the way. While showing us the house David told us of some of his travels over the world and explained the significance of many of the items stored in the club house. There were four separate bedrooms each with a different decorating theme, the Atlantis room - for the lost city of Atlantis, the Pacific room - for the Philippine Islands, the Inca room - for Central America, and the African room.There was all kinds of neat stuff like a coat of armor, a mummie, an African face mask, sea shells,etc etc.

After getting settled in and cleaned up we road our bike back to the Sargent Pepper's Bar and Grill to relax and rehydrate. While there we struck up a conversation with a couple of the regulars and found out a little bit about the area. It turns out David Childress is an author and also a regular on the TV History channel. We were also told of a community nearby, I think it was Stealth or something similar, where the locals supposedly have some type of spacecraft built and stored and ready to go in the event of the end of the world or Armageddon or whatever. How's that for weird stuff!! We were very impressed with the regulars, very polite, absolutely no swearing, and no smoking by their choice. The bartender asked if we minded if the regulars smoked? Before we could reply, one of the regulars said no that's ok, if their bikers it's obvious they don't smoke so we wont. How polite is that?

We were just getting ready to order something to eat when we got a phone call from Gary and Marilyn Solomon, our biking friends from Ohio. They told us not to order anything, that they were on their way to pick us up to go out to eat. When they arrived we had a great visit renewing our friendship and bringing each other up to date. We finally decided to show Gary and Marilyn the club house, where we are staying,  and then headed by car toAshkum, IL to the Pizza Palace for a delicious barbecued ribs supper.
Marilyn and Gary are going to bike with us for a couple of days and we look forward to spending the time with them.  After dropping us off they drove to Watseka (where we will spend Wednesday night) and they checked into the Super 8.  Tomorrow morning they will start biking towards us and we will meet in the middle at "The Loft" in Ashkum for breakfast and then all four of us will bicycle to Watseka.  It was so great to spend time with them and we so appreciate there coming to bike with us the next couple of days!

Another great day - Marilyn and Gary, thank you for making this day extra special!

On Tuesday evening we had this entire house to ourselves for $30.00.  This house is the World Adventure Clubhouse and you will see below some pictures that were taken on the inside.  It was rather strange and creepy but what can you expect for $30.00.

We are still biking by the wind generators and also huge power lines as we cross Illinois!

This is what greets you as you walk in the front door of this house!

One room has a pool table with all kinds of artifacts and stuff hanging on the walls all over the house!

Another room with African masks, skeletons, and misc. items!

Marilyn and Gary talking with Jennifer Bolm (her and her husband own the home we stayed at) at the book store in Kempton!

Mural on the outside of the book store in Kempton!

This is the mural on the side of Sgt. Peppers Bar and Grill!  It was so interesting once we stopped to study it. There were paintings of Dorothy and Toto (dog), Blues Brothers, Elvis, John Glenn, Beatles, Three Stooges, and even President Obama painted on this mural.  It was really cool.  Of course, John and I are trying to be funny posing like the Blues Brothers!

More pictures of the Mural!

Mummy in the house that we stayed at (creepy huh)  What can you expect for $30.00 lol

This is the sink in the upstairs bathroom - it looks like a spine and there is also a matching mirror on the wall behind it!

We are still biking amongst the wind generators and of course with that comes huge power lines also!