All the way down, I said ”I better see ponies!” And…..

But maybe I should start at the beginning:

Russ and CK decided to scale back the first day’s riding, given that it was 28 degrees out and threatening rain. So an early start, to drive an hour south to Woodland Beach, DE, where Erin and I saw the boys off.

And a good thing, too, because Russ immediately discovered that his helmet strap catch was broken. Got the spare helmet out of my car. Half an hour later, I had just reached the entrance to Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge when I got a call from CK. Russ’s tire had a cut in the sidewall. Could I come back with the spare? Thank goodness they at least made it across the causeway to Woodland Beach, because by that time the tide had come in and the road was under water until the tide went out again.

By the time all was fixed, I decided to head straight for Assateague and save Bombay Hook for another trip. (I have been there, and highly recommend it.) Made it to Assateague about 2:30, found my campsite, and was greeted by this:

PONIES!!! This little fellow is the second foal born on Assateague this year, and he’s only three days old. Ain’t he cute? His mom is Autumn Glory, and his dad (not shown) is Assateague Phoenix (who knew they name the horses?) My neighbor had to wait to get back to his tent, because the colt decided to take a nap in the sun right in the middle of his site. You are NOT allowed to approach the horses, even if they are blocking your campsite!

Woke up Thursday to warmer weather (finally), and a fierce wind. Glad I chose the bayside, and not the oceanside, campground! Will post more pictures when I manage to find wifi.

Oh, P.S.: Surprise—there are cacti on Assateague! Poor Scooby found out the hard way. 🤕

We hoped for spring-like weather to start our trip. We got a snow squall instead. Actually, we got several—all the way to DE and our friends’ house in Newark. We arrived tired, frazzled, and late, to a wonderfully warm welcome and delicious hot soup.

At least it LOOKS like spring, even if it’s 30 degrees out:

What a beautiful setting! That is all state park land behind their yard. We took a chilly walk with the dogs the next morning, enchanted by all the bird life. I’m off to Reading, PA to leave our cat with my brother and sister (big thanks to Jeff and Sue for taking Inky for SIX MONTHS), but will be back in DE Tuesday, to get ready for THE BIG SENDOFF on Weds.

I thought you’d like to see the planned route. We head west across the mid-states, but our eastbound journey follows the northern states.

For my church peeps: I drew the map wrong! Maybe Wendy (or someone) can re-trace the section from Pueblo, CO to Oregon. I completely forgot that we headed that far north before dropping back into Oregon.

All told, we will travel some 10,000 miles on this trip. And remember, Russ is doing it on his bicycle!

Russ is in full preparation mode, and spinning with ideas. This morning, I asked him how he planned to bring his bacon grease (the only thing he cooks his eggs in). His response?

MY NEW TOWING VEHICLE!

He thinks it will have all kinds of advantages—constant refrigerator/freezer, money making opportunities, even road tunes. (I know you’re all humming that jingle.)

Not really, lol. I’ll stick with the Outback, thanks.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! it may not look like it here in snowy western Mass., but there is only two weeks to go before the start of the Tentist and the Teapot Tour.

One thing I wanted to do was to recover the original upholstery in my camper, to preserve the original upholstery and to better hide dog paw prints.

Before and after:

You’ll notice also that we moved the table to the side. This is a much more convenient location, as I won’t have to remove the table every time I go to bed, and because the table can now be swung around to make an extra food prep surface when I’m cooking.