I hiked another 20 mile day today and made it to Cedarville. My campsite along the bike path was very quiet last night and this morning. I thought I might hear or see an early morning runner, walker or cyclist but I didn't. I was able to get packed up and hiking before anyone came by.
The trail goes by Spring Valley Wildlife Area which has a small lake. The trail came alive with the sounds of the songs and calls of birds. It was neat hearing all the birds chattering at once. Except for the Canada Goose which has a loud and annoying honk.
I took a break in the village of Spring Valley. There is no water fountain in the park. I saw a guy painting a store front building and asked him where I could get some water. He let me inside to fill up my water bottle. I stayed on the front porch and ate lunch. It was quite windy this morning and the porch was situated where it was out of the wind. The guy doing the painting said someone threw a rock through his window. So he replaced the window with a board and painted it. He said so far vandals have broken three of his store windows. Two to go.
On the way to Xenia I heard some yell out "Is that Captain Blue?" It Lucy and Jorge from Centerville who are friends of mine. They were out for a bike ride and came across me. It was good to see them. I was pretty close to home at this point and wondered if I would see some I knew.
I took a long break at Xenia Station where I chatted with several bike riders. Four bike paths come together here. It is a former railroad switching yard. It is here I leave the Little Miami River Trail and head east on the Prairie Grass Trail.
By now it was quite warm and sunny. I had to put on sunblock a second time today. There is just no shade this time of year. Everyone else is soaking up the sun but I am avoiding it if I can.
At 6pm I arrived in Cedarville. Dave McFarlane, who is a former coworker of mine, and his wife Kay and daughter Kelly were waiting for me. They live in Cedarville. Dave offered to host me for the night. We went back to their house where I took a shower and did laundry. Kay had a wonderful meal prepared with grilled cheese, broccoli, New York minestrone soup, fresh fruit and cheesecake. It was all very delicious. It was nice to chat with Dave and catch up on things. I have known Dave for almost 25 years. We worked on a lot of projects together at HP and EDS.
I was quite tired from dual twenty mile days. I was in bed at 830pm.
I was quite tired from dual twenty mile days. I was in bed at 830pm.
