Last Modified on 9/17/97 at 23:22:55

Day's Narrative:
Steve is in room 110.

Today was a rest day before the last two days riding to the beach.

Photo 1 shows Connie standing in front of Bob & Inez van Arsdall's house in the woods near Chapel Hill, NC. Photo 2 is a street scene in Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina (UNC). UNC was the first state university in the United States, founded in 1795.

Today was spent visiting bike shops, resting and finally at the end of the day meeting with the bicycle group, the Carolina Tarwheelers, before their evening 15 mile (25 km) ride. One of the main reasons for meeting with them was to discuss the route to Wilmington, NC with Chuck Tharp, whom we met through this web page. Chuck brought maps with him to the ride which we discussed (photo 3). The route Chuck suggested misses most of the urban traffic around the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

[Connie] Thanks to Steve Maister's loaning to me some of his homeopathic, South African Weleeda Pharmacy, "Influda Drops-Cold and Flu Remedy ," my cold seems to have stopped it's symptoms. Since the stress of finding the "very hidden" motel location is over, the migraine of yesterday is over as well as this morning's. We have spent two very enjoyable evenings with Rob and Jonathan's Uncle and Aunt, Bob and Inez van Arsdall. We ate and talked, swapped stories, and the guys talked computer talk.

Tonight we had traditional southern barbecued brisket and pork, white bread, slaw, and homemade succotash--nothing like the canned stuff we have suffered through during our childhoods. This was another version of real Southern cooking and we all enjoyed our share.

It seems that as we collect more and more in the group, it becomes like getting a "Mongol horde" on the road. Tomorrow's logistics seem worked out and we're off again. No one is ready for the last two days of this epic journey, I don't think. We get to this web page later and later each night. It's 11 PM and I'm pooped.