Day 291 to 297 Virginia Beach to New York City (through MA, DE and NJ)

Day 291, 65 km

 I liked the library in Virginia Beach, so I took a picture when I left it. 

Then I rode about 10 km to the house of my waiting warmshower host.

Kim and her boyfriend had already one touring bicyclist in their home and made a wonderful dinner for us.

 

Day 292, 135 km

Next morning I decided to ride together with Naomi, a touring bicyclist from Canada. She was only 20 years old and decided to ride from New Orleans home to Canada all by herself. Actually she had met a lot of other bicyclists along the road, which you can read on her blog: timetogetonthebike.blogspot.com

 

We had to go over the  Chesapeake Bay and the Tunnel-bridge was not allowed for bicycles.

But there was a trucking service which we had booked.

There were several bridges

And several tunnels for the next 30 km

Finally we came to the other side. We had a wonderful day with a lot of sun and tailwinds.

In the evening we came to Maryland. There was no welcoming sign, probably because the states along the east-coast are so small and have so many roads..

We stayed for the night in Stockton, in the house of another warmshower host.

Day 293, 120 km

Naomi wanted to visit a park with Wild-horses but I wanted to continue. Maybe it was a bad decission, because I had a very strong headwind. Not far after Snow Hill it begun to snow.

I realized that I was moving north faster than the spring was doing it...

On a bridge I got a flat tire. While I tried to fix it four cars stopped and asked if I had rode off the road and was hurt.

My sandals had to wait for better weather...

Then I passed a town called Berlin.

There was not so much to see there.

Finally I arrived the ferry which took me over Delaware Bay late in the evening.

Day 294, 130 km

It was a cold morning and all ponds were frozen until noon.

Again I had a bad headwind. I spent some hours of the day to find a new chain and a new rear casette for my bike.

In the evening I stopped at a wifi restaurant to find a park with a good sleeping location, usung google maps satelite layer. I really found a good spot!

Day 295, 110 km

 Here you can see my sleeping place.

The lake was partly frozen in the morning...

Along the road I found some easter decoration

And in the evening I passed a town where they still had christmas decoration. In Sweden yuo say that Christmas stays until Easter...

Late at night I arrived the Belford Ferry, which goes from New Jersey to Manhattan.

Day 296, 20 km

When I woke up in trhe morning I asked a guy who was resting his dog why the ferry did not work. He said that it never works on sundays. There was another ferry further easdt on Atlantic Highlands but he did not believe that worked either. He had a truck and offered me a ride to a train.

His big dog had to sit between us.

On the way he told me about the Hurricane which had taken his house half a year ago. He showed me the town where he lived and how much everything still was destroyed.

This is the view from close to his property..

For me it was the first time I saw Manhattan.

Then he took me on a sighseeing tour to the famous twin lighthouse of Atlantic highlands.

The view was breathtaking! He also showed me the destroyed town below.

Everything still was closed because of the Hurricane.

He said that this road completely was covered with sand "as high as the telegraph posts"

And he showed me the dike behind the houses which was broken by the waves.

By accident we found out that the ferry from Atlantic Highlands was going only one minute later so I took it directly to Manhattan.

 It showed me its best side in the beautiful sunny weather.

 I also saw the statue of Liberty from the ferry.

And many bridges from below.

Then I went up to the Empire State building

And enjoyed the view

Here some pics from the Central Park

And the Times Square

 In south Manhattan I could find some old churches among the sky scrapers.

Then I rode over the Brooklyn Bridge west.

It was nice even there.

 Finally I found a good sleeping location in a park.

Day 297, 20 km

Next morning I went to the Library of Brooklyn. Many people queued outside when it opened at 9 am.

This place is not far from the Library.

Day 280 - 291, Jacksonville FL to Virginia Beach VA (through GA, SC, NC)

Day 280, 80 km

In the morning i said good bye to my hosts in Jacksonville. They gave me a lot of oranges and grapefruits from the trees in the garden.

Then I drove through Jacksonville, a beautiful old town.

It was big enough to get two more flats (I also got one the evening before...)

They also had the same kind of rail-bus as I saw in Miami.

In the evening my headlight hit the welcoming sign to a new state. Not far behind the sign I found a good sleeping location in the woods.

Day 281, 85 km

In the morning there was frost on my panniers!

It was a beautiful day but I had a bad headwind and I felt tired. I asked myself why I should hurry to NY, where it still was cold? So I took a long lunch break with a nap. In the eveinig I passed another welcoming sign:

Not far behind the sign I found a small road leading into a wood and in a glade somebody had prepared a lot of matresses for me.

I chose a king size which was big enough to put my tent in diagonal upon it. (I took the picture next day). I slept wonderful that night!

Day 282, 135 km

I continued through the marshlands of Georgia. Sometimes a passed bridges with beautiful views.

Even the roads were scienic.

In the afternoon I came close to Savannah and followed a bike path called 95 which I thought would go like Interstate to NE (where I planned to go)  but it brought me NW. This detour took me about four hours! I really missed the possibility to find backstreets on google maps on my phone, but I had ordered a new phone, which I should pick up at my next warmshowers host in Charleston. 

Again I met the next border when it was dark:

And again I found a good sleeping location not far behind the sign.

Day 283, 125 km

It was a wonderful morning when I woke up at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge. I decided to take a tout through the refuge and was the first visitor for the day.

This is the view towards Savannah paper mill.

And this is the view in opposite direction.

I rode over the dikes which were used houndred years ago when slaves used to grow rice in the marshlands and watched all birds in the sunrise.

Some birds run over floating leaves so it looked like they could run on the water surface.

After this wonderful nature experience I could agree with the advertisement I found along the road not far from the wildlife refuge:

Outside a wifi-restaurant a black guy saw me eating my trial mix. He waved with a huge jar of biscuits and gave me a lot. Then he wanted to hear about my trip and became a fan of me. His girlfrind took this picture which I promised to publish on my blog.

In the afternoon I passed many bushes of Azalea, the same sort which was in bloom around Talahassee when I passed it two months earlier.

Now the distance to my next stop in Charleston was not so far, so I decided to stop early that afternoon. I found a nice Wildlife View Point in a wetland wood.

There I made a camp fire and cooked a nice dinner. I also boiled a dozen eggs on the fire.

In the middle of the night I woke up because everything was wet in my tent. First I thought I had sunk with the soft ground of the wood, but soon I found out that the tide hade come. I had to wade back to the path and move my tent and everything to the path. When I had done it, it begun to rain and it rained a lot until next morning!

Day 284, 50 km

Next morning I had to go/ride back over the board walk of the nature trail, but now all boars were wet and slippery, so it was not so easy!

 I found this sign at the entrance of the nature trail.

If somebody had seen me with a camera he certainly had have a good entertainment.

After this wet experience of the wetlands I arrived in Carleston at Charles' and Missee's house already in the afternoon. There I could take a warm shower and could dry my sleeping bag and my clothes.

Missee took me already in the afternoon to Charles Towne Landing, where I could explore the park while she had a meeting. I watched the otters on the zoo playing in a tank.

Then I went down to the river where the first european people once landed in a ship like this.

The shipper was very enthusiastic and told me a lot about it.

In the evening Missee showed me the town by car. She was a really good guide!

Day 285, 40 km

I relaxed until noon. Then I took a ride downtown to see everything once again by day. In a nice park I ate my lunch

Then I decided to visit the famous Aquarium.

In one tank they had a white alligator!

If you enlarge the picture you can read more about it.

They also had a baby alligator which I was allowed to touch.

It felt very smooth.

In the afternoon I picked up my phone at Charles job. Then Missee took me to a peninsula south of Charleston.

First we went to the beach, where Missee took a picture of me.

Then I took a picture of her, but I am not a so good photographer...
We went to a very popular restaurant called Bowens Island and ate fried fish,

watching the sunset.

 Most other people there ate oisters.

Day 286, 135 km

I left at sunrise. On this bridge I was (for the first time in the US) stopped by a highway patrol. He considered that it was a part of the Interstate and ordered me to lift my bike over the wall to the sidewalk. Fortunately a passing jogger helped me.

From the bridge I had a wondeful view back to Charleston and its port. Actually it ios possible to take a cargo ship from there to Europe, but I have decided to rather test a cruis ship this time.

I had good weather that day and in the evening I came to Huntington Beach State Park. In a Nature Education Center I found an unlocked resatroom where i cooked my dinner and stayed for the night.

Day 287, 125 km

In the morning I left my warm sleeping location and went to the beach

to see the sunrise

It was very beautiful but the air was only 0 degrees Celsius, so I decided not to take a bath (have I become spoiled after visiting Florida?)

I continued along the beach and passed Myrtle Beach, a coastline of very touristified attractions and fairgrounds. I did not take any pictures there. But somewhere I also saw this old church.

Then I passed the border to the next state (this time by daylight!)

 And in the evening, when it already was dark, somebody else but me was interested to read my map...

Day 288, 135 km

Finally a day with tailwind! And even the weather was warm and sunny. I enjoyed that day very much In the middle of the day I took a nap in the sun.

I passed more marshlands and old "ghost" houses.

In the evening I found a church with a good hiding place behind.

Day 289, 125 km

Another sunny day, but now headwind. Passed many trees in full bloom.

This is a Magnolia, also two months after the one in Lafayette.

The afternoon was cold and cloudy.

Day 290, 110 km

Headwind again. I decided to have a long brunch under a roof of a ghost house. The veggies from Walmart became a delicious soup!

In the afternoon my second Continental Contact finaly exploded. Hope I will not have so many flat tires any more...

In the evening I found myself on a dangerous highway near Elisabeth City at the same time as it became dark and very foggy. The shoulder was impossble to ride on because there wer "ripples" which are supposed to wake up driver who are falin asleep. I decided to sleep on the roadside, close to a fenc, only 50 m from the highway.

Day 291, 65 km 

This is the place where I slept. Many people must have seen me but nobody claimed...

I continued north and passed the border to a new state, but no welcoming sign! (unless I missed it).

When I came closer to Chesapeake I found a bike path. As many times before it stopped in the middle of nowhere in a field....

Now I am in a library not far from there updating my blog!

Outside there are daffodils, but most grass still is very brown.