day 2. a mountain, a monsoon.

Tonight we're at a campground just west of Chambersburg, PA in the midst of a power outage. About a half hour after we arrived, as we had just taken glorious showers and were about to enjoy the subs (sorry, Philadelphians: hoagies) when it started to rain. We gathered everything up and headed inside the tent, but a few minutes later our sandwiches were pushed to the side and Aaron was holding up the side of the tent as rain and sticks and leaves pummeled us. We couldn't see anything from inside, so we didn't know if a tornado or a falling tree was headed our way. Luckily, neither were. But when the rain stopped, we took a stroll around the grounds saw a number of trees and branches down. Lucky us! Now, I'm hesitant to disclose such a scary moment so close to the start of the trip. Don't worry, you worriers out there (Monica, we're looking at you). Sure the storm got bad enough that Aaron professed his love for me in case the unspeakable happened - while I just repeated, " It's okay, we're okay" in a high-pitched monotone until things settled - but we're fine!

Our other near death experience of the day involved a climb up the first of many mountains. The Appalachians don't mess around. We have each christened the lowest gear on our bikes. During the most intense part of the ascent, when we turned a corner to see the road steepen after miles of climbing, Aaron began yelling at the road - "No! F*ck you!"- and I simply began pleading with it - "Oh God, please don't. No, no, oh, oh." Aren't differences fun?

All that said, we covered another 78 hillyhilly miles today, got complimentary peaches and PB&J's from Millie of the Ladybug Tea House in East Berlin, and a cup of iced tea from a lovely lady in Biglersville. Worth it! We're in pretty much the dead center of the state. I hear the mountains have just started. Be gentle, Appalachia, it's my first time.

(Photo above: me at an orchard owned by family members of my family members.)

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