M*I*S*S*I*S*S*I*P*P*I RIVER Bound

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Anamosa was our last stopping place before our final ride into Clinton, Iowa and we decided to treat ourselves to a "sitdown" dinner and with gratitude to the Lutheran Church of Anamosa that is exactly what we did. Pulled pork, macaroni salad, beans and homemade pie all homemade by the ladies of the church-delicious! As it was the final night the boys wanted one last night in the beergarden and the girls just wanted a good nights sleep-one could say there was a bit of tension between the sexes. All desires were fulfilled-boys got their beer and the girls hitchhiked home with a family just out sight seeing all the campsites. Remember this is Iowa and there just isn't a whole lot to do at night for entertainment.

6 am came early and the girls were off to conquer the last 70 miles-the boys wanted a later start (left over tension issues)-I've seen a lot of sunrises but I don't think any will ever compare to the one that morning as we crested a hill and the sun was rising over the vast expanse of cornfields. It truly set the tone for the remainder of the day-we felt alive, strong, empowered and enthralled with the magic of Ragbrai. Tensions dissipated, we took our time and savored every mile. We tried every food we had not sampled-Beekman's homemade ice cream topping our list. Every town came out in full force to welcome us-streets were lined with American flags and every Granny was in her lawn chair clapping. It was emotional . The ride to the Mississippi river was exhilarating and as we approached the finish we were swept up in a proud wave of accomplishment. The ride had been challenging in so many ways but we had done it. The line to the "dip site" was long and hot-luckily a woman volunteer ushered us to another site-(I did not cut-pinkie swear) and so we dipped our tires, hugged each other and relished in our accomplishment.

And then we were off to the Felkner family reunion (Kelly's family) in Freeport, Illinois-they fed us well and then we we're off to drive as far as we could before the exhaustion of the day's events overtook us. While the men drove Kelly and Ann toasted themselves with several glasses of much deserved wine-a couple of glasses and we didn't mind we were spending our last night in a Walmart parking lot. On the road by 4:45 central time we have been driving all day. It is bittersweet-we are ready to be home but sad our adventure has come to an end. And what an adventure it has been-you betcha!

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Comments

[Debbie]

Congratulations!!!
Congratulations to all of you. What an adventure! So glad you are headed home. Summer Vacation movie soon to follow. Can't wait to see you, in person! When's the next bike ride??