Day 47 - Paradise Found!

Today was everything yesterday was not.  Beautiful blue skies, trees waving in gentle breezes, some climbs and the views that were the reward of those climbs, a tailwind........I could go on and on.  Today everyone was pretty dang happy for any variety of reasons after yesterday's long period of rain and the problems associated with biking out in it.

We left Little Falls, NY in the early morning, saying goodbye to views of its river, town and beautiful church.

We climbed out of town and up to the top of the surrounding ridge to have views of the valley we had just left.  Out toward the one side of the ridge was rich farmland.

The other side was just as beautiful.

While passing through the town of Ft. Plains, we were admiring the architecture of the buildings of this small town, when one of our riders noticed a new business with an interesting name.  It seemed a proper name for an electric business.

The next stop, though it was still before 11 am, was at Karen's Ice Cream and Produce shop.  Though there was a lot of lovely produce to be found, we gravitated to the wonderful shakes and (trying to be healthier) frozen yogurt cones that were ordered.  Here are the four Oregonians with purchases or just after purchases were consumed.  Very yummy indeed.

We wound our way along a beautiful bike trail that was one of the Rails to Trails projects.  It took us along beautiful corridors of trees and followed a river for miles. 

Along the way, we found a recommended place to stop for lunch, Jumping Jack's.  It was a fast food place that was part New England, part New York, and part Happy Days.  Folks went through a Disneyland-type queue as workers shouted out over several lanes, asking what our orders would be.  The orders popped out at the end of the counter by the time we had made our way there.  You could order anything from burgers to shrimp to clams and more.   If a tip was placed in the tip jar, the cashier would call out a word, such as "Subway" (don't ask - we don't know) and all the other workers would join in a loud chorus of "Thank You"'s.  It was a fun way to realize that yes, we are now in New York!  This picture was taken after the queue had gone down quite a bit and doesn't do justice to the organized chaos that we experienced, but it gives you at least the setting.  Seating was all outdoors.

The rest of the day is pretty well summarized in the pictures below.  A beautiful ride mostly along bike paths and into our motel by about 1:30 after our 74-mile ride.  Wow - what a day!

 Tomorrow - Day 48 out of 50!