Mile 440: East Waterford, PA

I left the tree house/rowhouse in Harrisburg, PA, after my host made me pancakes, sausage, kale, and coffee---and the four of us cyclists (and cycling dog, Fiji), gathered around the table for our last meal together. It was good to spend time with another solo cyclist the last couple days, and Jasmine has such a positive attitued and ecclectic interest ( ncluding violin playing and Korean dramas.) I packed my things, a little sad to be without friends for a while but anxious to get on my journey.
After I said goodbye, I took one last glance at my route, and headed towards the hills. The day was long, and hot, and the hills were...well more like mountains. I wasn't sure if it was the wisest route, but I kind of liked the idea of just jumping in---and not thinking too much about what I was going to run into, but to just be open to the challenges.
After crossing a couple mountains, I realized that the going up is difficult--ofcourse, but it's almost always rewarded with coasting downhills---today was the kind of day where I could coast down hill after a hard climb, for miles. So, although it was hard, it was good to make it, and even better to be able to race down the hills past the farms, the trees, the small towns.
When I approached East Waterford, the beauty of the streams, and the on going farm fields, were something to distract myself from the heat and exhaustion. There were times, which I haven't necessarily felt in the trip, where the beauty really stroke me, made me stop, made me realize how
amazing some places are...East Waterford was one of these places. There is a humilty and an aw-struck beauty about it.

My host, PJ, was waiting for me at her driveway as  I struggled up the remaining hills through the the Tuscarora Mountains, and up their drive to their beautiful farm tucked away in the Tuscarora State Park. Their home had dogs, cats, goats, horses, and a very nice family. The thing that was so incredible about being able to meet PJ is that she has a son that had also suffered from a Traumatic Brain Injury as a child, though we met outside this connect---by checking out the Partnering With Abi website she realized that she had personal connections with links on the website, including one of the Brain Injury Foundations listed on our site gave her son a scholarship to go to college. She told me that doctors told her that her son would most likely not be able to walk or talk, and now he is in college. Though I try to stay grounded in the future, I can't help but try to wish the same for Abi--and now, on this trip, I personally am able to  get a glimpse into a similar circumstance, and into someone's life--this was just one example among many other things that made their family and home warm and unique...it was good night; well worth the mountains.