Morning came quickly after a good night’s rest at Joanna and Mike’s house. Matt and I packed our things and Joanna made us some deliciously strong coffee (just the way we like it) and a fantastic breakfast.

Magda and Rosie were writing each other notes during breakfast like classmates. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and so longs. Magda hopped on her bike and rode with confidence out to the corner with us and wished us well. I know Rosie is going to miss Magda. She is a smart, adventurous young lady!

Weather was forecasted to rain and be stormy. As we rode along, it began to rain here and there. We took the scenic route toward Dunkirk. By midday the sun was shining and the wind was blowing something fierce. We had no particular destination in mind, just a plan to stealth camp. When we stopped for an ice cream break. At this point, we rechecked the weather and found that the storms were going to be destructive and not good for hammock camping. We had an emergency envelope from a friend of Matt’s labeled hotel. So we figured today was a good day to utilize that.

We fought our way into to wind and arrived at the Clarion in Dunkirk in the late afternoon.

We rolled into our room and didn’t go out until breakfast. It stormed overnight with a good display of wind, lightening, rain and thunder from our window.

As much as we would like to get an early start after a hotel stay, we are usually successful at lollygagging and napping. Just something about a comfortable bed and a fully belly makes me want to nap after breakfast, might just be me, I don’t know. I am so glad Matt is flexible. We left just after 11am.

Matt, Rosie and I stopped for coffee once we were on our way. A little more wake me up for the windy ride. Our destination and plan was to look for stealth camping opportunities after 2pm. We stopped in Barcelona to check out the Lighthouse.

Leaving Barcelona, we rolled West. We ended up just past the NY, PA Stateline at Fisherman’s Beach. Whipped and winded, we made dinner on a park bench. Matt wanted to keep it simple and I made it into more. Teamwork on cooking works best.

We cleaned up after a delicious dinner and washed dishes. Then we toodled over to the a park bench to watch the sunset. Hard to be stealthy when everyone is watching the same beautiful sunset. Multi times we were approached by curious minds throughout the evening. After sunset, we rode to our stealth site and quickly put up our hammocks and covered our gear. Soon we were asleep. I was a light sleeper tonight, wanting to keep my ears on for Mr. Thumbs. 🦝

Morning came and we were packed up by 6am. We rolled over to the beach and made coffee and breakfast. Matt jumped in the lake like the polar bear he is.

We packed up breakfast and provisions then out onto Route 5. We were hoping to make big miles to a flexible Warmshowers host in a town called Geneva on the Lake. Pedaling into the wind and lots of flower stops along the way may change our evening plans.

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Rosie stopped to take more pictures alongside the road. She is a quick picture taker and when I’m not looking she takes a pretty flower to go. She says it brings us sunshine and happiness along the way.

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