Day 68 Guest Speakers

Day 68 held a special experience for Jess and I. We would be guest speakers in Jen’s 5th grade class. Jen teaches at St. Rose a Catholic school in Newtown, CT. We were thrilled by the invitation to share our adventure with an entire classroom of young minds.

Jess, Jen and Me

Jess and I put together a simple power point slide show for the class highlighting the logistics of our mode of travel. Once all the children had been ushered in and every seat was full we began with introductions. Jen introduced us as Ms. Hoffman and Ms. Humphreys. Our first question posed to the class: “Who here has a bicycle?” Every small hand in the class shot up with enthusiasm. We had found our target audience.

After a brief summary of what we were up to we asked the class what types of things they would bring if they were riding across the country on their bicycles. The students were amazingly accurate with their projected packing: items listed ranging from bug spray to a bike pump, a first aid kit to maps. We should have consulted with them before we started our trip!

Myself calling on a student

Jess listening intently

Jen’s class was great! They were all very interested in our journey and because most of the kids had bikes of their own it was a topic they could relate to. We hope we inspired this class to dream big and were happy when one little girl confessed “I think I would like to do a trip like this one day.”

After exchanges of thank yous, hugs, and few group photos (students not pictured as requested by St. Rose) we prepared to hit the road. Before we had a chance to scurry to our  bikes one little girl handed me a drawing of a buffalo “just like the one yous saw in Yellowstone!” she beamed.

Jen’s husband Rich was kind enough to drive us back to our stopping point from the day prior of Southbury, CT. With only 4 days of cycling left, every mile counted.

Local Charm

We stopped off in Waterford, CT to fill up on water and ask for directions. This gang of locals were great enthused about our trip and thoughtfully looked over our route until they were satisfied we had chosen well.

Taking our lunch break just outside of Hartford, CT

Cycling through downtown Hartford, Ct

Anytime is stretch time!

We cycled East into rural Connecticut and stopped upon reaching Ashford. With a simple inquiry at the local convenience store we were given directions to a park area where two locals confirmed we could pitch a tent without worry of being harassed. Since we planned on staying with hosts for the remainder of our journey, I took my time pitching our faithful blue tent. This was probably our last chance on the journey to perform the ritual of constructing our shelter.