Day 9: 7/16 - I can’t believe it IS butter all over my bag

First of all, terrible riding day today. Unbelievably hot (tons of water bottles worth of water consumed), ridiculous hills (some of the steepest we've seen yet...and they just wouldn't stop coming...also, they just kept turning corners and would continue on for another turn, then another, then another...). We got lost a few times, had a little reprieve from the heat when we stopped by a library (nicest public library I've ever been in, just gorgeous architecture, rich wood finishes, fireplaces that I hope were never used, and mosaic tiled floors...very lavish for a public library), and it took FOREVER to find the hostel we were staying at. I had called it all day trying to book a reservation, with no one ever picking up or returning my calls. We weren't even sure whether it existed anymore or not. Eventually, after groceries, we stopped in a AAA office to ask for help. They printed out a detailed map of how to get there (oh joy, more hills!!) and we were on our way. So hot, so tired, and so many hills. Finally we turned onto the last street, Marsh Rd, and it was like Everest. This hill...my god. We were craning our necks to see the top. All I could think was, "This hostel better be a mansion or burned to the ground if I'm going to climb this thing." Finally we reached the top and all our questions were answered.

The hostel is actually a farm house. On a working farm. That's why no one picked up, because they are all working in the fields! An old guy, Shep, came out to greet us and pointed inside to our dwelling. A cozy kitchenette with bunk beds, shower and bathroom, and screened porch, all decked out with the appropriate farm house knick knacks. Shep asked us if we would help throw around a few bales of hay and we obliged (then he mentioned we could stay the night for free if we helped...we were helping anyway, so free night here we come!). We were joined by Julio who helped us toss around the bales. We got to use our Spanish a little bit and Julio was a real stand-up guy. We had a few laughs and sweated our guts out while we were working, but it was good to get the work in. We emptied two trailers worth of hay, about 8 layers total, and were covered in scratches, hay, and dirt (I knew my hay baling skills would come in handy one day...thanks Tom), but we felt great for helping and getting a little upper body exercise finally. After the work was over, but before we hosed off, we got a picture of the four of us on the farm. Then Esmith started taking the groceries out of his front pack, and as he drew the butter box out, butter just POURED out the bottom corner all over everything in his bag. The butter was everywhere...and this time it wasn't NOT BUTTER, it WAS butter. Luckily his camera and wallet were unscathed.
Shep turned out to be a real cool cat; one of those down to earth, funny, light-hearted old guys with a real sense of humor and thirst for meeting people. He was going into town, so he offered to pick us up some milk (he got us the good stuff, whole milk...so white it looks like primer and goes down like cream). He's upstairs getting ready to hit the sack, but he let me use his computer to get some website stuff done and is going to give us a book full of hostels on the east coast if we need any of them at any point. Hopefully I can get back here one day to visit him again.
Dinner was fettucini alfredo with green peppers, mushrooms, and sausage, with a side of bread lathered in crumbled blue cheese. And the milk of course. Dinner was made with the tunes of oldies playing in the background on the old Sony radio tuned to 98.7 Rock FM..."The Sounds of the Oldies!" Great stuff. And we have light tonight! So we can actually read!! And I'm out to enjoy the brisk evening.

Highlights: real butter all over the bag, Shep's Hostel, napping in the shade on the side of the ride at lunch time

Top Speed: 36.5 mph (EP)
Distance: 57.06 mi
Time: 5.07.07
Av Spd: 11.1 mph
Odometer: 441.3 mi