Last night was a hot and sticky one. I remember waking up and hearing another thunder storm coming our way. It made us grateful to be snug and dry in our cabin.

It was a restless night and when I woke up and saw it was finally light out I figured it was 6:00 or so, but on looking at my watch I saw that it was already 7:30. We got up and boiled water for oatmeal and tea, then packed up our gear and got ready to go. With waking so late we didn’t get on the road until 9:15. It was a mostly clear day but still hot and muggy. After yesterday’s killer hills the terrain today was much more reasonable as we headed through Crystal Lake and down into Ellington, where we stopped for second breakfast around 10:45. From here to the Connecticut River is pretty much flat, but after yesterday even the slightest up grade felt like climbing a mountain to me.

The route kept us on very quiet roads as we approached Bridge Street and crossed the Connecticut River in Windsor Locks. We had a couple miles of moderately heavy traffic as we skirted Bradley International Airport, then we were back on reasonably quiet roads as we headed up to Granby. We stopped for lunch and after assessing our fatigue and the terrain west of here, we decided to call it a day and get a good rest. We covered only 42 miles today, putting us 155 miles from home. That’s a little disappointing but somewhat common for the third day of a trip, in my experience. We are staying at the Dutch Iris Inn which is right near the center of Granby and is a luxurious place to relax. I am typing this sitting outside on the porch listening to a small fountain trying to combat the noise of traffic going by on Rt. 202.

So tomorrow it’s back to climbing hills as we hope to make good progress towards Salisbury in preparation for crossing into New York State.

Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com