Naomi goes for a bike ride: Wilmington to Sneads Ferry

A leisurely morning of breakfast, packing up, pondering, and chatting had us ready for the ride to Sneads Ferry. With promises from Paul and 'Abby' to come and visit the West Coast, Nancy and El Torro were loaded up and we headed off. For perhaps the first time, we followed the ACA maps quite closely to get out of Wilmington and this made for some scenic, low-traffic riding that was especially appreciated in sections with headwinds. A quick section on route 17 was not the most awesome given the traffic level and lack of shoulder, but it did not last long. Sam and I wound up meeting up on the road. Unfortunately for him, I was feeling rather out of sorts, so when we bumped panniers and I nearly went flying (unbeknownst to him as he rode off ahead) I was not super pleased. A trip into the grocery store for some sustenance put my blood sugar and our friendship as back on track as it was going to get for the day given my headspace and we headed off again at our own paces.

Some back and forth for the Atlantic Intracoastal waterway meant that there were beach towns and communities to be seen, though I never did spot the location that Sam had suggested we meet at. Turns out that it did not exist (failure of Google Maps, perhaps?), but the bagel shop near our hosts' house certainly made up for it as a warm place with food to eat. We went and bought some supplies to make dinner for Ray and Melinda and headed over to their place. We arrived a bit before them and had time to be amazed at their beautiful property and mellow out on the dock. Perfect end to the day of cycling. Sam and I both really enjoyed talking with the two of them as well as getting to cook some pasta for dinner to share. In celebration of Pi Day (March 14th), which I was super stoked about, we had picked up an apple pie for dessert! What a special place to celebrate such an important holiday.

We said our goodbyes to Ray and Melinda in the evening, as they would be leaving quite early, and made our plans to get as close to the Cedar Island Outer Banks ferry departure as possible the next day.