update-Timing -Maryland/Virginia border Sat 6/29th

Well I've erased all my notes from yesterday GGGRRR so I'll try to recap it.We rode and rode and rode after leaving Bill n Dianes.....oh and before I forget............thanks Bill for making us breakfast.......and the coffee (puts fingers to lips and kisses them with a French gesture) It was a beautiful ride, the air was cool ....and then we got to Carlisle. Traffic started getting heavy. People started doing stupid things like merging..........toward us. Then...up ahead..in the road.....the cutest little ground hog. He was laying low...crossing from right to left. So he was already in the throws of making the worst mistake of his life. Then we hit it..........my stomach wrentched as he bumped along under the bike. But worse we were doing 75 miles an hr. It all happened in seconds and the handle bars racked back and forth....I thought we were going down. But Gary kept the bike from falling. Very scary.
Thank God.
After recovering from that we ran into the worst traffic...in 100 degree heat.The Maryland Virginia border proved to be horrendous. We'd drive ten feet and stop. drive ten feet and stop. The bike started to knock because it was getting so hot the oil didn't have any pressure.So we pulled over to the side of the road to let it cool down some in the hopes that whatever happened up ahead would clear out soon. We managed to strategically park downwind of a dead animal. A kind trucker yelled to Gary with an update. A Trailer truck had turned over on a bridge up ahead.........it'll be a while. We managed to get by the folks who blocked off the shoulder and took the next exit. A nice little town. Somewhere around rt 11.

A road soda was in order and they make em tall. This was about 1 o'clock when we stopped to wait for the accident to clear. An already in the bag local......started asking us questions about where we were from etc. Then he gave us directions on how to get around the mess and be on our way! There was alot of construction. Another accident (not in our way) happened off to our left.... A motorcycle was a little to close to the car in front and the nose was all crunched up. The heat was unbearable.

Finally ....... about 5:00.....we had gone about 280 miles. I was done, get me off this contraption.

We started looking for gas and a hotel. Little did we know the challenge that would present. While we were sleeping a Freak storm had taken out the power for millions across several states. No power (for gas pumps) no gas (can't clean) no hotels etc etc etc. we pulled in to a Denny's and it was closed. The attached hotel in New Market was open with a sign that said "no rooms". We walked in and Gary charmed the perky female front desk clerk into calling us when a room became available........in three hours. We'd wait. No thank you I don't want to visit the local caverns. I'M EXHAUSTED!!!! Me asking the other front desk person..."So is there a place to have dinner? "Yes MaAm the Mexican restaurant just down the street." So we went to Jalisco and it was delicious!!  A quaint little unassumeing out of the way place. All the staff spoke spanish or Mexican. The cabbage stuff that they put as an appetizer was unbelievable .Refreshed we started to leave and got a call that we had a room!! and it was ready. So we went back to the hotel and Gary parked me out front while he checked us in. Another couple on a bike pulled in looking a little worse for wear from Oklahoma City. They were not as fortunate as us. and were turned away.

Gary got annoyed cause I unpacked the bike out front and hahaha then we had to walk the stuff around. The hotel was comfortable and without incident.