WASHINGTON DC

The Mall

White House, duh.

Washington Monument

DC dog whisperer


How many dogs do you walk?

Abe

Beth, duh.

Johnny and I made a trip in to DC to visit our nation's capitol. It had been a while for me and a very long time for Johnny since his last visit. We walked the mall, talked to the secret service detail in front of the White House , and ate at Ebbit's Grill. Interesting day.

PITTSBURGH, PA

Pittsburgh at night from Mt.Washington

John's cousin Henry with wife Yelna and Dillan

John and brother David working inside the coach

Parker
John's Mom
John's childhood friend Bill Allcorn.
Bill's wife Brynne and son.

Oakland - University of Pittsburgh
Home of the Pirates
Urban Art
Great parking space. (David's back yard) Biking with his son Ethan. 16yrs old 6'2" 185 # WOW

Alway's somthing to do. Inhancing the outside entertainment compartment.

Biking in the streets of downtoun Pittsburgh.

Lunch break from riding.

Looking good PPG style.

3 Rivers point state park
Incline

BALTMORE, MARYLAND

Mamas
Inner Harbor Yacht club

Mike and Marlene

That's a lot of sugar

Go speed racer

Our ride

Tug

"We like this store"

"Homicide: Life on the street" building

Johnny and Mike with new friends

Hanging with my hommies

On the water taxi

Mike, Marlene and Cocoa

Mike and Marlene at home

Mike and Marlene still at home

Baltimore Harbor Tunnel

Oyster Shooter

We visited Baltimore to see my cousin Mike Sugden and his wife Marlene. Good to see them. As much fun to be with as always. First day we were there we went to their house. Very cute. Marlene has definitely put her stamp on it. Mike picked up "real" Maryland crab cakes and we had lunch at the house and got caught up on each other's news.

Second day we went to the Inner Harbor and spent the day exploring and hanging out. We had a rocky start to the day with a flat tire going into the parking garage! No problem. Johnny had that tire changed in no time and we were on to the day's activities. It turned out to be a spectacular day with clear skies and mild weather. Rode the water taxi around to different areas of the harbor. Mike and Marlene were great tour guides and wonderful company.

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA

Goofy Beth
Riding the Enchanted Forest post fire
The Enchanted Forest
Hemlock Tunnel or "The Clown's Head" ?
Heading up Interstate 81 through Virginia

We are now headed toward Baltimore to visit my cousin. We thought we would break up the trip and stop in Virginia and get a bike ride in. We found a place to stay called Dixie Caverns. Not exactly ideal. I kept thinking about that T-shirt I saw that said "pedal faster I think I hear banjo music". We did, however find a pretty cool place to ride in Roanoke, Va called Carvins Cove. Trails built around Roanoke's water reservoir. We had a map. A crummy map but a map. We had a great ride anyway. Nice long climb, lots of rolling single track, and the steepest descent I've ever done. Makes the downhill at Fort Mountain look easy. We got hammered at the end of the ride by a storm and came back in soaked and covered head to toe. All in all a perfect day!

BREVARD, NORTH CAROLINA

Are we in Germany or Disneyland?

Johnny bonding with "Fritz" the campground mascot

"This is really dirty under here"

Daisy out for a walk

Skyview trailhead @ Dupont

Felix has had enough

Grassy falls, Dupont State Forest

Beth and Daisy

Fawn Lake Trailhead
Black Forest Campground

Beth riding the trail

Atop Cedar Rock

What kind of snake is this?

Abandoned house in Dupont State Forest

Johnny

Cell service on top of Milne Mountain

Top of High Falls

View from the airstrip
The old airstrip in Dupont
Covered Bridge



North Carolina was very good to us. We stayed at Black Forest Family Campground. Quiet and wooded. Owned by the Black family. The campground is located at the edge of Dupont State Forest. We ended up riding Dupont every day we were there. We have been here before but hadn't spent much time...maybe one day. This time we explored from three different trailheads: Sky Valley, Fawn Lake, and Corn Mill Shoals. Awesome riding. Awesome views. Lots of waterfalls. Weather was pretty good. Started out in the 70's in am and highs in the mid 80's. We would go back in a heartbeat.