Oh, if only I could stay in Wilmington...

So, Wilmington was such a cool place to hang, but I'm not supposed to tell anyone that because someone I know doesn't want a surge of people trying to move there. Actually, I probably liked Wilmington more for the company I kept while there than for the actual lure of the beaches.

To back it up a little, Paul and I got to Kitty Hawk, got a hotel, and immediately went for a swim in the Atlantic. Oh, how refreshing it was to dive into those waters! I felt like I truly accomplished what I set out to do. From Kitty Hawk, we rode on through the Outer Banks, making amazing time because it was all flat and touristy, so there wasn't much worth stopping and seeing. We did stop and check out the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was alright and teeming with tourists. We also stopped by Jen's friend Kim's art gallery, which was awesome. I bought one of Jen's cards and talked to Kim who was so high energy and really excited to see us. By the way, Jen is Bryan's girlfriend (Bryan who stayed behind in Colorado to go to Telluride).

We arrived in Wilmington on Friday afternoon and stayed with Jen. She actually came to pick us up at a Burger King in town because we apparently rode 10 miles past her house near Wrightsville Beach when we rode all the way into downtown Wilmington. By the way, the ride to Wilmington sort of sucked because I got two flats in one day. That's more than I've had ALL trip. That puts me up to 3 flats total. It was enough to convince me to buy two new tires in Wilmington.

Jen was so cool! She took us out to dinner Friday night to this fabulous restaurant called Nikki's, where tempeh and tofu abound, and we met her friends Elizabeth, Chiaki, and Matt, who were also very very cool people.

Saturday morning, I woke at 6 and ran to the beach, walked along the ocean, and ran back. That was a great way to start the day. Then Jen introduced us to Migun, which is this heated jade massage bed system. I was immediately drawn to it, but Paul still hates it and remains skeptical. If I had the money, I would buy a Migun bed for my home...oh wait, if I had a home and if I had the money, then I would buy a Migun bed for my home. Needless to say, I made two more visits to Migun during my stay in Wilmington. We also got to hang out a lot at the local food co-op called Tidal Creek. I became a recognizable regular there in no time. Over our three and a half days in Wilmington, lots of Kombucha drinking was had, for certain. I think at some point during the day, we watched the extended version of Dances with Wolves, during which I took a 3 or 4 hour nap. On Saturday night, Elizabeth, Matt, and John came over and we ordered pizza and played "Scene It?" Women vs. Men and the women kicked ass!

On Sunday, I just hung out and did a whole lot of nothing. We rode over to the co-op and Jen bought me brunch, which was again, awesome of her! I also got to cook dinner: tempeh reubens with braised greens. Jen's friend Jim came over and he brought some delicious Pinot Grigio and seemed like a really nice guy.

On Monday, Paul and I rode with Jen to the beach and then up and down the ten mile loop to make a 20 odd mile ride. Jen was kicking our ass on her 650's! Man, I thought I was in better shape by now. Oh, but she did have aerobars and skinnier tires and she's training for the Florida Ironman...On our ride, we also happened upon Jen's sister and boyfriend who were also out for a ride. They seemed nice as well, but it's hard to really get to know someone when you're sweating out a 20mph pace on a humid morning.

Today is Tuesday and we hung out in Wilmington all day. I went for another run this morning, and then we went to Migun and checked out the other health food store in town, where Jen FINALLY let me buy her lunch. Then Jen drove us over to Paul's cousin Jill's house in Southport, from where I am composing this. We were going to ride the 20 miles to the ferry with Jen, but it started pouring down rain, and so we caught a ride with Jen.

It felt surreal to be leaving. I almost felt like I could've settled down in Wilmington for a week and then just caught a ride to Savannah, which Jen and I talked about, but the weekend she would drive me to Savannah conflicted with her volunteering at the children's triathlon, and I said, "Do it for the kids, Jen. They're more important. I can just keep pedaling." Anyway, I really had a blast with Jen and all her friends, and I hope to return for a visit sometime. And, I cannot thank Jen enough for all her generous hospitality!!!

Jill and her boyfriend Billy are very cool. We've been chatting out on the front porch, and just relaxing.

Tomorrow, I say goodbye to Paul. It will be sad; I'll really miss him. Really. Then, I will ride down to Myrtle Beach, where I will stay a night with Pat and Tom, a couple that Paul and I met on the ferry that took us off the Outer Banks to Cedar Island. They got to chatting with us, and invited me to stay at their place in their guest room right on the beach. From there, I will ride four solo days to Savannah, where I will finally hang up the bike for a while and kick it with my dear dear friends, Abbey and Joey.

Wish me well, as I brave highway 17 alone...