Day 28 was spent traveling to a tiny town of 600 people. It was called Stanton, Iowa. The ride that day went very well. It had beautiful scenic views. They were full of green fields of cows and horses. It is pretty funny because every time one of my teammates sees a cow they instantly have to moo to try to get it's attention. They just turn and stare at us like you are the crazy one riding your bike across the country! haha Once we arrived to Stanton we were welcomed by many at the brand new Fitness Center. They then took us on a tour of the town in a school bus. Felt like I was in 5th grade again. The town had sooo much history and they were very proud of it. It was great to see a small community come together to help our group have a great stay. It really reminded me of my wonderful community back home in Arapahoe. We also got to go swim in a local's pond. It felt so great to jump into the water. We had a lot of fun doing this as well. For dinner that evening it was provided by the only bar in town. It was great food. The dessert was the best part! They had made scotcheroos for us. I was so excited for them. My east coast teammates looked at me like why did you just say that funny long word. However, the team instantly loved them.
Day 29 might be one of my toughest days of the trip so far. It is by far in my top 5 hardest days. We went through some tough steep hills through Iowa. I guess I never realized how hilly it was throughout Iowa before. However, on a bike everything seems so different. We also had wind gusts up to 25 mile an hour. So when you put 1 mile long hills and 25 mph wind together makes for an awful long day. The only thing that was motivating me towards lunch was that I heard that the food van had gotten Raising Canes donated. For those of you that aren't familiar with this place, you might want to go check it out. It is worth it. It literally consists of chicken fingers, the most amazing dipping sauce in the world, Texas toast bread, coleslaw, and french fries. So needless to say, lunch was great. We then journeyed on to the state line between Iowa and Nebraska. We literally had to go to the top of this bridge and on the sidewalk marked the state line. We took a lot of time taking pictures and soaking it all in. It had a beautiful scenery of the skyline. After fully entering Nebraska, we were officially in Omaha. However, I didn't realize how hilly Omaha was. I later found out at my host that Omaha is the 8th out of 10 worst places to ride your bike through because of all the nasty hills. Finally we rolled into the church to meet our hosts around 6:00 p.m. I stayed with a teammate named Jessie. We both got to stay at this beautiful home not far from the church. They even have a boxer named Sadie. I absolutely love her and all her hyperness. We had a big party at my host's house last night. We had amazing food. Beef, pork, corn, and baked beans. It was excellent! The other perk about having home stays is that we most likely get to sleep in a bed. Jessie and I had a giant bed that we shared and I slept like a baby. I woke up to Sadie kissing my face to get up. It was a tough, but great day entering Nebraska. I can't believe I have biked from Maryland to Nebraska. That seems soooo far away when you look at it on a map. Can't wait for future days to come.
I dedicated Day 29 to Irene Heney. She is Mrs. Pam Breinig's mother. I had Mrs. Breinig for a teacher in high school. She is also a very great friend of my Mom's. I wanted to honor not only her, but her mother who fought cancer and who unfortunately lost her battle. I have always looked up to Mrs. Breinig for advice and as a second mother. I am blessed to be honoring her and her family.
Below are some pictures from the state line. As you can see I was so excited to see Nebraska that I kissed the ground! haha :) Go Huskers!!!
Oh my gosh it is hard to believe that it is Day 30. Crazy how the time is flying by. I'm so glad to be in the great state of Nebraska. It feels wonderful to be at home. I'm seeing Husker gear everywhere. I love it! This morning was another life changing moment for me on this trip. We went to the Durham Medical Center where we handed out chemo care bags to some of the patients. We got split up into 4 different groups and we were able to meet 4 different adult patients. Our group met a beautiful lady named Georgia. She was originally from San Francisco and about 25 years ago she met her husband and he convinced her to come to the state of Nebraska. She is currently fighting and is having some issues with her heart. She has consistently been in the hospital for 16 days. Her husband hasn't left her side through it all. She got very emotional when she told us about how wonderful her husband has been for her. I also brought my guitar to the hospital and I played her a few of my songs. She got teary eyed during my first song. My second song she loved the edge and feel to it. She told me as she grew up she would sing and harmonize songs with her sisters. She said they even did while doing dishes to keep their minds off chores. Sounds like myself! ;) While being at the hospital, there was a total of 3 different local t.v. stations video taping us. The overheard me say I was from Nebraska and they wanted a native to talk to them. haha It was such a cool experience to talk to them and to have microphones in my face up close. I felt soooo famous! There was two people from the Omaha World Herald newspaper. They interviewed me as well as some of my other teammates. I am so anxious to see the newspaper tomorrow and to read the article they put together about us.
To make our last day in Omaha worth while, we had to go to the Omaha Zoo. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at all sorts of animals in the famous Henry Doorly Zoo. I think most of my teammates very much enjoyed it. Tomorrow we are off to Columbus, Nebraska. My birthplace!!! It will be a 93 mile ride. It is looking like we might get lucky with having nice weather.
To make our last day in Omaha worth while, we had to go to the Omaha Zoo. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at all sorts of animals in the famous Henry Doorly Zoo. I think most of my teammates very much enjoyed it. Tomorrow we are off to Columbus, Nebraska. My birthplace!!! It will be a 93 mile ride. It is looking like we might get lucky with having nice weather.
Peace out from Omaha!
Go Huskers!
Go Big Red!
Runzas, Corn, Beef, Eileen's Cookies, and home!
~Halle Stephens
Go Huskers!
Go Big Red!
Runzas, Corn, Beef, Eileen's Cookies, and home!
~Halle Stephens