Day 10: Arlington, VA to Danbury, CT (378 miles)
 
From the cornfields of Maryland to downtown New York City to Southern New England. Today’s riding included a peaceful morning with Carl and Janeal as our tour guides through downtown Washington D.C. at daybreak, a jaunt over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, breakfast at Kent Island, Delaware before arriving at Mike’s Famous Harley Davidson in New Castle, DE. This is one of the neatest dealerships we’ve ever seen with its retro style, full service 50’s diner, even their own radio station playing great music everywhere inside and outside of the dealership. This is a dealership worth taking a trip to see if you’re in the area. We left Carl and Janeal at Mike’s Famous and headed up into New Jersey to visit with a childhood friend of Bill’s, Russell, who just became a father of twin girls a month ago. We met Russell and his wife Tracey, and the babies, for lunch, on our way to the New Jersey Turnpike and eventually New York City. We rode through the five Burroughs of New York City and saw the downtown skyline, for the first time since 9-11, from the east side of the city. Even after nearly four years, you can’t help get emotional when you see the city without the World Trade Center towers.  The city looks small and powerless without the twin towers as their anchor. We left the city and eventually headed to Danbury, CT, via Route 7, which is just a gorgeous 20-mile stretch of backcountry roads in Connecticut. Today we picked up four states; tomorrow we head to Maine and pick up three more!
 

Daybreak in downtown D.C. in front of the Capitol Building.

Carl, Janeal and Chris crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Breakfast on Kent Island, dockside.

Janeal and Chris, with the bikes, at Droter’s Angler’s Marina on Kent Island.

 
Yes, we’ve been known to ride in the Boon Docks.

Crossing over into Delaware.

 
Russ, Tracey and the twins.