Friday, June 29, 2007

The Day the Rain was Supposed to Come vs. The Day it Came

Yesterday morning as we rolled out of Marietta, OH we were prepared for a day of thunderstorms, everyone had grabbed a rain jacket and tucked it into their camel back as we were told there was an 80% chance of rain. About half of us made it all the way to McArthur before the rain, and the others just got a little wet in the very end.

In McArthur we enjoyed dinner courtesy of the local Presbyterian church. Dinner was a new dish for all of us, a hot dog sliced lengthwise then topped with mashed potatoes, cheese, and ketchup. Some of us thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, okay maybe that was only me, the vegetarian option was lacking so the group split up to hit up a few of the local pizza joints. After coming out of the pizza place the rain had begun in earnest. It rained pretty much all night, the boys slept in the Calvary church while the girls Church of the Nazarene. David Mollitor assured me that it would be low 80s and clear today. Due to his assurances I even put on sunscreen this morning, something I had neglected to do yesterday, although without drastic repercussions. Well it turns out that the rain came to stay, we left the Church of the Nazarene in full rain gear and it stayed on all day. The clouds truly opened up before lunch drenching us, but at the same time it was great to ride on low traffic roads and the rain was a pleasant change from the 90+ degree heat we've been experiencing the past few days. This afternoon the weather broke once we got to Hillsboro, where we are staying at the United Methodist Church, which even provided showers in the church, a welcome change from having to go to a secondary site to shower. People are now milling about cleaning and lubing bikes, doing laundry, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and all around relaxing.

I know that everyone loves photos, so I've included a couple taken over the past few days.


David posing while on the move across the Ohio state line, on a long hot day into Marietta.


Courtney Wong with a pneumatic staple gun on our build day in Marietta.

The above two were taken this morning, right before leaving and then when we stopped on the road for a bit. The scenery was beautiful although a little wet.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my picture taken in Boston, OH this afternoon and the ride in.


A big shout out to all the families out there who have kids on this trip, today was also mail drop and the amount of support we continue to receive in the form of mail and local support is awesome.

Nathan

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nathan,
Sorry to hear you've had rain to endure...but glad you appreciate the fact it is cooler! According to my calculations you should be celebrating the 25% mark.
Love,
Mom

Anonymous said...

Hey Nathan,

You can blame me for David Mollitor's forecast. I was the one who told him that it was going to be nice today. At least that is what it said on the weather.com site. OH well.. If the weather channel is correct you should be in for some great weather for the next few days. You will need your sunscreen!
You guys continue to amaze us!
Happy pedaling.
Nancy Mollitor

Anonymous said...

Nathan: You are right on the ball with your comments and pictures. Great photos.Better cooler weather here for the next few days and hopefully for you too.
Love ya,
MeMe

Pastor Rodriguez said...

Enjoyed talking to you yesterday. Looking forward to you and your cohorts perfecting that light bulb technology and making it affordable. Lofty goal! The board members were impressed by your discussion and are thankful there are such motivated young people coming up to keep our future bright. (No pun intended!) God bless you and the rest of the team...Pastor Rodriguez