Day 51 - Millville to Westampton - Two Far 2022 Reunion Bound (the long way around)

May 30, 2022

Day 51 - Millville to Westampton

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Riding through New Jersey on a hot day, we really didn't have high hopes for a great day. It turned out to have some memorable moments and unexpected pleasures.

The first miles of the ride were through many vegetable fields. We didn't recognize everything, but green growing things are nice to look at.

I know almost nothing about horse breeds, but this one is very big!

Our first stop was at a Dollar General. When we were ready to check out, this man was patiently trying to use a credit card. The cashier was nice, but clueless. I don't think she knew how to use the register. After he tried with two different cards, Kerry just put some cash on the counter and said your drink is on us - just pay it forward. He thanked us and assured us he would. We started talking and learned that he is Derrick and recently bought a house in Clearwater for his retirement six years from now. We talked a little about the joys of being Floridians.

I noticed this riding down the road - a yellow care family must live here.

We saw many cyclists out today within a short distance - most of them in groups. A Memorial Day club-ride was our guess.

Always a great way to celebrate a holiday.

This was a good size herd of goats - I got about half of them in this picture.

On our last ride through New Jersey in 2019, we followed a similar route to this one. We don't remember going through Medford before. It has a very nice historic downtown. There was a little traffic, but we didn't see anyone out on the street.

We were surprised to see all the shops and restaurants seemingly closed on Memorial Day.

Many of the homes had these historic markers.

A few miles north of Medford, as we approached Lumberton, we came to a barricade across the road with a sign saying the road was closed from 12:00 - 3:00 on Memorial Day. Kerry said that it wouldn't be construction for just one day, so he rode around the barricade and continued on. A short distance later, we saw a police car with flashers on blocking the road. As we approached, the cop pulled forward and waved us through. We figured whatever was being done to the road, it was passable to bikes. As we rounded a curve, everything became abundantly clear - we were about to crash a town parade!

This is what we soon became part of - the Lumberton, NJ Memorial Day parade.

At first, we tried to ride behind the parade, but it was moving too slow for us to comfortably keep our balance. Instead, we moved over to the shoulder and slowly made our way to the front of the parade. People along the way waved and smiled at us like we were part of the show. Some of the kids asked if we had candy to give out!

Each vehicle had somene tossing candy to the kids, who darted out and quickly picked it up.

A few of the town's classic cars rolled by.

All the town's emergency vehicles were in the parade.

As we approached the front of the parade, the lead vehicle turned into the Lumberton Village Green.

The Village Green appeared to be set up for more festivities.

While waiting to check-in at our motel, Kerry saw this and just had to include it for our friend Stan.

Kerry here... While we didn't any tankers flying today, we did see several groups of fighter jets. Our guess is that McGuire AFB was giving the surrounding area an impromptu air show for Memorial Day.

Tomorrow is supposed to be very hot with a high of about 96. We have another 50-mile day, so we plan to be up and on the road as early as we can make ourselves get out the door. Who knows what happy surprises might await us!

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 1,737 miles (2,795 km)

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Keith A. SpanglerPart of a parade u guys are funny
..did you get some candy?
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1 year ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Keith A. SpanglerNo, we didn't get any candy, though there was plenty we could have picked up. Since the parade vehicles were throwing out the candy, the kids asked for candy from us! We were sorry we couldn't give them any.
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1 year ago

marilyn swettI had to laugh at your accounting of joining the parade! Several times we've run into parades while on a tour with the towns people thinking we were part of the show. One was this Fireman's parade in Lake George, NY. It went on and on so we finally just sat on the curb until it had passed. If you ever get to that town, check it out.
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1 year ago