The strong southeast blow had kept the haze of humidity from settling on the horizon and blown the clouds away; it also kept our pace slow.  We had been looking forward to a shorter and hopefully easier ride today, but the wind kept us working to maintain 10 mph; not to mention the uphill grade with some rolling hills.  But the soft remnants of clouds in a blue sky and the color it was casting on the fields, kept our mind elsewhere….most of the time. Again, we passed huge pool/ponds, this one with a beach and  a church from 1861.  As the morning wore on, the wind seemed to blow the humidity away; it really was a gorgeous day.  The beautiful country road offered flowers, pretty homes and even ducks! We had pedaled through a couple small towns, but by 11:00 we were ready to take a break.  Found a Great local spot, selling homemade jellies, playing oldies and making a “Dagwood” size sandwiches.  They had to turn the music off, for Jerry to leave.  The wind was kicking and fluffy clouds had returnedby the time we left our early lunch.  But with only 15 miles more (or so we thought) we figured we would be checked in early and rest up for tomorrow.  The road to Mansfield kept going and going and getting hillier by the mile.  We wound our way up and down the streets of the citywith a quick stop at an old-fashioned carousel.Road construction sent us on a couple mile detour with a couple hills thrown if for good measure.  A couple mile trek on the interstate got us to our hotel over two and a half hours (& 18 miles) later.  Our relaxing 39 mile day turned out to be a hard fought 47 miles; and we’ve only begun to hit the hills.

Fortunately our dinner and drinks, tonight was just steps from our room..…and delicious.  Rest and Sleep in now on the menu.