Wednesday 11/6
Our trip this fall was to Raleigh, NC, to ride the Neuse River Trail, the Clayton River Walk and the Sam’s Branch Trail. The trails make up a 33 mile paved bike path along the rustic river amidst the metropolitan area.
We arrived at the Falls Dam parking lot and rode 17.5 miles to Anderson Point Park and then rode back! The best moment of the day was when we reached the first hill; Emily kicked her e-bike into gear and shot to the top!
After our ride, we loaded the bikes and headed to the Morning Glory Inn in Clayton, NC. After quick showers, we enjoyed dinner at the Clayton Steak House which was owned until recently by the Inn owners husband.
Thursday
Arising this morning, the Nickels looked forward to leisurely days for the rest of the trip. Around 10 a.m., we headed to the Sam Branch Trail head. The Trail is festooned with a butterfly sculpture and student art work on the fences that changes every few years...really cool.
After a mile and a quarter, the trail ends at the Clayton River Walk, a 4 mile trail that connects to the Neuse River Trail. Our destination today was Anderson Point Park again to complete our ride. Along the way we noted the group has quite an array of bicycles!
Our total miles for the trip was 67 which qualifies us for a Metric Century Plus; that is a ride on the plus side of 62.5 miles, pedaled by riders on the plus side of 70 years, completed in 1+1 days! Yeah, it is a Double Nickel’s innovation! We completed our day with dinner at Manning’s Restaurant.
Friday
Following a leisurely start, we drove to the NC Museum of Art. Our first activity was walking the path with the outdoor installations.
Beam us up Scotty.
Tell me your thoughts!
We then met Katie in the West Building where we walked through several exhibits. We were going to eat lunch at the Museum Cafe, but it was swamped. So we went to a local restaurant before we all headed our separate ways. It is hard to believe we have been taking this annual trip since we were 55 years old. Laurel says in a few years we could become the Triple Quarters, the question is whether or not our psyches will allow that name transition!
PS. Katie was going to have her hair shaved after lunch to support her friend Sally who has breast cancer; a very brave and caring thing to do. So I had to include their pictures here!
