In the morning at the The Meadowlark Gardens, we met a woman named Linda Andress. Ms. Andress invited us to have lunch with here at her favorite restaurant, the Vienna Inn, which is near the W&OD trail. Veterinarian Linda Neimeir also came out to ride with Bill.

After eating lunch at Carolina Brothers Pit Barbeque Bill got back on the W&OD. Brenda and I got back on highway 7. Unfortunately we just happened to get back on during a traffic jam. I'm sure it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It's times like this when we wonder if Bill and Blackie are making better time then we are.

On the 24th we set off once again. To get to the W&OD we rearranged the trailer and drove to parking lot of the parking lot of Loudoun County High School which is about 30 miles north of Bull Run Regional Park. Paul McCray came to see us off as well as a few other people, including a reporter who brought (I believe) her granddaughters, Vivian and Grace. After visiting Bill headed down the W&OD.

Bill and Blackies brake was where the W&OD and Ashburn Rd. intersect. At this intersection is a little place called Carolina Brothers Pit Barbeque. While we waited for Bill, Brenda and I ate some great food and visited with Danny Hurdle and his family. Mr. Hurdle talked to me about his business, the history behind the building which he now owns.

We camped out at the Bull Run Regional Park from the 18th to the 24th of May. The Bull Run Regional Park was an excellent place for Blackie to rest up. We were a few day ahead of schedule, and still needed to figure out the rest of the routing. Blackie also developed some swelling where ticks had been on his back. As Brenda says,”he's thin skinned.” Veterinarian Linda Neimeir gave Blackie some antibiotics and steroids to help the swelling go down.

Bill and Blackie made it into Washington D.C. Here are the pictures I took on the 25th and 26th. I will write proper stories and compile the video soon.