From Polo, IL, I headed east, and slightly south so I could avoid all of Chicago and the suburbs. I made it to the Indiana Dunes State Park (on the southern tip of Lake Michigan) and took a day off to relax there. From there I went east to Sandusky, Ohio. I planned to take a ferry from Sandusky, but it didn't run daily so I had an extra day to waste. Sandusky was a nice town, with some beautiful parks.

I left the USA, taking the ferry from Sandusky to Leamington, Ontario. Then I headed east along the northern shore of Lake Erie. This stretch of the trip had some fantastic views - while going down the road I just had to glance to the right to see Lake Erie spreading out as far as I could see.

Eventually I made it to Niagara Falls, and took a couple of days to relax there. I got tired of the tourist traps really quickly, but Niagara Falls does have some nice parks and gardens. Then I re-entered the USA, and started into New York.

I spent a day heading into New York, and started to get to some of the hills. My bike was more of a road bike than a touring bike, so it didn't have as many low gears as a touring bike. On most roads, my bike was fine, but for going up really big hills and mountains, it was agonizing. I figured the bike might survive a trip through the mountains, but my knees probably wouldn't. So, I found a bus station on my second day in New York.

In Batavia, New York, the bus stop was in a shopping center on one side of town. There was also a bike shop in the downtown area, but it was about a mile away from the bus stop. To take the bus, I needed to box up my bike, so I rode to the bike shop, got a box, and headed back to the bus stop. I walked my bike and carried the box at the same time - it was sort of inconvenient, but it worked. I got my bike partially disassembled and boxed up, and got on the bus that would take me all the way across New York and just a little way into New Jersey.

When I arrived in New Jersey, it was raining a little bit, so I re-assembled my bike inside the tiny shelter at the bus stop. Amazingly, it worked. I then headed to Washington, New Jersey to visit some friends and take a break for a couple of days.

After resting a couple of days, I started out across New Jersey. Actually, I entered Pennsylvania for a little ways, and visited Washington Crossing (the place where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War). Then I went back into New Jersey and headed across the state.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to visit Atlantic City or not. I finally decided I might as well go and see it. Then I travelled south along the coast. At one point I even ran out to the water, just so I could say I made it all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

From the southern tip of New Jersey, I took a ferry to Delaware. Unlike the tiny ferry that I took across Lake Erie, this was huge and could hold about a hundred cars. I was in Delaware for under 24 hours, and then made it into Maryland.

I probably wasn't in Maryland for much more than 24 hours either. From Crisfield, Maryland I took one ferry to get out to Smith Island, and then took another ferry from Smith Island to get the rest of the way across the Chesapeake Bay, to Virginia. Then, for the last leg of my trip I travelled south to Newport News, Virginia.

Then, after 1,576 miles, I was finished, and stayed with some friends for a few days. My original plan was to go with some of these friends to DC for the 4th of July, but I ended up going with a different group and went whitewater rafting in West Virginia.

Next, I had to travel back home. So, I found another box for my bike and sent it home via UPS. Then I boarded a Greyhound bus for a 27 hour trip back home. It really felt like a long trip, but it was much faster than riding a bike all the way home.