Day 1 May 18 Debra and Camilla: Jamestown Trail Angels

We can’t say enough about Debra and Camilla our amazing Warmshowers hosts. They went above and beyond. For months I was trying to figure out how to get us and our bikes from Norfolk to the start in Yorktown. The problem is the James River and Chesapeake Bay are in the way and all the bridges are car only. I put an ad in Craigslist for a truck driver for hire, Uber wouldn’t do it. I found a guy that would drive us over but it had to be too early. Finally we decided to navigate the buses and public transportation. So we notified our first Warmshowers host, Debra and Camilla of our plan and Debra insisted on driving a total of 2.5 hours out of her way to come pick us up in her Sprinter van. She dropped us off at Yorktown for our official start then returned to her home to get dinner and accommodations ready for our visit. We arrived to a bed for each of us, laundry, spaghetti dinner and great stories and advice as they had done the TransAm, the Northern Tier, the Southern Tier, the West Coast and the East Coast on their tandem! They made such an impression on us and we are better people for having known them, just their leading by example. Debra is a retired volleyball coach and Camilla is a retired OB/GYN. They are generous, loving to each other, have a tight knit family and have a dog. Hooray for dog people!