I woke up at Fernando's to beautiful but windy weather. The good news is that the wind had shifted to a northerly direction, but the velocity had increased to a steady 18-20 mph with gusts up to 25. Although I was generally headed north, the roads don't go in a straight line. The ride through the Islands of Lake Champlain is really gorgeous, especially along the west shore of Grand Island, but with the wind blowing so strong, it was all I could do to keep the bike upright. So much for enjoying the views! I still managed to see some interesting sites and people.
The ride today was pretty exhausting, but with the wind generally at my back, I was able to make 66 miles by 4:00. With rain in the forecast, I decided to call it quits in the town of Mooers. There was a large pavilion behind the firehouse where I would bed down. The back room in the firehouse was also the regional courthouse, and a bit later in the evening I noticed that a car was in the parking lot that wasn't there when I first pulled in. So, I went into the court room, which now was illuminated, to see if anyone was around to ask for permission to sleep there, and a judge walked out of the back office and introduced himself. He had an arraignment that evening, but he said that it would be fine for me to camp out back there. He didn't think anyone would bother me, but in case they did, he gave me his card told me to get in touch if anyone complained. Shortly after that, a state policeman walked in with a surprisingly cheerful young woman in handcuffs, the obvious subject of the arraignment. I didn't stick around to find out what it was about.
