Prologue, almost

Mark and I spent some very memorable eighteen days together travelling crosscountry on two wheels. Mostly just the two of us, we reached a travel rhythm only interrupted by the people we met, the places we stayed and the things we saw. Visits with family (Morales) and friends (Miyazakis) and strangers along the way gave way to conversation and learning.

San Francisco was a great respite and boy was I happy Martha was there! From there we got to meet and spend time with a bunch of Haydens friends; good folks all. From Oregon to Washington we rode with friends of Scott creating a posse of about 15 people.

A week plus in Seattle got us reaquainted with Marion and Reid and I hope its not another 22 years before we get back to the Northwest.

It will be nice to get home and sleep in my own bed. I'm really looking forward to seeing daughter Marcella who has kept in touch with me by email, SMS and cellphone. Never far away, she sent needed recipes for our visit in Boulder and kept me up-to-date on her activities.

Hard to believe it will have been nearly five weeks since I saw Mom. I think I've only spoken to her three or four times in so long a time. She'll probably have something to say about that!

God bless technology and our staff at the office. Debbie, Erin, Jessica, Nadine and Martha have kept me up to date and taken care of the business for me. A testament to them that I can be gone for so long.

This trip has been a rush to say the least. All because Mark and I decided to go for a little ride.

Maybe we'll turn in the K1200Lt and Bonneville for a couple of GS1200s and see where we can go next?

See you in the Funnies!
Craig

07/21/09-0728/09 Seattle and Vicinity

Well, its the end of a very long vacation, nearly five weeks, and for the past eight days we have been staying with brother Scott, his wife Marion, son Reid and, for a few days, son Hayden and his pals.

On Tuesday, July 21st we got unpacked and largely hung out. Went to downtown Seattle and Pike's Place Public Market. Had a great lunch and did some shopping. Generally a take-it-easy day. It had been 20 years since we have been to Seattle and it all has changed. Scott and Marion's house is Northwest meets Brady Bunch. A big makeover the last year or so has it charming and really comfortable. Huge deck in the back for dining overlooking a fern-lined creek. Marky and Hayden joined a couple of pals and went out on Lake Washington wakeboarding.

Wednesday, July 22nd had us taking off on Scott's 34-foot sailboat across Puget Sound to Blake Island, a state park where you can rent a slip for the day or overnight, grab a mooring, enjoy a traditional indian salmon bake, and so on. I hadn't been sailing since Scott, brother Mark, Scott's pal Trey and I sailed in the BVIs for Scott's 50th birthday. Its not too hard when you have a very capable skipper. The sailing out here is pretty terrific, but you have to watch out for a lot of good-sized timber (driftwood) and the ferries, tankers, cargo and cruise ships. Lots of older Chris Crafts, many Trawlers and Tugs,

Mark spend the day with cousin Hayden and the kids, getting a new skateboard deck in Seattle and checking out the Market.

Thursday, July 23rd we left about 830 AM for Mt. Rainier and the Paradise Inn. Marion, Martha and Mark went in Marion's replacement car, her GLI being semi-permanently in the shop and ready for invocation of the Lemon Law. Pals Stephen, Astro and Emi went up in Stephen's M3 while Emi's roommate Ari, who we had supper with on the 16th, was my passenger on the BMW. Hayden was on his Honda and Scott on the GS1150.

It took us a long time to get to Mt. Rainier, our initial route including a washed out route and adding a few hours to the trip. The ride to Mt. Rainier had us paralleling Lake Washington out of Seattle and heading to the foothills once a little south. We stopped at the obligatory Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts not having any presence here in the Northwest. I miss my chocolate crullers. What the hell is a double-shot, extra skim late grande anyway?

Once away from the maddening crowd we were on sweepers and twisties again. Part of the road had some pretty bad tarmac require some sudden braking due to too much gravel.

We finally made it to the Paradise Inn which was initially constructed in 1917 and expanded in the 1920s. Its an old-style lodge with no phones, television, wifi or cell service. It is at the foot of Mt. Rainier and many folks use it as a base to take the three-day roundtrip climb.

we went for a hike down to a wonderful waterfall, up to a lake and then back. There were some serious elevation changes and we got very close to one of the deer inhabitants. When I get home its back to Body Strong. These last several weeks have me further out of shape.

Martha, Mark and I stayed in cramped but comfortable quarters after a fabulous dinner that Scott and I agreed to split, but we were preempted by Astro, Stephen, Ari and Emi. Should have had that second after-dinner drink!

Friday, July 24th

After a sound sleep we all had breakfast together with much of the same staff serving us who had served us last night. Not exactly indentured servitude, but these kids obviously work hard. It is a beautiful place to work and I can only hope they get paid adequately.

We hiked up a VERY steep trail in the morning for some great views. The walk down wasn't so easy either!

Back at the parking lot we headed toward Seattle and, after a brief lunch at Brunos (named after a 150-lb dog), we were home about 5PM.

Emi, Hayden, Ari, Stephen and Astro hosted us to a cookout at Emi's family waterfront home on the other side of Lake Washington. Emi's mom was there and a lot of Emi and Hayden's pals. Supper was magnificently prepared by Stephen, capably assisted by sous chef Astro. We ran out of Tequila real quickly so I ponied up the dough for another 1/2 of Cuervo and some much-needed ice. Much better! Chicken, beef, rice, veggies and salad. The older folks left the kids to have some fun; Mark stayed behind to supervise!

Saturday, July 25th

Martha and Marion went over to the arts and crafts fair in Bellingham. Its a pretty big deal drawing lots of local and national craftspeople and artisans.

Scott and I ran some errands and managed to take in the swap meet at Ride West BMV. Lots of nice older and newer bikes for sale, including to Moto Guzzis and a Triumph Thruxton. Afterward Scott, Hayden, Emi, Ari, Stephen, Astro, Mark and I went for a day's sail aboard Scott's boat Jammer. Hayden and crew had mercifully picked up sandwiches along the way abd the boat was stocked with sodas, beer and some Mt. Gay. Astro and Stephen got to play Captain and we had a very nice day of it. On the return leg we were in irons so used the iron genny to get us home, during which everyone under 24 years old (thats all but Scott and Me) took a nap. They just can't keep us with us older guys.

Sunday, July 26th

Scott and I were up pretty early, but it took us all of the morning to clean the bikes. Six of them including Reid's. Today was the first day of really hot weather, in to the 90s. Seattle has been suffering from a two-month drout and now the heat is kicking in. We attacked each bike one at a time and, I must say, thy came out looking a lot better than that which we started with. Hayden, Stephen and Astro drove back to San Francisco getting home pretty late while Emi and Ari checked out the fair in Bellingham before flying home.

Monday, July 27th

Scott had to work today so Martha, Marky, Marion and I headed in to Seattle to check out the EMP (Experimental Music Project) located at Seattle Center. It is a Rock'nRoll based "museum". There is a really neat area dedicated to Seattle native Jimmy Hendrix who, as it turns out, was part of the 101st Airborn! In addition to that and the history of the guitar, M.Jackson's black sequined jacked and the GLOVE were on display from the MTV Music Awards program in which he first showed the moonwalk. Pretty topical.

Later, we took the monorail (from the Seattle Worlds Fair sometime in the 1960s) downtown and had lunch at the famous Athenian restaurant.

After too late a lunch and too little exercise we returned home for a quick shower an out again to Ray's for supper. Ray's is located where the canal from Lake Union dumps in to Puget Sound after going through a series of locks. In a banquet seating we had a great view of Puget Sound ande eachother. Dinner was first rate. I had the sampler of Alaskan King Salmon, Sablefish and Halibut. The Sablefish was the best and reminded me a lot of Haddock. After a very satiating dinner we went for a walk on one of the public docks with lots and lots of beautiful boats on the slips.

Tuesday, July 28. The end is near!

Scott and I left the house at predawn for a several hour ride. We drove north along Lake Washington to its northernmost point, picking up route 522 and heading east through rural farmland (dairy) and cherry orchards. In Monroe we headed south on Route 203 through the towns of Duvall and Carnation. Duvall is a very pretty farming commuunity now being gentrified as more and more folks are moving further out from Seattle. Carnation, still a small town, is reportedly where the "Carnation" brand foods got its name from. Skirting the Snoqualmie River, much of this area flooded a few years ago causing lots of damages to homes.

We stopped at the Snoqualmie Falls where there is a very nicely maintained state park and a lodge. There was an old hydroelectric plant at the falls, but it was a ways away to render inspection. Just down the road we turned west and in to the city of Snoqualmie. This is a planned community in the foothills of the cascade mountains which will ultimately house about 14,000 people. This was originally Weyerhauser timberland but the closing of the mill and being just about 30 miles east of Seattle made it ideal for residential development. Continuing east we picked up Rotue 90 and ultimately back home so Scott could catch a 830 conference call.

Today was packing day. Scott and I siphoned the gas out of the bikes and they were picked up about 2:30. Afterwards, we launched Scotts motorboat (he has all the toys) in Lake Union and took in the local waterfront including all the housboats!. Martha, Marion and I enjoyed the coolness of being on the water, it being 95 degrees at home! We headed up to Lake Washington, past Bill Gates' home and watched some sailbot racing back again on Lake Union in downtown Seattle. What a wonderful, water-oriented city.

Monday, July 20th. Lincoln City, OR to Seattle, WA

After eleven hours on the road we arrived at Scott and Marion's home in Seattle. Iwas dog tired, hot and of poor disposition and everyone knew it! Nothing that wasn't solved by a cold adult beverage and good company.

We left Lincoln City sufficiently close to 7AM to be considered prompt. We decided that we wouldn't chance another two-hour delay by breadfasting at that little out-of-the-way place that looks kinda "down home" from the road. That worked well when it was just Craig and Mark but now that there were fifteen of us....

It was just shy of 50 degrees when we left so I was happy to be wearing the rainsuit. As with yesterday's ride, we were on and off the coast, up and down, right and left. This section reminded me very much of upstate New York and areas of New Hampshire and Vermont. Quite a few small dairy farms; the terrain and vegetation looked and felt very familiar. We breakfasted at a brand new Denny's in Tillamook, OR.

As it was brand new, we were worried that we'd have the same problem as yesterday. When we were getting off the bikes and out of our rainsuits you could see the staff looking out with that "Oh &^%$" expression. Breakfast was good with timely services. Making it better was the birthday cake Martha and Joe had walked down the street to get for Hayden, it being his 24th birthday. Unfortunately, we didn't get icecream with the cake. Our waitress, Chrystal (with the "h") noted she'd be celebrating her 21st birthday this Thursday having some family take care of the kids, her oldest being five years old. Wow!

Tillamook is home to the Tillamook Air Museum. Tillamook was a Naval Air Station (there remains one nearby) for blimps, monitoring the skies of the Pacific Coast, just like our little bit of blimp history in Chatham.

From Tillamook it was back along the coast practically all the way to Astoria and across the Columbia River to Washington State. Along the way we took a break in Cannon Beach, an upscale vacation town with lots of shopping, dining and miles of beach; a great place to have parked the bikes for the day and taken an extra overnight.

We crossed in to Washington after gassing up in Astoria. The bridge was huge; first part was very high to allow large ships under and the second part was seemingly just above the river.

The first thing you notice about Washington is the large amount of land that is being timbered by either Weyerhauser of others. Large swaths of land are cut down, timber removed, then replanted. It creates a checkerboard effect with each section having a particular age and growth. One area had been hit by hurricane force winds (120mph) which knocked down all the trees, they all falling in the same direction. Quite a sight.

Somewhere around Elma or MMcCleary our group split. The Vokey clan with Stephen and Astro in the M3 headed up route 101 to connect with 106 near Union which runs along the Hood Canal. 106 was in the process of being re-paved using the old oil and gravel technique. Mark gave me cause for pause as he slalomed around the center-line markings. In Port Orchard we picked up highway 3 among commuting traffic. We stayed on 3 up to Poulsbo and then took the 13-mile ride down route 305 to catch the Seattle ferry from Bainbridge Island.

Everyone was tired and I, particularly, was in a foul mood. Enough traffic, heat, missteps and antics to put me on edge. Rules to live by: there is a left side and a right side of the handlebars, they are meant to be held on to at practically all times. Road motorcycles are meant to be sat on, not stood on. If you need to stand frequently, its time to get off the road and take a rest. Crash bars are to protect the engine, not a great place to hang your legs when the pipes are hot. There is a two-second rule for a reason. Probably to prevent one accident from becoming many. Without sufficient space, everyone is in danger.

The ferry ride provided a much-needed break and a wonderful view of Seattle. Bikes get on and off first which was very convenient; I need to pay Scott for the fares. We got off in downtown Seattle, and Reid came along in a few minutes to ride with us (some of the way) back to Scott's.

We reached our destination about 630PM. It being Hayden's birthday, a number of his pals stopped over including his oldest friend, Joel, who is a deepsea diver down in the Gulf.

Joel had helped Marion all afternoon get the appetizers and meals prepared.

Emmie and her mom were also here to greet us.

A long day, the Myers on the rocks hit the spot.

George, Jane and Elroy.

Sunday, July 19th Brookings to Lincoln City, OR

We were looking to get an early start at about 7AM. As everyone except Charlie and David had gassed up the night before, it looked like we could have done it. But what can you say about people from the OC and Nevada. Seriously we were on the road about 715 or 730. That would be shortest delay of the day.

Route 101 principally follows the Oregon coastline. If Saturday was about Fog, this day was about WIND!!!!

Gusts had to be up to 50MPH - no exageration. We all worked real hard, particularly entering the bluffside twisties at speed and having the wind force you either further in to the lean, or away from it. Lots of clenching!

Somewhere around Gold Beach we stopped at a nice looking little restaurant about 815. We werent served until after 10AM. Unbelievable. The food was good, but not worth the wait. Ed, very generously, picked up the tab. I think he wanted to make sure our waitress didn't get stiffed on the tip. Wasn't her fault.

The delay in the breakfast just compounded the wind issue as it had a chance to work itself up for an extra hour or so. Temps remained in the 50s throughout the day, although it looked like it should have been warmer. We'd see people in shorts and tshirts down on the beach, but they must be visiting from Alaska!

The wind out of the north and west continued to pummel us throughout the day making the ride not nearly as enjoyable as it could have been. The coastline, is dramatic with huge boulders and the surf was UP!

We had lunch and roadstop in Florence which is where the Siuslaw river flows in to the Pacific. A little commercial fishing, the waterfront sported a newer marina which was almost entirely devoid of watercraft. It blew, and blew and blew. The girl at the coffeeshop explained it was either sunny and windy or cloudy and rainy. I think I would have preferred the rain at this point. The 45-minute break was enjoyed and they had a little craft fair/ farmer's market thing going on. One guy was selling handmade violins for $100 each!

A 100 miles later we arrived battered and tired at the Nordic Oceanfront Inn in Lincoln City, Or.

The view from the rooms was terrific and there was a wide beach down the bluff about 50 feet. The adults suppered about six blocks away at Maxwells while the younger set enjoyed beers and pizza. Not having had any adult products pass his lips, Stephen had Mark drive the M3 home from their supper!

Hayden discovered the alarm system on my BMW, having tried to move it during the evening as a prank.

There was some discussion as to whether or not we would head inland if the wind prevailed the next morning.

Tucked in pretty early with a sore back from fighting the wind all day long.

Oregon got the better of me, but there weren't any incidents so it was a good day.

Keep on rockin'

Barney, Betty and Bamm-Bamm

Saturday, July 18th. Ft. Bragg, CA to Brookings, CO

Sorry for the delay in posting. The last few days have been busy and I haven't been able to get the downtime in the afternoon to work on the post. Enough excuses.

Hayden rode out from San Francisco on his Honda CBR 954RR; a sportbike with lots of umph! Astro and Stephen drove out in Stephen's 2009 M3; another quick ride with four doors and trunk space. Our new chase car allowed us to travel a little lighter on the bikes. We suppered on wings and nachos, tequila, beer and wine. Then we second-suppered about 10PM on burgers and grilled cheese with fries.

We were up and out of the Quality Inn around 730AM. Not a bad start. Ft. Bragg was fogbound and that would be the nature of our ride for the entire day! Temperatures remained in the mid-50s all day so it was chilly, as well.

Hayden took the lead, followed closely by Mark and Ian. After they hit the second 25mph posted hairpin at about 50mph Martha and I decided we couldn't watch and wouldn't want to keep up. So, we held back and proceded at a more leisurely, mature pace. Nervously I scanned the roadside and canyons for debris left from any of the three bikes. All three youngsters must have been in good synch and of good charma. No debris!

Route 1 followed the coast along the bluffs and beaches. Once merging with Hwy 101 in Leggett we were a bit more inland until Eureka. Beautiful wooded mountains with towering, straight redwoods. We were again out on the coast by Eureka and starving for lunch.

In Eureka we caught up with the boys and checked on the GPS and figured there would be a good place in Westhaven where we agreed to eat. Well, the turnoff to Westhaven was small and, at their pace, they missed it. Martha and I found it but there was nothing there. The road was about 20 feet wide and went through some really rural areas. Martha and I rolled in to the lovely ( I mean it) town of Trinidad which has a fabulous bay, a few B&Bs, fishing business, and a couple of restaurants. Martha and I continued back on 101 and caught up with the boys in Orick where Ian found La Hacienda on his Iphone. This family-owned restaurant had the best salsa fresca I have ever had, outside of my own kitchen. The guacamole was as good! The boys chowed down on Burritos and Chimichanges, except Mark with his Cheeseburger and Fries. My fish taco with refrieds and rice was excellent, but a bit wet. Martha had a taco, as well.

Once again on 101, more in need of a siesta than more miles, we were on and off the coast; lots more elevation changes, cliffs, bluffs and twisties along the shore. Where we were inland it was more mountains and redwoods. Hard to describe how beautiful it all is, but a little challenging two-up.

We were able to connect in Crescent City with brother Scott and his posse who were coming down Route 199 from Bend, Oregon. They had covered almost 700 miles in two days. Accompanying Scott were a number of Weyerhauser folks: Joe and Ed had flown in to Seattle from Houston; Charlie had flown in from Nevada; David had flown in from the OC; Bill and Mark were from Seattle. Representing Scott's former employer, Noble House, was Jazz who is now in Seattle but grew up in New Orleans. She had a little trouble with Blues, her Harley, on the way down from Bend; it was electrically challenged and would randomly shut down. Hayden, the McGuyver of the group, was able to diagnose the problem as being with one of the fuses and, with a little aluminum foil, made a quick fix. So, we now had twelve bikes and the M3.

We made quite an impression as we rode in to Brookings, Or to spend our first night at the Brookings, Inn. This was a nice, clean property owned by one of Scott's former law partners and I'd recommend it for its on-site family restaurant which served a complimentary breakfast, as well. We ended up having supper across the street at Ponchos. The food was good and the company was great fun.

Mark, Ian, Stephen and Astro packed in to the party room for the night and, surprisingly, would be up and adam for the 7AM rollcall.

More to follow...

Jim, Margaret and Bud (Anderson). Missing our "Kitten" at home.

Friday, July 17th; San Francisco to Ft. Bragg, CA

The morning came early, but we were on the road by 7:30. Taking our cues from the cab ride to the restaurant last night, and the ride home from Hayden, we negotiated our way towards the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way we stopped to gas; first at a Chevron then an adjacent Shell. These damned California emissions pumps made it difficult to fill up the Honda Shadow Ian is on and Mark't Triumph. Fortunately a local showed us how to hold the collar back and get gas into the tank!

The Golden Gate Bridge, like nearly all the shoreline we would travel today, was shrouded in fog. Sometimes so thick you couldn't see the third or fourth car in front of you. We exited on to California 1 just outside of Sausolito. The roads were really twisty, some cases calling for a 15mph speed sign. These aren't just advisory, they are recommended.

Up and down, left and right, in and out of the fog, we worked our way to breakfast in Point Reyes. Ian and Mark had a terrific egg, ham and cheese sandwich with house-made buns. It had warmed up (falsely) to 72 degrees so it looked like the fog would burn off and we'd have a sunny ride. Wrong!

Temps hovered in the mid-50s as we skirted the shoreline on Route 1. Our travels took us through Eucalyptus groves, cattle ranches, horse ranches, surfing communities and past some pretty fine looking resorts.

Cold and about 60 miles short of Ft. Bragg, we stopped at the Sea Ranch resort. We all needed a break negotiating hairpins and tight twisties. The coffeee and hot chocolate was welcome. Three coffees and the hot chocolate (made from the espresso machine's milk steamer and real chocolate syrup) cost all of $10.56!

About 50 miles later we stopped in Little River for a sandwich and break. The gas station/deli/grocery was okay, but the adjacent Petite Rive Restaurant looked really good. Unfortunately they are only open for dinner and we're not backtracking.

With radar up, I was looking for our evening destination, the Pine Beach Inn. On our left we passed this forlorn looking place which didn't appear to have its restaurant open, so we continued in to Ft. Bragg proper and got some rooms at the Quality Inn and Suites. Its a 1970s era property, but clean and it has a restaurant (serving 'til 10, bar closes at 11) on premises.

We were also able to cancel our reservations at the Pine Beach Inn without penalty.

Well, its a little after 6:30 and we are waiting for Hayden, Astro, and another of Hayden's pals who is accompanying Astro in the Chase Vehicle.

Maybe later tonight or tomorrow a blog from the mystery writer.

Adios from Foggy Bottom!

Henry, Alice and Dennis (the Mitchells)

San Francisco, July 16, 2009

A morning of relative rest, Martha did some laundry while we let Mark sleep in. We ended up getting a second room so nephew-in-law Ian Cox was to bunk with Mark. Ian arrived at the Courtyard by about noon and we went out and around the Fishermen's Wharf area.

Down at Pier 39 we had lunch at the Wipeout Cafe. Really good fish tacos, tequila and Anchor Steam Ale.

After some window shopping we worked our way back up the Fishermen's Wharf area and took an hour boat tour of the harbor area, under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. It was a little choppy; we had started on the bow area and moved aft to get out of the wind and the spray.

Stopping at Lou's, we had some wings and cocktails alfresco on the sidewalk and watched the street scene. There are a couple of guys who have makeshift bushes and, as an unsuspecting pedestrian walks up the sidewalk, they kind of jump out at them. Its pretty fun to watch folks' reactions; some aren't very happy but the observers tend to tip the pranksters.

There are all sorts of street performers including one guy who just walks around in a mirror-like tinman outfit.

The late afternoon and several drinks called for a nap before joining nephew Hayden, his girlfriend Emmie, her two roommates and another friend of Hayden who is joining us in his chase vehicle in Ft. Bragg.

The nine of us had a terrific dinner at Absinthe, then walked back to Emmie's apartment; very nice quasi victorian with high ceilings and nicely maintained. Hayden and friend Astro gave us a ride back to the hotel where we gave them most of our gear, keeping that which we needed for the ride to Ft. Bragg. It was a late evening, but a great time.

A guest blog for the 17th.

Ward, June and the Beaver

July 15, 2009. Reno, NV to San Francisco

We shoved off from Bill and Lynn's about 8:15. I had gotten up about 6AM intending to sleep in to 7 or so and just kept moving. Got Mark up too, although he had hoped to grab a few more ZZZZs. I think he, too was eager to get to San Francisco and see Marthha.

Our first destination was about 60 miles down the road to South Lake Tahoe, NV taking Route 395 south to Carson City which ends at Route 50 which we continued on West. Carson City is a college town and capital of Nevada. Kind of remote for the capital in my mind, but so's everything in Nevada.

The road from Carson City to South Lake Tahoe is full of twisties, turns, sweepers, and big elevation changes. You rise from the desert floor in Carson City into beautiful, tree-lined and rocky mountains. Hard to describe, but very pretty.

Coming in to South LAKE Tahoe, Mark's first comment on seeing the Lake was "Holy shit!" The weather was perfect and the lake was spectacular.

I had been through South Lake Tahoe some 28 years earlier with pal Kurt Eve when he came out to visit from Boston prior to moving to SoCal permanently. We did a several-day roadtrip from Seal Beach, CA up route 1 to San Francisco, Napa, So.Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite in my Fiat Spider Convertible.

We had breakfast at the Zephyr Cove Restaurant and headed out. There was a lot of traffic through South Lake Tahoe, made even worse by more road construction. Once out of South Lake Tahoe, it was back to a great ride up and down, left and right, very high paced. We came out of the cooler mountains into 95-degree Placerville. Route 50 from Placerville to Sacramento and Route 80 from Sacramento to San Francisco is a piece of crap. No kidding. Pot-holed, grooved, loaded with semis. Not any fun getting to San Francisco. That being said, we went from the frying pan in to the refrigerator with temps over 100 degrees in Sacramento, and 64 degrees as we approached San Francisco.

We took the Bay Bridge in to San Francisco (EZPass didn't work), came cross-town and readily fouund the Courtyard on Beach Street. Martha was out and about in the Fisherman's Wharf area and was soon to greet her husband and son. Great!

Nephew Hayden brought over the Honda Shadow which we got parked in the adjacent garage; Hayden and his girlfriend took Mark GoKart racing while Martha and I had a wonderful supper at the Rose Pistola in North Beach.

Nothing else to report on this family-friendly blog.

Lots of love

Ozzie, Harriet and Ricky

July 14, 2009 Eureka to Reno, NV

Sorry for the delay in getting to the last two days' blogs, but it has been busy.

We were out of Eureka at about 8AM. It was warm already but we kept our sweatshirts on, as usual, for the first few hours.

Route 50 is principally a fast-moving (70mph legal speed limit) two-laner which is generally through a desolate landscape. We crossed several 7000 ft plus passes. Just prior to Austin, NV we ran in to some roadwork which had us waiting for about 20 minutes. We stopped down the hill at the Toiyabe Cafe in Austin. Austin has a very small (200 +/-) population but dates back to the boomtown mining days of the 1870s. A neat little town, it has its compulsory courthouse with jail and Masonic Lodge.

The Lodges in Nevada received their charters from the Grand Lodge in California. To my Masonic Brethren, it would be pretty cool to set up a tour of some of these lodges and get their histories; maybe setting one up for our district.

We had come about 70 miles and were looking forward to gassing up in Austin as you never know where the next fuel willl be. Although closed, the local gas station had left its pumps on so we used the credit card to gas up.

More desolation along the road, the heat was unbelievable with temps easily in the 90s. We stopped another 50 miles down the road at an old way station with a bar, restaurant and motel. Met a retired guy from Las Vegas on his Custom-painted Road King. He lives in Ely but likes to do some driving around. Asked how he liked his Harley, in responded that it looked good. He used to be a BMW rider but found it to be too cramped.

We continued west to Fallon, NV, gassed up and continued west to Reno.

Along the way it continued to be damned hot and dry. We passed several dry lake beds, gleaming white in contrast to the tanner tones of rock and sage. In the middle of nowhere was this huge sand dune called Sand Mountain. Don't know how it came to be, but could be googled.

Mark had been asking about Carl Jr's. so we set it as our destination in Reno. From Fallon to Reno we eventually ended up on I80 which was really high paced with a lot of traffic once we got near Sparks. We were able to get on to 395 without incidence, got off at S.Virginia Avenue and Carl's was just on the left. Parched and hot, it was a welcome place to stop. We each ordered two burgers, which was one-too-many. You only need one burger at Carl Jr's.!

The Carl's was just 4.5 miles from our stop for the evening, Bill and Lynne Miyazaki's.

The Miyazaki's have a really neat multi-level home overlooking the city of Reno. The view is panoramic and, in some respects, reminded me of the Morales' home in Ancon overlooking Panama City.

Lynne and Bill were great hosts. Mark and I stayed in Paul and Michael's room in the lower level. We went downtown to have a wonderful Japanese habachi supper at Ichibon. We got home late and, thanks to a couple of sakis, fell off to sleep pretty easily.

July 13, 2009. Salina, UT to Eureka, NV

We had a 300 mile day done in just four stages; Salina to Delta, Delta to State Line, State Line to Ely and Ely to Eureka. We were at the Best Western in Eureka by 2PM (Pacific Time).

All of today was on Route 50, The Loneliest Highway, and we have the photos to show it.
Surprisingly, at the state line, about 80 miles outside of Salina, there was a Casino, Gas station, restaurant and Motel; all the folks from Utah must come over the border to enjoy the wildness of Nevada. We had gas and water and moved on.

Empty, barren land. But nice elevations and curves intermittently from the flat, straight desert. It is beautiful in a certain, stark way.

We had breakfast in Delta, UT where we spoke briefly after breakfast with a guy on a GS 1200 hailing from San Antonio but on his way to see an uncle in Denver. He had come from Reno; about 550 miles, the day before.

We stopped and had lunch at the Hotel Nevada in Ely (circa 1929) which is still a hotel, casino and restaurant. Across the street was Mr. G's restaurant, photo of which I will ultimately get to our own Mr. G.

Ely was a rock and rollin town which seems to still benefit from gambling and eating.

It was a 77-mile straight ride to Eureka with more curves and mountains. We arrived early in the afternoon.

Next door was the gas station/convenient market/laundromat. I did a load and folded!

While the clothes were in the wash I walked around this 1870s boom town; lots of gold was here once upon a time and they are still mining it today. In the 1870s, however, this town was built. There is a beautiful Opera House, Court House, Museum and lots of cool buildings. I have really enjoyed Eureka and put on the list of other things to become more interested in.

We had dinner at a local restaurant/casino. Mark and I have gotten used to sitting at the bar and enjoying the conversation with the locals.

All the best from really cool Eureka, NV. google it!

Lots of love from the boys on the road, Homer and Bart

Gunnison, CO to Salina, UT

Today we went 355 miles and spent about ten hours on the road.

Shoving off about 7:15AM we continued west on US50 out of Gunnison. It was 54 degrees with a sprinkle here and there so we put on the rainsuits to keep the wind out, warm and dry. US50 remains a wonderful road and I am very glad that Mike McAllister recommended this route vs. going north to Salt Lake City.

Just a few miles outside of Gunnison we encountered the Blue Mesa Reservoir. The area was dotted with campgrounds; plenty of boats out on the reservoir fishing and we spotted a couple of good sized marinas. The road bends south and up hill into some high ground, then descends through wooded canyons and finally opens up in Cimarron to open land with lots of buttes and the like.

Finally, just east of Montrose we entered the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It took about 2 million years for the canyon to be formed and it was very impressive. We left the National Park and headed to Denny's in Montrose for breakfast; couldn't find a mom and pop on the GPS!

Montrose to Grand Junction was fast moving through what could only be described as badlands. It got badder as we headed west to Green River, UT. Impressive canyons, rock formations, buttes, bluffs and lots of starkness. By the time we covered our 255 miles to Green River the temperature was 95. We gassed up for our final push to Salina. Just west of Green River there is a sign advising there were no services for the next 100 miles!

Every once in a while there would be a view point, so we stopped at two on our way to Salina, taking a break from the heat and the speed. Also enjoyed the waters we brought along in the insulated bottles provided by Lars and Marcella.

We got off the road about 5PM, gassed up at the exit and found our way here to the Best Western. Dinner was takeout from up-the-street Denny's. Only thing around that could be walked to.

Tomorrow its 300 miles due west to Eureka and the Best Western there. Hope we are on the road earlier to avoid much of the hear and off the road soon enough to go see the opera house which is quite a landmark.

Brian and Stewart

Superior, CO to Gunnison, CO

What a nice town Gunnison is. We are staying at the Gunnison Inn which is adjacent to the town park and only a few blocks to Main Street. Western State College, with about 2500 students is the local place of higher education. They have a very pretty campus which I drove around during the afternoon. Good restaurants and Crested Butte is about 20 miles from here so they attract skiiers during the winter. There are lots of motorcyclists in town; I think this is probably a Saturday night layover for Coloradans out for a weekend drive.

It was a rocky start after too much fun last night. We headed off from the Morales home about 8:15, an hour late. In addition to too much fun, Mark and I were also feeling the altitude hit us as we ascended higher and higher.

We took Colo route 93 South out of Superior and managed to avoid Denver in its entirety. We went through Golden, home of Coors, then south along 285. A very nicely maintained four laner and two laner with lots of twists and turns and elevation changes. We stopped for breakfast in Fairplay, CO which is in the southern part of Park County. The show "South Park" is modeled after Fairplay. We ate at the Brown Burro, which was very good but a little slow. There was a big Women Motorcycle rally in town. According to the two State Troopers and two County Mounties that joined us at the breakfast table, about 2500 bikes were expected!

Finally we turned West on Route 50 in Poncho Springs which took us up and over Monarch Pass (11,300 feet!). The carbureted Triumph did just fine and the 6-mile four-laner up the hill was a snap. The 6-mile 7% one-lane downhill was a little testy with much smaller and many more blind corners. While at Monarch Pass we had a real interesting conversation with an independednt trucker, and Gold Wing (1986 1000) driver. He apparently had a faulty radiator cap and had stopped six times heading East up the Monarch Pass to let the truck cool. Fortunately the rest of the way was downhill until he could get some service.

We arrived in Gunnison a little after 2PM much to our surprise. I later learned that we are 60 miles short of the National Park which has resulted in a little dilemma. Tomorrow we can go as far as Green River, about 250 miles, or push on to Salina (our original anticipated stop) another 100 miles down the road. I checked with some locals and there is NOTHING between Green River and Salina. I made a reservation for tomorrow night at the Best Western in Green River (another local recommendation) and if we get there early enough we may push on to Salina. We will see.

Tomorrow night I will have to do some refiguring in that we intend to make it to Reno on the 14th and San Francisco on the 15th. We will see.

Finally, we had a great supper at the Ole Miner downtown. Steak, salad bar, green beans and I only at half the baked potato!

Well, that's it from Gunnison.

Chico and the Man

071009 Superior, CO

Although a day late in the posting, here goes.

Got up and picked up the Triumph from its oil change at Foothills BMW Triumph in Lakeside, I think. Lars and I spent some quality time looking at bikes. Turns out he liked the F650GS Thumphah from BMW.

On the way back I gassed up the Triumph and then the BMW.

Lars, Eve, friend David, Mark and I went up to Evergreen, CO at the suggestion of Lars' niece Adrienne (spelling?), who we got together up there with her husband Randy and friend from KC, Bonita. Mark, with Eve and David paddled around the lake in a canoe as did Adrienne, Randy and Bonita. Lars and I stayed on shore and went for a walk.

After a nice lunch in Evergreen we worked our way down the back road to Red Rock; a very cool bunch of red boulders which has a natural amphitheatre that has been developed to allow for concerts. Very Cool John Tesh and Yani have played there!!! Woo Hoo.

Back in Superior we set to making supper at casa Morales while I also did laundry. Green Tortellini with Orange Salad. A combo first introduced to us by Melissa Vokey and which we still love alot.

Friends Charlie and Christine came over; Daren and Dominique showed up and Ian stayed overnight. Eve, David and Eve's pal Brett were also there for supper and, amazingly, there were leftovers! It was a great evening but too much fun.

Scottsbluff, NE to Superior, CO

Mark and I arrived here at Martha's sister's family house in Superior, CO yesterday afternoon at about 2PM. Superior is just outside of Boulder and was a mining town established in the llate 1800s. It was a coal mining and ranching town known for its "superior" quality of coal. Although the coal may have been superior, it didn't hold out very long and the mine was closed in the 1940s. Remaining mostly a ranching community of about 800 people, over the past ten years the population has swelled to about 12,000! A planned community, it has all the stores as well as a hospital and so on. It is very nice.

We had a nice supper the night before in the Whiskey Creek Grill adjacent to the Candlelight Inn. Our ride started at 715Am due South on Hwy 71 through Gering and on to Kimball. On the ride out of Gering the flatlands gave way to rocky hills with some form of fir or spruce trees. Once over the mountains we descended on to the open plains and a stiff headwind. After about 55 miles we had breakfast at the Longhorn Restaurant (recommended by an older lady on the sidewalk) in Kimball. Definitely a local place, at 8AM there were eight farmer/rancher types having breakfast at a table together. Looked like they did it regularly. The sausage omelet is well-recommended, as is the grilled cheese with French fries.

Our next stop was to be about 40 miles south in Stoneham, CO at the intersection of 71 and 14. Unfortunately, Stoneham was only a crossroads: no fuel, no service. We turned west on Route 14 with a strong quartering wind coming in from the South. We stretched out our positions to allow room for the frequent gusts and ran through the Pawnee National Grassland. Check it out on the Web. Very pretty!

About 40 miles up the road was to be a gas station somewhere around Briggsdale according to the GPS. So as to not have to fiddle with it, Mark put the petcock on reserve. With 130 miles on the odometer we passed the closed gas station and I began to get nervous. My bike is good for 200 miles but we hadn't really tested how far the Triumph would go. Having a siphon on board, I knew I could always share my fuel if Mark needed it. We low-shifted and settled in at 55 mph in 5th gear, trying to eak out as many miles as we could without having to revert to siphoning from my bike.

At 153 miles we arrived at Ault and fueled up at the Casey's General Store ( a nice chain of gas stations and convenience stores). Mark's Triumph took 3.5 gallons; it has a 4.4 gallon tank so he was good for another 30 or so miles of conservative riding.

From Ault we continued west on Route 14 on to Fort Collins. It was south from Fort Collins along route 287 which varies from suburban sprawl strip mall stop and go to open 4-laner through more rural sections. In Longmont Mark spotted the Sol Skate Shop and we were able to get him some new skate shoes. He slept with them on last night!

Another uneventful 30-some-odd miles later we arrived at the Morales' home. Eve and her boyfriend Dave (from Panama and our companion on the overnight to the San Blas Islands several years ago) were home and waiting for us; Marcela and Lars were at work.

Lars and Marcela have a very nice home backing up to open land. There's a walking trail through the open land just in back of the house. They arrived home between 4 and 5; Mark and I had unloaded the bikes, gave the bikes a much needed bath and we each had a deserving shower.

Marcela made bistek picado, rice and tajaeas (plantain). Daren and his girlfriend Dominique joined us for supper and were then going out with friends. Marcela, Lars, Eve, Dave, Mark and I hung out and caught up.

Well, that's it for now from Superior, Co. Thinking of all of you and I'll try to Blog again tonight or tomorrow.

Lewis and Clark

Sidney, NE to Scottsbluff, NE

Well, its been a sunny day on our motorcycles, reaching our home for the evening at the Candlelight Inn in Scottsbluff, NE here on the edge of the prairie! Today we did less than 200 miles, driving north out of Sidney on 385. Another wonderful 2-laner over rolling hillside and prairie. Lots of rangeland with cattle and a smattering of horses (and goats!). Today the pace was slow enough that we managed to stop along the way for a couple of nice photos.

Our first destination was Chimney Rock National Historic sight just west of Bridgeport. You can google for all the good information. Bridgeport got its name from having a 2,000 foot long private toll bridge across the North Platte River. enterpreneurship at its best.

We had a very nice conversation at Chimney Rock with a fellow from the SF Bay Area traveling solo on his Honda sport tourer. He's got several weeks off and has been down to Colorado and is now heading to Devil's Tower.

Filling up this morning I met another fellow traveling solo from Arkansas and was heading BACK east after a few weeks on the road.

At Chimney Rock we had a nice video about the western migration and the Oregon Trail during the mid 19th century. Like Gettysburg, it would be great to really dig in to the history of the Manifest Destiny. Maybe in retirement! Huh!

From Chimney Rock we headed in to Scottsbluff proper on a few errands, then backtracked to the town of Gering and over to Scottsbluff National Park/Monument. There was a little more history about the Oregon Trail, two covered wagons, and a very cool ride up Scottsbluff to its summit (see photos). the folks who were in charge of National Parks in the old days knew that in order to make them endearing, they had to be accessible. There is no way in today's America that the National Park Service would build a road up this incredible monument; it was probably built during the great depression. Hmmm, maybe we can get a road out to Monomoy Island! I'll get in touch with US Fish and Wildlife as soon as I'm back.

We took some photos and a nice girl asked if we wanted to have her take our photo together. Very nice. I often see people taking photos of eachother and often offer as well. Its a nice thing to do.

I can't say enough about how much we've enjoyed Nebraska. There is clearly a lot more to see and at a slower pace one could really get in to the history, see all the forts and so on.

We were off the road again around 3PM. The Candlelight is dated but the rooms are nice, just like the sign says. Clean, recently painted and carpeted. The Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill is next door and I've got a 10% coupon!

Tomorrow it is off to Boulder/Superior, CO to see Marcela (one "L") Morales, Martha's sister, and her family. About 230 miles; nice and easy. Four turns. 26 West to 71 South to 14 West to 287 South to 128 West.

That's it for today. Its really hot and I've taken to having a Budweiser once off the road and the blog is done.

Lone Ranger and Tonto

Monday, July 6, 2009 Central City, NE to Sidney, NE

We made it to Sidney, NE after about 280 miles today. Sidney, NE is HQ for outfitter Cabelas. We are just down the street, but due to a wicked thunderstorm, passed on walking up the street.

Route 30 in Nebraska is a wonderful road. Predominantly well-paved two-laner, you climb over and cut through cornfields and prairie at 65 mph without the headache of 18-wheelers, but lots of tractors, farm equipment and our eleventh dead deer on the side of the road.

Raccoons like corn, and by the number of road kill, they are numerous in the area.

Much of today's ride, like yesterdays, was alongside the Union Pacific railroad, so we saw many freight trains as well. Lots of grain silos and some ethanol processing plants.

The livestock trucks leave a particular aroma in their wake!

Breadfast was at Tex's in the pretty town of Kearney, NE. While filling up at the local Sinclair (read BP or British Petroleum) we inquired about where to have breakfast. Another great recommendation.

Many of these towns have a similar make up of typical main street with brick-front buildiings and angle parking. People are nice and instead of saying "Hi" they say "Hey"! Similar to being in the South.

From breakfast we beat it 90 miles to North Platte. There is a lot to see and do in North Platte. It has the largest train yard in the country. There's a fott and Wild Bill's Ranch. We didn't make it to any, believing we had a 300 mile ride ahead of us.

After North Platte we continued west uuntil we reache3d Olagalla. Lunch was at A&W. I had a great onion, mushrrom and swiss burger. From there we called and made a reservation at the American Inn in sidney, NE just beyond Chappell.

Originally I had thought we'd stay at the Empire Motel in Chappell. We drove past it. It was scary. STAY NEAR THE INTERSTATES!

We arrived about 3PM. By the time we unpacked, cellphoned home, adjusted the chain on Mark's Triumph, showered, &tc.. it was after 6PM.

We walked across the parking lot to the Perkins Breakfast and Bakery. The local steakhouse was closed (on Mondays). Bummed out about the lack of adult beverage, the Perkins in Gettysburg was dry, I moped across the parking lot only, lo and behold, it had a full bar! Double Johnny Walker Red (what's Dewars?) and a glass of cabernet with the 7oz steak, carrots and broccoli. Mark had a grilled Cheese.

Walking back across the parking lot, the weather turned stormy with a ten degree temperature drop, high winds and a slate greay sky.

We're having a good time, missing friends, coworkers, and family. Still, won't be back anytime soon.

Lots of love from Nevada,

Poncho y Cisco

We had , IA to Central City, NE

A city "Central" is not, but we had a nice time getting here.

Today we rode 270 miles, just about to hit 1900 on this trip.

We left Ames about 710 this morning. I had gotten up early and went to the 24hr Kum & Go up the street to gas up both bikes. We rode west on I30 which quickly turned in to two-lane tarmac just outside of Ames. It being Sunday morning, we had much of the road to ourselves. Sunny and in the high 60s, the ride to Carroll, IA was extremely nice and the riding remained the same throughout the day,.

The flat cornfields turned in to rolling hills the further west we got. Lots and lots of wind turbines generating clean energy and quite majestic on the hillsides. There was a quirky Lincoln Highway monument on the way, looked more like the Stonehenge of Iowa rather than a tribute to the old road.

We stopped for breakfast about 70 miles down the road from Ames in the town of Carroll. The GPS said there was a Denny's which turned out to be a steakhouse. Mark suggested we stop and ask a lady out for her morning power walk who recommded Sam's. Another great breakfast on the road with sunnyside up and sausage pattie for me; bacon, cheese and egg on an english for Mark.

Back on the road a little after nine, we came across the weathered barn Mark has been looking for. Took some pics. We crossed the Missouri River just east of Blair, NE, entering our tenth state of the trip.

Much of our route today ran parallel to the Union & Pacific rail lines so we saw at least four freight trains, each seemingly a mile long. We waived and honked but no response.

Lots of motorcylists out today for their Sunday rides, as well.

Nothing really monumental today, except that we had a really nice ride and managed to check in at the Super 8 at ab out 3PM. Mark's still taking a nap while I sit outside in 80 degreee, sunny weather typing away. I took a quick ride up the street on the Triumph and got some nice photos of the State Theatre. Hangover is playing tonight at 745 and its just up the street, so maybe a movie and burger at DQ.

That's it from Central City, NE.

Quioxote y Sanchez

Independence Day in Ames, IA

We're still in Ames, IA having arrived here yesterday. We had an uneventful day off from the road. I managed to get caught up on my journal, went for a walk back and forth to the convenience store, had take-out again for supper. Tonight there are supposed to be fireworks at 9PM or 10PM. It looks to be too light presently and its 8:40PM.

The hotel has eight rooms rented tonight. From the photo I took at about 8PM you can see how slow this place is.

Tomorrow we are off to Central City, NE, then to Chappel, NE for the evening of the 6th and Scottsbluff, NE for the 7th. We are due to arrive in Boulder on Wednesday the 8th and will head out on Saturday the 11th.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

Oh, my phone seems to be back working but now I can't email out.

Must be the weird magnetism from the central states!

Joliet, IL to Ames, IA

Today we travelled 300 miles, making up for a little of the mileage lost on day two.

We left Joliet a little bit around 8AM. We had CB trouble, in that I had turned off my radio system by placing the helmet on the wrong button! Unbelievable. Its always the simple things.

Mark has been wanting to use his Ipod while on the road and I've been fighting it. Anyway, we used hand signals for the first 30 or so miles.

The roads turned two-lane and very nice about ten miles out of Joliet. We had nice ride to Hinckley, Il . Its very interesting in that for many miles you'd see farms, cornfields, and pocked with high-density gated communities. Really odd.

Further on the land opened up to just corn and farms. Very flat. We crossed the Mississippi in to Clinton, IA. There is a great sign on the eastern side of the Mississippi river welcoming you to Clinton. Of course, we blew passed it at about 60 mph and there really wasn't a place to stop and take a photo. Again, it would be nice to have the advance team from PBS with us.

In Clinton we stopped for gas and had a nice talk with a fellow who hadn't ridden in years but had traveled extensively on his 1970s BMW R75.

He said he too was going to be in Seattle in a few weeks to take the Alaskan cruise; we recommended th helicopter glacier trip despite its cost - once in a lifetime experience.

We stopped to have a soda where we were gassing up and I noticed that Mark's starboard saddlebag didn't look right. Turns out the nut holding the saddlebag bracket to the rear rack mount had come off and the remainder of the rack had worked loose from the shockabsorber bolt. Fortunately, there was an ACE hardware store around the corner so nuts for both sides were replaced with Nylon self-locking nuts.

Once in Iowa, we continued on route 30, stopping for lunch in Mechanicsville, IA, What a nice little town with false-front brick buildings and State Bank. The town looks like something out of Bonnie and Clyde or.... Public Enemies.

We started to encounter some hills just west of Mechanicsville- a little like central Pennsylvania. That flattened out to become more rolling plains rather than hills.

Heading further west we finally came across the Youngsville, Cafe. Staffed by volunteers, its a real original to the Lincoln Highway.

We are again staying at a Hampton Inn, this time in Ames. We are getting used to the routine but I like the accomodations and its usually convenient. Delivery take out: pizza, salad andwings. Tonight we're watching Gran Torino.

Tomorrow we'll take the day off. I'd kind of like to head off and get to our original July 3 destination of Denison, IA, but we'll make it up along the way.

Route 30 is under construction. There must be some political pull from Iowa. They are converting nice little two-laners in to extra-wide four laners. At least Mark and I are seeing somewhat of what it is, if not what it used to be.

Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. 070209

Greetings from Joliet, Illinois. We are now in Central Time so picked up an hour on the road.

Last night we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Lima, OH after staying the prior night at a Hampton Inn just south of Pittsburgh.

A few travelling notes.

When travelling from East to West on a "secondary" but major road like Route 30, you can find a number of national chain motels and inns where the major North/South interstates intersect.

There's good and bad to this. First, it was my intention to stay at independent, mom and pop properties along the way, preferably with an adjacent, or walk-to, restaurant (with adult beverages, preferred). Well, there aren't any. That's an overstatement but many of the places on my Mom and Pop list are no longer open. Sad, but true and a sign of the times.

Another sign of the times is that we have been able to get off the road at about 430 and get a motel room without any problem. So, that's going to be our strategy for a few more days.

Regarding the Lincoln Highway, it sure looks better in the book and on the web than it does here on the road. The reason, I think these guys had months and months to do the trip with an advance team and a guide!

A quick word on last night after I blogged. THAT Hampton Inn was in the middle of restaurant row and we had many choices. No mom and pop, all chain. So off we went to the Olive Garden and had a nice supper. Mark had pizza, like tonight and the night before and one lunch on the road.

This morning we were on the road out of Lima at 710AM and rode until 900 for breakfast just outside of Ft. Wayne, IN. Hash and eggs for me second day in a row.

Indiana, like Ohio, was pretty flat and mostly four-lane until we got to Scheyersville. Then it was two lane and a later lunch at White Castle. It wasn't what Mark thought it would be and doesnt come recommended. We did have a nice conversation with another motorcylclist, though. He had built a custom, but it causes him problems so is looking at an older gold wing for something to really use.

We arrived in Illinois about 2 in the afternoon. Maybe a little later. It was lots of stop and go traffic and lights that makes Route 28 through Yarmouth look like childs play. We stayed on Route 30 right through Chicago Heights. I seem to remember this as being a pretty tough neighborhood.

We headed west and got through Joliet which has a pretty nice downtown and the third or fourth of those scary metal bridges we have encountered. Tonight, we're having takeout and watching a pay-per-view, The International.

Gettysburg to Lima, Ohio

We left Gettysburg on June 30th at 8:30 which was way too late. It was sunny and quite nice along Route 30, the Lincoln Highway. We hd some mixed advice on whether to take
Route 30 through Pittsburg or go around it. Well, we chose the latter which was a big mistake. We headed south and picked up the Penna Turnpike just as it started to rain. The pike travel is quick and in the rain with lots of trucks, not at all pleasant.
As I was checking the GPS it looked like we were getting further and further away from our destination, Canton, Ohio. While on the pike, after gassing up, Mark called me on the CB to advise his bike was dying. Fortunately, we were on a downhilll with an exit approaching so he was able to coast off and get safely off the highway. Well, we were both wet, and tired. I was trying to fiddle with the GPS to see how we could get somewhere to hole up. We were spent. Finally finding Route 51 North, we headed for Pittsburgh- exactly what I was trying to avoid!!!!
We found a Hampton Inn and checked in. Neither of us in a pleasant mood. Supper was a great success, however. Did you know that the Dominos garden salad is pretty darn good. Had a few chicken wings and salad while Mark had Pizza....again.

Pennsylvania was nice and hilly for a good part of the ride, and quite scenic but pretty depressed. Due to weather and what not, my impression this day wasn't great.

This morning I was up at 5:20 and able to get the bikes packed, down a cup of coffee, shave shower and shampoo. We were on the road at 7AM, taking 51 to 279 and around Pittsburgh. When we picke up Route 30 it was four-laner again. It became a nice two-laner towards the end of Pennsylvania and continued as such for a while. We were in Lisbon, Ohio for breakfast at Colleens by 9AM Lisbon is a very nice, friendly town just over the border from WestVirginia. Yup, we were in West Virginia for about 20 miles.

From Lisbon we stayed on Route 30, which will be our main road all the way to Wyoming. In many places it is now interstate four-laner, which explains why we made such good time today.

Ohio has been pretty flat with lots of big farms and corn. Perhaps because we are not going through any urban areas, it seems quite prosperous. I've seen exits for cities that have been devastated by the current economy and auto industry.

We had lunch today at a McDonalds in Galion, OH, about 90 miles from our evening destination. A guy came in and started talking to us about riding. He had done quite a bit with some of his buddies and may go to New England and Nova Scotia next summer. Turns out he owns the restaurant!

Mark is becoming a very proficient rider and the CBs are a godsend. They are working okay, but the range is very limited. When I get back I want to go over it with J&M. Part of the problem, I think, is Mark's 2-foot antennae. I just don't think it is tall enough. We're still playing with squelch and volume, but they are doing what we need them to do.

Not many photos today and I seem to have problems loading them up. I'll try to load some photos on to the blog when I get some real time.

That's it for now. Keep watching.