Tuesday, August 9—Idaho Falls, ID to Novato, CA
I arose at 5:45 am, needing to get Lisa to the airport to catch her flight to Kansas City. Since I was already up, I decided to head out early at 6:40 am. When driving from Idaho Falls to Novato, I would typically drive 445 miles and stop for the night in Winnemucca. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to end this day that soon. Continue reading
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot Continue reading
Wednesday/Thursday, July 8/9—Mt Shasta to Shingletown, CA
Yesterday, just past Weed I noticed a truck lot on the left of the interstate full of brightly painted water trucks. I rode back this morning to exit 743 to take this photo. A gentleman posted some information about Truck Village about a year ago after talking with the owner. Apparently these are in-service water trucks for Cal Fire. Continue reading
Friday, July 3—Seattle Area
Tom had a project that needed to be finished. So we headed out to Tacoma to pick up a fire table for their patio that he had commissioned from a Craig’s List provider. The table was made to fit the sitting area, had all the features he wanted, and was a fraction of the “retail” cost of such a table. Continue reading
Tuesday, June 30—Browning, MT to Libby, MT
The wind was blowing early this morning as I set off for Glacier National Park (see also Wikipedia for park history, geology, etc.). This is the Montana I love with rolling foothills leading into the Rocky Mountains. (In this part of the state, the sub-ranges are the Lewis and Livingston Mountains.) I started off the morning listening to Bob Seger. After a photo stop, as the road climbed and wound to the left and right, my music system automatically played America by Simon and Garfunkel, America by L.C. Greenwood, and then American Pie by Don McLean. I knew it was going to be a great day! Continue reading
Monday, June 22—Newport, VT to Liverpool, NY
I stayed up a little too late last night trying to make a lousy Internet connection work. I wanted to update my trip blog, and needed to synchronize my GPS with Harley-Davidson’s Ride Planner mapping software.
Today I took a hard left to the west, beginning the third phase of my trip. It rained hard last night, so the road was wet. It only took about five minutes for my seat to fire up, so the ride started with a certain discomfort. Continue reading
Monday, June 15— The US Holocaust Memorial Museum
First, in Part 1 of Washington, DC I forgot to mention our entertainment for Saturday night, Capitol Steps. “The Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them.” It is an excellent show, mocking very current events, and hilarious. We highly recommend it. Continue reading
Friday, June 12— Richmond, VA to Washington, DC
Bruce met me for breakfast at the Best Western. I suspect he arrived much earlier than our planned meeting time of 7:30. We enjoyed conversation about his service to our country in the Pacific Theatre of WWII, how he ended up buying his first Harley in 1947, as I recall, and what it was like to go back to the islands where he fought the Japanese…now twice. He told me a few more stories of his escapades riding his 2007 Harley that now has over 50,000 miles on it. The conversation got a little deeper than the day before, and that made it all the more meaningful. Bruce is perfectly imperfect, like all of us, and he is an honest man who served his country well, a good father and grandfather, a compassionate, servant leader to the University of Richmond, and now he’s my friend. I hope we ride together some day soon. Continue reading
Tuesday, June 9—St Augustine, FL to Myrtle Beach, SC
Today’s weather forecast was the most daunting of the trip so far. There seemed to be no reasonable route that would keep me from getting drenched. I stayed on I95 for the first couple of hours in an effort to get ahead of the developing storm. I would usually avoid the morning traffic surrounding a major city. But I’d never been to Jacksonville before, so I rode right through the middle of town. It’s a beautiful city, with the architecture of the Wells Fargo building most notable. Continue reading
Saturday, June 6—Leesburg, FL to Venice, FL
After a good night sleep and a great spinach omelet by Chef Rick, I headed south towards Venice, FL. It was another beautiful morning but with dark skies to the west…the direction in which I was headed initially. I was planning to leave around 1:00, but the threat of rain encouraged me to leave much earlier. Continue reading
reDeploying! 