5 July

Left Twin Falls, ID for the final leg over the Blue Mountains into the Oregon flatlands. On top of the pass it was 70 degrees and as we dropped into Pendleton the temperature rose to 98 degrees. What are great welcome home to the northwest with sunny blue skys. Hot and dry thru Yakima where the temperature reached triple digits at 101. Up and over Chinook Pass and into the backyard of Enumclaw. Arrived home safe and sound at 5:02 PM. What a great vacation seeing America, nothing compares to her beauty! Visited Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and Oregon. 19 states and one territory in 14 days. Some things to reflect on from my point of view:

Most beautiful state: South Dakota

Longest state to ride: Montana

Biggest Mosquito: Wisconsin

Best roads: Wyoming

Worst roads: Washington DC

Most traffic: New Jersey

Least traffic: Wyoming

Flatest state: Nebraska

Worst drivers: New Jersey

Should anyone have 5 or more days to travel across this great nation - do it. Ending mileage - 51144. Total miles traveled - 7218.

4 July

50519 - Glad to be off the flat land and back to the mountains. Wyoming and Utah were a welcome site to see. Couple of thunderstorms in the distance - but dry for the most part and sunny by noon. Gained two hours of daylight and posted 1027 miles yesterday. Just shy of 600 today and should roll in sometime early evening - keep you fingers crossed. Should be a walk in the park compared to yesterday. Everything good - nothing falling from the sky and no one aiming at us (yet). Bikes ready for a oil change and a bath. Already sunny and clear at 0510 this morning on America's Birthday! So who throwing the BBQ tonight!

3 July

49493 - Should hit the 50K mark today!

2 July

48758 - First day heading west was exciting. On the wet road at 0700, rain gear on, rain gear off, rain gear on again. Hit a downpour in Pittsburg, PA. Rained so hard we had to drop the speed to 45 just so I could see the fog line. That lasted a good 30 minutes and just as it let up we look towards the east bound lanes to see a straight truck (furniture van) head right for us coming thru the medium. We gassed the bikes but before it entered our lane of travel it hit the pavement and spun it 180 degrees back the way it came. It then hit the bottom of the ditch, went up on the two right wheels, spun and up on the two left wheels before it was back on the east bound lanes of travel. I bet that guy crapped his pants and the scratch and dent section of that store will have additional furniture in it tomorrow. All and all to much excitment for me - hopefully tomorrow the sun will be back out and the skys will dry out. Did manage to rack up 686 miles today. With that pace, weather permitting, we should arrive home late on the 4th. Lisa must be slipping - neither mishap was reported to me before hand or she's waiting to cash in a policy! Added some photo's, 1. storm clouds to the west, 2. early evening sunset in Grand Island, NB, 3. corn - corn - corn, 4. camp last night. Posted 735 miles today - speed limit go up as we head west - Nebraska 75 MPH. Changed out the front brake pads this evening, can't believe Renton Motor Sports missed them when I had them do a safety check on the wing before I left. Took us about 20 minutes to swap out both sets in the front. Ready for the road again.

1 July 2009

48073 - We had another event last night. Just got into bed, fell asleep when all of a sudden we head a loud snap above followed by a crashing sound off to the tents left. A 8" diameter branch, 24' long fell from about 30'. Missed me by 5' and landed on my trailer. Bend the top rail but no worse for wear - we are headed west this morning. Cloudy with scattered rain this morning.

30 June

47928 - Headed for the Mall @ DC. Should be an emotional and exciting day. What a day. First of all I typed in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Maryland to take us into the DC area and we were taken to a area we were the Redneck said "we are the only white people around". I typed in "Washington Monument" and it took us to a monument, but not the one we were looking for. I redialed the GPS to the District of Columbia and again we were on our way. After spending two (2) hours in DC traffic, we finally arrived at the Mall. Spent 3 hours at the mall visiting the Veitnam Memorial, Lincoln Monument, Korean Memorial, Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial. Excellent morning visiting some of the US past. The afternoon brought on Arlington Cemetery including JFK's grave with the eternal flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. What a great presentation the Marines do of gaurding the site 24/7/365. Later in the day after the thunderstorm, we visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial. Spent 3 hours there and couldn't absorb it all. Will have to revisit should I ever build up my confidence to brave DC traffic again. Left there around 5 for the two (2) hour traffic nightmare back to camp, 22 miles worth. I'm trading in the Goldwing for the old Indian in the picture above, made a even trade. Probably won't be able to do 600 plus miles a day though, will probably need another week off work. Ready for a shower, temperature in the 90's today, and right now another thunderstorm is moving in. I'm heading into the tent and will cut this short and finish in the morning, weather permitting.

29 June

47539 - What a day to remember. A walk back down 1976 with Ann and Joe. Joe brought out photo's from our past and we laughed and dusted off the stored brain cells from 1976. Ann and Joe put on a great BBQ spread, and their friends and family filled in the desert and laughed with us while we told stories and remembered everyone from the past. What a great night. We talked until neither one of us could remember anymore and retired at midnight. At 0630 we again talked and laugh some more while Joe prepared a great breakfast for everyone. We vowed not to let 33 years pass us by again until we meet again. Ann and Joe have a super place and the hospitality was 5 star. Hell , I drove off forgetting my day planner on the kitchen table with all my credit cards and records, and he call the police chief in Greene, New York to flag us down and spin us around. Luckly we were stopped at a red light and I heard my cell phone ring before the redneck had a heart attack seeing blue and red lights flashing in the rear view mirror. Thanks Ann and Joe for another memorable tic mark in time!

28 June

47429 - Great day on the beach at Spring Lake, New Jersey. Temperature 88, sunny and water temperature of 59 - perfect. Had a little trouble getting the rest of the group into the water, but after a little time of watching me have fun body surfing they were ready to try it. There were lots of other people there also enjoying the sunny weather down on the Jersey shore. Around 5 pm the thunderstorms again rolled in and drove us from the beach. Tomorrow it is on to Norwich, New York for a long over due reunion with a OLD Air Force buddy. It's about a four (4) hour trip but I'm sure it will pass rapidly as I'm looking forward to seeing him again and reliving some old memories and sharing some new ones. He promised ice cold beer on arrival. Then Monday afternoon we will turn south and head for Washington, DC. Time is passing at a faster pace then I would like - and soon we will be tuning west and heading home. Departing paths with Lisa and Matt as they are headed back to Seattle later tonight.

27 June

Matt earned his keep by replacing the serp belt early before heading out.

The day at the lake resulted in four (4) fish being caught. Of course I let Mel catch the first one, being part of the host family and all. A tie was the outcome, 2 by Mel and 2 by Keith. Only one hook was used by each contestant, a hard lesson taught by the great white fisher Cody a couple of weeks ago. The water temperature was great along with the company. Relax, relax, relax - well until the last thunderstorm appeared on the horizon. Doug, Matt and I rode the bikes up to the lake being a perfect morning and all - but - the ride home was a little wet with lightning strikes all around us and thunder to keep us awake. Then if that wasn't bad enough, traffic came to a stand still on Rt 46 and the rain pounded down on us. But you know the rain was warm so it wasn't so bad. Today we head for Spring Lake located on the Jersey shore for some body surfing and more sun. Scattered thunder storms are still in the forecast for later tonight - should be a great show over the water tonight.

26 June

Another great morning in the east. Planning to spend the day relaxing on the lake, trying a little fishing and maybe diving down to the bottom for a little NJ muck. Traffic out here sucks. You have to be on your game while driving. Agressive - it's here! I'm back to my old Jersey driving habit from 30 years ago - watch out Seattle. Road rage - they invented it. Seattle enjoy your comfortable temps! Tomorrow we head east to the Jersey shore for some body surfing and sand between the toes. Getting our fill of pizza!

25 June

Hot and muggy in beautiful New Jersey. Rain has currently passed and sunshine is suppose to be in the forcast for the rest of the week. Not too much planned for today - visiting with family.

24 June

46734 - Finally arrived in the Garden State (NJ) around 1400hrs to storm clouds - exactly what I left 5 days ago. Hooked up with Lisa and Matt after 5 days on the road. Warmer here - plus the moisture in the air will just about choke you. Bike is ready for a bath, lots of bugs to scrape off the windshield and dig out of all the cracks and crevices. A job for tomorrow!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday are days of rest before we continue the trek north into New York this weekend for a long over due visit with Ann and Joe.

Salsa delivered!

23 June

45978 - Long day - great day of riding - 755 miles today in 12 hours.
Sunny and hot all the way. Made camp in Youngstown @ 2230 last night. Set up the tent, slept 5 hours, took down the tent and back on the road for the final leg. Toll road all the way thru Illinois ($13 for the bike and trailer) and Ohio ($15.50). Well maintained roads for your buck. Oh by the way we have been hauling around this Pace Salsa to be delivered to someone in New York City!

22 June

45375 - High winds kept us up most of the night. Our tent shock pole splintered in half due to the winds. Pretty exciting night. Woke to sunny skys once again - ready for a long day in the saddle. It was a crazy night for awhile and then 60 minutes later calm again - must have been the makings of a tornado in the area. Had a great ride today - rode 602 miles today on 10 hours. As we get further east the speed limit went from 75 in Mt, Wy and SD to 70 and 65 in Mi and Wi. Hard to get lots of miles at the lower speed. Traffic is also picking up along with lots of road construction on I90. Making camp in Oakdale, WI. The mesquito's are all over the place here. I overheard two of them talking "should we eat him here or carry him back to the nest". No rain or accidents to speak of today - things are looking up. Both bikes are running great, I'm getting 40-42 mpg's pulling the trailer. Headed out for a brew to let the sun set.