West by Northwest Day 2

Woke up early and had coffee and waffles at the hotel.  The complimentary breakfast waffles were surprisingly good - especially saturated in syrup.
We got on the road shortly after sunup.  Immediately after leaving, we got turned around a bit, but managed our way back on track, heading north on US218.  As is usually the case, we nearly had the road to ourselves by leaving early, especially since it was a Saturday.
We rode north as we watched the sun rise to the east and clouds build to the west.  I had looked at the radar before leaving and rain was likely once we headed west.  We stopped for gas and put on our rain gear before heading west (ie we didn't say that it didn't look too bad and end up drenched for hours).  The temperature had dropped to the point that the rain gear was not uncomfortable.  After an hour or so, it started to rain.  It rained steadily for a couple hours - never very hard, but a constant rain.
Once near the South Dakota border, most of the rain had passed and we headed north.  Traffic remained light.  In fact traffic was light to nonexistent for the entire day.  We headed north on I-29 to get to northern South Dakota.  We stopped for gas and a little while later, we stopped at a cafe for lunch.  We almost ended up at fast food, but the bacon cheese burgers at The Grainery Cafe were excellent and the extra time was a nice break.  We hit very minor amounts of rain further on, but ignored it as we had shed our rain gear at lunch.

Heading across South Dakota was nice.  The weather improved dramatically after lunch.  Scenery changed from flat farm land, to rolling hills to some fairly moderate hills.  Not the mountains or anything like that, but I really do like traveling in the upper plain states.  Traffic is almost always light and the subtle changes in scenery are nice.  Just avoid the interstates.

We passed fields of huge wind turbines.  They must have been harvesting them as trucks were headed south with blades secured as loads.  My guess is the wind turbine crop was making up for some of the poor crops due to the drought.  What was interesting is that as we got near central South Dakota, some areas actually looked flooded.

In addition to the wind turbines, we passed several fields of sunflowers.  They were likely just past their prime where they would have looked like a million happy faces.  As it is not a crop we see often near home, it was neat to see.

At one point, when the terrain was very flat, I opened up the bike for a few minutes.  Perhaps sophomoric, but fun to do once in a while and frankly not very dangerous in the middle of South Dakota.

The plan was originally to stop near Aberdeen, but it was too early and the weather was nice so we continued on until Mobridge.  There was a casino hotel nearby but it was booked up due to some special event involving horses, kids and firemen.  Go figure.
Mobridge sits on the Oahe Lake which is formed by the damming of the Missouri River.  The lake is approximately 230 miles long.  I was surprised to look at a map and see that this actually was the Missouri River.
We got a decent hotel overlooking the lake.  Dinner was adequate (ribs and steak) followed by (drum roll) more Oreo Cakesters.
Total mileage of the day was 638.9 miles.

West by Northwest Day 1

Vacation is here!

I got up at my normal too-early hour.  I putzed around the house for a while getting ready for the trip, but we couldn't leave until after the dogs were safely at the kennel so I ended up reading a magazine while drinking my coffee.  Eight o'clock finally came and the dogs were dropped off at the kennel.  Final checks were made of the house and we were off.

I found myself early in the trip thinking about work.  I consciously put it out of my mind which was easier than I had thought.  Normally on motorcycle trips, I avoid interstates and try to stay to 2-lane roads.  Today was all about burning up rear tires and making miles so most of the planned route was on the interstate.
As I hit the interstate, I could feel the stress leaving me.  It leaked out from under my helmet and it rolled down the back of my motorcycle coat.  The stress fell down from the bike behind the rear tire in huge heavy glops onto the road be hind me.  No doubt that stress was picked up by people traveling metaphorically in the opposite direction.  Toward home, toward stress, toward work.  Poor bastards.

Interstate 70 was busy, but 74 had surprisingly light traffic.  Temperatures started out cool, but warmed quickly.  We stayed on I-74 all they to near Iowa.  Somewhere around Goodfield, IL we stopped for gas and food.  There was a restaurant called the Busy Corner Restaurant; unfortunately both the corner and the restaurant were busy and I didn't want to wait.  Subway it was...not the best, but it was faster than the eating on a busy corner.

We continued on and crossed the Mississippi for the 15th time on a motorcycle.  The river looked a little low due to the drought, but not near as bad as some of the smaller rivers we crossed.  Crops looked terrible too, mostly in Indiana, but also in Iowa.
Once across the river, we hit I-80.  This main artery across the country was intermittently very heavy with traffic.  Not the most fun, but we were making good time, I guess.

"Iowa has the prettiest girls." - Jack Kerouac from On the Road
The plan was to stop near Iowa City, IA, but we weren't ready to stop (and the Company I work for has a facility there so it was just a little to close).  We went north on I-380 up to Waterloo where we stopped.  Interesting that on I-380 we saw the Google Streetview Camera Car.  I wished we could have gotten a picture of it, but we were on the interstate and didn't have a camera ready.

We drove around Waterloo and found a hotel.  After checking in, we saw there was a casino-hotel nearby.  I'm probably glad we saw that after we checked in.  We walked over to a Bonanza for dinner, but they had a sign on their door that they could not take credit cards.  With a sketchy looking buffet, we walked down the road past several more restaurants until deciding on a Longhorn Steakhouse.  The steak was bloody but good and we were hungry.  Night came with Oreo Cakesters in the room for dessert.
583.5 miles on the odometer for the day.

West by Northwest T-4.5 days

I can't wait.

It has been over two years since I've done a long-distance 2-up trip on the bike.   With buying a new house, moving, selling a house, etc. it was probably the right decision.  But, I am getting scared that if I don't start to use my Goldwing as it is intended someone will sneak in the garage some night and take it away from me.

Getting ready for the trip started weeks ago.  I am continuing to work through my goal of riding my motorcycle through all 49 states accessible by land and plan on going through Idaho, Washington and Oregon this trip.  I have a rough idea of a route planned, but nothing is very concrete.  If bad weather is encountered or terrible road conditions, we can change plans at will.  Given the time of year, cold weather is a possibility especially in the higher elevations out west.  Road construction in the rural north can be ugly as we learned in 2008 on the way back from Alaska.  I've poured over maps several times over the weeks if for no other reason than because maps are awesome and it continues to build excitement for the trip.  I've programmed the GPS; I'm still using my over 10-year-old Magellan Meridian unit which is an antique by today's standards, but I like it.  It is a great compliment to the maps which I'll take along as well.
So...route and time table are as planned as will be.

Yesterday I mowed the yard.  Much of the grass was not very long because of the ongoing very dry weather, but the chicory and queen anne's lace was getting arrogant.  A few patches of grass were surprisingly long.  It is surprising how much better the yard looks now.
We interviewed a new place to put the dogs in beagle jail.  It is hard to look at their content faces and know they'll be locked in the kennel for that long, but they will adjust.  The place they will be staying has a huge fenced yard where they can run around a few times a day which will be good for them.  I'll feel bad when we leave, but will look forward to seeing them at the end of the trip.

Today, I finished getting the bike ready.

I won't admit how long it has been since the oil was changed because not very many miles have been put on the bike recently, but all is ready with the lubricants.
Even if it rains in the first day of the trip, I like starting out with a clean bike, so the bike is washed and the suspension setup for two people.

There are still four more days of work to endure and a wake-up.  Then, head west old man.

I can't wait.

Michigan Ferry Wisconsin Day 3

Got up very early, and an hour earlier from my circadian Ohio clock.  Checked radar and maps for the best way to home after getting ready for a bit.  Radar indicated quite a bit of rain in most of central Wisconsin.
Maria and Nicole got up a few hours later.  We talked a bit more while Nicole made her excellent breakfast hash.  Breakfast was great and it was time to hit the road.  Decided to not ride through Chicago.  The Sunday traffic would probably not be that bad, but construction is always a threat and I was getting a later start on the road than I had thought.  So decided to take I-39 down to Bloomington and then head through Indianapolis to home.  It adds around 25 miles this way, but I doubt if it is much slower on average.

Weather was perfect as I left.  Overcast and upper 70s is wonderful motorcycle weather (nearly as good as upper 60s and sunny).  Once into Illinois however, the temperatures started to rise quickly.  There was hazy sunshine for the rest of the day with temperatures in the lower to mid 90s.  The hot temperatures and humidity can make fatigue an issue.  Other than the hot temperatures, it was a very uneventful, but long, ride home.
Got home later than usual due to the late start.  But, there was still time to sit for a bit and get ready for the early work day on Monday.
I'm not sure if the reason for the trip was to see Paul, take the ferry, or see Maria and Nicole.
I guess it doesn't matter.

Michigan Ferry Wisconsin Day 2

Got up a couple hours before Paul and got ready and packed.  Talked with Paul for a few more minutes and left for a very cool hour ride up to Muskegon.  Easily found the Lake Express Terminal and was ready to board in minutes.  Talked with a  couple on a Ducati also going across the lake for the ferry experience.  

The Lake Express Ferry is a twin hulled ferry ship.  It crosses the lake in about 2 hours in good weather.  I had read stories about how rough it can get in bad weather and how that can affect people's stomachs, so I went ahead and booked the "Premier" Cabin area where no kids under 12 are allowed.  It only cost a few dollars more.  I'm not sure it was necessary, but I would probably do that again.

Motorcycles were let on about mid way through the cars boarding.  Got the bike tied down on the deck.  There were about 10 other bikes of various makes for the westward trip.  It was a little difficult to find 4 good tie down points on the ST1300 but managed to get it tied down.  Attendant said the lake was calm so there was little reason to worry.  The attendants were all very helpful as well.

Once safely tied down, everyone goes up to the deck for the trip.  As the boat pulled away, nearly everyone was topside.  The boat slowly makes way out of the bay.  Once in to open water, the speed of the boat is impressive.  The wind made most of us return to the cabin area.

Initially everyone in the cabin is seated leafing through magazines or scrolling through their phones, but after a while, the time spent with little to do forces conversation with the passengers.  There were many interesting people on the boat, several on motorcycles and some people going to the Osh Kosh Air show.

As we neared Milwaukee, the skyline comes into view.  Once the boat is nearly docked, we all head down to our cars.  All the motorcycles survived the trip which was not unexpected as it was butter smooth.  The Ducati next to my ST1300 had additional straps put on it by the boat crew after we were underway.  The owner didn't notice until he was about to take off.  That could have been embarrassing if not worse.  I helped him remove the extra  straps and made my way off the boat.  Once off, I pulled over to put my tip-over wings back on and do a final map consult.

Getting through Milwaukee on Saturday was pretty straight forward.  The traffic was a bit hairy, but easily manageable.  It was about an hour trip with one gas stop to Maria's.  When I got to Maria's house, she wasn't their.  I debated driving down to the lake, but ended up just waiting.  Maria and Nicole came by on their bikes within 15 minutes.

This is the first time I have been to their new house, it was a little unusual and started life as a smaller ranch with lots of additions.  This makes the flow through the rooms a bit atypical, but there is a huge sun room on the front of the house.  It has a huge yard, mostly in the back and fenced in.  Perfect for two people with their pets.

We walked down to a really nice large lake that is only one street over.  I think Maria and Nicole need a boat.

We went into Madison and walked around the downtown area.  A hoot of a place to people watch. We ate sushi at a restaurant in Madison.  The sushi was good, but there was a worm in one of the edamame.  I guess that is a risk when eating food in a pod like that.  No harm no foul.

We went back to their house after ice cream.  We started to watch Mystic Pizza on Netflix, but it was frankly, very slow.  We switched to Four Rooms, which Nicole and Maria had never seen.  Then, it was time to turn in for the night.

Michigan Ferry Wisconsin Trip Day 1

Woke up at usual time for a Friday which was too early to leave.  Made coffee and finished packing.   Turned on the TV for a bit then looked online at the weather forecasts for the trip.  There was a mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado ("President Kennedy was shot today, so it goes" - Kurt Vonnegut).  Temperatures looked to be warm with (currently) only a slight chance of rain.  After trying to read for a little while, just couldn’t stand it anymore so jumped on the ST1300 and left around 7:30.  Temperatures were in the lower 70s with hazy clouds and only a minimal amount of drizzle.  North of Interstate 70, it rained on and off lightly for quite a while and the temperature dropped.  At the last minute I had chosen to not wear the waterproof riding jacket since most of the trip was anticipated to be quite warm.  It was cold, but surprisingly not intolerable in the mesh jacket even though temperatures declined to the lower 60s.  

North of Fort Wayne, the weather improved dramatically.  It was actually a bit cooler, but there was a mix of sun and clouds and much less humidity.  Warmed by some Twinkies bought at a gas station, the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Got to Paul’s house in the early afternoon.  I had not seen him in over 10 years.  We caught up for a few minutes and then went out for some lunch.  I met his wife enough to say hi as she was working at the tieme.  Afterwards, we went to Paul’s parent’s house.  It was great to see his parent’s after so many years.  His dad is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s but still remembered lots from when we were younger.  Paul’s mom is undergoing treatment for breast cancer but looked very well and was in very good spirits.  We drove around Grand Rapids for a bit.  I was surprised how little I remembered of some areas, but that should be expected.  Stopped by the Shop (the 3^rd University Motors) for a quick visit there with John as well.

It was a good day catching up after so many years. 

A very quick trip to the Former Life

Last weekend I went up to Michigan to a friend's "Pre-Blessing of the Bikes" party.  This is the first time in almost 18 months that I went over a hundred miles or so from home.  For someone who owns two touring bikes, this is shameful.
I had been thinking for some time about going to the neighborhood where I lived between the ages of 1 and 12.  Since this was sort of on the way and I would be in no real hurry, I decided this was the time.
I left early on Saturday morning as it was getting light.  I had enjoyed coffee as I was getting ready, so there was one unavoidable stop as I went headed north.  As is usual, I had the roads largely to myself in the morning and the air was crisp and cool.  A mid-May heat wave was predicted so the cool temperatures to start were nice.

I got to my old neighborhood after about five hours.  I was surprised how close this was to the interstate.  It was a little easier traffic flow to start by going to a park I remembered as a kid.  I easily found the park, but after parking, I didn't really remember it.  It is possible this is because it has changed or because we used a different entrance.  Considering it was a really nice Saturday early afternoon by this time, there was surprisingly few people there.  The park had a playground and large open grassy areas.  There was a large stream or small river running through it that I did remember.  Several wooden bridges cross the water.  I crossed some of the bridges as a walked around.  The wood smelled faintly of creosote, but it was not the intense heated smell I remember (and like).  Unfortunately, better sensibilities likely prevent the use in the quantities that it was previously used.  I remember playing in the shallows of the water as a kid; the water used to have huge flowing masses of algae in the water that were not there.  This could be due to the time of year or just differing water quality and treatment.  The 'burbs are not where I would want to live, but the park was pretty nice.  I could see how it could be an asset to a nice neighborhood feel.

From there I went down the road to the old neighborhood.  I did not see the Krystal Flash gas station where I used to buy fireworks and candy.  I've heard of people going home and seeing everything as tiny compared to what they remember.  I didn't experience that, but the scale of many things was adjusted.  The most striking example of this was my paper route street.  I recall this being a laboriously long street with houses separated by large lawns set off the road.  In reality, it was a typically suburban neighborhood with small yards and houses packed together.  I could still locate my friend Nathan's house.  It had (and still does according to Google Earth) a kidney-shaped in-ground pool behind it.  It was not the near castle that I recall, just a normal house far closer to the neighbors than I remember.
The one thing which was definitely as long as I recall was the walk from my house to the bus stop. This is far longer than modern sensibilities allow.  There was a large group of kids that massed at the Catholic High School.  To get there, I had to walk through the neighborhood and through "the field" between the church and the high school down a worn dirt path.  The path is gone as is the field, replaced by athletic fields the high school has built.  There was a sense of apathetic loss at the lack of the field.  The field was a broad, open, sandy, unbuilt area.  It was used by kids from all over as a play area.  We built sand forts, launched model rockets, had fights and got into all sorts of mischief there - there was a lot of mischief.  Of the many places I could have died as a kid, the field ranks up there.  Neighbor kids we knew all gathered there at times.  Unknown kids from other nearby neighborhoods also went there.  Unknown kids were feared until mutual acquaintances allowed the fear to be turned into new friends, even if that was short lived.
A row of heavy trees now separates the church from the athletic fields.  I guess I'm a little hopeful that there could still be a foot and bike path, but I doubt it.

I rode my motorcycle to the church parking lot where my dad was the minister.  The church looked about like I remember it.  It had an addition built on it in the front shortly before we moved and this addition looks like it was remodeled into offices and a larger entryway.  There appears to be a new addition at the back; this second addition is ugly, consisting of mostly glass contrasting with the conservative brick of the rest of the building.  A driveway connecting upper and lower parking lots had a gate which was open.  This is a change as I remember that it was almost always locked with a very heavy chain to prevent people from using the parking lot as a street connector.  "Bad" high school kids would crash the chain and break it a few times a year.  The parking lot often had empty forty-ounce beer bottles lying about as a possible connection.  Those bad kids were only surpassed by the evilness of the green car with the black top.
Two things about the church did shrink.  There was a stone wall allowing a walkway and basement windows from the upper part of the church.  This wall used to be a huge impenetrable stone wall that only the mightiest could scale.  This rock wall was all of about ten feet tall.

There was also a white outcropping that I think only served as decoration.  It was blank when I lived there, surrounded by large evergreen bushes.  It had the name of the church on it now in script that looked far too modern to be appropriate.  This outcropping was only about eight feet tall.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to see inside of the church or not.  One of the most obvious external changes in addition to the glass addition on the back was a myriad of HVAC equipment.  On the hot summer days, the church used to have enormous fans to blow the hot soupy air around the sanctuary.  I guess God now loves the coolness of air conditioning.  No one was around and the church was locked.  This may have been a good thing.

The house I lived in looked about the same.  The color was wrong and the large tree next to my dad's study had been replaced by a smaller one - at least I think it was.  The "huge" front yard was replaced by an average suburban front yard.  The side area where the garden used to be was much smaller than I remember and with the large trees shading that area, I don't think a garden would be possible now.  I could not see if there was still a crabapple tree in the back yard.
Many of the other houses on the dead end street look like I recall.  I can't help but wonder if there are still any of my treasures buried around the area.  Neighborhood friend's houses were still recognizable.  John H's house, next to Paul B's house and Jerry A's; his beagle and pen long since gone.
One surprising thing on reflection is that I saw no/none/zip kids playing in the area.  This would have been unthinkable when I lived there on a hot summerish day.  I can only surmise this is due to the aging of the neighborhood, or children really DO stuff outdoors a lot less.  Probably, it is both.
I'd like to say I had a nostalgic feeling as I restarted the bike after taking a few pictures, but I didn't.  It was time to head to my friend's house anyway.

I got to the pre-Blessing party early and helped set up.  The party was a bit low on attendance but was a success.  I was able to see several people I hadn't seen in a couple years.  By the time the live band was winding down, there were more band members present than guests.  They continued until the end with gusto.  The singer was kind of creepy - walking around as he sang among an audience only he could see.

I was glad I took the time to get out of Dodge for a day.  Catching up with friends after a couple years is an important thing to do.  My bikes deserve to have their tires stretched.
As for the old neighborhood, we'll see what it looks like in another twenty years.