Mission Accomplished!

today's highlight was arriving in san ysidro, ca, the most southwestern corner of the united states, and the fourth and final destination of our anniversary trip. driving through los angeles and san diego, even on a saturday, was somewhat stressful for paul, but he continues to do a fine job. not a whole lot to document in san ysidro. it's obviously a border town before entering mexico, but we did get a picture in front of the library, then also the marker just before getting back on the freeway. paul was none to eager to be heading east - finally! and a good thing we did as the temperatures did nothing but climb! at one point the bike thermometer registered 105!! our destination for the day was el centro, ca, where we arrived about 1:30 p.m., ready to cool down and rest. * * * a few notes from yesterdays ride, as, even though there was high traffic to endure, the sights along the way were interesting. we were north of san francisco, i believe, when a pick-up truck loaded with furniture passed us, and we were reminded of the beverly hillbillies. the wooden rocking chair was on top, up-side-down, and the dog was near the tailgate, enjoying the breeze. only think i didn't see was granny! we passed through the san joaquin valley, a major agricultural area of the state. it seemed one could just pick up things along the way, and end up with a complete meal at the end. i'd mentioned earlier the assortment of crops but we also passed an almond orchard for sale, and pastures of livestock. then when we passed more olive trees, then a patch of aromatic onions, i just started imagining it all together, a fresh meal with a glass of california wine . . . passing by the many orchards, i noticed that some had small, white pipes at the end of rows, i'm guessing as a marker of some sort. others used orange flags on a small, wooden post. but the ones i liked best were the ones that someone had planted a flowering bush for the marker. a sign along the way shows one farmer's philosophy: pastures, trees, irrigated crops, all is not lost if something flops. our choice for dinner was a local italian cafe within walking distance of our motel. spinach tortellini in a light cream sauce with fresh peas, mushroom and onions was my choice, accompanied by, you guessed it, a glass of california cabernet. today is day 31 of our trip and we will head to tempe, az, tomorrow (leaving bright and early to beat some of the heat). we'll stay a day or two with our son john, before continuing on toward arkansas. before i forget, i want to thank all who have kept us in prayer while we're traveling. we couldn't have asked for better weather and we have been kept safe for many thousands (almost 10!) of miles. i'll continue to give updates until reaching bella vista.

3 Corners Down, 1 To Go

made it to blaine, washington, mid-day today, the most northwestern corner of the country, and the last u.s. town before crossing the bridge into canada. took a few pictures, then got back on I-5 heading south back to seattle. it was a chilly ride (again), even though the sun was out quite a bit. total miles so far is 8,211. today is our 27th day out, but only 22nd day of riding. plan to end up somewhere in southern oregon tomorrow. more soon.

Chilly Northwest

it was a cool 52 degrees starting out. and, even with the extra layers, i never quite got comfortable until afternoon, when we were almost to our destination. there were some brisk winds going through the mountain passes and i was wishing i had on just one more layer! the climate was not the only change we noticed. the terrain also changed into flatter, rolling hills and farmland. but we soon saw the "welcome to idaho" sign. (interesting sign along the way in idaho was: "leaving apple maggot quarantine area". hmmmmm. i thought washington was the apple state! and what are apple maggots?) we stopped for gas and hot coffee at coure d'lene and were in awe of the scenery along the area lake. beautiful country! next, we were in washington. some of you may wonder what i do all day on the back of the bike. well, here's an example of what occupies my mind while paul concentrates on the road. shortly after passing spokane, a road sign read, Crop names posted on fence line Next 14 miles and, sure enough, blue, individual tourist attraction-type signs started appearing every mile or so, on both sides of the highway. first, it was "potatoes" then "alfalfa" then "peas" followed by "pasture", "timothy hay", "sweet corn" "carrots" and "field corn," each one presenting acres of the named crop. but the most surprising was a field of darkest green, identified as "peppermint." so, looking for the signs held my attention for a good, oh, 10 or 11 minutes. then, the questions filled my mind. "why are these signs here?" "are they intended to entertain me, the traveler?" "is this the state of washington's way of educating the average traveler?" you get the picture. my mind wanders for another 8 or 9 minutes and before you know it, while not having come to a conclusion, we're 20 minutes farther down the road! one last comment. i had said earlier that this trip is not about sight-seeing or specific destinations. but in all fairness, paul is good about stopping, as he did today when i had a feeling something spectacular was just around the bend. sure enough, a "scenic overlook" sign appeared and he pulled over and we spent time enjoying a fantastic view of the columbia river! what a sight! i could've spent a lot more time, but am happy we were able to enjoy it briefly. a special memory!

124, 101, 116, 107 . . .

yeah, it's a daily brain challenge trying to remember what motel room number we have each night. we're staying in comfort inns along the way, so the floor plans are pretty similar, but each time i leave the room i have to remember which way to go, then which room to return to! one observation: there sure are a lot of motorcycles on the road out here! way more that we've seen anywhere else accept in the florida keys. anyway, the trip is going well - still! we're certainly enjoying the ride and the scenery is a daily surprise. today we logged about 500 miles, leaving sheridan, wy, early this morning and arriving in missoula, mt, mid- afternoon. total miles so far is just about 7,500. today's ride was anything but boring. shortly after entering montana there were snow-peaked mountain tops in the far distance. when i asked paul what they were, he said, "the rockies!" i didn't remember them going as far north as montana. so, guess this trip is educational, too. we crossed the continental divide (el. 6,393 ft). it was amazing to watch the sky change in just a short amount of time. patches of clouds at different altitudes can sure create some dimensional artistry. picture-taking almost got out of hand! i told myself 15-20 pictures of the mountains were enough, then, turning a bend a whole other scene appeared. the mountains are almost mystical as a few seconds later, changing light and perspective creates another photo-worthy sight. oh, and speaking of pictures - i haven't been able to download any. many of the motel computers have signs requesting no downloads. so, if you are patient, i will get pictures posted later. had a few sprinkles, but paul cranked it up a little and put them behind us. also had some spots of heavy wind while crossing over some of the passes. and inhaled some nasty smelling rubber fumes going down a long, deep slope behind a couple of semis. we're anticipating pulling out the insulated underwear for tomorrow's ride as it'll only be in the 40's in the morning. hope to get into washington state. gotta go write some post cards. thanks for looking in on us!

Harley Group Escort

We, indeed, rode with my brother's harley group for their father's day ride from kalamazoo (mi) to south haven, about a 50 mile ride, ending at the local american legion for a pancake breakfast. (pictures show my brother, colin and wife, sue, ahead of us, and then, sue, on her harley, next to us at a stop sign).

how many gold wingers (honda) have been escorted by a harley group!! we thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and their friendliness and interest in our adventure.

the weather went from sunny skies at the beginning of the ride to possibly threatening clouds later, so said farewell to colin and sue. then, after breakfast, found our way to my high-school friend's home on lake michigan.

fran and her husband are the only year-round residents in a 49-home-development on the lake. what a view and location. enjoyed a nice dinner with them at the marina and sitting on their boat before calling it a day. a very interesting style of living.

monday morning found us hitting the road again and heading over to rockford, illinois, to a favorite lodge on the rock river. if you want a quaint, hospitable, clean, relaxing spot like none other, let me know! the waters were high but leveling off, to their relief.

we rolled into burnsville tuesday afternoon. our ol' stompin' grounds, you might say. checked into the comfort inn in savage as son jim and family are surrounded by piles of boxes as they prepare to leave next week for west palm beach, florida.

for the first time in many years, there will be no herricks in minnesota!!

(picture above of jim, meshell, lindsey, allison, meghan and carter just before we left minnesota)

for our many friends in the area, we hope you understand about not hearing from us this trip. our two days here are just flying by and we wanted to spend time with jim, meshell and kids as once they move, they will not be just a days drive away. a little sad, but we're happy for them and the new opportunities and adventures ahead of them.

ok. details of the trip. all i know is we've gone about 6,000 miles thus far. we left bella vista three weeks ago today. still have had no rain days and the bike is running fine. and we can both honestly say we are not tired of riding.

we'll head west in the morning. till next time . . .

5 days and 1700 miles later . . .

we've landed in familiar territory. we'll spend the night with with my brother colin, and his wife sue in galesburg, mi. this (kalamazoo) is also where paul and i were married all those years ago! just a piece of history - here's a shot of my childhood home in galesburg where i lived from ages 6 until 15. my father built this house while we lived in a 24 x 36 garage that has since been torn down. since the last entry, the weather cooled dramatically, bringing out the leather jackets and chaps. but to this day (sat.) we've managed to dodge the rain/thunder storms and have only had momentary sprinkles in northern maine and then again in canada. heading north from the connecticut coast was nice as we left much of the congested traffic behind. we took a route by-passing boston and made it up to bangor. found the local motorsports shop and had oil changed on the gold wing, before heading still farther north. shortly after leaving bangor, we were treated to a scenic view of mount katahdin, the end (or the beginning, depending on how you look at it) of the 2200 mile long appalachian trail that begins in georgia. since my mother has climbed this mountain, i feel a connection to it, so asked paul to stop for a photo. cloudy skies only allowed for a limited view, which changed quickly in just a few moments. next stop was madawaska, the most northeastern corner of the country and little did we know, they have a formal "four corners park" in the town of 800 people. there is a marble structure with the harley insignia and a stone path way (still a work in progress) leading to a spot specifically designed for motorcycle picture taking. at our motel that evening, we ran into a few riders having their monthly gold wing meeting so, we spent some time sharing travel stories and riding tips. the following morning, while packing up, one of the gold wing riders that we had spoken to earlier on the phone drove up to the motel and offered to lead us to the bridge crossing into canada. in fact, he crossed the border and stayed with us at the customs office before leading us to the highway heading west. * * * passing through customs, both ways, was interesting. crossing into canada was much more thorough than we had imagined. after answering the initial questions, we were asked to dismount and park the bike and go inside. we handed over the papers and our passports, went through more thorough questioning (regarding destinations, origins, where we'd been, etc), then were told they would need to do background checks! they were polite and spoke english, so that helped. it was probably only a 15-minute process but seemed much longer! last thing they wanted to do was search the bike, but then for some reason, decided not to. the officers say 9-11 has made their jobs a lot more work! the ride was going oh, so well, until we hit montreal at about 2:30 in the afternoon. an accident involving several vehicles had occured late morning and was still being cleared. well, paul is pretty good now at walking the bike, as he had to do for nearly 3 hours! (and i attest that that's not an exaggeration!) we slept good that night! next day, our goal was to get to windsor, canada, for the night, which we did, but for the 4th day, found no computer available to use. left windsor this morning and then had another thorough pass through customs. after looking at the passports, the officer asked for all the compartments to be opened, which was expected, but then he wanted our bags opened. all the while he was admiring the bike and asking about our trip. the process took about 10-15 minutes by the time we were riding away. back into the good ol' united states! (oh, by the way, the reason for crossing into canada was primarily for the highway access. it would've added many more miles coming west from maine to the midwest). gas prices in canada are about $1.68/litre, which equals $5 something a gallon. so, it could be worse! tomorrow, we've been invited to join my brother's HARLEY group on their father's day ride to south haven (our next destination). and they know we have a HONDA - how cool is that!

Take I-95 all the way...

"Take I-95 all the way", said the motel desk clerk when we asked for directions to get around new york city and on to connecticut. "BUT," he said, elongating the word, "if that gets screwed up, just turn on the radio and turn it to . . . " we didn't hear much after that and it was with apprehension that we mounted the bike and headed for new york!! that's not even fun in a car, so i know paul wasn't anxious to be going on the bike. and if the stress of waiting to get on the george washington bridge wasn't enough, the 100 degree temp made it a little tougher. but it's all behind us now and he did a FINE job! good news is that it's supposed to start cooling off tomorrow.

well, we're in west haven, ct, tonight, having gone about 280 miles. paid our all-time high of $4.38 for gas. have logged about 3500 miles thus far. will head to bangor, maine, tomorrow. looking forward to less traffic and cooler temps.

100 Degrees Again!

long, hot day but covered 503 miles, ending in a place called North East, Maryland, about 150 miles from new york city.

total mileage so far this trip is about 3200. let's see, this was our 11th day since leaving home, had 3 relaxing days in new orleans and ocala, so . . . daily average is 400. paul seems to think my original (map quest) mileage estimate of the entire trip may be off, so we may need to kick the daily average up! if i'd known that, i might have waited until the 50th anniversary (for the extra 10 days)!!

some have asked if we're seeing things along the way. well, it depends. this is not a sight-seeing trip. it's a memory-making experience and like a hotel guest put it yesterday, "when you're on a motorcycle, it's all about the ride." we do both enjoy riding (just not in 100 degrees), so we're seeing things, just in a different way.

there are images that will be with us long after the gas is gone - such as the fields of golden day lilies and dark red cannas in the interstate medians of the carolina's, the six lanes of traffic around the washington d.c. areas, the marinas along the susquehanna river, etc. you get the picture. and it's a good thing, too, as many times i'll see some spectacular sight, but by the time i get my gloves off, my camera out of my pocket and the power turned on, well, that sight is just a memory!

FYI - the origination of this trip came after we read about a certified "four corners tour." if you'd like to read more about it, you can go to http://www.usa4corners.org/

it's getting late. better go see how paul's coming along with the laundry. later!

100 Degrees...

"100 degrees," the desk clerk said when we checked in this afternoon on the edge of florence, sc. heat index was 116. wish i hadn't known that!

ride is going well. have gone over 2700 miles at this point.

the photo (from the previous post) of us in leather was taken the morning we left bella vista. the other one was taken at my sister's in louisiana. any more photos may have to wait until we get to son john's in arizona, so he can show me how to load and position them.

a few signs i've seen along the way:

• an ad for eye drops - "it won't make the gas any cheaper, but it'll make your eyes feel better" (timely)
• holiday inn ad - "kids stay and eat free" (college is on your own)(humor)
• and, not sure, but think this was for a restaurant - "virgin sturgeon, also untouched bagels" (clever)
  
  will start riding early tomorrow. paul would like to get north of washington d.c. that's it for today.

Relaxing is over, it's time to ride!

while visiting mom, i relaxed in the pool several times with her while paul chilled out. had some fresh seafood at a local joint, and even enjoyed some fried green tomatoes! it was restful and enjoyable time with her.

after a 9 1/2 hour day of riding in the sun (470 miles), with patches of clouds and just a few sprinkles, we arrived in key west, one of the four points we want to visit.

after a quick shower, we took a taxi down to duval street, described as the "bourbon street" of the area. as many of you know, i enjoy a margarita every now and then so when i heard there was a margaritaville cafe, it was at the top of my list! had a cheeseburger and fries (what else?) and paul had a pina colada and i had my 'rita.















taxi driver told us if we went to the top of the crown plaza hotel (7th floor), we could see the sunset over the water, so we did, but didn't see the green flash. oh, well.

then, before returning to the motel we had a piece of homemade key lime pie at the "hog's breath." (a hog's breath is better than no breath at all!)

i could've stayed a couple more days, but i knew my driver was ready to hit the road. however, we didn't leave before paul did the laundry this morning while i slept a little later (boy, this really is a vacation!)

we packed up the bike, which doesn't take too long as we can't buy too many things along the way. i think we'll focus on collecting memories of this time together, instead of "stuff."

made it to titusville, fl, this evening, south of daytona beach. we look to get into south carolina tomorrow evening.

most we've paid for gas is $4.19, though we've seen it as high as $4.25 in the keys. looking forward to heading north and cooler temps.

Nothing gets my attention . . .

as quick as a sudden swerve on the bike! paul skillfully dodged a 4 x 4 section of lumber (about 2 ft long), that escaped the back end of a construction truck. the driver never knew what happened as we watched it bounce unpredictably in front of us. now that could've been a definite bump in the road!












enjoyed a perfectly relaxing and warm, hospitable weekend with my sister and her husband in new orleans. they certainly made our anniversary a memorable one!

we'll head to ocala today to visit my mother for a day or so before heading to key west.

not sure when will hit the next computer, so hang loose. later.