Home Again

I've been home a couple of days now and I realized I never posted a final account of my trip, as the end felt anti-climactic.  On Monday, I did indeed take the interstate system north out of West Virginia both as a safer route and in an effort to get out of the storms.  I rode north past Pittsburgh, then joined the turnpike into Ohio.  I believe I did get north of most of the rain and I was able to remove my rain suit just west of Cleveland.  Though clouds still dominated the skies, I rode the rest of the day on dry pavement.

So Monday consisted of simply riding 60-70 mph toward home and I actually made it home by early evening, about 420 miles for the day.  As I said, it felt anti-climactic, but I had already left my planned route, so there was no point in spending another night away from home.  I also didn't take any photos that day for reasons that should be apparent.  All in all it was a very satisfying trip.  I like being on my own, able to make decisions that may not make sense to someone else, and doing things that might not appeal to a group.  Sometimes it's lonely and I wouldn't want to take all my vacations by myself, but I do enjoy this type of travel once in a while; I find it peaceful and refreshing.

So here's a quick recap:  great soccer games on TV, minor league baseball, great riding weather, gentle country roads, visit with former VW colleagues, Atlantic City boardwalk, big pipe organ concert, ferry ride, national monuments in D.C., meeting new people, more compliments on my great motorcycle, mountain riding and hairpin turns, 2 rainy days, small towns, county courthouses, old churches, lots of cornfields.  We live in a beautiful country, so now it's time to begin planning the next adventure.

So many great places to visit!

Thanks for reading, and God bless.

A Day of Mountain Riding

Sunday was another good day. It was cloudy most of the day but rain was not in the forecast. It felt cool even when the sun did shine as I rode through the Virginia and West Virginia mountains and under the shade of trees along much of the way. Mountain riding is why I chose this route and I wasn't disappointed. Traffic was very light as I dipped and wove through turns reminiscent of last year's ride in the Smokies. I especially like the ones that force me down into 2nd gear. There were many photos I would like to have taken as I ran through consecutive lefts and rights, then left again. 

At one point I crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and I just had to make a short detour to ride a few miles of it. It has a lot of great scenic views as it follows much of the ridge line. I also rode through the George Washington National Forest and the Monongahela National Forest. 

I made over 200 miles to Fairmont, WV where I stopped to watch the final game of this year's World Cup.  Dark clouds were then looming, so I covered up my luggage with plastic before going inside. During the game a thunderstorm broke loose. When it let up for a while I decided to spend the night right here in Fairmont, next door to the Appleby's where I watched the game. 

It rained throughout the night and Monday's forecast calls for more thunderstorms. I'm located right at an entrance to Interstate 79 and it looks like the forecast is clearer to the north. So I think I will abandon my quest to ride US 250 and take the interstate north instead. It will be safer because I can ride at a constant speed and the curves will be gentler. Hopefully it will also get me away from the rain.

I'm praying for another good day. Thanks for reading. 

Country Roads Taking Me Home

I left the Washington D.C. area this moring and headed south toward Richmond, VA so I could begin my route home via US 250. I travelled US 301 and US 17, both of which were parkway roads -- open, divided highways with smooth pavement rising over gentle hills.  Very pretty and pleasant. I had to ride through central Richmond to pick up the start of my new road, and driving out the west side of town I encountered a lot of traffic and many traffic lights as I went through the suburbs, not pleasant in the 85-degree heat. Finally the route became the ideal two-lane pavement I look for as it cut through the sparsely populated countryside. Much of this section was arrow-straight, but the constant rolling hills made it a beautiful ride and many trees along the road offered shade.  My only other major goal today was to arrive somewhere to watch the consolation game of the World Cup. That turned out to be Charlottesville, VA. I found a room at the Red Carpet Inn and watched the game over dinner at the local Friday's. I didn't take pictures of anything today, so here's one of the local Friday's in Charlottesville. 

The Dutch team completed the humiliation of the Brazilians 3-0. After a month of wonderful soccer games, there's just one more to go. Tomorrow's objective will be similar to today's: drive somewhere to watch soccer at 4:00 -- the final game. 

I have one concern with my motorcycle -- my rear brakes started scraping yesterday. I'll need to get them fixed as soon as I get home. In the meantime I try to brake with the fronts only, assisted by downshifting, using the rears as little as possible. 

As a very random side topic, there were two large family reunion groups at my hotel last night. They made it nearly impossible for me to get breakfast this morning, but I didn't mind. It was good to see large families getting together and having a wonderful time.

A Really Capital Day

After last night's storms, today was a beautiful day right from the start. I headed into D.C. and parked near the west end of The Mall. I was able to spend some contemplative time at all the sites I had wanted to see. I did manage to take quite a few pictures, so I'll just show you what my day was like. 

The WWII Memorial is new since I was last here. I wanted to be here to honor "the greatest generation" and their sacrifice for freedom. Here are some of their memorable quotes. 

Each one of these gold stars represents one hundred American lives sacrificed in WWII. 

My next stop was also new since my last visit, and it also is very sobering. 

M.L.K., Jr.

Then some of my favorites. 

Mr. Lincoln.

Vietnam Wall -- my generation. 

The Korean War Memorial was interesting. It's a platoon of larger-than-life-sized soldiers walking through a field. 

I left the city about 2:00 and spent some time at the hotel pool. Then it was a perfect evening for a minor league game between the Bowie Baysox and the Richmond Flying Squirrels, where I had a front row seat. A great way to end a good day. 

God bless, and thanks for reading. I'll be starting my trip home in the morning

Crossing the Delaware

I had to leave my hotel in Atlantic city this morning despite the heavy rainstorm and gloomy skies. It's one thing to get caught in a shower while riding; it's much harder to leave a dry parking garage to go into a downpour, but that's just what I had to do. From AC I headed south to catch a ferry across Delaware Bay. It rained hard most of the way, but it did let up as I approached the Cape May terminal.  I had purchased a ticket ahead of time for the noon crossing, but I arrived just in time to take the 10:30 boat. That would give me more time for a leisurely drive in the afternoon. Here's a picture of my motorcycle aboard the ferry and one of me on deck under very overcast skies. 

I was amused by the lady's black t-shirt in the background. Here you can see the back:

Let me know if you can read it or not.  (I'll send you my stalker shot.)  Again you see the thick gray sky, but at least it isn't raining. As a matter of fact I only ran into one short shower the rest of the day even though the sun never broke through. There are flash flood warnings here until midnight, but I think tomorrow should be fine. Tonight I'm in Bowie, MD, about 20 miles outside D.C.  Tomorrow I plan to drive into the District and spend time with the monuments and memorials around The Mall. I also have plans for the evening but that story will have to wait until it's written. 

I should have some good pictures tomorrow, as I'll be on foot most of the day. Every day I see things I'd like to photograph, but I just can't stop for them all when I'm on the road. I've mentioned before that I enjoy seeing old, picturesque churches.  I've seen some real beauties in nearly every town, but I tell myself to be content to just enjoy them in that moment.

Random side notes:

Our timeshare hotel in Atlantic City is quite nice -- perhaps worth a return trip some day. 

Also my motorcycle continues to run very well.  And I continue to receive nice comments from people everywhere about the style and color of my Honda, which they usually think is a vintage Harley. 

Parts of my drive today were on the eastern portions of highways whose western terminals are in Sacramento and San Francisco. That gives me ideas.

I logged about 125 miles today on land -- 17 on water. 

A Free Day on the Beach

The boardwalk (27 floors just below my awesome window) was wet when I first looked out this morning, the result of a storm that blew through during the night. However, the rain let up and things dried out in time for my morning walk.  Yes, that's right, add another 2.25 miles to my Nike+ tally.  When I began to look around for breakfast, guess where the only long line was -- at the Dunkin' Donuts window. They sure do love their DD around here. 

During my walk I passed a great old building that is the Atlantic City Convention Center.  Several upcoming concerts were advertised.  Then I noticed the sign for a daily free pipe organ concert at noon. This isn't just any organ, it's the largest pipe organ in the world. I figured for free I couldn't pass this up and I'm glad I didn't. The organ is in Boardwalk Hall, where Miss America is crowned each year. About 30 people showed up for the concert, which also included a tour of the organ repair shop, the pipe chamber and the console. 

                                 This handsome man is not the organist, but I had fun. 

The young man with a master's degree in music gave a 30-minute concert and then talked to us and answered questions about playing this great instrument. Here's a sample of the power of big pipes. Turn your speakers up if you're at home, down if at work. 

http://youtu.be/zOtcolMv8mk

After the concert it was raining again. Since laundry machines are across the hall from my room, I did that while waiting for the next soccer game at 4. 

I had already scouted out a nice cafe down the boardwalk where I knew soccer could be watched. While on my way there, however, just a few doors from my hotel I heard the unmistakable sound of British sports announcers.  I checked it out and found a seat right in front of a big screen with the sound turned up. That's where I had dinner while watching my team lose in a shoot out. 

Tomorrow I must leave to begin my return trip, but I do have a few more surprises in store.  Hint: my return route begins in Richmond, VA, but it'll take me three days to reach that starting point. God bless, be safe, and thanks for reading. 

Boardwalks and Beaches, Oh Yeah!

Ventnor Avenue, Pacific Avenue, New York Avenue . . . I must be on the Monopoly board, aka Atlantic City, NJ. I also know I'm in New Jersey because of the Dunkin Donuts on every corner and the service attendants at every gas station. I didn't have far to ride today so I took my time this morning, enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel and hit the road about 11:00.  Still I stopped at the first Dunkin I came to just because I had a gift card from one of my appreciative little school bus riders. (I also have Starbucks and 7-Eleven cards to use.)  It was a warm ride, already pushing 90 degrees, but I enjoyed it because my destination was close and should be pleasant.

I wrote earlier that our timeshare was booked for these dates.  Well I checked again about a week ago and there had apparently been a cancellation and I was able to book it after all. It's a small studio unit, just perfect for me, on the 27th floor. It's also right on the beach and boardwalk . . . In fact, I'll share the view from my window:

                                           I think I can see India from here!

Shortly after my arrival I headed out to watch the BRA-GER semifinal game.  I could have watched it in my room but it's more fun with other fans.  I found an Irish Pub nearby and settled in. Soon some Brazil fans sat next to me.  I thought they were Brazilian, but it turns out they were of various nationalities just cheering for the home team.  What a shocker as Germany scored seven goals against the yellow and green. 

This must be the busiest time of the year here, but it doesn't seem crowded anywhere. From my very awesome window I see people on the beach, strolling the boardwalk, go-cart racing, a carousel, a Ferris wheel, bungee jumping, several casinos and the ever-present Ripley's Museum. 

Tomorrow I'll relax at the pool, maybe walk the beach, watch the ARG-NDR game, then relax at the pool. For you Nike+ fans I may even log some distance on the boardwalk. I know these trips sound very selfish -- they are and I enjoy them -- but I spend a lot of time praying while I ride, particularly for those in my church and my family. So be blessed today, and thanks for reading my adventures. 

Through the Keystone State

I continued diagonally through Pennsylvania on Monday, logging another 200 miles. The weather is still blessing me with sunshine as I enjoyed the hills and mountains, farms and valleys. Much of my road today was freeway, so I didn't ride through many small towns. The highlight of this day was having lunch with my former VW colleagues in Manheim where they're still selling Audis and Volkswagens at the world's biggest auto auction. It was good to see them and I'm glad they were available for lunch. 

I didn't have any pictures for the day, so I stopped to take this one, trying to show the pleasant  farmland I was passing through. The scenery in the background is a bit small to see, but I happened to catch this really cool motorcycle in the shot. 

                                                                    I'm not angry; it's just a warm day!

I could have made it all the way to Atlantic City but my reservation there is for Tuesday, so I stopped for the night when my path crossed another great highway, US 1. This historic road would be another legendary ride as it runs from Maine to Key West, FL.  Mmmm, thoughts of future trips . . . .

On the Road Again

          Downtown Cleveland

This time the road happens to be US 322.  I left home about 8:15 Saturday morning and took mostly freeways to Cleveland, where this road begins. Driving east through the Cleveland suburbs I encountered a lot of traffic lights and a bit of construction, but it wasn't long before I was humming along on 2-lane highway over gentle hills and sweeping turns through rural Ohio. 

I had wanted to stop to see the noon soccer game, but I happened to hit Cleveland right about then and I didn't find a good place to stop. I decided to press on and catch the 4:00 game for sure.  By then I was deep into rural areas and small towns, i.e. No Buffalo Wild Wings. About game time I turned into "Bob's Place", the only joint around that looked like it might be showing sports.  I walked in and asked the barkeeper to change the only TV from baseball to World Cup Soccer.  He said, "What channel is it on?" I was the only customer at the time, but soon the regulars showed up and asked why their Pirates weren't on. By half time and the score 0-0, I agreed to become a Pirates fan to maintain peace. We switched back and forth after that and we all enjoyed a good time. 

I stayed Saturday night in Meadville, PA. Sunday I had a relaxing ride through hills and small towns. I'm learning not to expect many services when riding through small towns on a Sunday. They likely will not have any chain restaurants or coffee shops, and the local ones may be closed for the day. Tonight I'm in State College, PA, home to Penn State University. It's a pretty town surrounded by mountains and I'm sure it's much busier in the fall. I attended a baseball game of the State College Spikes, a class A affililliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The ball park is right across from the Nittany Lions football stadium. 

I've had two great days of riding without rain.  Now I have two days to get to Atlantic City where I have a reservation at our timeshare resort for Tuesday night. 

This Year's Road Trip

Ready to go

You may recall the very awesome motorcycle trip I took last summer to Miami.  The destination was chosen just because the road ended there.  The trip was planned to simply follow a highway from one end to the other and do the same coming back.  That turned out to be US 27 from Fort Wayne, IN to Miami, and then US 441 from Miami to Lake City, TN.  For details see my posts from last summer.  That was a six-day ride each way, which I decided was pretty long unless I scheduled more stops along the way.  I had thought about riding to Colorado this year which would be about the same distance.  However, I just wasn't ready for that much riding yet.  Therefore, I looked to the east.

I think I've found two highways that will serve to make another great road trip by again riding their entire lengths.  Like last year, neither road terminates in Michigan, but Ohio is just next door and that's where I'll begin and end the official portions of my ride. These roads will take me through the hearts of two states that should offer spectacular riding conditions: Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  Plus I plan to do something I've always wanted to do -- attend a minor league baseball game.  In addition, this is FIFA World Cup month, so I'll schedule lunch and dinner stops appropriately whenever there's a game being played.

US 322 - 494 miles

US 322 begins in downtown Cleveland, OH and runs about 500 miles to Atlantic City, NJ.  I remember the beginning portion of this road from many visits to Cleveland when my daughter was in school at Case Western Reserve University.  In fact I'll drive right through that now familiar campus.  I expect to reach Atlantic City by the fourth night.  We have a timeshare hotel there, but it has no availability so I'll just hope to find a Red Roof or something similar in the area.

US 250 - 514 miles

After a couple of nights in AC, I'll head to Richmond, VA because my return road begins there.  This will lead me past DC where I hope to spend a day admiring some of our nation's monuments to great leaders and great ideals.  From Richmond I'll take US 250 northwest through VA, WV and OH.  I may take my time here and make a few stops to take in the scenery and flavor of the area, so it may take four, five, maybe six days to get back.

I'll try to post daily on this blog for those who may be interested in following my trip.  I expect to begin this trip July 5th, and I sure hope it doesn't rain every day.  Thanks for reading, and God bless.

  

My other career

I retired from my corporate job several years ago and have now taken up a new career as a school bus driver.  It works well for me, as I have summers, weekends and holidays off.  I enjoy the kids on my bus, I do a good service for the community, I get paid reasonably well, and I have a skill I could take elsewhere should I ever need to move.  I don't know how many years I'll want to do this, but for now it's good, steady work -- there is no threat of being laid off due to downsizing, and kids will always need to be driven to school regardless of the condition of the economy.


I have also begun another, unexpected career in my post-retirement years.  I've become an ordained Christian minister, which allows me to perform legal wedding ceremonies anywhere in the U.S.  It happened three years ago when my son asked me to officiate his wedding.  I thought he was joking, since I was not ordained at the time and had no intention of attending seminary to become so.  He said he had already looked into that and yes, I could become ordained quite easily.  I guess it's a result of our nation's first amendment concept of "separation of church and state."  The state says any ordained clergy may perform a wedding ceremony, but it's up to the many and varied religious organizations to decide whom and how they will ordain.  Most organized churches require a minister to earn advanced degrees in theology, while other organizations consider different qualifications.  While I have no intention of pastoring a church, I do take my ordination seriously. 

It's nice being a part of someone's "big day."

In addition to officiating my son's wedding ceremony on a North Carolina beach in 2011, I was honored to recently be asked to do the same for my niece on a quaint, covered bridge in Arizona.  Both ceremonies were short but, I think, meaningful.  I enjoyed incorporating the important, legal elements into the ceremonies along with a few inspiring words and interesting, personal touches.  Both events were beautiful and lots of fun.  Will I do another one?  We'll just have to see what happens.  

Perhaps my niche is performing weddings in fun settings like beaches and parks, in backyards and bridges.  Here it is then:  If anyone is interested in a short, private, Christian wedding ceremony performed by an ordained lay minister in a non-traditional setting, give me a call.  My wedding career may be over, or it may have just begun.

God bless you, and thanks for reading my posts.

Summertime's Coming

What two things are odd about this picture?

I think I'll appreciate summer with greater awareness this year because of the "winter of the century" that we just endured here in Michigan, as in most of the U.S.  I took several photos of our house with snow piled higher than I can ever remember; and it never seemed to melt, just kept getting higher and higher.  Finally, the winter did recede and the grass is green.  We cleaned the deck and set up the outdoor furniture.  With two more weeks of school, my bus driving career will soon be put on hold until fall.  I aim to savor the summer like never before.

It's Saturday morning, the last day of May, and I am on the deck with my cup of coffee.  This is one summer ritual I enjoy: breakfast on the deck with birds singing and the sun rising around me.  The deck is on the west side of the house, so I'm in the shade with the morning light streaming past on either side of the house.  I also have a favorite seat on the front porch that I use later in the day when the sun is high or in the west.

This summer we do have some chores to be done: rooms to be painted; a new furnace to be installed; perhaps carpet to be laid.  Not that I will do all these things myself - maybe the painting.  We may arrange a trip out west in August as we've done in the past.  Of course, summer is a time for motorcycling, too: riding to work, riding around town, day trips, weekend excursions, extended adventures - that's what summer is made for.  Last year I had a great trip to Florida, and I think I'll plan another this year which I'll write about in a separate post.

Speaking of this past "Winter of the Century," I just read a book about climate change titled "Climate Weirdness."  The book was meant to be a description of what scientists know about global warming as of 2012, written in simple enough terms for a sixth grader like me to understand.  Politics aside, the bottom line is that the earth is warming due to increased levels of heat-trapping CO2 in the atmosphere - and yes, it's largely caused by human activity.  Because climate entails much more than our daily weather, the results of a changing climate are varied: more violent storms and heat waves, droughts, floods, changing wind and ocean current patterns, rising sea levels, and much more.  This process seems to be an unstoppable freight train headed straight at our children and grandchildren.  Don't be fooled into thinking our recent winter disproves global warming; rather it is one of the "weird" results of it.  

Ah, but back to my main topic of interest - the summer.  Today is a beautiful day that we thought might never come this year.  Tomorrow is the first day of June, the final Sunday with our retiring pastor, to be celebrated with a church cookout and ice cream social.  Our new pastor and his family just arrived from Denver - a new era for our small family church in Rochester Hills.  God bless Faith Church, God bless my family, and God bless America as we enjoy this summer of 2014.  Thanks for reading.

Singin' my favorite tune in church . . .

Our quartet had a chance to sing in church again recently and I was able to sing one of my favorite tunes.  The melody is from an old Italian love song, so I wrote some new words suitable to be sung in church in America, and voila, His Name Is Jesus.  It's not the Three Tenors, but we had fun.  Enjoy.

Well, it's about time!

In reading all my fan mail over the past several months, I have to imagine that you've all been wondering why I haven't posted since last fall. Was I burned out from addressing hot issues?  Have I been too busy to write?  Was I just too tired to pen a post?  Well, I guess.  Whatever my recent malaise, I'm back.  

As you recall, my favorite posts pertain to issues of religion and politics, but I'll delve into other topics also; and sometimes I'll just share what's going on in my life.  Thought-provoking book reviews are also fun when I think the topic is relevant.  This one has to do with religion and science.

Like religion & politics, religion & science are often thought to be, by definition, at odds with one another.  I think the basic reasons for this stem from the fact that most religious doctrine was codified a thousand years ago or more, while modern science is only about 400 years old.  As modern science has developed, it has changed our perceptions of the world around us.  This can be threatening when we've believed for generations anything about our world that turns out not to be quite as we've been taught.  The eternal nature of religious belief causes us to resist any suggestion of change.  So, let me just get to the book.

The book is called "The Language of God," referring to DNA, and the author, Francis S. Collins, was the head of the Human Genome Project.  He is a renowned and dedicated scientist, and also a man of faith, a believer in God, a Christian.  Through the chapters of the book, Collins defines apparent conflicts between the scientific community and the community of faith.  He then explains how he has resolved these issues in his own mind.  The gist of the book is that serious scientists are seekers of truth through observation and experimentation of the physical universe.  Theologians are seekers of truth in spiritual matters.  There should be no reason for these two learned groups, both seekers of truth, to be at odds.  Rather than try to summarize the arguments made by the author, or even reiterate the issues discussed, I will simply encourage any interested reader to search out this highly enlightening dissertation.  I cannot say that I understood the technical aspects of the science, but the book is refreshingly written at a level that a layman such as I was able to enjoy.  I leave you with my favorite quote from the concluding chapter of the book.

"I found it difficult to imagine that there could be a real conflict between scientific truth and spiritual truth.  Truth is truth.  Truth cannot disprove truth."

Thanks for reading and noticing that I'm back.