LET'S GO HOME




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June 7, day 1

I arrived in Oakland just before noon via airplane and got an Uber to the storage closet where Fred had been resting. I rolled him into the fresh cool air (55 degrees) and he started right up.  First call of business is lunch, so we rode over to downtown Alameda for some Vietnamese Pho. In the past I really looked forward to Pho in this area but now good Pho is available in many areas including St. Pete. Then we went to find our home. We had booked a boat to stay on via AirBnB. It was an old Carver 32. Bit moldy but will be fun for one night. I spent the afternoon rearranging my packing in the dry bag and napping. A little decompression after the Cannonball. At 8 I wandered up to the Quinn Landing restaurant for dinner. I knew I was going to have a great trip when the waiter presented me with two martinis’ as the bar made a mistake.


Fred in front of the closet. I could not take a picture with door open as the wind just whipped them around.

Home for the evening

We used to call this "a marina of broken dreams" as it full of half derelict boats but all the owners have the dream of sailing away

The statue in front of the restaurant.



June 8, Day 2


Up early we loaded up and headed for Rockridge Two Wheels to get Fred some fresh tires, oil, belt, etc. I was only going to do some basic stuff, but after the carnage on the Cannonball, I got scared and scheduled a major service. Glad I did as the drive belt was about to come apart. This is going to cost a pretty penny, but piece of mind is worth more than the money to me now.  In the past I would have just rolled the dice, but at almost 70 I did not look forward to pulling the scooter apart on the side of the road in 100-degree heat. So, while Fred was getting his back scratched in spent time in a coffee shop and the library which was conveniently located to the shop, had lunch, and got a haircut. At the end of the day there was more work to be done. Since these guys KNOW Vespas and the additional work is under warranty, I left Fred and headed for my "rustic cottage" via Uber. Traffic is horrible here this time of day but we made it pretty quickly.  Life was good until the Uber driver ran over my bag. Part my fault and part his.  The only damage was a very old 3rd back up GPS.

They start to work on Fred

I go to breakfast

I go to the library

I go to lunch of fine Indian food

The drive belt had started to come apart. This would have been a real pain to replace on the side of the road.

I got a very expensive haircut, but then, everything in California is expensive

Fred will remain over night and be finished off tomorrow

Day 3


Last night, Jim and Kate for NJ, Ed and Jet from Wenatchee, WA and I went to Baby Bundles and her husbands house for a great Thai dinner.  More fun was the stack of old photos from the early 70’s. Lots of old memories and lies where told at the table.



Today we were scheduled to go on a wine tour, but I had to bow out to get Fred out of the Vespa hospital. Jim and Kristen picked me up and we went to The Souley Vegan for lunch of vegan burger for me, vegan chicken and waffles for Kristen and vegan spaghetti for Jim. After lunch we went to Rockridge Two Wheels and it was old home week for Jim and Kristen. She had worked selling scooters for the company in the past and knew all the people in the little shop and they were thrilled to see her.



The gang gathered for dinner at the Walnut Creek Yacht Club. Everything a yacht club is except no water, no boats, no membership but great food. Another great time for all.  I ordered oysters officially making this a Oyster Tour. More pictures were produced, more laughs, more racking the brain trying to answer “what was his name?”





Day 4, 10 jun

We had a great time yesterday. Breakfast together at the Lafayette Hotel, which, despite the rooms being over $300 per night the price was very reasonable and it was good.  After that we caught the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to the dock in San Francisco. We roamed the pier for about an hour then we caught our tour bus to Muir Woods. Muir Wood is very restricted and you need reservations months in advance so we chose the tour route. We crossed the Bay Bridge, stopped for pictures, went to the forest where you only get one hour and forty five minutes before they throw you out, back on the bus to Sausalito, the ferry back to San Francisco, back to the BART with a little confusion on the ride but all solved by Bundles at no cost of time or stress to us. Then we finished off at the Lafayette Hotel around a fire pit with drinks, more pictures old and new of our beloved home of Werthiem, Germany.





Fred and I were out about 7. The others had another day of festivities, but Fred and I had miles to before we sleep.  It was a great straight forward day of driving with little to no traffic. We climbed over the hills behind Walnut Creek, through the California Delta, across the plains, over the Sierras and across the Nevada desert to Middlegate Station in the middle of nowhere Nevada.

It is a very eclectic place with a bar and rooms. First I settled into room 5. Then a college group of geologist showed up and there had been a room mixed so I got moved to my on little cabin #8.

I am at the bar typing this where well vodka is $4 for one and $5 for two shots. The barmaids are friendly and good looking. I will report tomorrow how this worked out. 

Our "rustic cottage"


The turkey followed the deer around















They say this is the lonelist highway in America....it ain't

Sand mountain. The sand was blown up by the wind




my first room was there

Then I got a cabin




Day 5 MiddleGate Station, NV to Delta, UT


I only had one “two for” last night but it did the trick. I was asleep by 8:30. I woke at 3:30 and the front door was cracked open and the key was still in the outside lock. I finally got up about 4:30 and was on the road before 6.  It was cold, with the temperatures in the 40’s.



Wiring in my bathroom
Today’s ride was the same, climb a hill to a pass, go down the other side, ride straight as far as you could see, repeat, repeat, repeat.
There were a few interesting events today. Breakfast in Eureka, a very small town, where I met the postmaster and a recently retired lawyer that was on a solo trip on US 50,the loneliest highway. He and I both agreed that it was not the loneliest by a long shot.











I met Margret walking on the east side of Ely, NV. She lives and graduated from Princeton and received a grant to walk across America and collect stories and write poetry. She started last August on her journey. She is not required to walk the whole way but she is doing as much as she can in the time frame allotted. Her mother is escorting her across Utah and Nevada as places to stop or stay are miles apart.
Next I came up on Roman from Poland. He is on a pilgrimage for Peace and Freedom. He is walking from California to New York and his friend walking from Edmonton to Mexico City.  Both walks cover the same distance.  They will cross in Denver thus creating a cross across north America.

I rolled into Delta about 3:30 and went and found some baked chicken and salad and retired to my room to dine.







Day 6, Delta, UT to Cortez, CO

I was up and out early again this morning. The temperatures in the bowl where Moab, UT sets is going to push 100 degrees and I plan to miss it. In the light I also have deviated from my long established avoidance's of interstates and will run I-70 for 125 miles. The next route would add almost two hours to the day so I chose the fast track.

Last night I met a couple that are riding a big Honda. He said when he came in and saw the scooter with the Florida tag it put a smile on his face. He just thought it was a great experience and had envy.

I love riding in the early morning as the sun comes up and the light slowly crawls down the side of the mountains.  It was cold again but not as bad as yesterday.

Today, and the next days will be just rides.  I am not looking for Indian ruins, National Parks, or other tourist items.  The few from the back of Fred is enough for this trip. I have seen enough of the rest with two trips through the area already. Hopefully, will find some interesting to share along the way.





The interstate was almost deserted



There were several Navajo selling jewelry in the rest stop. I bought a item from Verna. The two others and Verna spread ashes around the area before they set up for the spirits and luck in sales. This was not done for tourists but for themselves as I was the only one in the lot.

Still lonely interstate

You can see the fire in Colorado from a long way off.


Day 7  Cortez NV to Taos NM

First let me tell you about the people I met in Cortez.

Dave, his adult son and daughter, a granddaughter, a girlfriend and a dog are from West Virginia and are traveling in a 1955 split window VW bus and dune buggy. They are crazier than I.  The VW will do 58 mph wide open, the dune buggy will do 80. No problem so far eleven days into their trip. They profess to be having a great time and I belief they are.




There are now over 1000 fire fighters battling the 5th largest blaze in Colorado’s history north of Durango. I spent time at breakfast with a crew from Wyoming and Oregon. They are crews that standby to fight any fires that pop up. They are exhilarated that they are staying in a hotel. They are doing 11 to 13 hour days and will be here for two weeks.



Leaving town I saw a young lady setting in the parking lot next to a easy rider Harley. I stopped to chat when her boyfriend arrived. They are trying to ride from Washington State to New York. It ain’t easy on that thing. Fortunately, they said they have to stop every 75 miles for gas.  Right now they have a voltage regulator problem and hope to find on in town.


This group I met at the Welcome Center in Chama. They are doing the Conntentil Divide Trail. We had a nice visit and I was on my way.

The stinky feet crowd


I went south to Shiprock, NM and headed east on US64 to avoid the smoke in Durango. Probably should have just gone through Durango as Farmington was thick with smoke and the ride was on a ratty four lane with service companies and trash yards until leaving Bloomfield.  After that the smoke cleared and I had 64 to myself except for a few oilfield service trucks.  It was a nice ride and uneventful until I turned the corner and saw one of these…….


He was very, very big and just strolled across the road, jumped the guardrail and walked away. I never had a chance to get the camera out.



The only sign on a long stretch








Eight years ago, I traveled this same way with Scoot.  Seems like twenty years. I overnighted in Chama and found it to be a great little town. This time it was just a small town. The only attraction is the steam locomotive that takes tourist on rides through the mountains. Maybe it was because I was snatched off the street and interviewed by the local radio station, now closed down.

We rode US 64 over the mountains. This is the part that convinced me when riding Scoot over the mountains I decided I needed a bigger scooter. Fred, at twice the engine of Scoot, was down in the thirty mph range. I recall Scoot was just barely moving. We had crossed equally high peaks but this one with peaks over 10,000 and two at 9,000 has such a steep grade that it was all he could do to make it.

I rolled into Taos around two. It too is not as exciting as the first time.

Day 8, June 14, Taos, NM to Wheeler, TX

Today is easy to right about. We got up, left around 5:30 and  rode through the Taos Canyon over the last mountain of this trip. Temperature was 60's until we got into the valley between the mountains and they dropped into the 40's. I knew it would not last long as there was only 20 miles to go. Of course that 20 miles took 40 minutes.
Then we just head east by southeast. I saw buffalo, deer, and antelope and that was it. The temperature was in the mid-90's when I pulled into the hotel at 2:45. That made 7 hours of riding and the temperatures where headed toward 100. That was enough. 

However, the temperatures are not what took it's toll. What you can not see in a picture is the winds. There was a 25 mph cross wind gusting to 30 all day.  The gusts were like slapping against the head minute after minute. 

There you go.



Our last mountain is behind us





Don Rodman pulled to chat and offered a bed at his house in Amarillo. I thanked him but ti was not in my direction




Day 9, Wheeler, TX to Paris, TX

I was up at the usual crack before dawn and walked to the lobby to get some coffee. Robert, the overnight front desk guy, was there and I complained about the $1.50 safe charge on the bill he had slipped under my door. He did not like it either but pointed to the sign on the front desk that he says no one ever sees that says they will talk the charge off if you ask.  I asked. We talked about all the “extras” that some hotels add on. The worst he had encountered was at a Dolly Parton property in Gatlinburg that charged $3 for extra keys after the first one.
The sun was just coming up when I got on the road. The original route had been to keep going due east to Antlers, OK, but a lack of reliable lodging had me redraw the route south on US 83, that runs from Canada to Mexico, to Childress and head east on US 287 and US 82. I did not notice until I was riding down the highway the route seemed to be designed to keep people out of Oklahoma as it goes right around the state borders.
I would have rather been in Oklahoma. Routes are planned for a distance and time, usually in the seven hour range, as that is as long I can stay in the saddle. Next there has to be hotels available with back up hotels. Nothing is worst than getting to a hotel and for some reason you don’t or can’t stay there and have to ride on to the alternate. To me this can be dangerous to your health if you are tired and hot and have to press on. In many places, especially out west, alternates are not easy to come by. So, I error on the conservative side.
Frank commented that it looked like I was pressing to get home. That is somewhat true, but what I am really doing is trying to stay ahead of the extreme heat that is following me and taking advantage of the dry air that is setting of the southeast. Also, this is my third pass through this area in 60 days, so there is not a high interest in hanging around.
Enroute to Childress I got to test my anti-lock brakes when a came over a rise and in the my lane was a wild bore bigger than the scooter. He saw me and ran on across the road.  When I stopped at a light in Childress the car that was following me pulled up at a light and she asked what it was and did it scare me. I confirmed that it was a bore and it got my attention.
The rest of the ride was straight forward. Long two lanes, long four lanes, speed limits at 75 and me doing 60 to 65 but at least Texas drivers are kind and never tried to run over me. They waited until there was a wide open area or a passing lane before they came around. Despite their kindness it was still stressful to be riding in this traffic and being slapped up beside the head by 25 mph winds that were gusting up to 35 today.
Arriving in Paris, I checked in and walked to the only place I could get a sissy girly drink, a Pina Colada with a floater, Applebee’s. I had a mid-afternoon lunch/dinner of pasta and both were disappointing.

Back to the hotel, visited with the very nice manager and front desk staff and called it a day.






A perfect diversion around Okalahoma



I took every "bus" route off the main four lane just to find dead towns..




Day 11, Paris TX to El Dorado AK

I fell asleep last night around 8:30 woke up about 9:30, turned off the TV, and the next thing I knew it was 4:15 in the morning. 
I started to get up but the body told the brain "not yet"
So I laid in bed about another 30 minutes and started to do yoga and the body said "not yet". 
Laid around for a few more minutes and then the body told the brain "if you go get some coffee from the lobby you can get up". 
About halfway into the first cup of coffee body told the brain " probably a good idea if you go take a shower."
A long hot shower got the blood moving and the body told the brain "okay now you can do your yoga and no cheating, do it all".
 Last night's plan was to ride to Greenville Mississippi, a little over 300 miles and probably about six and a half hours. Today the body told brain "I don't think we're going that far and in fact it's time for a  lay day." 
Leaving later than usual, we had time for breakfast. The body said "don't feed me any crap for breakfast", but the brain ignored the body had a egg, bacon and biscuit sandwich for breakfast.
Usually, after 4 days of riding, I'll take a whole day off. But the body and the brain had a meeting and decided we could ride just as long as we get out of Texas. We left Greenville Mississippi in the GPS as today's destination, but the body told brain "I think El Dorado will be far enough for today."
 After a couple hours of riding the body said "pull over."  We pulled over and put El Dorado in as the final destination of the day and the body said "that's a real good idea." 
We arrived  at the hotel and Eldorado about 11, but there wasn't a room so we set the lobby for a few minutes until the very kind manager had a room cleaned for us and we went in and took the rest of the day off.
We went downtown El Dorado and had lunch. The body said "give me a salad" but the dumb part of the brain ordered a club sandwich and gumbo. Most of the sandwich came home with us.
I ate very healthy on the way out and I really think it made a difference if body pain and alertness.  I will get back on that as soon as I cross the Mississippi and get some grits. Then back to salad and baked chicken.
You can tell my state of mind by the few pictures I took in the 189 miles today.
First stop today was the Eiffel tour




You must be kidding 

FINALLY!!! Out of Texas. I like Texas I am just glad to see it in the rear view mirror

Came across six combines working in two fields.




Day 12, El Dorado AR to Greenwood MS June 17


Taking a second short day and resting has made all the difference in the world.  I awoke ready to ride, even though today was going to be another short ride. But, I was excited about going to one of my favorite places to stay, the Tallahatchie Flats. Seating outside next to Fred were members of a family that had traveled from several states for a family reunion.  I asked to be included as a family member next year when I found out they "cooked two pigs and a mess of chicken." Our visit got extended when I could not find my keys. I searched the scooter and back to the room, but still no key.  So, I drug all the bags back to the room to search them thoroughly. The last little pouch I opened had the keys. Back down stairs I bid my new family goodbye, through my leg over Fred and drove off down the road. 

It was a quiet trip all they way. A few stops here and there.
Frist stop was to save a turtle. This is a promise I made to Vicki many years ago. I would stop and save every turtle if it was safe for me to pull over.  I had seen only one turtle on this trip and he was hauling ass across the road and made it without my assistance.


 

 

 



I crossed the Mississippi river, now called the "grits" line. West of here breakfast comes with gravy, east of here grits. I stopped at the welcome station on the Mississippi side of the river and met three sisters who had been to Arkansas to visit their brother. I have been this way several times but do not recall having ridden to downtown Greenville.  Don't bother.  It is just another rundown town, small in size, living off a Casino.


 

The delta

 

Usually the Mississippi is hidden by a dirt wall

 

Cross the "grits line"

 

 

I was in Greenwood by noon and went to the grocery and stood in line with everyone else to get a lunch plate.  Loaded up and headed out to the Flats.  No one here but me for the night.


 

 

Ben Wiley Payton, blues man, Robert Cavey of DC, and David Chikaidze of the UN 


Day 13 Tallahatchee Flats to @#$%^&*@

Story of a tow. 

(I have no control today over font, spacing, etc)
The day had been such a great ride I kept extending the end of the day. The end started as Thomasville, Mississippi extended the Greenville, Mississippi extended the Andalusia, Alabama and final Destination was going to be Enterprise, Alabama. Scooter was humming along nicely till 18 miles from Enterprise it stopped going forward. I immediately knew it was a belt problem. The good news it wasn't in the deserts of Nevada and there was a comfortable place to pull off and park in the shade and work on the scooter. Jumped right on it had the variator cover off, the new belt mounted on the clutch, pulled the variator off and found on the backside of the inner pulley fins have been broken off. At that moment I knew there was no future in this job. So, I call Progressive, my towing company. The tow agent was very kind and acknowledged we had to take it to Tallahassee too the nearest “qualified repair facility.” Two problems, Vespa dealer is closed on Mondays and the towing company won't drop it if the place is closed. So we came up with a compromise. They would tow it to the hotel I had reserved Enterprise and the following day would start another tow and take it to Tallahassee. Progressive was very nice until they called me back and said that it would two hours before somebody could come pick me up. I offered the alternative, I'll get my own tow and send them the bill. I called Jacob's Towing in downtown Enterprise and they said their man would be there in 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the police called and took that wrecker away and their nearest next wrecker was an hour and a half away. That wasn't much better than Progressive. However, I highly praise Jacob's Towing, which is all over Alabama. I quickly got a call from the tow operator, Jason, to tell me where he was and that he was in traffic getting delayed but he would be there as quickly as possible in about a little over an hour and that he was driving a big yellow truck. When he arrived, the scooter was quickly loaded, he was very knowledgeable and everything that he was doing extremely professional.  The truck was clean and neat inside and out. He was a smoker but there was no smoking allowed in the truck. And short-order we were unloading at the Candlewood Suites in Enterprise. I attempted to give him a gratuity which he turned down and said he never took gratuities from customers as they had a bad day already and he was well compensated.
I cleaned up and changed out of a sweaty nasty greasy stuff and headed for the Santa Fe Grill to drink some tequila. Had two greatly made tequila drinks, not Marquita’s but something refreshing just for me by the bartender and some food, back home and to bed.
Rested up the next morning, I packed my gear and call Progressive. Not as nice a connection as it was yesterday, a lot of stupid questions, etc.  but we finally worked through it and she had a tow company selected. Well, first the tow company was coming with two people and had no room in the truck to take me to Tallahassee and I told him that wouldn't work. Progressive worked that out with him and hours later a tow truck showed up that had no tie downs points other than in the front and the rear of the truck and that would never work on the scooter. So, they went away and back to their plan B that they had worked out with Progressive come with a pickup truck and a small trailer and tow it to Tallahassee. In fact, when the big tow truck got there the driver told me his dad was at Tractor Supply buying a trailer as we were talking.After over five hours of hearing “we will be there in thirty minutes” more times than I can count, I called off the whole deal. My plan B was put into effect. Get a rental truck and take Fred home. I had spent most of the morning in the lobby as I was tired of hotel rooms. Lucy and Tequila (yes that is her true name) were kind, sympathetic, and funny all morning. I asked Lucy about getting to Dothan to get the truck. She called the taxi company, had a heart attack over the price, and then called a retire army friend of hers.Cecil was a great guy. We talked about a lot of things buy mainly about the PTSD meetings he goes to once a month.  I was not a believer in PTSD in years past but met a PTSD councilor from the NY Fire Dept a few years ago and changed my outlook on PTSD.  Especially when, by just asking me questions, proved that I had had PTSD after Vietnam.  He explained the difference between me and others is that I worked my way through it.  Others were unable too. Cecil not only drove me to Dothan, he went to Walmart and picked up tie downs, and helped me load Fred on the truck.

Loaded  up, we headed south. We spent the night at the Hampton Inn in Perry as we often do. I missed the happy hour but the front desk clerk went and got me a couple of glasses of wine anyway.I did not regret that last day driving home in the air conditioning. It was hot, rainy, and humid outside of the cab of the Budget truck. So when I rolled up to 16th Ave., I was still refreshed.


 





The world is full of great people

This was another great experience with people. I try and try to show that the world is great, but people still want to go to fearing the world.  From Larry, who stopped on the side of the road to see if I needed help and gave me a much needed cold beer, to the staff at the Candlewoods Suites, to the bartender at the Santa Fe Grill, to Dave who sat with me on the side of the road for a long time, to Jason who refused to take a tip for the tow and Cecil who shared his life story with me.





. It was a fantastic trip. Right I say I don’t need to do another one…….but there is always next year.