Don’t Pay the Ferryman…(until you get to the other side)

We woke up and headed to the Cleveland airport before the sun was even thinking of coming up. I hate early mornings.

We got on our plane and headed to Philadelphia to get the bike. After landing, we caught an Uber back to Barb’s Harley-Davidson, where the bike had been stored. We had to pick up the bike and get on the road.

We stopped at a little diner to eat breakfast before heading to Atlantic City. It was a short trip. I had never been there so I wanted to spend a little time looking around and doing some gambling. I miss being able to jump over to Vegas for a weekend. We went to Ceasar’s Palace, walked around a bit and then settled in at the Pai Gow tables at Bally’s next door. If you have never played Pai Gow before, you should try it. It is super fun and easy to learn. The first day we ever played, Kirk was dealt 5 aces and we were hooked. Anyway, we stayed there for a few hours, made some friends at the table and ended up winning about 300 dollars..so ..yay us!

When we were done, we headed down the coast to Cape May to catch the Cape May-Lewes Ferry to Delaware. It was a new experience, our first time taking the bike on a ferry. We parked in a line with some other motorcycles and then went to the terminal to grab a bite to eat before boarding the ferry.

Once on, it was very nice and relaxing. We grabbed a drink at the bar and watched as we made our way across the Delaware Bay.

Once we made it to the other side, we headed to Kirk’s cousin’s house in nearby Gumboro to rest up for the next day in Ocean City.

YOSEMITE!

People often ask me where my favorite place to ride has been. My answer is pretty easy. Yosemite…at least so far….

A few summers ago, during a two week 2500 mile ride through central California, we spent two days riding through Yosemite. It was the most beautiful ride. I honestly don’t think I would ever want to drive through there in a car, unless it was a convertible. There is so much to see that would be obstructed by a car.

The first day we drove up CA – 120 and traveled across Yosemite to Lee Vining, CA. We spent the night in a cute little inn called Lake View Lodge across from Mono Lake. It was clean and comfortable and quite relaxing. It wasn’t fancy, but a nice big room with a nice garden outside to sit and relax. We stayed in a hotel room. They also have cabins and cottages.

The next day we backtracked some on 120 and then went down into the Valley. I am going to just post the beautiful pictures so you can enjoy. I highly encourage you to go if you get a chance. It is absolutely amazing.

Before we headed out for the night, we stopped to see the Giant Sequoia Trees. Pretty Awesome.

Then we headed out to the town of Oakhurst and spent the night at the Best Western Plus Gateway Inn. It was a very interesting hotel. The layout was unusual as it sits on the side of a mountain. It has an indoor and an outdoor pool, and a very nice and secluded hot tub. I highly recommend it if you go.

We would like to go back again when we are on that side of the country and this time stay inside the Park. They have cabins and a nice hotel. Maybe we can get a group together to go sometime, but for now, we are headed to Maryland to join in the festivities in Ocean City, for OC Bikefest. Look for the new post soon!

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines…

Sunday morning we actually woke up early. No, really we did. Kirk was excited because he got some scrapple for breakfast (I think that’s why he got up and moving so early). After breakfast we all got on the bikes and headed off to Skippack, PA for the 2016 Rock and Roll Charity Ride (It benefits children with Autism and children with Spina Bifida). We had to check in by 8:30, and believe it or not, we made it. After some coffee and donuts, a raffle or two and some instructions, we were off.

The ride began in Skippack, went 92 miles and ended at Pocono Raceway. It was a beautiful but long ride.

Once we arrived at the raceway, we were fed a big lunch in the infield.

After lunch we were led onto the raceway in smaller groups and allowed to ride 3 laps around the racetrack (as fast as we wanted). It was really a thrilling experience (and a little scary).

When it was all over we headed home, exhausted.

Monday came, we slept in, relaxed and packed up to leave. We had such a fun time with Tom and Gisele, and are grateful that they opened up their home to us….

…so here is a shameless family business plug…. If you are ever in the Pennsylvania area and are looking to buy a home be sure and look up Tom McCabe.

We loaded up and headed to Philadelphia.

We dropped the bike off at Barb’s Harley Davidson to store it while we went back to Ohio for Kirk to work for the next few weeks. We had to be there to drop it off by 4pm and our flight wasn’t until 9:30 so we had some time to kill. We took an Uber to Moshulu to have some dinner and drinks. It was very relaxing and the food was good.

We made it to the airport on time, only to have to run around trying to find a ticket agent. We followed the signs to American Airlines, went into the terminal and there was no one working. We found someone, and asked where we check in for our flight. They told us to take the employee shuttle to Terminal F and then there would be someone there. So we loaded onto the shuttle bus with all of the employees and finally made it to check in. On the bright side….we did see Hillary and Donald at the airport…haha.

Turns out the flight was delayed about an hour so we didn’t make it back to Ohio and to our hotel until around midnight. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but we could check another great adventure off our list (and state…we had to cross into New Jersey to drop the bike off at Barb’s)

Peace Out!

Back On The Bike!!!

Finally! After getting the car delivered and getting my daughter settled, I flew back to Ohio to rest for a few days.

We got the bike from the shop on Thursday night and it was ready to go. We left Sandusky, Ohio on Friday and headed to my cousin’s house in Pennsylvania for the holiday weekend. We wanted to make it an easy slow ride, so we spent Friday night in Carlisle, PA just outside of Harrisburg. We got up Saturday morning and hit the road. We were only about 100 miles from East Greenville, where my cousin, Gisele, and her husband, Tom, live. The ride was beautiful and relaxing.

We made it to their house and then we all headed out for a late afternoon ride.

We followed their lead (since this is their town) and ended up at the Riverwalck Saloon in Parryville, Pa.(no, its not misspelled, they added a c for some reason) What a neat place. It was right along a river. The patio area was large and inviting. The inside was uniquely decorated with a mix of chandeliers, motorcycles and dollar bills. I added my own to mix, of course.

After a relaxing dinner, we rode back to the house to rest up for Sunday’s charity ride. Can’t wait!

AZ to NC

After getting my son settled in his dorm, I loaded up my car to head to North Carolina. Why you ask?

Short version…..deep breath and go….daughter, broken car, too expensive to fix…me, car sitting in friends garage not being used, take unused car to daughter in Charlotte……

So I loaded up my car for a 6 day road trip..it was me, my other daughter, Kiera, and my 3 year old grandson. We loaded up my two large suitcases, my daughter’s larger suitcase, my grandson’s suitcase, car seat, toys, stuffed animals, blanket, snacks, etc. in the car…in the tiny car…. and let’s not forget the ukulele. We called it our clown car.

First stop, Fredericksburg Texas. I know it is out of the way but I wanted to surprise my mom. She hasn’t seen her great grandson in a while. We spent an extra day there relaxing and playing with her new puppy.

When we left Texas we were planning on driving through new Orleans, but the flooding at the time made us change course. We headed up north to Monroe, LA. We encountered some serious rain on the way and had to almost stop because of visibility but I can say this. I was very thankful to be in a car and not on the motorcycle. We made it to Monroe and stopped for the night right next to the Duck Commander place from Duck Dynasty. We ate dinner at Willie’s restaurant. It was cool. We did have duck, which usually I’m not a fan of, but this was a duck nugget. It was a piece of jalapeno, covered in cream cheese, wrapped in duck, wrapped in bacon, cooked and covered in a honey sauce. So no real duck taste left, I’d say….haha!

The next morning we had to stop by the main Duck Commander place and take some pictures, then we were back on the road.

The rest of the trip to Charlotte was uneventful.

My daughter in Charlotte, Ariel, was excited to see her nephew, but was also glad I was there because she was moving into a new apartment and had asked me to come help her move…and by move she meant bring money to buy stuff for the apartment…

My husband flew in and met us in Charlotte on Friday and we spent the weekend having fun as a family. We even went to the aquarium.

By Tuesday, everyone had flown back to their prospective places except for me. I was still there helping Ariel “move”…

Before I left Charlotte to fly back to Ohio, I got a phone call from my son (yes, the one that I just left in college) he apparently had been in a car accident. He was fine, but his car was totaled…..

Sooo, now…sometime in the next month… I have to fix my daughter’s car and drive it back to Arizona (because there is no way I am letting an 18 year old freshman in college who just totaled a car drive mine, no matter how much he asks)…..

It never ends does it? I will be happy when the bike is fixed and we are back on the road.