5/25/10-5/26/10 Tampa

Late start this morning. I don't wake up until 7am ,,and it is 8am before I am on the road. I check my mileage and figure I can make it to Perry Fl. with a little bit of a cushion on fuel. An hour into the ride I see something I cannot pass up. St. Marks wildlife refuge, and St. Marks lighthouse. I make the turn off of rt.98 the sign says 11 miles to lighthouse, hmm,,that's an extra 22 mile's I had not planned on. I pull off to the side of the road a figure up my mileage again, damn it will be close. I will pull into Perry on fumes but I think I can make it, its a gamble but one I have to take. The speed limit is 35mph through the wildlife refuge , I figure the slow speed will help me save enough fuel to make it. When I reach the lighthouse I grab my camera, explore and take some pics. ON the way to Perry my low fuel light was on for a long ,,long way. I knew it would be close,,,I have a 4.8 gallon tank and it took 4.5 gallons to fill up. From Perry I decide to stay on route 98, I ride another two hours and stop for fuel again in Inglis Fl. I had an interesting conversation here with a man named Chuck Pickett. I wish I would have thought to get a picture of him and his bike,,or at least traded contact info with him. I thought I rode a lot until I met Chuck, he has a Goldwing with over 400,000 miles on it. He has rode in the Iron Butt rally 5 time's and has been to Prudhoe Bay Alaska twice,,yes he showed me pictures to prove it. We sat and talked for about 30 minutes or so, this guy is the real deal,,a true long rider.

I leave Inglis and head for Tampa, arrive late afternoon and spent that evening and the next day catching up with an old friend. I first met Ken in 1987, I moved to Columbus Ohio and went to work at the same company as him. We hit it off right away and became best of friends, and we still are. I had not seen him in 13 years, but we stay in touch weekly by phone. Tuesday evening we sit and talk about old times and have a few beers. Wednesday I get the grand tour of Tampa. A stop at Brocatos for lunch. I am told they have been there since 1948,,a must stop if you get to Tampa.

That evening I pack my gear so I will be ready to roll early Thursday morning. Ken walks in and says, hey man, I wont see you in the am:, will be asleep so be careful ,,, "will do, was good seeing you again bro..lets make sure its not another 13yrs before we see each other again" we decide to try to meet once a year in Atlanta, his brother lives there and it is about the halfway point. I wake Thursday morning excited to be on the road again, yet I hate to leave my friend and his Family,,they are great people and they made me feel welcome.

5/24/10 down to the Gulf

wake up, shower up,,,load up,,,and head to Cracker barrel. What a great way to start the day, we do not have one in Chillicothe . Dad and I say our goodbyes and it's time to head south. Route 231 south, 60 miles go by and my low fuel light comes on. I pull into a little gas station in Rockford Al. ,,top off and take a short break from the heat,,96 degrees sunny and HOT!!!!. South to Montgomery, I pick up route 321 , a quick stop in Luverne for fuel and its back on the road. A couple of hours later, I am here!! Fort Walton beach Florida!!! 260 miles so far, a quick stop to top off and its on to route 98 . The scenery does not get good until I am east of Panama city , then it opens up and I can see the coast,,several stops for pictures and a stop in Apalachicola ,,again to top off and take a break. It's getting late, I am tired,,and have a bad sun burn, another 40 mile I roll into Panacea Fl. Panacea is a small town, 1 hotel that is still open, a small restaurant and a liquor store, and a very small grocery store. The hotel is very old and run down, but the next town is to far to go,,after 450 miles on the clock for today,,I am done. I get a room, unpack the bike and go to the restaurant for dinner before calling it a night.

5/23/10 on to Alabama

7:30am, the VTX is loaded and I am ready to roll.. The temperature is 56 degrees, and the fog is so thick visibility is about a 1/4 of a mile. Travel is slow as I head south on rt.11 but it is a nice ride. Three hours of riding and I pull into Fort Payne Alabama, by now the fog has lifted and the temp is climbing. 86 degrees,,a 30 degree swing in 3 hours. A short stop to change to some more summer friendly gear , off with the full face helmet and grab the shorty,,take off the tour master and grab a lighter jacket and I am ready to go. A short ride down the road I decide to alter my route, down to Gadsden, then 431 to Anniston. There I pick up Route 78, Rolling along I cross a steel truss bridge over the Coosa river. With breakfast wearing thin I decide to stop here for lunch, I pull onto a side road by the bridge and park the bike. I open the cooler, time to fix a couple of Ham and cheese sandwiches , grab the chips and a diet Pepsi and set under a tree to watch the boats on the Coosa river. A young couple fish off the bank about 30 yards to my left, I walk over " having any luck?" ,,na, aint nuthin biten round here today, jus to dang hot,,,amen to that. We chat for a couple of minutes and I figure it's time to roll, "well good luck, catch a big one" ,,hey we'll try, and you be safe on your trip.

2pm I pull into the parking lot of the hotel in Leeds Alabama, there is Dad,,waiting on me. He has already been by the museum, and they are open. The plan was to go there tomorrow morning, but going today will put me ahead and that will help on the trip. Bikes bikes and more bikes, of all of the museum's I have been to this one has more to see than any of the other's. They also have a track, and that weekend there was a vintage car race going on,,so we had double the treat. We wonder around the museum for a few hours, and watch some of the cars on the track. A quick walk through the gift shop and it's back to the hotel, time to clean up for dinner. We found a nice steak house down the road, wish I would have written the name of the place down,but it was a good meal and a great end to the day. Dad and I do not get to see much of each other, me in Ohio and him in Tennessee, but this has been a good day and I enjoyed seeing him. Back at the hotel we chat for a bit, but are both tired so it's an early night.

5/22/10 southern swing

Saturday May 22, vacation time. I have breakfast with some friends and set out. The plan is to ride to Leeds Alabama, then to Florida to ride the Gulf coast and on down to Tampa. The first Day I ride to Tennessee. On the way I explore a few back roads in Kentucky, the only one worth mentioning is 25w. I arrive in Lenoir city around 5pm,,get a room and go to the grocery store. Tomorrow I will ride to Alabama where I will meet up with my father. When I told him I was going to The Barber Motorsports museum he said he would like to go there also. So a plan was formed, as an early fathers day gift I will take him to the museum and out for dinner.

5/16/10 The Blessing of the bikes

It was a cool overcast day, but the rain held off. Here are some pictures from The Blessing of the Bikes in Dayton Ohio , May 16 2010. I was told last year 4000 bikes showed up, the weather may have kept the turnout a little below that this year,,but not much below. There must have been 12 priest who would sprinkle holy water on you and your bike to bestow the blessing . I am not Catholic, but was grateful for the Blessing.