CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

 

Friday’s Miles: 0.0  Total Miles: 2,694.5

 

I purposely got up early on Friday morning so that I could give Lisa her wake-up call.  I assumed that she needed to get up at 6:30 so I made sure that I was ready AT 6:30 to do my duty of love.  Come to find out….and I found out BEFORE 6:31….she was expecting a call at 7:00.  Oh well, according to Vince Lombardi “if you are 15 minutes early you are already 15 minutes late” so I did her a service.

After have NO hotel breakfasts in Michigan followed by an awful hotel breakfast in London, KY I was very pleased with the Commerce, GA hotel’s breakfast offering.  Not only was the breakfast fresh, hot, and tasty they actually served it for you.  If you think about it, the concept makes total sense.  There is already a dining room attendant there that keeps the serving area stocked and cleaned.  This way they would do the main food serving and that eliminates a lot of the mess they would normally be cleaning up.  So it was a very enjoyable morning.

I then packed up my bike bag and got it ready to put onto the bike.  My plan was to have the bike completely ready to go so that tomorrow morning all I would have to do is throw the remaining items into the backpack, jump on the bike, and head home.

My cousin, Judy, sent me a text saying that she would be at the hotel to pick me up around 9ish and would text when she got there.  I had everything ready and at 8:45 I headed down to the bike and loaded it up.  While I was busy strapping on the bag a fellow walked up and asked where I was from/heading.

I wound up talking to Robert for the next 15 minutes.  He was a 16 wheeler instructor.  Actually, he was an instructor’s instructor.  His company had classes all over the country and he traveled around instructing instructors and helping with classes.  He talked about wanting to do some cross country riding.  He lives outside Orlando, FL and does rides around Florida but has never done a “real” road trip.  We talked about the “if only” and “as soon as” excuses and how they keep so many people from following their dreams.  Before we were done he was vowing to me that he would be taking a trip soon.

As Robert and I were talking Judy pulled up.  I knew she was coming because I got a text saying “OK, I see a Travel Lodge” followed by a text saying “OK, I see a Fairfax” followed by a text saying “OK, I see a Holiday Inn Express”.  I told Robert that for some reason she was giving me a play by play of her drive there.  Come to find out her definition of “behind the Sonic” and my definition of “behind the Sonic” were different so she went up the cross street.  A few seconds later she pulled in.  I introduced her to Robert, he wished me a safe ride, and I crawled into Judy’s car.

We went directly to a Krispy Kreme and piled up with nourishment to take home and to keep us going for most of the day.  Judy is always thinking of other people and while she bought us a dozen and a half of assorted donuts she also got a half dozen for an elderly neighbor who never gets out.

We got to Judy’s farm and was greeted by her husband, David.  They have a chicken farm in Northern Georgia and it is quite interesting.  Heck, they could do a whole blog just on one load (not sure what the official name is) of chickens.  That being said, I will NOT even try to attempt to tell you what it is like.  The outline is that they care for the “houses”, get THOUSANDS of chicks, raise them for a few weeks, and the chickens are picked up.  Some time after that we are frying, broiling, or grilling their efforts OR we are going to Popeye’s, KFC, or Chick Fil A.

What a wonderful day.  We talked family……gossip, history, future, and more……, solved all the problems of the country, reviewed and predicted weather for centuries past and future, the pleasures of retirement, the down side of retirement (there is none), food, drink, jokes (both funny and not), and all else that we could squeeze into a 13 hour visit.

Later in the day Judy ran out and got us subs for dinner and one of their daughters, Sherry, came by.  If you are a follower of my blogs you might recall one from 2020 of me riding the coastline of Florida.  Sherry was my riding partner for that journey.  Finally, sometime after 10:00 Sherry took me back to the hotel on her way home.  It was a most enjoyable day.

Back in the room I figured that it was too late to call Lisa so I sent her a text so she would see it in the morning.  Two seconds later (give or take a half second) my phone rang.  It was short and sweet but we did get to say goodnight and that in less than 24 hours I would be home.

 

Saturday’s Miles: 455.6  Total Miles: 3,150.1

 

 

Not only was this a travel day but it was the last day of the 18 day adventure.  I have been on many trips, both business and pleasure, and some of them were long BUT none of them were 18 days long.  I was ready to get home and if I was to believe Lisa, she was ready for me to get there.

I was up shortly before 5:00 AM and got myself ready.  By 5:30 I was walking out to the bike.  I had checked the radar and it appeared like I had clear weather for at least the first leg of the day.  The tropical system named Fred had slowed AND had moved a little bit to the west relieving me of any worry that he would have any impact on my ride.  It was still dark and it was pleasantly cool.  The Suzuki seemed to know that it was heading home and started up happily.  It makes me think of riding horses on the farms of my cousins on my mom’s side of things.  When you were riding away from the barn they were tame, docile, and pleasantly slow.  However, when you turned them around facing the barn…..HOLY CROW……….they would be off and running without care about low branches and doorways.  I will tell you up front that the ride to home on the motorcycle is not as traumatic as facing the horse toward the barn.

I stretched my riding time and did my first stop in Dublin, GA or in the neighborhood of 150 miles.  I filled up at a Pilot and right next door was a McDonald’s.  I decided to break my Twinkies/apple pie tradition and go healthy.  I got hot cakes and sausage from McDonalds.  I could feel the vitamins churning through my body.

I made the second leg a VERY long one.  In fact, it is the farthest I have ridden on any motorcycle tank of gas since before 2009.  I went almost 180 miles and rode all the way to Lake City, FL.  I gave Lisa a quick call and got ready to take off when I thought…..hmmmm, maybe I should look at the radar.  It was bright and sunny at the station in Lake City but radar showed a STORM maybe 20 miles away.  I had now traveled just about exactly 3,000 miles and I had only been spit on a couple times in Kentucky.  During the last 100 miles of my ride I rode into and out of the POURING rain 5 or 6 times.  Since I had checked the radar I had donned my rain jacket so life wasn’t terrible.  It wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible.  I have heard guys say that they didn’t mind riding in the rain….my thought about that is that if they would lie to me about that they would lie to me about anything.

After 3,150.1 miles I pulled into my garage.  The urge is to just leave everything on the bike to get at a later time (probably in a week or so) but I fought the urge and carried everything into the house.  I wasn’t fast enough because Lisa came out to the garage to see what was taking me so long.  We had a wonderful reunion…..being apart suck but with the proper greeting the 18 days were erased immediately.

REFLECTION:  What a wonderful trip.  Over the past 3 weeks I saw all three of my kids and all 12 of my grandkids.  I had such a wonderful time with them.  We didn’t do anything “special” but, at the same time, it was ALL special.  If there are tears in your eyes when you leave someone you know that it was a successful visit…..meaning that this was VERY successful.

I saw almost all the friends I could hope to see.  I am thankful to those that broke from their lives to come and see me.  Reeta and Ruth dropped everything to come to see me.  Kirk and his family welcomed me to his house.  Bob helped to gather a group of friends to the VFW.  Maria was the catalyst to having a group meet at the Pontiac Lake Inn.  I had a great breakfast with Ann and Helen.  Jim organized a group to meet at Buck Shots.  I am sorry that I didn’t get to spend a little more quality time with Steve/Pat and Becky.  I was so blessed to see both of my brothers from different mothers, Larry and Ed.  Seeing Judy, David, and Sherry was the proverbial cherry on top to make it all perfect.  I thank them and all the others that I came to spend some time with me that made the last 18 days some of the most wonderful of my life.  A heartfelt thank you to all of them.

And…..thanks to all of you readers.  I do hope that you have enjoyed the journey and I hope that I will have another journey to share with you soon.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GEORGIA ON MY MIND

 

Thursday’s miles:  369.8   Total Miles: 2,694.5

I have to tell you something funny about Wednesday night.  At least it was funny to me and I hope that I can get the funny across.  I was checked into my room by mid afternoon after going to Walgreen’s, eating at the Big Boy, and filling up my tank.  I did a shower, called Lisa, and did some typing.  Between 5:30 and 6:00 I was getting a little droopy eyed so I thought that I would stop for a little bit.  I grabbed my PM dose of vitamins and an Rx or two thrown in to keep my doctor in good spirits.  I FORGOT that I had also dropped an Excedrin PM in the mix.  Sometimes after a good ride I get a little wired and even though I am worn out I can’t get to sleep and a PM helps some.

I lay on the bed, grabbed my phone to look over some Social Media, and before I knew what had happened I was SOUND asleep.  Not only that but I didn’t wake up until 8:02.  The sun was shining in the window and I couldn’t believe it.  I can’t think of the last time that I slept an entire night without waking up for…..something.  Not only that, but I slept way past my usual pre-6:00 wake time.

I jumped from the bed to get ready.  I had planned on leaving by 7:30 and here it was after 8:00.  YIKES!!!  It was then that I realized……………..that it was 8:02 at night and I had only slept for 2 hours.  Ok, you are probably sitting there thinking “where is the funny part” but I have to tell you that I was laughing hysterically.

I proceeded to do a normal night’s sleep and was up before 6:00 to finish my blog post.  I got ready and headed down to the breakfast room.  After the few days in Michigan where they were not doing the “free” breakfast due to covid it was nice to see they had one here.  That was until I tasted it.  The eggs were cold, the sausage over cooked, the biscuits were stale, the gravy was cold, and the coffee was bitter.  This made the Waffle House look like fine dining.  I ate VERY little.

I went to the room and gathered my stuff, turned in my key, and headed out.  Radar looked clean all the way to my next destination.  I was looking at getting to Commerce, GA where my cousin lives.  I have had such a successful trip seeing kids, grandkids, friends, and brothers from different mothers……it only made sense to top it all off seeing my cousin/buddy/friend in Georgia along with her husband and daughter.  We go WAY backs and although she is two years older than I am we became, in my opinion, the best of friends.  While I was in the jungles of Vietnam she was one of my most faithful correspondents.  I pointed the bike toward Georgia and away we went.

The hills of Southern Kentucky and Northern Tennessee along I-75 were very foggy.  I found it very useful to get behind a truck and use it as my guide and my cruise control.  I hoped that he (or she) could see better than I could.  I’ll never know how good their sight was but we made it to Knoxville without a scratch.  I got my first fill-up a bit south of Knoxville.  Since I had a rather iffy breakfast at the hotel I showered myself in the luxury of a can of Starbucks coffee, Twinkies, an apple pie, and a banana.  Something tells me that it is a good thing that I have a couple months after this trip before I have to have my bloodwork done for my next doctor’s appointment.

My next stop was a bit north of Atlanta.  I wanted to time this fill-up to insure that I wouldn’t need another one before I reached Commerce, GA.  While I was sitting there filling out my journal a trucker came up and asked if that was my bike.  I told him it was……unless it pissed him off.  In that case it belonged to someone who just went in the store.  His name was Dave and we talked for a bit about his riding from Florida to Minnesota on occasion and that he was thinking of Northern Michigan as a place for retirement when he got done driving…..which he hoped was soon.  I told him that when it came to retirement, I recommend it highly and the sooner he could do it the more highly was my recommendation.

Then it was back on I-75 heading for Atlanta.  I was going to share with you the entire experience of getting from I-75 to I-285 to I-85…….however, I intend to keep this blog family friendly meaning that I cannot describe to you my experience honestly!!!  I have many experiences riding through Marietta and Atlanta.  My most memorable one was when I was riding through and a HUGE thunderstorm popped up.  I’m not talking about a bit of lightning and some thunder.  I am talking about the flashing and banging happening at the same instant and the rain falling so hard it was impossible to see.  I stopped under an overpass right by the I-75/I-285 interchange and was sitting on the metal guardrail with my feet sitting in ankle deep rushing water.  All of a sudden…..FLASH----BOOOOOOM and I was thrown off that guardrail.  I didn’t have any burns and nothing was smoking but you can bet your sweet bootie that I didn’t sit on that guardrail any longer.

I survived the traffic of I-75 to I-285 to I-85 but it was about a thousand degrees out there (give or take) and I lost about 100 pounds of water.  I kept all my pounds of Twinkies and apple pies…….but the water was gone.  I was signing the rate/check-in sheet at the hotel and dripped sweat all over it.  I will say this, however, the traffic on I-85 going into Atlanta (the opposite way I was going) was WAY worse than what I was going through.  I am afraid that had I been on that side of the expressway I would have had to tell you what it was like……family friendly or not.

I got in the room with the air conditioning and all of a sudden I was freezing….sheesh!  I cooled down and decided to walk to the Sonic next door for a couple chili dogs……….yum, I get goose bumps just thinking of it (or maybe that is the air conditioning on my sweaty shirt).  I walked over and……WHAT…..they were only doing drive thru.  Darn, will the disappointments ever end?  So, I walked next door to the Sonic to the Burger King and got me a Double Whopper meal.  Life was good again.

That was it for today.  It is almost 6:00 so if I hurry I can get to sleep and wake up in two hours and think it is tomorrow.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.

CHAPTER TWELVE: MY FACE HAS A SOUTHERN EXPOSURE

 Tuesday’s miles:  0.4   Total Miles: 1,868.1

 

If you are looking at the total miles for Tuesday you might think that it is a typo.  It is not.  Don’t get me wrong, I am sure that there are typos all over the place in my blogs.  For one thing, I NEVER reread them and correct anything.  Whatever my fingers do in the first place is what you will see.  I did actually only ride .4 of a mile on Tuesday.  I will go into detail later (I am guessing that “detail” will be about 2 sentences).

I woke up between 6:30 and 7:00 and I looked out the window.  There had apparently been a pretty good soaking rain sometime during the night.  I confess that I slept through whatever it was.  I will admit to you that at this point I was feeling mighty pooped.  There was an old Faygo commercial for their Uptown drink where the little guy in the bottle blowing factory was “too pooped to participate”.  That was a good description of me on Tuesday.  I was too pooped to participate.

I gave Lisa a call and keeping with the weather theme she brought up Tropical Storm Fred that was forming in the Atlantic or Caribbean.  After talking with her I gave it the once over and it “appears” like as long as I stick to my schedule of returning home on Saturday afternoon I should be ok……..”should be” are the key words here.

In 2004 I was doing a motorcycle weekend with my son.  He was stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, NC so I got us a room and we met roughly half way at St. George, SC.  We spent two or three days riding the area and having a great time.  He had to get back to base and I had a day left on the room.  There was a hurricane, Francis, that was hitting the east coast of Florida so I checked the radar and saw that it was way south of my house so I set out for home.  Long story-short…….Francis did NOT stay south of my house and I was in the middle of it before I could do anything about it.  The experience would be a blog post on its own.  Suffice to say that I recommend NOT riding a bike in a hurricane…..just sayin’.  For now, it looks like I am fine for coming into home on Saturday………BUT…..I am VERY willing to shift gears if that situation changes.

Since I was going to be back on the road the next day I elected to make Tuesday an OFF day.  I caught up on my blog writing, I watched some You Tube……I now know MANY ways to prank my neighbors with an Air Horn……, I packed my bags, and I pretended to be napping…….oh ok, I was REALLY napping but don’t tell anyone.

I walked across the parking lot to a Burger King and feasted on a Double Whopper, fries, and a lemonade (I wanted a Coke but I was THAT old guy that couldn’t get the electronic pop machine to do what I wanted).  Later, I carried my bag out to the bike and loaded it up.  Then I jumped on the old scooter and whipped across the parking lot to the gas station and filled up……and I whipped back.  Hence, .4 of a mile.

After such a rough afternoon of napping and watching old people having the crap scared out of them, I needed to find some suitable nutrition.  I got just what I needed in the form of Reese’s Cups and a Butterfinger from the vending machine in the lobby.

That, my friends, was my Tuesday.  I tucked myself in to get a good sleep before hitting the road in the morning.  Talk about that later.

 

Wednesday’s miles:  456.6   Total Miles: 2,324.7

 

Time for the southern ride to get serious.  I got out of bed at 4:00 AM with the intention to be on the road at 5:00.  That worked out perfectly.  There have been many a time when I got up early in Michigan to head for Florida and it would be colder than certain anatomy sections of a witch.  One year it was so cold that when I did my second gas stop in southern Ohio I was still shaking and shivering.  I would be riding along thinking “ok, I have gone ANOTHER mile south and the sun is ANOTHER minute higher……I SHOULD BE GETTING WARMER”.  For whatever reason, that didn’t help me feel any better.  That was not the case Wednesday morning.  It was warm.  I am from Florida and warm is good.

I also checked the radar and saw that there was a big glob of rain (that is an official meteorological term) in Ohio.  Although it was primarily to the east of where I would  be riding you just can’t trust Mother Nature.  So, I donned my rain jacket just in case.

I jumped on Michigan’s M-59 and headed west until I got to U.S. 23.  Traffic was light which is what I expected at 5:00 in the morning.  I shot south on U.S. 23 heading for Ohio.  Because of the heavy cloud cover it took a little longer for daylight to help guide my way.  I was well south of Toledo on I-75 before I would actually say it was light out.  Thankfully, I saw NO rain while it is dark.  I am not ever thrilled about riding in the rain but riding in the rain when it is dark really sucks.

The sky did spit at me a little just before I pulled in for gas at Beaver Dam, OH.  It spit a wee bit more while I was at that station and then once again about 10 minutes into my ride.  That was it for the day.

While stopped at Beaver Dam, which is just a little bit north of Lima, I gave radar a check.  The rain was “kind of” breaking up and the route in front of me was a little bit of a mixed bag so I elected to leave the rain jacket on.  After the spritzing I got after Beaver Dam the skies started to clear some and it quickly went from warm to hot.  When one is wearing a rain jacket and it gets hot then one will sweat.  And if one is an old guy like I am one will sweat a LOT.  So I pulled off kind of early for my next fill up.  I usually go 120 to 150 miles but this stop was at 100 miles at Franklin, OH.  I took off and stowed the rain jacket and gave Lisa the first call of the morning.  That gas stop was pretty much a Gas & Go stop and as soon as Lisa and I were done talking I was back on the road.

A guy on a bike had passed me a while back.  I couldn’t see his license plate good enough to tell where he was from.  He apparently also stopped for gas in that same period of time because just as I was getting into Cincinnati he passed me again.  I had hear about all the road work that was being done in Ohio and what a pain in the butt it was but the only road work on I-75 I encountered was in  Cincinnati.  The only traffic back-up was at the bridge over the Ohio River.  They had it all encased like they were painting it or something but it did put traffic at a stop & go pace for a little while.  But that was the only issue in the entire state of Ohio.

While in that traffic tie-up I was apparently in the correct lane because I moved forward faster than the other lane.  I passed the other biker and left him way back.  Once traveling at speed again I passed two biker groups (or, for you non-biker readers “gangs”).  Just north of Georgetown, KY that other lone biker again passed me.  I had already decided that the next big travel plaza I came to (Pilot, Love’s, Flying J, etc.) I would pull off.  A Pilot was at the stop at Georgetown so I pulled onto the ramp and there before me was the other biker.  Due to traffic he was able to pull into the station before me and I lost where he was going.  I pulled to a pump and filled up.  This was another Gas & Go because I had less than a mile to my destination and as I was pulling out I saw him off to the side, parked in the shade, and talking on the phone.  I wondered that if in the next 90 miles he would pass me again.  He did not and I am pretty sure that is the last I would see of him and the last you will read of him.

I pulled off in London, KY for my stop for the night.  I first stopped at the Walgreens to pick up a couple supplies I was running low on.  Then it was to a Frisch’s Big Boy.  Wow, I have now been to two Big Boys on this trip.  They are definitely getting hard to find.  After a sandwich, some chili, and a pink lemonade it was to the Comfort Suites right across the street.

After the disappointing rooms I had in Waterford it was nice to have a great room with everything working.  I called Lisa and did some typing.  It is here that I will leave you again.  I still have a couple days of adventure left plus the possible outrunning of Tropical Storm Fred.  I’ll talk atcha later.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: IT IS ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE

 

Monday’s miles:  148.1   Total Miles: 1,867.7

When I first pulled into Monique’s driveway I had a couple hours to wait before she got home.  I went into the bag on the bike and I pulled out all the clothes that I would need over the weekend while visiting with my vast two generations of offspring.  I closed up the plastic Hefty Bag that I lined my bike luggage with and zipped up the bag.  My plan was to not have to touch that bag again until I reached the hotel in Waterford on Monday.  So far, all is working within that plan well.

Before turning off the light last night I prepared my backpack and what little I had left in the house.  I assumed that all I would need in the morning would be my basic morning toiletries and the clothes that I would be wearing.  My assumption was correct and within minutes of waking up I was completely set to leave.

Living up to my reputation, I was up before anyone else although Monique wasn’t far behind.  I sat in the dining room and chatted with her as she did her last minute pre-work rituals.  She was going to be my last farewell of my Northern Michigan leg of the trip.  Ivan and Nancy were sound asleep and I knew that they would slumber right through my departure.  Once again, I had a really, really hard time saying goodbye.  But we did it and I watched as she pulled away……..sigh!

I grabbed the last of my stuff and headed to the bike.  I had turned it around in the driveway when I pulled in last Thursday so it was already facing out…AND…it was already facing south.  From this point on I would, for the most part, be heading south.  Since I will be heading down hill for the next 1,500 miles or so I will assume that I should be getting a lot better gas mileage.

I did a last check of Radar and headed out.  I hit the mile or so of gravel road and the couple miles of pavement before coming to the I-75 ramp.  I-75 would be my home for the next 140 miles…..give or take.

The weather and traffic were fantastic.  There has been more than once when I have pulled out up in Northern Michigan to head south and it would be COOOOOLD.  It was not cold and it was not hot and if I had been Goldilocks I would have told you that it was just right.  Hmmm, I guess I did tell you it was just right.

I rode as far as Saginaw, MI and the Flying J there.  I filled up, called Lisa, and called my friend that I would be meeting later in the day after I got to my hotel.

Crossing the Saginaw River is a high rise bridge called the Zilwaukee Bridge because it is in the town of Zilwaukee, MI.  The bridge, which was replacing a very annoying drawbridge on I-75, was started in the late 1970s with hopes of being completed in less than 4 years.  When the bridge was about two thirds completed they found defects in the construction and all was halted for YEARS while they sorted out solutions and squabbled over lawsuits and counter-lawsuits between the state and the contractor.  That settled and a new contractor in place they finally finished the bridge.  It opened for traffic late in 1987.  I know that it has passed all of its inspections and it is deemed safe but whenever I cross it……WAY UP HIGH….I can’t help thinking about the 3 or 4 years it sat UNTOUCHED because it was unsafe.  In case you are wondering….I made it safely across.

When I got to Waterford I stopped by the Waterford Cemetery where some people dear to me are buried.  I took pictures of their sites and sent them to relatives.  I know that it is hard for people, especially those that are out of town, to ever get to those gravesites so I try to help when I can.  They also have a nice Veteran’s Memorial there that is pleasant to stop at.

All that being done I whipped to the hotel.  I was about an hour and a half early for check-in time but I gave the gal my best pouty face while trying to force a tear.  Even though the tear probably was confused as drool I guess I was pitiful enough and I got the room early.  And, I might add, just in time.  As I walked into the hotel with my luggage lightning flashed, thunder roared, and rain came down in sheets.

I cleaned up, sorted my belongings so that I could easily pack before the BIG ride south, and got myself ready for dinner.  I peeked outside and the rain was gone.  Heck, there was even a hint of sunshine.  I checked the radar and I was good to go.

Just before 4:00 I headed out closer to Pontiac and to Kennedy’s Irish Pub.  My friends were there when I got there.

Ed and his wife, Diane, and their son, Eric, were all at a table waiting.  So good to see them.  Ed and I separated from the Army roughly at the same time and we started back working with GM from our military leaves on the same day.  We were sent to the same department and were given to the same foreman.  We became lifelong friends from that point on.  In the first couple of years we shared some great adventures.  As of this writing, Ed and Diane are about 10 months from their 50^th Wedding Anniversary.  I was privileged enough to be in that wedding and I vowed to Ed that I would do my best to make the ceremony and reception a night to remember.  I don’t have time to go into it but I would venture to say that I was very successful in my endeavor.  We have relived and retold the story of that night many, many, many times…………….AND they were still able to make it 50 years.  Well, only 49 years and 2 months so far but I have faith that they can put up with each other a little longer.

After a great dinner and conversation I headed back to the hotel.  I gave Lisa a “good night” call, did some email reading, Social Media checking, and I hit the sack.  Tomorrow is packing day.  Hope you will join me.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.

CHAPTER TEN: THE MITTEN TRIPPIN’ CONTINUES

 

Saturday’s Miles: 0.0  Total Miles: 1619.6

I rose today before everyone else…..no surprise there.  I did a fast shower and got ready.  My grandson, Ivan, was asleep in his bedroom.  I took over Nancy’s, my granddaughter, bedroom and she slept on the foldout couch in the living room.  Their cousin and another granddaughter, Sunny, also spent the night sleeping in the living room.

As Monique and the kids slowly started coming to life I was typing and trying to catch up on my journals.  Maybe I should hire a ghost writer and a secretary to go on rides with me.  That would leave me some extra time to focus on important issues like…what to eat for breakfast.

In this case it was some local bacon, local blueberries, local cinnamon rolls, and not so local orange juice (there are not many orange groves in Northern Michigan for some reason).  We downed everything and did a quick surface cleaning.  We packed up the car and off we went.

Our first stop was in Harbor Springs which is a bit farther north and west from Monique’s.  It is a quaint little town that is on the north side of the Little Traverse Bay which is a leg off of Lake Michigan.  We met up with my other two kids, Kristen and Josh, along with Josh’s wife, Jen, and the remainder of the grandkids.

We met at the Lyric Theater in Harbor Springs.  It is a really well kept, old, movie house where they show older family movies for…….get this……25 cents a person.  I don’t know if that is always the case but it was today.  So for about four bucks we all got in.  Of course, popcorn and candy was a must so that amount of four bucks grew pretty significantly.

We saw Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which was the 2017 version starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Kevin Hart.  I was surprised that virtually none of the group had seen it before.  They all loved it and as we were leaving I was talking about the sequel, Jumanji: the Next Level, and how good it was.  Immediately plans were being made to rent the movie and watch it tomorrow.  You will have to stay tuned to see if that happens or not.

The 13 of us piled into 4 cars.  The adults (I was not included in their number) decided to go to the bowling alley restaurant.  They called ahead to tell them that there were 13 of us and could we come there to eat.  We were told that it wouldn’t be a problem so we paraded our cars through town to the Northern Lights Recreation Pub and Bowling.

Our poor waitress, who only had two other customers, freaked out when she saw us saying that no one told HER that we were coming.  We told her not to panic and that we were not in a rush.  That didn’t help…..she still panicked.  However, she got all of our orders perfect and did a greats job.  I’m not sure how it happened but I wound up at the Kid’s Table.  Then again, I think that it was more fun at the Kid’s Table as they showed me how to make hats and boats out of the place mats.

We piled back into the 4 cars and headed even FARTHER north to a beachy area nearly at the top of The Mitten. This was at Sturgeon Bay Beach which is another inlet off of Lake Michigan.

The day that started off kind of cloudy and gloomy was now sunny and warm.  Lake Michigan’s waters were calm and for some reason there were only a few beach goers.  The kids and adults alike hit the water and had a great time………I would like to clarify that the list of adults swimming in Lake Michigan did NOT include me.  I am used to 80 plus degree water along Daytona Beach and NOT stupid cold water like Lake Michigan.  I did, however, give in and let them take pictures of me “ankle deep” in the water.  I was able to chip the ice away later as the St. Bernards were refreshing me with their offerings.  When not swimming the kids were digging a hole.  I am not totally sure of the purpose of the hole but it was deep.  I told them that if they happened to break through to order me some egg foo young and egg rolls.

As dusk was rolling in we packed up and all headed out.  Ivan is my next grandchild in line for a driver’s license was allowed to drive us back under the supervision of his mom.  The fact that I am writing this is proof that all went well.

We stopped at the store and got some DiGiorno pizzas to munch on after we got home.  To say the least, it was a very full, exhausting, and absolutely wonderful day.  However, it WAS the end of the day and by 10:30 or so we all made it to our various places of slumber and Day 11 was now in the history books.

 

Sunday’s Miles: 0.0  Total Miles: 1619.6

 

Today was one of those rare days when everyone in the house……ok, there are only 4 of us……were allowed to wake up naturally.  After we were all up and walking around we did still have to put a little flame under the kids to keep them on track.  The “plan” for today was to get to Josh’s house around 10:30 or 11:00 where Josh and his wife, Jen, would be preparing a pancake breakfast.

That part of the plan seemed to go really well.  I am always a sucker for anything cinnamon and Jen made a healthy batch of cinnamon swirl pancakes with a bowl of cinnamon sugar spread to cover them with…….hmmm, I suppose that using the word “healthy” might not have been the most accurate.  All was delicious.

The rain that started the day had long since moved out and the sun was shining.  Since there were some able bodies around there was some moving, removing, and shifting of furniture between rooms, floors, and inside/outside.   Making sure that you have the complete and accurate picture of the event you can note that I did not include myself in those able body lists.  There are some definite advantages to being the OLD guy on the premises.  I did carry some of the couch cushions up the stairs but I insured myself that I took plenty of breaks and drank lots of fluids.  The kids helped by……..by not helping.  That is something that carries on from generation to generation.  I can remember me and my siblings helping my dad the best by staying totally out of his way.  And if we forgot that process he was quick to remind us.

A couple of games were pulled out.  One was “How Well Do You Know Me” where each person in turn would read a question about themselves such as, “what was my  favorite toy” or “who is my celebrity crush” and all the other players would try to guess the answer.

The other game was called “Things”.  In that game everyone took turns being the “reader” and they would read a card that would say something like “a thing that you wish you could buy from a vending machine”.  All the players would write down an answer and then everyone tries to guess who wrote what.  Lots of fun, lots of laughs, and lots of trying to come up with the weirdest answers.

The grill was fired up and there were plenty of hot dogs and burgers for everyone.  Everyone got their fill and were happy as Punch.  Monique and Kris then loaded up most of the kids and took them to a creek for a small (about a mile or so) hike to burn off a little bit of the cinnamon, burgers, and dogs.  I preferred to hang onto my cinnamon, burgers, and dogs so I bowed out choosing instead to stay at the house and give Lisa a call.

The group got home telling stories of seeing owls and splashing in the creek.  They rewarded themselves with some ice cream before we all settled down to watched the promised Jumanji: The Next Level.

After the movie came the hard part.  I had to start saying goodbye to kids and grandkids.  Since I would be leaving in the morning and I was staying at Monique’s house I needed to say goodbye to a lot of bodies.  I’ve had to do this so many times over the years and it has NOT gotten any easier.  In fact, it has gotten harder because there are so many more of them.

At Monique’s house she got her stuff ready because she would be going back to work in the morning.  At the same time I did my “preliminary” packing and loading of the bike.  I bid her good night because I knew that I would see her in the morning.  Then it was off to bed for my last night in Northern Michigan on this trip.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.

 

CHAPTER NINE: TRIPPIN’ IN THE MITTEN

 Thursday’s Miles: 117.5  Total Miles: 1619.6

 

As I rolled out of bed on Thursday I knew that I had another “reunion” to prepare myself for.  I was to meet another OLD classmate a few miles further north into the mitten shaped Michigan.  I was to meet them in Grayling, MI which was about 70 or 80 miles north of Clare.  They lived several miles east of Grayling so it seemed to me to be a great place to meet up.  When I asked where the reply I got was “you choose”.  Hmmmm, I really know nothing about Grayling.  So I pulled my tech savvy self to the desk and I Google Mapped Grayling looking for a good place to eat.

At this point you have to understand that Grayling is a little town but, at the same time, it is busy.  In the winter there is skiing, snow machine riding, hunting, etc.  In the warm months there is tubing/kayaking/canoeing on the AuSable River, there is the Army Reserve Camp, Camp Graying, where reservists from all over the state come for their annual training exercises, there is hiking, camping, mosquito swatting, and other normal summer activities for the northern half of The Mitten.  Due to that, there are numerous little restaurants all jockeying for the tourist dollar.  I decided that my tourist dollar should go to the Paddle Hard Brewers.  Why?  I have no idea but that is the one I picked…..they had nice pictures in the Yelp site.  Don and Dawn agreed and we planned for noon.

Since I was only going the 70 or 80 miles I wasn’t in much of a hurry.  Even going slow I found myself on the bike by 10:00.  I jumped on U.S. 10 to U.S. 127 which even though U.S. highways were limited access expressways.  127 merges into I-75 and shortly after that is the exit for Graying.

After a couple of missteps and wrong turns I found the restaurant and got parked.  I went inside and secured us a table.  Shortly afterward, Don and Dawn pulled in on their 1985 Goldwing……a sweet ride to say the least.  Dawn was a Classmate of mine at Waterford Township High School but I had not seen her since our 1966 graduation.  In fact, it has been only relatively recent that we made contact on Social Media.

She introduced me to Don and we proceeded to lay out the last 55 years in only an hour.  We were reasonably successful.  We said our goodbyes and off they went and I headed back out to I-75 to finish up the ride to see kids and grandkids.

I got to Wolverine, MI about 3:00 and made a quick stop for gas and some refreshment before heading out to my middle daughter’s house.  She had just purchased and moved into this house in the last few months and I had never seen it, let alone been to it.  I had seen pictures of it and I knew roughly where it was so this should be no problem……right?

I was riding along and it was pleasant in the country when I say a big, yellow sign saying “Pavement Ends”.  Well, I was pretty sure that her house was not on a dirt road so I turned around knowing that it couldn’t be very far back.  I came to a house that MIGHT be hers but, then again, it is NOT like how I remembered the pictures.  Oh well, pictures can be deceiving so I pulled up the driveway.  There were a couple of little tool sheds at the end of the driveway and it didn’t look like stuff she owns.  Just then I got a text from her saying that she should be home before 6:00.  So I snapped a picture of the house and said “is this yours”.  I quickly got a reply saying “nope”.  I followed up by asking if she was beyond the end of the pavement.  She wrote back saying that she was about a mile past the end of the pavement.  Yikes!  I’m glad no one came out of that house with a shotgun or something.

Out I went and all was well.  I quickly recognized the house when I saw it and I pulled in.  With all the FUBARs I killed some time so I only waited about an hour and a half for her to get home.  That was just enough time to  do a little catnap and save Annette from raiding Apaches.

We ran out to a restaurant for supper called the Thirsty Sturgeon.  We ate and talked and laughed but we were both ready to go back to the house and hit the beds……and that is exactly what we did.

 

Friday’s Miles: 0.0  Total Miles: 1619.6

 

Originally, the plan was for me to get up at the same time as my daughter, Monique, and leave with her when she left for work.  She would then drop me off at my son’s house where I would lay my head for the next couple of days.  Out of the kindness and compassion in her heart she left me in bed.  She woke, got ready for work, and left the house at 7:30 without me stirring even a little bit.  I did not climb out of bed until nearly 9:00.  It is very rare for me to stay in bed that late.  Normally, when I wake up I get up.  I don’t like just lying there.

Even when I was a kid I would climb out of bed early in the morning.  There were many times that I would be out in the backyard before 7:00 playing baseball all by myself.  By the way, that is a great way to play baseball…..I always won.  Of course, I also always lost but you take the bitter with the sweet.  On Saturday mornings I was in front of the TV getting the EARLY Saturday morning cartoons.

I managed a shower and organized my stuff.  I gave Lisa a call and exchanged texts with both of my daughters assuring them that I was fine.  I also got a text from my eldest grandchild, David, asking if I wanted breakfast……silly question….and he said that he and his girlfriend would be there in about a half hour and we would get something to eat.  This was indeed a grand surprise.  He has a position out on Mackinac Island and I didn’t think that he would be able to get away.  By seeing him it would insure that I would see all 12 of my grandkids by the time that I returned home.

David and Haile arrived and we went to Indian River, MI and to Christopher’s Café for breakfast.  We had a great visit.  He has a great spirit of adventure and it is fun to listen to the stories that he will be able to continue to share for decades to come.  After filling my head with tales of youth at its best and filling my stomach with French toast he took me back to my daughter’s house where I had about an hour to wait before Monique returned back home.

So far, I have been VERY successful getting together with friends and family.  In fact, there was only one GOOD friend that appeared like I would not be able to see.  They lived north in the Mitten but above the “thumb” and I was not going to be able to get across to that area.  Lo and behold, I got a message from them that they would be in Pontiac on Monday and we could meet.  Halleluiah!  This would be a most rewarding trip.

I had turned ALL of my entertainment over to my three kids but I let them know that I would be very easily satisfied as long as the time was with them and the grands.  The first item on their agenda was a spaghetti gathering at Monique’s house and sitting around talking and enjoying.

Between 4:00 and 8:00 the house filled with sounds of family.  Those that were there…not in the order of their arrival or age or height or status or weight or wealth…..were Josh, Jen, Kris, Dylan, Zeke, Kiah, Nora, Sunny, Kayla, Addie, Ivan, Nancy, Lily, along with me and Monique.

We did serious damage to boxes of spaghetti and jars of Prego.  The evening wore on and the “crowd” started to go down as we solidified our plans for tomorrow.  Ivan, Nancy, and Sunny stayed with me and Monique…..although Monique and I went to bed while they stayed up playing cards.

It was a night that was loaded with fun and love and one that would make any grandpa feel mighty good.  Now it is time to get ready for a FULL day tomorrow.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.

CHAPTER EIGHT: BACK ON THE ROAD HEADING NORTH

 

Wednesday’s Miles: 120.9  Total Miles: 1502.9

 

This morning was to be a relatively easy morning.  It was to be a traveling day but the traveling distance wasn’t to be great.  Since I had packed the bike before going to bed, I was going to be free this morning to type up the blog post for the last couple of days.  After a few minutes of easy-peasy typing, I would publish the journal entry and be on my way.

I typed and typed and told my stories and I was oh so proud of my literary genius.  Unfortunately the “genius” was not very deep as…..SOMEHOW…..instead of publishing the entry, WHOOSH, I swept it away into a cyber abyss never to be seen again.  I fear, based on what sounds came out of my mouth, that had I been making a audio or video it would have lost its Family Friendly standing.

I had also killed all the time that was being considered necessary for this to remain a relatively easy morning.  Ahhh, such is the life of a 1) novice writer, 2) non tech savvy novice writer, and 3) an impatient non tech savvy novice writer.  It was apparent at that point that I was much better off moving onto the day rather than trying to recreate the literary genius-ness that that no longer existed.

I gathered my last few items, threw them into my backpack, handed in my keys, and headed out the door.  In minutes I had weaved through the few roads in Waterford that got me onto I-75 and heading north.

Traffic was, I thought for 8:00 on a Wednesday morning heading into Flint, MI, reasonably light and free flowing.  I will have to admit to you that the good, old, proverbial thin blood that has taken over my system over the last 3 decades was making itself known.  I thought it to be a bit chilly.  I know that the Michiganders that were my fellow travelers on I-75 were probably complaining about it being too hot but…………   It was not cold but I could swear that I could feel a chill.

At Bay City I shifted over to U.S. 10 and started heading west.  My goal was Clare, MI where I had a couple “old time reunions” planned.  I got off of U.S. 10 at Clare and immediately stopped for gas.  From the gas pump vantage point I could see my hotel so I knew that I was “safe” for the day.

After filling up I pulled to the side and sent a text to a classmate that I have only seen a couple of times over the last 55 years, Ruth.  I told her that I was in town and that I would meet her at the Cops and Doughnuts Bakery in Downtown Clare.  She quickly responded that she would be there in minutes.  I rode the mile or so into Downtown and got a parking place almost in front of Cops and Doughnuts.  I went in and…….OH MY……they do have some remarkable pastry in that place.  I am pretty much a sucker for and have generally made it known that I would sell my soul for good cinnamon rolls……and they had great ones.  I knew that I wouldn’t be able to decide if they were good or not by only eating one………..so I bought two.  Decadent but worth it!

About that time Ruth showed up and we picked a table out on the sidewalk and talked and talked and talked for the next two plus hours.  By the way, the chill that I spoke of earlier was no longer a factor and I was sweating sitting there in the sun.

We said goodbye and I rounded back around to the hotel.  I was at a Quality Inn just off of U.S. 10.  It was a nice place and the gal who checked me in was friendly and efficient.

I got up to the room and the first thing I did was to try and recall my previously typed words and get them published………for real this time.  After typing (and probably doing an overkill with my constant saving) I finished the entry and while holding my breath, I pushed the “Enter” key and………..YAY……….it made its way to the public forum that you apparently are part of.

That gave me time for a call home and a short rest.  I want you to know that it is Day Eight of this excursion and I have not seen ANY TV.  I gave this some thought and since no one was speaking to me in French I assumed we had not been overrun by Canada.  Then again, I remembered that the border was still closed because of covid and only “essential” people could cross……….since I wasn’t sure an invading force would be essential or not I figured that we were safe for a while.

I received a message from just about my oldest friend on this planet.  By “oldest” I am referring to the length of time because I am 10 months older than him so I can’t officially call him “oldest”……well, I can but I would be lying (not that I haven’t lied occasionally in the past).  Larry was the first neighbor I talked to when I was 7 years old and my parents moved us from Pontiac to Waterford.  We remained moderately inseparable for the next 15 years or so and then, as life does to many, we got stretched and pulled in different directions.  So there has been gaps.  Some of those gaps have grown to years.  But the bond has not faded in the least.  Larry lives only a few miles out and a couple towns over from Clare.  I arranged that I would stop there for the night and that after a couple of appointments he would join me and we would sit and chat until……..well, until.

He said he was on his way and he was close so I headed down to the lobby to wait.  The wait was a short one.  He pulled up and parked next to my bike.  I walked out, we hugged, and immediately we were talking like we had just seen each other last night instead of 20 years ago.

We drove to a Big Boy a couple parking lots away and went in.  The little gal who took care of us, Kelsey, didn’t realize at the time that she would have us sitting at her table for 4 hours.  We talked and laughed and talked and didn’t laugh for a long time……and we finally ordered something to eat.  I then sent a message to Jim, who also lives in Clare.  Jim is the same age as Larry and because they went to church together they had known each other since early elementary school………but had seen each other since their graduation 55 years ago.  Jim came by the Big Boy stayed with us for about an hour.   Finally, we bid Kelsey goodbye paying her generously for all the time we kept her table and Larry took me back to the hotel.  Another hug and he was off.  I’m not sure either of us have another 20 years in us so we had better not wait so long for our next reunion.

I went to the room, gave Lisa a quick call, and got ready to dive into the REAL reason for this trip…………kids who are no longer kids and grandkids who are quickly approaching the end of kid-dom themselves.  I am probably going to be a few days before I get back to you so don’t leave me now.  Stick around and see where this party takes us.

If you enjoyed your read give this a Like and Share.  Also, feel free to drop me a line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline, or a comment on the blog.  Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.