Charlie Brown, Peanuts and Charles M. Schulz

About July 26, 2015, we were riding in the Santa Rosa, California area. One sign said, “Santa Rosa Avenue-Corby Avenue, next exit.  It was such a beautiful ride and we saw many stunning coastal views. There were both green and golden mountains placed behind the glistering greenish-blue Pacific Ocean.  The Redwood trees changed to maybe pine trees and also some palm trees.   While, riding, my husband, Jim is playing his IPod through the Harley speakers and we listened to songs such as, ”California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas, “That’s the Way of the World”,  Earth Wind & Fire and “Summer” by War. The views were so pretty that my husband kept stopping to take pictures. He said, “One more picture, I knew it would be hard, but I did not know it would be this d—n hard.” He cannot resist a great picture.  While stopped, we heard birds singing and I saw signs for the Charles M. Schulz Museum. Charles M. Schulz is the creator of the Peanuts Comic Strip.

In October, 2015, The Peanuts Movie commercials were all over the television. It is scheduled to show in theaters on November 6, 2015. It is the 65^th Anniversary of,  Peanuts and the 50^th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas which is an animated movie. On Thursday, October 29, 2015, close to Halloween ”It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” aired on ABC Channel 6 at 8:00PM. It was first previewed in 1966. Research states that there were about a total of 45 Peanuts animated television specials.

Mr. Schulz was born on November 26, 1922 in St. Paul, Minnesota as Charles Monroe Schulz. When he was two days old, his uncle named him “Sparky” after a horse Spark Plug from the Barney Google comic strip. I became interested in Charles M. Schulz and also in Peanuts &  Charlie Brown. I thought that Schulz was born in Santa Rosa but learned that he was not. He died in Santa Rosa, California on February 12, 2000 at the age of 77.  I looked up the history of Peanuts and leaned a few interesting tidbits.

Peanuts started as a comic strip on October 2, 1950 and the initial Peanuts characters included Charlie Brown,  Snoopy(dog) October 4, 1950,  Shermy and Patty (Not Peppermint Patty), Other members of the Peanuts Gang added later were Violet Gray, February 7, 1951  Lucy Van Pelt , March 3, 1952, Linus Van Pelt, September 19, 1953, Schroeder, May 30, 1951, Pig-Pin, July 13, 1954, Sally Brown, August 23, 1959, Frieda was introduced to the strip on March 6, 1961. On November 19, 1961, the Little Red-Haired Girl, an unseen character was introduced. In 1977, She became visible onscreen in a TV special and we learned that her name is Heather Wold. Patricia Reichardt AKA Peppermint Patty who is a  multidimensional sports loving girl from a single parent home was added in 1966. After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Franklin (African American Child) was added the same year on July 31^{st .}Woodstock (bird), was added in 1970. Marcie, the intellect joined the gang on July 20, 1971, Rerun Van Pelt, the youngest of the Van Pelt children was born on May 23, 1972.  Eudora, the last major female character was added on June 13, 1978. She moved to Charlie Brown’s neighbor from another state.

This daily comic strip became a Sunday strip and ran from its launch date of October 2, 1950 to February 13, 2000. It was in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries and translated into 21 languages. The origin name was Lil Folks, but when Schulz tried to have it syndicated, the name was too close to the names of two other comics at that time. Lil Abner was one and Little Folks was the other. Schulz settled on a name he was not too happy about which was “Peanuts” after the peanut gallery from the Howdy Doody Time television show.

On December 9, 1965, a religious theme was introduced to the television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas. This was the first time Peanuts was animated. In this special, Charlie Brown is trying to figure out the true meaning of Christmas.  The message is anti-commercialism and tells of showing good will to all.

Five years ago, my husband, Jim turned 60 years old. I did a PowerPoint presentation showing various stages of his life through pictures. I also did a music CD. Two of the songs on it are from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. They are both Jazz instrumentals by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. The titles are Linus & Lucy and Christmastime Is Here. Jim is a big Peanuts’ fan. This movie is the second longest-running Christmas special of all time, second to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

In 1984, Peanuts made the Guinness World Records after being syndicated to it 2,000^th newspaper. It’s a great time to put Peanuts on the big screen. Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang is an important piece of Americana. (Most of the information is from on-line sources such as- Wikipedia)

An Adventure in Pain

After I finished rubbing Aspercream Max Roll-On Arthritis Strength on Jim’s back, I thought about several things such as, celebrating 23 years of being married to him, how much I love him & how much I enjoy our life together. Our anniversary was on September 10^th.  I also reflected back to our ride and on getting older. There are pleasures and pains associated with riding as you age.

“Getting old isn’t for sissies” ~ Bette Davis

Grow old with me! The Best is yet to be. ~ Robert Browning

Jim & I are not as young as we were 2 or 3 years ago. We are not as young as we were 2 or 3 days ago. This summer, we were on the road for 42 days. That was a true 6 weeks and a long time  in the saddle. We both have problems with our knees and with our backs. People always question whether my butt/behind hurt but it is never my butt. It is always the bottom of my feet on the rides. This trip, I experienced NEW pain. I had charlie horses(cramps) in my calves and also the front area of my ankle on the right foot. I also had pain in my right shoulder and in the back of my left thigh (Hamstring). There were also times when my old friend- hip pain would return. Jim’s NEW pain was the inter part of his right knee and also behind it.

Our routine was that most nights I would massage Jim’s back and knees with the Aspercream and I did the same for me. We also took aspirin before bed. In the mornings, every morning, Tiger balm was used for the massages.  Near the end of our trip, I put a tube of Aspercream or the small bottle of Aspercream with lidocaine in my fanny pack. This way, I was able to quickly massage my feet, knees, hips, hamstrings and my back in the ladies room. Rubbing my feet was the most difficult because I usually did it in the stall and I needed to remove my socks, one at a time while standing on the other foot. I was grateful if there was not a line for the ladies room because I did not want to keep other ladies waiting.

We made sure that we had our regular Bayer aspire and also the Bayer Back & Body in a container on the motorcycle and also in the pill box that I carried in my fanny bag. We took them about every 4 hours. After 1:00pm, I did not take the Bayer Back & Body because they contain caffeine.

Hot tubs and pools in hotels helped but this was not done often enough. One morning, while in Green bay, I sacrificed my sleep for the pool. It was a very nice indoor pool and hot tub that was almost directly outside of our room. Another time, after doing the laundry, which means it was late, both Jim and I got in an outside pool. That night, in Yuma, Arizona, it was 100 degrees at midnight. Jim felt that it helped and was glad he had his swimming trunks with him.

Something else that helped with the pain associated with riding a motorcycle for us was family breaks. Whenever we were able to stay with family for a few days, we rode in their cars. This gave our bodies’ time to rest. Out of the 42 days, we were thankful for the 11 family nights.

THANK YOU CARDS

Today, I took the last of the 10 thank you cards to the post office. We thank all of the family members that we stayed with on our California Dreamin’ ride. Thanks also to any family or friend that we visited for a few hours or came to us when we were in their area. We also had one person, Don, who stopped to see if we were OK when it was necessary to pull over on to the shoulder of the road in Jarrett, Virginia. The bike broke down.

While we were visiting the various family members, Jim usually treated them to dinner. On one occasion, he brought Harley Davidson tee shirts for them. For those that we did not take out to dinner, we included a food gift card in the thank you card. It is just a very small token of our appreciation.

The Largest Cross in the United States

We have been back home for a while from our 42 day cross country ride and today is Sunday, August 30, 2015. Our assignment for church is to bring any picture having to do with the gospel story of the “Road to Emmaus” Luke 24:13-35 and also to bring a set of 3X5 index cards to give to one of our members who will be leaving for his Camino De Santiago pilgrimage. This pilgrimage is a 500 mile 40 day walk in Spain. It is also known as the “Way of Saint James.” The set of index cards are, 1- a Bible verse or two and 2- the other is a short prayer for him.

One of our members brought in a card with a picture of a very, very enormous cross and his motorcycle in front of it. I immediately recognized the cross. Jim and I saw it on our 2010 motorcycle trip, “One Heck of a Ride” and again on this year’s “2015 California Dreamin’ ride” on Sunday August 2nd.

Earlier on the morning of the 2nd, the manager of the Lexington Inn in Holbrook, Arizona, where we stayed, informed us of the Roscoe Wind Farm which is about 50 X 25 miles and also of the largest cross we will see as we continued towards Amarillo, Texas. We were on the look-out for it and we did see both.

This cross is considered the largest cross in the United States. It is 19 stories high (190 feet tall free standing) and is located on interstate 40 in Groom, Texas. The cross was completed in two shops with more than 100 welders and was erected in July of 1995. They have 10 million visitors a year with about one thousand a day. This information was obtained for “Welcome to the Cross Ministries” crossministries.net.

Roscoe, Texas ~ The Roscoe Wind Farm

We thought they would never ever end. There were so many of them and they kept going and going and going for miles. The wind was blowing so they were turning. From the motorcycle, they all looked white against the rich blue sky that was painted with a few cotton ball white clouds. They stood proud and tall.

                                  

The Roscoe Wind Farm is one of the largest in the world. It is located in Roscoe, Texas and became officially up and running in October 2009. There are about 634 wind turbines standing 350 feet to 415 feet tall and spaced about 900 feet apart. This wind farm covers almost 100,000 acres of land.

                                              

The wind farms use wind turbines. While riding, I thought they were windmills. Once I google the different between the two, I learned that windmills help to pump water and grind grain. The wind turbines were made to produce energy. Interesting?

A Prayer and an Applebee's

Jim and I had a late lunch today at Applebee's Bar & Grill in East Norriton, PA close to our home. Yes we are home. I thought about the Applebee's on our ride.

It was Tuesday, July 14, 2015. We were hot, tire, hungry & thirsty. We saw the sign for Applebee's and we knew we had food gift cards for this place. It was Bozeman, Montana.

We walked into the Applebee's and there were about 11 people a head of us. We had  polite conversation about our ride and learned that they were doing missionary work with Native Americans. Because it was only two of us, we were seated right away.

We finished our meal about the same time as the missionaries and continued our conversation in the parking lot. Before we went our separate ways, about 4 or 5 of them prayed with us. We held hands and formed a circle. They said prayers for our safe travels.  I thought that was nice.

I prayed each & every morning upon waking on this ride just like I have always done. First and foremost, I say, "Thank You" ~ Thanks is giving for so many people, things and the trip. I praise God through Jesus Christ and I ask for protection for me, Jim, the children, grands, siblings and the rest of our family. I also ask for travel mercy. I also pray each time we got on the motorcycle.

I also prayed for my church. I took a copy of the "Saint John's Pray For Continued Transformation." This is a 4 paragraph prayer offering thanks to God, requesting a clear vision, confessing and asking for the Holy Spirit to guide us. The pray uses Isaiah 43:19-20 . . . about to do a new thing . . . will make a way in the wildness and rivers in the desert." At the end of the prayer it said, Here we are, O Lord send us. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen. We are to pray this daily and on Wednesday, the whole church does it at 7:00PM. I think I did better with this on our last trip. 

Once a week, the Pastor e-mail the weekly service to the membership. I was able to read all of the Sunday's Bible Verses.

The Purple Heart Trail

Reflecting back on our forty-two (42) day motorcycle trip, I keep thinking about a particular sign that was on several different  roads that we travelled.

"THE PURPLE HEART TRAIL"

As we were riding, from time to time I would see this sign. I wanted to know what it was so I decided to Google it. This is what I learned. There was also this quote on some of the sites.

"As you travel the Purple Heart Trails, take a moment to remember the sacrifices that have been paid for our nation's freedom."

It's purpose is to create a symbolic & honorary system of roads, highways, bridges, etc that give tribute to the men and to the women who have been wounded, killed and may have been awarded the Purple Heart Medal. It is also done by creating a visual reminder to travellers that others paid a high price. 

The trail was established in 1992 by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. It starts at a monument in Mt. Vernon, Virginia and at present is in all 50 states and also in Guam and Puerto Rico. 

I first noticed it in California on the Pacific Coast Highway which is route 101. Jim said that he noticed it around Arizona on Interstate I- 40. The last time that I saw it was at the Delaware Welcome Center Travel Plaza in Newark, Delaware when we were trying to get home. I am glad I decided to get information on these signs.

How Many States Did We Ride Through?

On this trip we travelled through more than half of the 48 continuous states of the United States of America. We factually rode through 27 stated plus Canada. Starting with Pennsylvania, then West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinos, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington,
( Richmond, Bristish Columbia~ Vancouver), Oregon, California, Arizona , New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkanas, Tennesse, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and back home.

After all of this, getting home is the best stop.

Sinclair Gas

While traveling in the western part of the United States, I notice Sinclair Gas and , "Dino" the dinosaur on several signs.

Harry F. Sinclair formed Sinclair Oil in 1916. He had 11 small petroleum companies. Since 1916, it has grown to be one of the largest companies in the United States.

The headquarters are in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2014, this company was in Forbes Magazine on their American's Largest Private Company List.

Sinclair uses the green gental gaunt Dinoaur with power, endurance and Stamina as their icon. They want customers to think of these qualities when using their product.

The history of Sinclair gas is long and rich

The Weather Channel

I was watching The Weather Channel this morning and they were talking about a microburst, rain curtain, the wind and other things related  to weather. 

A microburst is a small scale exceptional really intense localized column of sinking air that results in a violent outburst of air at the ground.  It is capable of producing damaging straight-line winds of more than 100 mph similar to some twin needles but without the spinning. There are two types of microbrews a wet one and a dry one. This definition came from on-line.

In 2012,  we were in a wet microbursts in North Carolina on our way to visit my friend Vanessa in Fayettesville. we got really soak. 

Our wettest  today was in Albuquerque, Texas. We pulled under a bridge after seeing all the rain that was ahead of us and stay there for nearly 40 minutes. While under the bridge, a rainbow appeared and then another rainbow appeared on top of the first one. It was spectacular. At the end of the rainbow, we did not see a pot of gold. What we did see were the cars driving right through the colors. It was a sight to see.

On This trip we rode through very strong wind corridors, especially in the state of Washington

and also in the western part of the country. 

Wish I Were Home

"When I think of home, I think of a place where there's love overflowing. I wish I was home, I wish I was back there with the things I been knowing. "
       Those are the words from the movie, The Wiz and Diana Ross is singing. The Wiz is the Black version of The Wizard of Oz. Diana Ross and Michael Jackson was in it.
     Jim said that not counting Penn State, this is the longest that he has been away from the house. I played the above song about two weeks ago. I was having breakfast outside in the court yard of one many hotels we stayed in. There was a swing hanging from a wooden arch and it immediately reminded me of the one at home that Jim build with the wisteria on it. I was home sick and wished I were home. I went back to the room and found the song and played it for Jim.
                         

All 48 States

Maybe this was the second goal of this trip, to complete or to have rode through all 48 continuous states of the USA. We did it, around August 6, 2015 we went to Little Rock, Arkansas.  That was the very last of the four states that we needed to visit on this ride.  As you may have read, the other states that we have never been to before July 5, 2015 were: North Dakota, Washington & Oregon

The Civil Rights Ride

We are in Little Rock, AK and Jim calls this part the civil rights march. From here we will go to Memphis, Birmingham and Atlanta.

Early Arrivals

It's great when we are able to check into a hotel early. Or should I say early for us. Today we rode about 340 miles from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Little Rock, Arkansas. We arrived at the Holiday Inn Presidential and the sun was still brightly shining. This greatly pleased me. We check in and had dinner at their restaurant, Camp David. The ribs were great.

Yesterday, we rode from Amarillo, Texas to Oklahoma and checked into a Wyndham Garden Inn. We got there about 5:30pm and learned that  we were on time for  Taco Tuesday. They had a free taco bar. I got our bags to the room while Jim parked the motorcycle and then he went directly to the taco bar. I knew he would want to eat there and have a beer. I rushed back only to find him trying to bring me food to the room. I returned the luggage cart he turned around and got a seat and we enjoyed happy hour at the hotel food area.

Phillips 66 Gas

I started noticing them in New Mexico and then continued to see them in Texas and so far in Oklahoma. We still have several states to travel before reaching home. I decided to do a Google search and on Wikipedia I learned that it was founded by L. E. Phillips and Frank Phillips in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and incorporated on June 13, 1917.

In 1927, the company was testing gas on US Highway 66 in Oklahoma and when it turned out that the car was going 66 miles per hours, it named its new fuel Phillips 66. At that time 66 MPH was considered fast.

The first Phillips 66 service station opened November 19, 1927 at 805 E. Central in Wichita, Kansas. This station has been preserved. The Phillips 66 shield logo created to link to the famous highway Route 66 was introduced in 1930. It was black and orange for about 30 years. In 1959, the revised shield of red, black & white was introduced and still in used.

Get Your Kicks On Route 66

It was about 100 miles east is Amarillo, Texas almost near the Oklahoma border when we stopped for one of our stretch breaks. We were on the shoulder of Interstate highway 40 east and Jim decided to walk across the grass to the Historic Route 66 or as he and many also call it, "the mother Road. I put him on video and also took some still pictures. We played around for about 5 minutes and yes we did stretch. We were on some part of Route 66 back in 2007 & 2010.

This highway is also know as the Will Rodgers Highway. This was one of the Original highway within the USA. It was established on November 11, 1926. It ran from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California running through eight states.

Many may remember the TV show of the 1960s, Route 66 or the hit song, "Get Your Kicks On Route 66"
I think Jim got his kicks today.

Guest Laundry ~ Rio Grande, New Mexico

Sitting in the guest laundry area on the first Sunday night of August of the Best Western Rio Grande Inn in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Time to do the laundry again, again.

It seems as if on this trip, this has become my task. Jim at times will help to carry the clothes to the area and put them in the washing machine, but I usually complete the job. Now, he does fold his and I do mine, but again, that is after I return the clothes to the room. This may require a few trips because everything does not dry at the same time.

They get rolled up like jelly rolls with rubber bands just like we started on 7/5/15 and placed in the saddle bags. This is a pair of pants, two shirts, two sets of underwear and two pairs of socks.

                                      

This guest laundry room is very nice, clean and large. There is a knotty pine table and two chairs. There are two washers, side by side and two dryers on top of each other. I also see a machine where you can buy detergent and fabric sheets. We still have our own supplies and quarters left.

There are also three pictures on the wall. One is two women, one old and one young doing pottery. One is of  the Fanciscean Hotel in Albuquerque in 1925 and the third one is the Alvardado Hotel Fred Harvey Indian Room 1930 - Walkway and Indian Venders.

This was a much pleasurable and productive laundry time.

Under the Rainbow

We were doing well with trying to get 300 miles in today when heaven decided to open its doors with rain and lightning, and boy did it pour. We were about 40 miles from Albuquerque, New Mexico. We were trying to get about 100 miles East from there.

Jim said, "When people ask what do we do when it rains? We hide under a bridge and take pictures of rainbows. Rainbows are one of my favorite things and I did not think that I would see one on this trip. We stayed under the bridge for about 45 minutes. We saw a double one. The one on the bottom, or the first one had brilliant colors, I could see the purple, and the end of the rainbow was on the road and it appeared as if cars were riding through it.

Once the rains left and we could see light ahead, we started to ride again. The rainbow was still ahead of us for miles and then it seem like we were right under it. We were riding under the rainbow. A little farther down, we watched a train ride besides us for a while and then under us as we crossed a bridge. We drove over a train and under a rainbow within a short period of time.

New Mexico ~ Land of Enchantment

"Land of Enchantment" ~ that was what I notice when we saw the New Mexico sign. This is the state's official nickname. 

In 1941, this was placed on their license plates. In 2008,the United Stated bicentennial commemorative quarter for the state also features the nick name. This name describes it's scenic beauty and rich history as noted by online sources.

New Mexico became the 47th state in the USA in 1912. "It was given it's name in 1563, and again in 1581 by Spanish explorers who believe the area contained wealthy Indian cultures similar to those of the Mexican (Aztec) Empire." (this is from online wikipedia.org)

Other nicknames include:

The Cactus State

The Spanish State

The Land of Sunshine

The Land of the Heart's Desire

and a few more but as stated before, THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT is the official one.

A Very Late Check-in

Jim saw lots of lights, he thought that maybe there was a Best Western Hotel there, It was a STATE PRISON. No! We did not get a room. I guest you can tell it is getting late, actually getting dark if we see lights.

We continued on route 87 North to Winslow, AZ going to hit route 40 East to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We got off of 87 and went into a liquor store parking lot. This was a liquor store and not the cute Wine & Spirit Shops that we are used to.

Jim and I have a code word. WITH  - We In The Hood. That is exactly where we were. We quickly used the GPS to locate and we called about 4 hotels. There were no beds. One hotel suggested that we go to exit 253 off of interstate 40. We got on 40 and the exit numbers got larger starting with exit 257. After about 15 miles and not seeing anything but lighting, we turned around.

We saw a Best Western Hotel sign for exit 250 and got off only to find that there were no beds. At first the lady at the desk said she could not make calls but told us to go to exit 253. I told her we called a few and can she call. She did. She called around the Winslow area to about 4 other hotels and they were all booked. I asked if there were any other hotels and she said, "You wouldn't want to stay there." I asked no additional questions about them. She then asked if we were going to Flagstaff. I told her  were going towards Albuquerque. She found us the Lexington Inn 30 miles away, now going East again. We just came from that direction.

While riding, Jim said, "We need to stop lying to people." "About What" was my reply. "NOT RIDING AT NIGHT"  I said, "OH, this is the 4th time we were driving in the dark." Jim laughed

Family Break - Chandler, AZ

Run for the Border - San Ysidro, California

San Francisco ~ Golden Gate Bridge

The first time that we saw and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California was on our 2010, “One Heck of a Ride.” It was Monday, July 26.  Naturally, while in San Francisco, prior to the bridge, the first thing we did was to visit a Harley Davidson Shop. We brought our long sleeve shirts and also some patches and pins,  all with the store logo on them. Outside of the store, we took pictures of the steep incline of the streets and other nearby landmarks. We stayed in San Francisco in 2010 much longer than we did this year, 2015.

While at the Harley Shop, in 2010,  we met a couple who was also going to the Golden Gate Bridge so we rode together. The closer we got to the bridge, the colder it became. It was July but it was getting cold. in spike of the weather, crossing the bridge was wonderful, amazing and beautiful.  While riding across the bridge, I steadied my hand as much as possible to take the video.  Once we got to the other side, we took several still pictures with the bridge behind us, just the bridge and also with the other couple.

As soon as we took the pictures, I put on my full finger gloves and my long sleeve thermos turtle neck shirt. Again, it was July, can you imagine? It was extremely cold.

The year, 2015, we again rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, this time coming from the North. I, again, videotaped the ride but this time, we did not stop for anything.  Again, the ride was amazing.

We rode through parts of San Francisco on the way to Pacific Coast Highway. We videotaped some of the steep streets. Can you believe that some of the streets may be as steep as 42%? Think about a 45% angle.

Redwood National and State Parks~ CALIFORNIA

We made it to Northern California on Friday, July 24, 2015 and we saw some Red Wood Trees, Boy!!! Did we see some trees?

We were on Route 101 riding through the Redwood National & State Parks. This segment of Route 101 is also referred to as the ~The Redwood Highway. We have never seen trees as tall or as old as the ones that we saw here. This park is an “Old-Growth temperate rainforest with some of the tallest in the world.

In 1968, The Red Wood National Park was established. This establishment protects the remaining old-growth. It was combined with three other parks: Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith & Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The state parks cover 133,000 acres.  They are located in Humboldt County & Del Norte County which is near Crescent City, California.

We stayed at a wonderful hotel in Crescent City, California that evening, The Lighthouse Inn. It was directly across from a bay. The room was very large holding 2 king size beds. A tan colored over-stuff soft leather love seat was also in the room. I immediately noticed the wall paper borders around the top of the room ~red roses. The bed spreads were a similar pattern of the red roses. In the guest laundry area, the wall paper borders were lighthouses. This was one of our laundry times.  I took pictures of the model lighthouses in the lobby and also of the miniature model houses. During check out, we notices the redwood counter – beautiful.

Back to the trees.

During check out, we were told about Klamath, California and also about the Avenue of the Giants. There are three large drive through trees. The Avenue has the two largest ones and Klamath has the smaller one. We also learned that the location of the giant sequoia trees are in the “Sequoia & King Canyon National Park” and that the park is under construction. We will not be able to see General Sherman, the biggest tree in the world.

Our first stop was Klamath, California. Jim drove up a steep hill but before the bike went down, I had to get off. He then got in line to drive the motorcycle right thru the tree. The tree was gigantic. A path had been cut out of the trunk so that cars can drive thru it. Above the path, there was a sign that said, “TOUR THRU TREE” While inside of the tree, Jim said that he touch it and also saw the age rings. We were told that this is a giant live tree that is 275 years old.

Next we drove on the Avenue of the Giants. This is a 31 mile scenic drive. It is 200 miles north of San Francisco and 100 miles south of the Oregon border. We saw Ancient Redwoods. While enjoying nature, we saw several trunks on the side of the road parked for a filming crew. I Google it and learned that Kirsten Dunst was filming a movie on that day named, Woodshock. This was a glorious day.

More GREAT LAKES, Diamond & Crater in OREGON

Yesterday, Thursday, July 23, 2015, we were actually on the road by noon. The weather was great for riding. The temperature starting out was 70 degrees going up to about 80 and the winds were calm.
We usually asked for an extended check-out and leave the hotel room about 12:15 pm. Most hotels want you out by 11:00 am.

 Jim said that Maggie and Siri could not come to an agreement over distant. Maggie is what Jim named his Megellan RoadMate Global Positioning System (GPS)
 & Siri is the Apple Company's voice assistant that is on my IPhone. We were trying to figure out how far it was to Crater Lake National Park. At this point, we are in a Best Western Plus Hotel in Sutherlin, Oregon. The GPS said over 100 miles and the telephone said, "69 miles Tina as the crow flies"  How does a crow fly? We asked at the front desk and was told that it would take about 1 and a half hours and also gave us a map. These directions were different than both of our electronics. We decided to go.

After about 1/2 hour or so, we stopped to get directions. We were told that we were still a waysand that after Diamond Lake, Crater Lake was still a distant. We are also going to travel some unpaved area, go through construction and will need to wait for a car polite. It took us a while, maybe a few hours but our first stop was Diamond Lake. This was a resort with cabinets, a hotel and a restaurant.
It was a pretty lake with several people swimming and doing in other water sports. There were mountains in the distant.

20 minutes away, we had to paid $10.00 to go to Crater Lake National Park.

ONCE UPON A TIME ~The Village of Steveston ~ Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

The town was the Village of Steveston, Richmond, British Columbia on the street, Moncton.

Yesterday, Tuesday, July 21, 2015 was so nice for me. I was happy, so very happy, Jim said as we entered the town. "Do you see anything you recognize?' "No, not yet." but within just a few seconds, I said, "YES!" and there was the sign for Mr Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer.  Once Upon A Time fans knows that Mr. Gold doubles as the character,  Rumplestilskin. I looked around and I was there, there on the street of my favorite TV show, "Once Upon A Time." Jim said, "You must be so Happy." and I was. He took my picture in front of the store and then someone offered and took our picture.  It was amazing and I felt just like a little kid in a candy store.

I did not know where to start. I wanted to get more information on the buildings they use and maybe on why they use that town. I may Google this at a later date. After doing some video taping of the street, I went to the Storybrooke Cannery which doubles as the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. This Cannery was build in 1894 on the waterfront and is still a producer of canned salmon.They have a gift shop and I got my post card. I was also given information about some of the buildings the show uses and where to get some additional information. I had to go to the Post Office/Museum that was in the next block.

All of this time, Jim is sitting in front of Mr. Gold's while I run up and down the street.

After I left the Cannery, I went to Granny's Dinner. I had learned from the cannery that "Any Given Sunday" which is next to Granny's Dinner, is used for storage for the props when not used as an Ice Cream Shop during filming. The door was open so I asked the guy sitting in the car with the door partly open and his feet were on the pavement and he said. "NO". "I just want to take a picture of that " referring to the sign on the floor. "Can I go in?" "OK, but don't touch anything.

I went in and there was a Storybrooke sign and many other props. I quickly snapped a few pictures. When I returned outside, I watched, video tapped and took a few still pictures of them putting up a sign, STORYBROOKE HARDWARE & PAINT using a crane. I also watched the transformation of the coffee house.

I took pictures of a place named the Rabbit Hole and the Storybooke Sand Dollar Boutique.

Once I returned to Jim for maybe the third time, he had information about them filming the next day. He offered to stay an additional night. We did not stay. There was a lady and her daughter that with Jim and informed us that the Mad Hatter may be one of the upcoming characters on the show. I already saw and taken a picture of the Rabbit Hole but they showed me the price of the gas at the Marine Garage. It was 15 7 over the 10.  We were also told about the store, the candy dish. I took a picture of the gas sign but we did not experience the taste of Snow White fudge.

It is time to go now, It has been about 1 and 1/2 hour and I am still in my glory. Jim has been very patience with my favorite street. On the way out, we stopped in the post office and I spooked to the female post master for a little while. I got a nice brochure that explains the transformation of all of the buildings and a business card. She suggested that I go on their Face Book page to see when they are filming.  Sometimes people will post pictures.

Jim took a few additional pictures and again we were riding back to the good old USA. It was like Christmas and Disney Land for me.

VANCOUVER ~ Canada

We made it to Vancouver on Monday, July 20, 2015. We did not have any problems crossing the boarder this trip but once we got into Canada, the winds continues. We looked for the Harley Davidson Shop so that we would know where it is the next day. We found a nice looking, at least from the outside, Super 8 Motel and broke our rule of no numbers. We were disappointed. We saw it on the way to the Harley Shop and it was near the gas station, a wine & spirit store and a bar & grill. The bar & grill closes on Monday and the wine & spirit store only had screw top wine. Jim did not like that.

We were going to go to Butchart Gardens on the Vancouver Island a little north of Victoria and south of the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.. This would require taking a ferry to the island and walking the gardens. With all the walking and paying for the gardens and also the Ferry, we decided not. In Victoria we were also going to visit an underground museum.

We did go to Richmond, British Columbia to visit where they film the TV show, "Once Upon A Time."

The state of WASHINGTON with Friends & Family

Have you ever heard of Lake Tapps, Washington?

NOT FUN

Riding from Spokane, Washington for about 50 miles to Jim's cousin's house outside of Seattle there was nothing but wind and I do mean wind on Thursday, July 16, 2015.  Extremely Strong Wind. Jim thought that he would have to ride on the shoulder of the road like we did in Salt Lake City Utah at the Bonneville Salt Flats on July 28, 2010. At that time, we drove at a speed of 20 MPH for over 30 miles. 

We took more rest stops than usually on this day because of the wind. Jim said he was stressed and that raises his adrenaline and makes him tire. At one of the rest stops, we spoke with a lady who was complaining about the wind pushing her car. Imagine, she was in a car. She told us that we had about an hour and a half addition ride before the winds calm. I told her that if that time was based on 60 MPH, we may have a longer drive because we are traveling slower. She named the area as Vantage, Washington and said that it would be beautiful. She also said that when we got to the trees, it would be less wind. We got to Vantage, it was beautiful but the winds continued to be strong. The trees did not help either. We continued to ride slow, safe and we stopped often.

There were others at rest stops that were driving top load trailers or pulled trailers that were chagellaged by the winds. Jim was very careful if he needed to pass a tracker trailer.

After all that wind, we finally get to his cousin's street. The GPS was reading .1 mile so I decided to get off to look at the addresses. As I was getting off, Jim said, "check my tire, something is not right." As I looked at the tire, I said that something is leaking from the bike. There was a puddle in the street. He walked the bike to the side and created another puddle. We saw his cousin. We missed the house by one. I informed him that something was wrong with the bike. Ricci looked at it and said that the seal was broken.

Daily Motorcycle Maintenance

Every morning, or should I say afternoon. By the time we checks out of the hotels~ and we always asks for an extension, it is always afternoon.

The pressure of both the tires and the shocks must be checked. Air pressure should be 40 and shocks should be 43. My job in this process is to look for the painted blue dot located on the rim of the back tire. That indicates where the tire valve is. Jim has tools to check both and we carry an air pump to put the needed pounds in the tires. The air pump is powered by a cord that goes in the cigarette
lighter.

C'Mon Inn

While riding through North Dakota and Montana, Jim and I saw several signs advertising the C'MON INN. At some point, Jim said, " that sign for the C'Mon Inn reminds me if the Two Wheel's Inn." I said, "You mean the one with the rooms that included a little garage for the motorcycles?" "Yes was Jim's reply. "Where the owners were really nice and were also x-riders and let use wash our bike."

The Mountains

Because I am from Pennsylvania, actually about 20 miles north of Philadelphia, whenever I think of mountains, my first thought is the Poconos. Growing up, I sometimes would refer to Poconos weather as being very cold in the morning - about 40 degrees, get hot doing the day - about 75 - 80 degrees and then dropping down again when the sun sets. 

On this ride, we have gone through the mountains of Montana, "The Big Sky Country." Yesterday, I put on my long sleeve, turtle neck Harley Davidson thermal top. Boy did I need it. Jim said that the elevation was 5500 which higher than Denver, Colorado.

Bathrooms on the Road

When riding on a motorcycle, we stop about every 120 miles or so for gas, to stretch and to use the wash room/bathroom. Most of the bathrooms that we use are at gas stations. They are OK and sometimes very clean. It is good practice to have tissues it napkins with you and also to have hand sanitizer just in case. If  we stop for something to eat such as TGI Friday's or Applebee's there bathrooms are always clean. I think that the best ladies rooms are at the Harley Davidson Shops.

The ladies rooms at the Harley shops are always large. Some of the are just for one person and sometimes there may be several stalls. They are nicely decorated  with motivational saying and pictures. They always smell good. Sometimes like flowers and some like fruit. They also have toiletries that ladies on the road can use like: hair spray, deodorant, hand lotion and perfume.

Big Sky Country

LAUNDRY ~ Again?

At the Butte Comfort Inn in Butte, Montana sitting in the lobby. There are 24 minutes left on the wash cycle and I still need to dry and hope that I can get a dryer soon. Several people are doing there clothing this evening. Maybe I should have on my bathing suite and be in the pool while I'm waiting. No, that won't work, I have too many clothing to carry back and it may be more difficult if I am wet. I have 3 bags and the room is so so very far.

Jim is in the room relaxing on the bed. This is the first time we got to the room, he lay across the bed and immediately went to sleep before having his drink. He slept for about 20 minutes while I got the ice and gathered the clothes for the wash.

The first time we washed clothes was on Friday, July 10, 2015 in Green Bay, Wisconsin at the Best Western Hotel. The laundry room & the pool was almost right next to our room. No on was using them. Jim and I were able to sit in the pool area and wait.  We watched a couple play ping ball and the kids splash in the water. It was nice and relaxing.

FARGO, North Dakota

How was the decision to go to Fargo made? Jim said that we are going to Fargo because he did not see the movie. North Dakota was also one of the four states that we needed to visit to say that we saw all 48. Prior to this ride, we also needed to visit Arkansas, Oregano, and Washington.

The movie was a crime film/Drama that was filmed in 1996. When we get home, I will see if I can borrow it from the library. I think Jim will like this neo-noir black comedy thriller as defined on line, more than me. In researching, I learned that Fargo was also a television series that premiered April 15, 2014 on FX. The second season will start September 2015.

"When we get to North Dakota, there is nothing to see," those are the words of my husband Jim. While riding through North Dakota, I made the sky my entertainment since there was nothing else. I watched the clouds change shapes, color shades and texture. Their background was different tints of blues. This was especially nice when the sun was out.

Fargo, ND is the largest city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cass County. It was founded in 1871.

Fargo is known for much more than the movie. It is known for the flooding of the Red River in the Spring and it is the home town of the baseball legend Roger Maris. He broke Babe Ruth's home run record by hitting 61 in '61.

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is one of the 5 Great Lakes. I saw it on Friday and Saturday, July 10th & 11th when we stayed in Duluth, Minnesota. It was so large, and so beautiful. It is the largest of the Great Lakes in North America & the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface.

With the visiting of this lake, I have now seen all five. The other lakes were: Michigan, Huron, Ontario and Erie.

In 2008, I wanted to go to Lake George in upstate New York. Jim said, "you want to see some lakes!!!!" That's when he designed a ride that would take me to see the other 4 Great Lakes. When planning this 2015 ride, he made sure that Lake Superior was on his highlighted map.

It was great seeing it in Duluth, Minnesota at Canal Park. This was a very nice tourist on the water area. People were everywhere and there were lots of restaurant with people eating outside. There was a lot of street activity. We bedded down at a Comfort Suites. Jim gave it an A+.

Leinenkugel's Beer

While traveling through Wisconsin, we saw the sign advertising Leinenkugel's Brewery tours. 

                                    

That is one of our favorite beers especially in the summer with their summer shanty flavor. We always try to get a few cases near the end of the season. The last time I was in the beer distribute with Jim, on of the owner's, "K" said, "Jim always says, save me two." We like this one better than their fall beers.

The Jacob Leinenkugel's Brewing Company is a subsidiary of SABMiller. It is an American beer based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  It was founded by Jacob Leinenkugel  and John Miller but John sold his shares in 1884. During prohibition, near beer or soda water was sold. In the 1970s a light beer was introduced and in 1988 The Miller Brewing Company brought them.

Other than Summer Shanty, some of their other flavors are: Sunset Wheat, Berry Weiss, Lemonberry Shanty, Snowdrift Vanilla Porter and a few others.

We are usually suckers for signs but we did not stop for the tour. Several hours after seeing the sign, we had a refreshing summer shanty Leinenkugel beer. The lemonade flavor makes it just perfect for a hot summer day. We looked at the label and said that we had never noticed it before. This company was founded in 1867. Jim said, "I thought they had been around for a while."

Green Bay

We went to Green Bay just to see Laubeau Field. There is nothing else in Green Bay.

Visiting the Harley-Davidson Museum in MILWAUKEE

I decided to fill in this space/page that I had been holding for about a month now about the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for about a month now. I looked through my journal and I did not see no entries, notes, nothing at all. How is that  possible? Maybe some of the stuff is on the piece of paper that flew out of my vest pocket while riding on the road back in early July.

We went there on the 8th of July just to see where it was located but on that day, it was very close to closing time. We got a room at the Ramande Inn that was about 6 or 7 minutes away and visited the next day. 

Prior to going to the Ramada Inn, which was within our price range, we were told that a lot of bikers enjoy staying at "The Iron Horse Hotel", 500 W. Florida Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204. This used to be a 100 year old warehouse built in 1907 and became a hotel in 2008. It is now considered a boutique hotel

The "iron horse" is a name that the Native Americans gave to the train as it sped through the prairies. 

In 1907, it was a warehouse for the Berger Bedding Company and located near the railroad. The building was divided into a factory and warehouse which today is the hotel and restaurant.

We were told that a night's stay starts between $250.00 to $300.00 and is well worth it. We did not agree. We were  polite and found the Ramada Inn that was $119.71.

We took several pictures outside of the museum before going inside and of course, talked to people. It was exciting to shared stories and exchanged information with other bikers or Harley enthusiasm. Some of the information we received and I still need to look up is:

The Triple Nickle

Belly of the Dragon

Backbone of the Dragon

Where Ducks Walk on the Fish

These may be interesting places or roads to travel.

In July 2012, we did the "Tail of the Dragon." In my 2012 blog of that ride, I wrote that it is a scenic road in Deals Gap, North Carolina. It is a mountain pass along the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, bordering the Great Smoky Mountains. It is 11 miles with 318 curves and is American's number one motorcycle and sports car road. 

The museum is located at 400 West Canal Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201. It was established on July 12, 2008. We were in Milwaukee in August 2008 for the Harley Davidson's 105th Anniversary but at the time, we did not think that the museum was finished. 

The museum area is a whole community. Across the street from the museum on the corner was the gift shop that sold motor cloths and other souvenirs. There was also a Motor Bar & Grill and a Cafe Racer Cafe. We had burgers & beer for lunch at the cafe. On the other side of the street was the museum and also the Garage. The Garage housed special exhibits.  We were there for the Willie G. Davidson one. 

Willie G. Davidson is the Grandson of one Harley Davidson founders. He is Senior Vice President & Chief Styling Officer. He helped, along with other employees to buy back the company when it was in trouble in the 1980s. He helped save the company from bankruptcy and help with new bike designs.

With FAMILY in Chicago

We Pushed It

The first riding day was a long one. I had a hard time getting myself together the next day. It was sort of a difficult ride, maybe because we had not done distant riding in a long time and as Jim said, "We should have done a practice ride." We rode about 8 hours and did about 450 miles. My heels were burning and felt raw. I must find out what this is about. I also had what felt like charlie horses in the front of my two ankles. Jim is having problems with his knees. We do have different types of rubs and aspirin with us.

FIRST day of our RIDE

We left home on Sunday, July 5, 2015 at 1:15pm after Jim did an introductory segment on the video. Our neighbor, Charlie was there. He turned the music up and the song playing was, "California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas.  Jim & I were off and riding on another Great Adventure, One Heck of a Ride or whatever we chose to call it.


This song is from the album, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR EYES AND EARS. It was released, December 8, 1965. The record label is the RCA, "His Master's Voice". It has a picture with the dog on it who is looking into the Victrola. Some of the words to the song are:

       
        "All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey.
          I've been for a walk on a winter's day.
          I'd be safe and warm if I was in LA.
        California Dreamin' on such a winter's day"


For us, it is a warm summer day and the very first of our many days.


~ The genre of the song is considered psychedelic pop or folk rock. It is #89 in the Rolling Stone's Song's List of the 500 Greatest Hits of All Time. It became a Gold Record by RIAA in 1966 and inducted in the Grammy Hall of Frame in 2001. The History of the record was looked up online.

MORE ON PACKING

Not only do we packed the two saddle bags but we put our leather jackets in the trunk along with extra sneakers, windbreakers, maps, Harley Davidson shop locaters, Jim's vodka, my upcoming bills & checkbooks and the address list to mail out post cards. On top of the truck, we have our rain gear, charging cords, extra tapes for the video, our camel backs and a few snacks. We try to save room for when we buy stuff. We also purchased gift cards for restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, Applebees and Longhorn Steakhouse.

More on Preparation

Not only are maps done, but we got tide pods detergrent, dryer sheets and quarters to wash our clothing. The way we packed the saddle bags, we have clothing for 4 - 6 days.

We let our neighbors, family , the police and the post office know about  our vacation dates and plans. The post office holds our mail, the police look out for us and our neighbors take care of our properity. The cats and fish needs to be feed, the pond needs to be cleaned, the grass needs to be cut and our house plants and hanging flowers that are outside must be watered. At least this year, we do not have the vegatable garden that would need to be watered and weeded. I do miss the green beans, eggplant and squash.

Jim creates a calender/chart and each task has a price attached to it. Our neighbor's children sigh in the spot of the task that they did. All of it gets added up when we return and they get paid.

Some Packing

How do you pack when you're traveling on a motorcycle for two people that may be on the road for a month or more? Well, we have a nice size Harley Davidson to begin with that is equipped with a trunk, two saddle bags and a luggage bar above the trunk.

This is how we pack the cloth saddle bags liner that we carry in the hotel, friend or family home. To start, we take a pair of pants, lay them flat and folded leg over leg. On top of that, we put, again as flat as you can, two shirts, two sets of underwear and two pairs of socks. Roll this up as tight as you can like a jelly roll and hold together with about three rubber bands.

I am not saying that I am a tiny person, not by any means, but my pants are smaller than Jim's so I can do this three times. That is 6 days for me plus what I am wearing. I also put a sleep shirt, a pair of shorts, my bathing suit and flip flops in my saddle bag.

Hotel Cards

Can't forget the Hotel Reward Cards. We have about 15 cards. About three months ago, I called each of the hotel companies to obtain my points and to make sure the cards were still active. We always use the cards on our rides and receive points, upgrades or rewards. There have been promotions that if you stayed three nights, you received a free night or a gift card. One year, we used the free night for our anniversary in September. Another year, we both got the Sears gift card offer and purchased a microwave. I just pulled out all of the cards and will put them together with my address labels and stamps for my post cards and for paying my bills at the end of the month.

First Preparations

There are so many things to put together for a vacation/ride like this. We plan to be on the road for four(4) weeks.  My husband, Jim made several trips to AAA to get a U.S. road map and also various state maps. Since our 3 cross country rides beginning in 2007, we covered all of the states except: North Dakota, Arkansas, Oregon & Washington. We flew to Hawaii twice and Jim does not want to go to Alaska. 

The last four states needed to be included in the planning so that we can complete all 48 continuous states.Various sites to visit were decided by reviewing a United States travel book and we were also given several suggestions from friends and family. From here, a route was created, revised, revised again and again and completed. This is still only a guide because you never know what you may find on the ride. Jim, my husband used color markers or highlighter to highlight the highways and the byways. Different colors were used to identify the many Harley Davidson Shops that we may stop in. 

 He figured out the mileage and created segments of what cities we targeting to be in and on what days. This also included an estimate of riding hours. This was typed on four pages. We decided what family or friends were on the route and typed their contact information on a separate sheet. All sheets were laminated for protection. The total estimated miles are a little over 10,000.

A Ride Conceived

The seed for this ride was planted around July 26, 2013. Jim said, "This trip was in the making for almost two (2) years." At the time, we were on a ride that was named Canadian Crusisin' and had just crossed over from Edmundston, New Brunswick(Canada) to Madawaska, Maine. We went to Plourde's Harley Davidson store and learned that the store was located in the,

"most northeastern corner of the United States"

Key West, Florida, National City, California and Bellingham, Washington are the other three corners of the United States. Jim brought a Plourdes Harley Davidson shirt and it had a map of the United States on it and all of the four corners were clearly identified. At the store, we were informed about the Four Corners Park that was a few blocks from the Harley store. From there we went to the Four Corners Park. The stone marker at the park read:

"the most northeastern town of the United States, 

one of the four corners."

That same day, we rode for about 20 miles and found the beginning of Route 1 North. A historic marker in Fort Kent, Maine read:

"This site marks the beginning of the U.S. Route 1

which ends in Key West, Florida.
2,446 Original Miles.

U.S. Route 1 is the easternmost route of

main North-South United States Highway System"

We had already traveled to Key West, Florida in 2012 and took pictures with the maker there. That was the "Southernmost" part of the U.S.

The Large red, black & yellow concrete buoy marker read"

The Conch Republic

*90 miles to Cuba

The Southernmost Point

Continental U.S.A.

Key West, Florida

Home of the Sunset

At some point, Jim said that he was thinking, "We were at both ends of Route 1 and we were also at 2 of the 4 corners of the U.S. so we might as well see the other two corners. So, a seed was planted in 2013 and birth of this trip should happen very soon. We should be leaving in about 8 days or so.  There is still lots more preparation to do.

Creating A Blog

Again, I finally did it. First of all, I did not wait until the day of the ride to very quickly create this blog before running out of the door. This is my 5th travel blog, 4 of which are about the cross country motorcycle rides.  The other blog was about the 2014 - 2015 Waikiki, Hawaii vacation. It was necessary t.o take an airplane I started blogging in 2007.  For this blog, I wanted to write about some of the "before the ride stuff" and also, if possible to create something a little different, maybe better looking. Over the last few weeks, I had gone online and found several YouTube videos on how to start a blog.  I took notes as I watched in order to try ideas later. I did learn a few things, but this blog may still look similar to my other blogs. This is a free blog but there are many blog sites that will charge. There are pros and cons on using a free one. I decided to stay with this one, blogger.com which is operated by Google. Some of what I learned was: how to connect a link, how to work with the templates to expand your audience, how to make money using Google AdSense and also how to change backgrounds. I may also try to make adjustments on the width of this blog. This is exciting, I am on my way to blogging again.