--
From Oneonta we took a detour to Cooperstown and walked around a
little bit. From there we rode to Rochester. Toby from the Sabmag
list had invited us to stay with him so we took him up on his offer.
We had great bbq steaks and sausage and even greater company.
While Toby was at work today, we went for a short ride to Naples, NY.
Naples is a little town along the Finger Lakes that has a large
vineyard in the middle of town. On the way back to Toby's we had to
stop for ice cream, of course. We sat along Lake Canandaigua and ate
our ice cream and watched the boats.
Tomorrow we head for Kitchener, ON to stay with Chris Park for a
couple of days. We'll probably visit Niagra Falls after we leave
Chris' place.
Penny Devlin
--
http://www.baydreaming.com/chesapeakebaybridge.htm
is "AWESOME" and the only issue with the bike is the blinker fuse
keeps blowing.
Well, I'm finally getting the blackmail video up online. If you see
anyone remotely looking like the guy in this video make him do "The
dance" for dinner. I don't know how he did it sideways so don't hurt
your neck watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw2cKOY-r74
--
Brian
Of all the memorials we visited, the Vietnam Memorial was the most
emotional. As we approached The Wall the people around us were
talking, carrying on their regular conversations and doing their
thing. As we got closer and along The Wall, it was almost silent as
everyone took in the names on The Wall. It really hit home that each
name on The Wall was a real person, someone's loved one, father,
brother, son.... It was more than just a monument representing a
period of time, it represented individual people. Loved ones left
flowers or pictures or other items along The Wall, like what is left
at gravesites in a cemetary. Uncle Pat told us that they collect
everything at the end of the day and mark where it was left along The
Wall. We took a rubbing for a friend of ours and even though we
didn't know him, it was still an emotional experience, a sobering
experience. It was impossible not to let the emotions of everyone
around us affect us.
The Korean Memorial was also different than the others. It's a wall
not to much unlike the Vietnam Wall, except instead of individual
names there are faces engraved on the wall. It's almost like ghosts
coming out of the wall from the past.
We also visited the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Monument and spent
some time at the Smithsonian. We walked for what seemed like miles.
It was a great experience. Tomorrow on the way out of town we'll stop
at Arlington Cemetary and visit the Iwo Jima Memorial.
Since leaving Baker City, we have ridden 5,046 miles, had one flat
tire and one gravelly parking lot dropped bike. Not bad. Like Jim
says - if that's the worse that happens, we're doing great.
We're heading to Long Island next - taking two days to get there.
Hopefully we'll be able to post some photos in the next few days.
We appreciate all the well wishes and prayers we've been receiving.
--
--
--
Brian
After Jim waking me up at 5 AM this morning to let me know it was
really 8 on the east coast he pawned me off to Penny who filled me in.
Penny says the campground is DELUXE with running water, toilets,
showers, minature golf, a mini train, snack bar with ice cream parlor
- Jims favorite, electric fireplaces, tanning rooms (wait scratch
those last couple).
They are heading into DC and hitting all the hotspots today and will
do the Memorial parade ride on Sunday 27th. She isn't sure if they
will hang out much longer after that or not but then head North to
Long Island.
--
Brian Diver
www.PDQ-signs.com
Everett, WA IBA # 8270
4,200 miles so far. Plan to reach WA D.C. on Thursday eve.
--
Had a flat tire on the R6 today. We weren't on the freeway more than
probably 40 miles when the bike started feeling a little squirrely. I
thought it was because we were on grooved pavement, but the feeling
started getting worst. Just as I was getting ready to pull over, Jim
told me my tire was going flat. We had left after the pack but were
lucky in that the chase vehicle was running late. He showed up about
the time Jim was pulling out the tire patch kit. We loaded the bike
onto the trailer and had it taken to the nearest Yamaha dealer -
Brooks Yamaha in Manhattan, KS. They had a tire and got it put on in
just a few minutes. I'd recommend them to anyone passing through.
I keep forgetting to mention - Jim has a new biker name. He's been
dubbed Leatherman by some of the guys we've been riding with. Poor
guy - he won something during a raffle and when he walked up to get
it, the announcer told everyone, "Look who it is - Leatherman." So,
he's been Leatherman ever since.
--
wind
lots of feed lots (cattle and chicken)
windy
lots of grain bins
wheat
lots of John Deere's
You guessed it - Kansas. We're in Dodge City, Kansas at a Motel 8
getting ready to go eat. Having a great time. The weather couldn't
be better. It was in the 70's for most of the day.
We rode about 450 miles today. Tomorrow we're heading for Salina,
Kansas to meet back up with the RFTW guys. We're going to do the
activities with them, but ride on our own. We're not used to riding
with that large of a group and just don't feel comfortable riding that
close to people we don't know. We'll ride into DC with them on Friday
and do the activities on Sunday, then be on our own again.
Hopefully we'll be able to check in again soon.
--
Jim has an appointment Tuesday morning with Rick Mayer to get the seat
for his FJR. Monday night we're planning on staying with some friends
of Keith and Paulette's who live in Redding.
Jim found out the difference between oysters and clams tonight at
dinner. He does not like oysters in any way, shape, or form. I
thought we might get kicked out of the restaurant because I was
laughing so hard and couldn't stop. He took one bite of an oyster and
went into panic mode, not knowing whether he should spit it out or
swallow it. He decided that was probably one of the worst things he's
ever eaten. He thought it was clams.
The weather's been wonderful. Sunny for the most part, and a little
windy, especially along the beach.
After checking in we went for a walk along the beach and found several
whole sand dollars. This is the first time we've ever found whole
sand dollars - they're usually broken or missing large pieces in the
middle of them.
The riding has been great. We've been going just a little over 100 -
150 miles a day. Tomorrow we'll have to do over 200. I haven't been
as tired as I was afraid I'd get. My muscles are sore because we've
been doing a lot of walking and rock hopping. When I'm able to, I'll
post photos of some of the walks we've taken along the beach.
Our bosses:
John and Teresa Stebbins at S&G Machinery
Ken Errend at PIMC.
Brian Diver at PDQ Signs for the decals and t-shirts.
Keith and Paulette for the use of their pickup and for all their time and help.
Kim and Tracy for all their time and help and for storing our stuff for us.
To all our friends for their support and contributions for our time
off. Without all the support we received, things wouldn't have
progressed nearly as smoothly as they did.
I'm sure there's many more people along the way who we will want to thank also.
We left my parents house in Sunnyside, WA around 9 am on Friday, May
4. We rode from Sunnyside to Toppenish and over Satus Pass. We rode
along the river on the Washington side to Milwaukee, OR. At a gas
stop fairly close to Portland Jim noticed that one of the bolts that
hold my rearsets on was missing and the other one was loose. A few
days earlier, the ones on the other side were loose. A few miles from
Milwaukee, my blinkers quit working. A fuse had blown. It was windy
the entire way and started raining a couple miles from Paul and
Nancy's, where we stayed. Nancy had dinner cooking when we got there
- bbq pork ribs, corn, and potatoes, with ice cream for dessert, of
course.
For my birthday, Nancy and Paul gave me a Hawk Oiler - so we won't
have to oil my chain at the end of every day. For my birthday, Jim
will put it on. Sounds like a great deal to me. Thanks, Paul and
Nancy. I sure appreciate it.
Saturday was a neighborhood clean up day so Nancy took a load
Went 185 miles today. Sitting at Paul & Nancy's in Miwaukee, Oregon -
fed and dry. Jim & Paul are on a mission to find parts for my bike.
The rearsets keep spitting off parts. Also blew a blinker fuse just
as we were pulling into town.
--
http://devlinstravels.blogspot.com
--
These are the brackets Jim is putting on my bike to mount the soft bags on so they're easier to remove.
These are the supports that the bags will go on that will mount on the brackets Jim is putting on the bike.
This is what the bags will look like when they're attached to the supports that will allow them to be mounted on the bike.
The Fairlane loaded up.
The Mustang loaded up.
Stuff loaded up and being covered for the rain.
The Devlin's head to Washington.
Getting ready to drive the Mustang into the trailer.
Loading the Mustang into the trailer. The trunk was left open because Jim thought he'd have to crawl out through the trunk. There was enough room that he was able to squeeze out the door. Thank goodness he's a thin guy!
The Mustang loaded into the trailer with our household stuff up above on the loft.
Getting ready to load the Fairlane.
Loading the Fairlane.
The Fairlane loaded into the trailer.
The pickup loaded onto the trailer so we only had to drive one rig home.
A happy Jim that the biggest job has been completed. It's all downhill from this point on.
