Tuesday July 10, 2012

Today we did something I have been longing to do, but I will tell you what it was later. After a good nights sleep we headed out northbound on interstate 75 toward that something I have been looking forward to doing. The temperature was a wonderful 72 degrees. As we traveled toward northern Michigan or what the locals call the "U-P" or "upper peninsula" the terrain changed from farms to forests. It reminded me of the first days of the ride in early June going thru the pacific northwest, without the rain of course! Everything was very green and lush. We stopped for lunch in Macinaw City and visited several stores and lunched at a local favorite "Scalawags" for some fresh water fish and chips and whitefish chowder (I still prefer clam chowder) but the fish was good and Myrna loved the decor. After lunch we saddled up and headed for "that something" I have been wanting to do; we crossed the Macinac Bridge! The bridge is 5 miles long, 552 feet high and crosses over Lake Michigan (on the left) and Lake Huron (on the right) as we were traveling north. I always wanted to travel over that bridge and see one of the great lakes and great they are! Lake Michigan is so huge you could not see land on the other side of the lake. While crossing the bridge, there was construction being done so the right lane was closed. The right lane also happens to be the paved lane, the other lane is grated. My friends that ride a motorcycle know how much fun riding over a grate can be! Those of you that don't now, the front tire of a motorcycle tends to track with the grate making it harder to steer the bike. We made it safely over the lake and stopped to pay the toll. The toll for vehicles was $4.00, but because I was pulling a trailer it was $6.00. I thought I was in California with the crazy fees we pay on things! Anyway we found a park that had a great view of the bridge so we stopped for a Kodak moment. Also after crossing the bridge another milestone was accomplished. Since I started this journey on May 29, today was the first day I pointed the Wing west; we picked up highway 2 and will continue to ride the highway until we reach Washington before turning south! In other words, we have officially turned the corner and are headed home! We stopped for the night in Iron Mountain, Michigan after riding 278 miles, new total: 7,346 miles.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Monday July 9, 2012

After a relaxing day in Coldwater MI and a night in a Victorian it was time to continue north. But first we needed to take a bit of a diversion to Grand Rapids Michigan to once again pay visit to an Apple store. Yep, my phone was acting up again. We took highway 69 north to highway 50 west to interstate 96 west into Grand Rapids the ride was a pleasant 81 degrees. Long story short the Apple guy exchanged my iPhone for a new one. We got back on the road Heading north on highway 131 to highway 32 into Gaylord MI. The ride today took us by many farms and the sky's were blue with big billowing clouds. A very nice ride today although off our scheduled route because of the darn phone. However if it dies again I am waiting until I get back to Rocklin to visit another Apple store; it just takes too much valuable riding time out of the day! We rode 313 miles today for a grand total of 7068 miles ridden so far!

Doesn't Myrn do a great job taking pictures from the back of the bike while traveling down the highway! I am so glad she has joined me on this portion of "My Big Ride".

I apologize on the order the photos post in the blog. I upload them in the order that makes sense but the "blogger" app puts the photos in the order it sees fit! Also I wish I could write a caption under the photo but the "blogger" app does not allow it on the iPad. But thanks for reading along anyway!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Sunday July 8, 2012

Today we said good-bye to Fort Wayne as I loaded up the trailer adjusted the air suspension and pulled out of the parking lot of the Hyatt. The temperature was a pleasant 77 degrees and such a relief from the 100 degree days we have been sweating thru! We headed north on interstate 69 toward Coldwater, Michigan where we were staying at our friends Jim and Barb's Victorian home. Unfortunately they were out of town for the weekend but opened their home to us regardless!! It was too bad that we didn't get to visit with them but we did feel very relaxed and comfortable in their amazing Victorian home! The ride into Coldwater was short and easy, I barely knew the Bushtec was hitched to my bike! We arrived in Coldwater; a quaint little town filled with beautiful Victorian's. I took advantage of the cooler weather and finally installed a cup holder for Myrna that I picked up at WingDing. Myrn was inside taking pictures of Barb's creative and period appropriate victorian decorating. The neighboring town of Allen is a self proclaimed antique capital so after lunch we took a ride over there to do some antiquing. Myrna found a couple treasures that packed easily on the Wing. We had to rush back as we had been invited to dinner over at the home of Ron and Minnie (good friends of Jim and Barb). We had never met Ron and Minnie before today, but after we left with our belly's full of a home cooked meal we felt we had known them for years. They were so gracious and inviting; we truly enjoyed their company, the conversation and the food! We didn't cover too many miles today but we enjoyed visiting the little towns of Coldwater and Allen. Total miles ridden today 101, total for the trip 6755.

3 John 1:5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you.

Saturday July 7, 2012

Today was the last day for Wing Ding and the closing ceremonies. During closing ceremonies thousands of dollars of gifts were raffled off J&M sound systems to trailers to a Hannigan Trike Conversion and a 2012 GoldWing. The attendance for the 34th annual Wing Ding was just under 9000 GoldWingers. I met a lot of "new friends" of various ages and races including the "Buffalo Soldiers". There is something special about GoldWingers and their love of the road and their bikes. Since this was the last day, I took a few more pictures of the tons of bikes in the parking lot as well as some unique bikes and or trailers. For example, there was a 4 wheel Wing built by Hannigan that was on display in coliseum this week (I posted a picture of it yesterday). Well tonight after closing ceremonies we got back to the hotel and in the parking lot was the 4 wheeler! I went over to talk to the owner and he had it built and delivered to the show. He told me there are only twelve 4 wheel wings in existence and Bubba owns one of them. I asked him if I could get a picture of him with his bike and he obliged then told me to sit on his bike so he could take a picture of me! Next years Wing Ding is in South Carolina so I doubt I will be attending but I do hope to make it to another WingDing in the future as I am so glad I made it to this WingDing. Tomorrow we leave Indiana and head towards Michigan for our journey home. Thank you for your prayers and please keep praying for traveling mercies for us.

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Friday July 6, 2012

Before we left Abilene I shipped a box of our clothes to the hotel we are staying at in Fort Wayne. Per UPS the box was to be delivered yesterday. We were so looking forward to getting into tennis shoes and non-riding clothes. When the box didn't arrive I checked the tracking and it showed the box arrived in Indianapolis on July 3rd. I called UPS and was informed that the box was now back in Texas and scheduled to arrive in Fort Wayne on Tuesday July 10th! What the heck happened? I told the UPS representative that we will be in Wisconsin on Tuesday. There was no explanation as to why the shipment was returned to Texas and that I needed to contact the shipper and have them request UPS to trace the box and initiate an investigation? Gads how is that for customer care? UPS messed up the shipment and I am the one to call the UPS store where the package originated!! I didn't argue with the lady on the phone and this morning I called the "shipper". The guy at the shipping store apologized and said he would contact UPS and get an investigation started. Since there is no way for the shipment to catch up with us on the road I am having it sent back to Rocklin. In the meantime we stopped by Kohls to buy some tennis shoes and Myrna got a pair of pants. Unfortunately Myrna wasn't feeling well so we shortened our shopping and I took her back to the hotel. I think the heat and humidity took it's toll on her. After spending the day in A/C, hydrating and resting she was fine later in the afternoon. I had to drop the trailer off at Bushtec for a cosmetic issue and I went to visit the vendors in the coliseum. I also wanted to have Blue Lightening Spark Plugs installed so I had that done on the Wing. I also picked up summer riding jackets for Myrn and me and drooled at all the vendors one more time, especially the LED lighting vendors! I took pictures of a few rebuilt GoldWings, they are attached to this post.

1Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.