T minus 6 hours

Another rough day for us. We were up and on the road back to Jameston Harley, first thing this morning. Unbelievably, the temp here was 47 when we rolled out of the sack. 47 degrees!!! It’s August!!! 47 degrees on the bike is cold, especially when you’re on vacation!!

So when King said he was taking the Jeep, we agreed that this was the smart thing to do, and we quickly jumped in before he could take off without us.

We loaded up, got there and picked up the things that King had ordered and were back here with plenty of time to kill. Our only concrete timetable was to stop over to see Jerry and Barb sometime after 1, since Barb works 3rd shift and would be sleeping in the morning. So while King mowed the lawn, we made breakfast, did some rock exploring with Alyssa, and did some weeding in Pat’s rock garden (she’s a slave driver, what can I tell ya?).

Before we knew it, it was time to swing over to 4-mile road and say hello. We got to see Jerry’s new trike (he’d broken his last one – probably by doing those Evel Knievel jumps on the back roads). King and Lynner showed up, we shot the breeze for a while and then saddled up for our trip to see the fallen brothers.

Jerry joined us and we rolled up to say hello to Dana and leave this year’s mementos. (No Massachusetts quarters this time around – see last year’s post to see how well that worked out for me before!) From there, we slid over to Gapper’s grave, and then Chuck’s.

The setting sucks, but it’s nice to share fond memories of lost brothers with close friends. We brought a few beers with us as usual, and we used these to toast the memories, and to share a drink with each of our brothers.

From there, we rolled over to Danny’s house to check out his newly constructed abode. It sucks. 3-sided farmer’s porch, a driveway that’s probably a mile long, winding into the woods, and more land than you could walk across in one day with a good map. He’s still got some work to do on the house, but it’s coming along very nicely and I’m only a little jealous. (Ok, I’m very jealous.) He even brought out pics that he’d taken of the wildlife in the area. A mama fox and her pups, rolling around in the field; wild turkeys within coin-tossing distance, deer aplenty on all sides (one doe chose to give birth to her two fawns between his porch and his chimney), as well as multiple pics of bears. Yep; bears. Bears in his yard, bears on his porch, etc. I commented that there’s nothing to stop the bears from just walking through one of his windows if they have a mind to. His reply? I’ve got plenty of guns in there that will stop them. Ok, I guess he’s got things covered.

From there, we rolled to – drum roll please… Mickey’s!! Oh, the succulent steak & cheese subs that this guy creates. *Drool*! The other guys had wings and pizza, but I always have the same thing; pure delectable heaven. Once I’d finished it and was stuffed, I wished I was hungry again so that I could order another one. I inquired as to the cost it would take to have three of these shipped to my house each day, and Tommy responded that the mere fact that I lived in New England, would put it far out of economical reach. (He’s a Yankees fan – go figure.)

From there, we parted ways with Danny and King (we’ll see them again soon enough), and Zig and I shot up to the (shocking surprise) VFW. We shared more laughter with the folks there, consumed a few beers, toasted each other with shots of Harley Oil, and we even recited “The Toast”.

Now it’s back at King’s Taj Motor Home” and I’m wired. I can never sleep on the night before rolling out for a ride. And while technically Zig and I have been on ‘a ride’ for the past two weeks, we’ve been on relaxation time for the past two days. Tomorrow we roll out towards our Labor Day destination, and to be honest; the past two days have been exceptionally fun. Just kicking back and soaking up the serenity. But I’m getting antsy again, and sleep will be hard to come by. It’s going to be frikkin’ awesome to start rolling up more miles again...

Even though they’re calling for rain tomorrow.

But that’s tomorrow - and tomorrow is the start of another adventure. So rain be damned. There’s fun out there to be had, and we’re going to find it. Or, more correctly; it’s going to be with us from the start, because we pack fun times wherever we go.

To be honest, it’ll be bittersweet. We’ll be continuing the event which was started so many, many years before now. And we’ll be remembering many fun times that have been shared with many, many friends. Some of whom have passed along before us.

Get ready Dana & Russ (and the rest of you who’ve passed); we’re coming up to repeat the fun and frivolity that you guys started so many years ago. And you’ll be there with us. No doubt.

Ride Hard, Take Chances