I had a wonderful several days in Redondo Beach at Hank and Dara's pad, and Truman and I got along famously.
Such hospitality I've rarely seen! It was nice just to hang out, mostly (trampolines make for GREAT naps!), but also enjoyed a ride up the Malibu canyons to the Rock Store, a SoCal motorcycling institution.
We also had a great time exploring the LaBrea tar pits. fascinating.
Eventually, it was time to head East, so after a good breakfast and leisurely morning, I got on the road a little after noon. I took Artesia out to I-10 and plodded on, bypassing Phoenix down to I-8 in 114 degree heat. Again, I sure was glad I had the cooling vest.
It was a strange sensation to have cooler air inside my helmet than outside- Normally, when I get hot in there, I flip up the shield for some relief. This day, it was like aiming a blow dryer in there. Much more comfortable with the visor closed! I made it halfway between Phoenix and Tucson that first day.
The next day, I continued on I-10 (pretty much S.O.P. at this point) across the rest of Az. and New Mexico and into Texas. All through N.M., I had a 25 M.P.H. or so crosswind, so I was at a bit of a lean angle just going straight down the road.
Along N.M. and into Texas, the number of Border Patrol officers was impressive. At one point, all traffic on the interstate was diverted through an inspection station manned by Border patrol. Very foreign (bad pun) to this Florida boy. Anyhow, made it through El Paso and continued through the never-ending state of Texas where I stopped in Ft. Stockton for the night. Remember how we wrote of how nice Texas rest stops were after experiencing the excellence of Oklahoma on the ride out? I found yet another example of this on the way back at this Tx. stop:
The next day was rainy, and I didn't do so well on overall mileage. I made it through San Antonio and Houston, and was shooting for Louisiana, but had to stop for the night, still in Texas, in the town of Hankamer. Today, while waiting out a particularly strong storm under a closed truck inspection station, I was a lawbreaker!
The next day was a haul- from Texas to just outside Tampa in Land O' Lakes, Fl. where I dropped in on Amy Cullen, had a visit and crashed for the night. About 900 miles in all. Nothing notable, just the conflicting feelings of getting farther away from my brother, who I enjoyed spending time with immensely, while at the same time getting closer to my family, who at this point I was missing terribly.
The next day was a short jaunt down I-75 to home, taking the "creative" route in my home territory to try to dodge the rainstorms we get every day here in Summer, and arriving home to this:
I'm a lucky guy.
7,460 miles in all, only 1 flat (in the driveway before we left) and no mechanical problems, good weather for the most part, an incredible travelling companion and a trip I won't ever forget.
I'm a lucky guy.
thanks for reading.
