A Day Kissed Wtih Blessings

May 5, 2012


Overcast skies greeted us but the weather was warm enough the jacket was packed in the trunk. I chose to ride on the back of Bessie with Don today for a couple of reasons: 1) to spend time with my husband, we can talk and share the trip and 2) I can take pictures and really enjoy the scenery. I will admit we found a couple of roads I would have liked to rock and roll on my own two wheels but that’s ok.

I expected visiting Bill’s Old Bike Barn to be interesting but let’s face it I was just here last year; but this place is so full of various items that I found lots of things I had missed during my first trip. It was interesting to talk to Bill’s wife and find they have now built living quarters on the second floor because they spend so much time at the museum they figured it only made sense to just live there. Just imagine – living in such a wonderful play land! And they are not done – they are currently working on another extension to fill with more collectables.

After a couple hours wondering around and marveling over this and that Glenn leads us on some great roads to explore the countryside. The sun is bright and the temps are warm. How can I put into words what I saw? Mountains with wet rock faces where they had been split to blast a way for the road and thin trickles of water seeping through small unseen cracks from the belly of the earth. These trickles turn into small creeks and streams tumbling and rushing over rocks creating small waterfalls which feed into rivers lazily flowing towards the ocean. Wild flowers of white, purple and yellow wave in the tall grass by the road as we pass and the air is scented with their smell. Cattle graze on the hills and a few sheep are seen in pastures with grass up to their belly so they appear to be cotton balls on a carpet of green. Fields have been plowed but not planted yet and in some areas the dirt is so dark it reminds me of a cookie sheet spread with dark melted chocolate. We pass houses built of stone and logs with vines clinging to the sides and reaching the roof; not the new fancy ones but the strong sturdy ones built a hundred years ago. The ones that have heard a thousand cries of new born babies, the secrets of a young girl in love and the whispers of the aging husband and wife sitting on the front porch waving to us as we pass. There are barns of all shapes, sizes and state of repair. Some are well cared for and painted red with farm equipment inside and others with boards missing here and there, dark weathered walls that appear to have never felt the smooth caress of a paint brush but still serving the purpose they were built for. We travel through townships like Wolf, Dushore, Picture Rock, Valley and others. We stop for lunch at Pam’s Restaurant in Dushore; having no idea exactly how we got here but knowing we enjoyed every minute of getting here. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves; I mean how much business would a small place in a small crossroads have? We laugh and tease and look forward to more riding after lunch. Glenn leads us out and we travel what I call a four digit road. The road number was 1048 and I told Don I didn’t think this was going to end well. I’ve found that four digit roads in PA many times turn to dirt when you least expect. We were climbing and dipping over the blacktop with no lines and no shoulders enjoying the wind in our face and the constant sway of the bike when Glenn announced it doesn’t look good and we better turn around and find another route to Lewisburg. Oh well no problem when you don’t have a real plan other than to enjoy the ride you’re never lost and never late you live in the moment and what more could anyone ask.

In Lewisburg we spend some time in the Street Shops a place we found last year; an old furniture factory building that now houses a variety of specialty shops. Time to head back to the hotel just 40 or so miles away but our tanks are empty so what we expect to be a quick stop turns into an hour or so because one of the bikes decided she just wasn’t going to fire. Now we cannot fault this bike she didn’t give up on a back road or in the small town at lunch – no she gave up right in a gas station’s parking lot just a mile or so from a Walmart and an auto parts store. Several men hovered over the bike to figure out what her ailment might be. A lifeline is hooked to her battery from a Honda Gold Wing and we wait to see if she will revive. No luck so off goes Mike on his bike to Walmart to purchase a new battery. Back comes Mike wrong battery but this time the faulty battery is out and he can take it with him. Off goes Mike again - back comes Mike and again 7 or 8 hover over the ailing patient to monitor the installation of the new battery. A turn of the key and she rumbles; all is well. Ok let’s pull on our helmets and find the Interstate to make a fast trip of the 40 miles back to the hotel and dinner.

We pull in the parking lot at 7:45 and the restaurant next door closes at 8. Someone runs to the restaurant to see if they will still serve us, yes! Did I say this was a great day? Do I even need to say that or have you figured that out?