We Are Home

Just about everyone gathered in the breakfast area for the last time. The day was to be cool but sunny; perfect for riding. I would be leading a group of 7 people on 6 bikes home; our plan was to ride all the way home but to stop about every hour or so for a short butt rest. Two other groups left about the same time we did but they were going to ride much harder with maybe 1 stop for gas. Our little group did fine; cruising 65 and 70 on major highways. We ran into rain about 100 miles from home and had to stop to put on the rain suits. The rain slowed us down considerably and we made it home by 5:15 PM. 10 hours in the saddle but it didn’t seem bad; the 15 minute rest breaks helped. One of the other groups arrived home 1 to 2 hours earlier. The ride home was 408 miles and we traveled a total of 1700 miles from day 1 to arriving home. We visited a lot of places; had a lot of fun and rode some of the best motorcycle roads in the USA. Now it’s time to begin thinking about next year’s travels.

The Banquet

The banquet was good food of course but also a lot of awards were given out this year. Cindy lost her glasses on the trip out so she was given some eye glass holders; Dale just couldn’t get his GPS to work correctly and was so lost without it he was given a compass; Roger was given duct tape to fix his bike with; Bill was given a box of Kleenex because he has cried all week because he is in a car and not on two wheels (due to a broken wrist); Mike and John were given a ball of string because they travel together but usually get separated and lost on their travels; Leon was given Monkey Butt powder because he is always complaining about the ‘butt burning rides’ we take; Mike was given a box of band-aids to patch up his road rash; Betty was given a sweater clip because she lost her sweater on the ride here; Lucy was given a mask representing a river captain because on the paddlewheel boat ride she was given the wheel to steer the boat and Bernie was given a green sparkle hat because he left home without a hat and he was all upset every time we stopped about his helmet hair.

Bernadette had a great game of guess what is in the bag. There were 15 bags and we had to guess what was in each one just by feeling – and surprise surprise – Bernie won. He only missed one item. Our 50 – 50 winners were Bill Venable; Sandra Venable; Roger Whaley and Andy Hale.

Now the banquet is over and some are heading to their rooms to pack and some of the guys are planning to play one last game of cards. Parting words were “let’s meet for breakfast at 7 and plan to pull out at 7:30” and about two-thirds of the group will be leaving at the same time. I’m sure we will get separated along the way as some stop more often for rest and/or gas but what an awesome sight a dozen bikes make traveling down the highway.

Sternwheeler Festival

Roger’s bike was finished today so as soon as he returned to the hotel we headed to Marietta Ohio to check out the Sternwheeler Festival. There were thousands of people milling around with chairs and blankets spread out on the banks of the Ohio River where dozens of Sternwheelers were docked along with one of the war ships that carried our troops to Normandy beaches during WWII and lots of vendors selling crafts and food.

After a couple of hours some headed back to the hotel and Bernie, Shirley, Glenn, Kathy, Don and I headed cross hill and dale to find the Berdine’s 5 & Dime store in Harrisville, WV. Shirley had read about this store in the Sunday paper and thought it would be a neat place to visit. Apparently this is the America’s oldest 5 & dime store still in operation. She was right. There were toys, bulk candy, china, doilies, dolls, postcards, stationary, marbles, kitchen gadgets, joke items, jams and jellies, and the list goes on and on. The lady running the store was so nice and more than happy to show us everything. And of course we all came out with something special we had purchased.

We arrived back to the hotel in time to shower and pack before heading to the banquet. Tomorrow we head for home with all our memories.

Pictures of The Wilds

The Wilds

Pulled out at 8 AM and traveled some great back roads in Ohio reaching the Wilds by 9:35 as planned. This place was more than I had expected. We boarded the open air bus and pulled through the automatic gates. Ronnie, our tour guide and bus driver, drove slowly over the bumpy dirt trails stopping at various locations in the open fields where animals were grazing or wondering; buffalo, zebras, giraffes, rhinoceros, elk, and many, many more. After our safari they had prepared us a lunch which we ate on the overlook and then headed out to find some back roads on which to play. I had the directions from the Internet for the Ohio Dragon, route 536; 11 miles of twists and turns, uphill and down scraping floorboards as you first lean left and then lean right. I don’t think there is one single straight stretch in the whole 11 miles. Then we got on Ohio 7 which runs right along the river. Dinner was pizza ordered in and shared in the social room where the ladies talked and the men played cards.

This and That

This group just isn’t right! 21 of us went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner and they put us all in one area together. We had noticed about 2 or 3 times the servers came dancing past clapping and singing for someone’s birthday. Someone, and I cannot tell you who because I don’t know for sure, told the servers it was Andy’s birthday. So here they come, about 8 or 10, clapping, shouting and singing to Andy. His eyes were as big as saucers and his mouth wide open. Everyone in the group was hooting and yelling. Then they brought Andy the complimentary large piece of cake with ice cream piled on top with chocolate syrup. He was nice enough to pass the plate around to anyone who wanted to have a bite. Andy’s birthday is really in June. And this was the one time I left the camera in the room; what a picture this would have made for the newsletter.

We’ve had a few hitches along the way. Roger was having a problem with his bike on the way out and it just got worse so he took it to the shop on Tuesday afternoon. Needs a driveshaft and they are calling all over the place to find one. The factory said they are on backorder for a month. Found one on e-bay which is being shipped overnight to the shop. Hope they get it finished before Roger and Ginny plan to leave on Sunday.

We have 4 people who want to go on the Wilds Tour but I had to give then the final count two weeks ago. Not sure if we can add 4 more people since lunch is being provided. They are going to ride with us since I am planning a nice ride after our safari tour. Several of us want to find the Ohio Dragon.

Blennerhassett Island Tour

Left the parking lot at 9:45 to wind our way downtown Parkersburg to the Blennerhassett Museum; easy trip. I rode on the back of Don’s bike to navigate the streets. The building was built in 1904 and operated as Star Grocery Company until 1940 but it was well maintained and held loads of interesting items from the Blennerhassett family as well as artifacts from earlier history in this area. Getting back on the bikes we rode about 3 miles to Belpre where we boarded the paddlewheel boat for the short trip across the Ohio River to the island. The boat captian motioned for Lucy to come to the front and she was given the wheel to steer the boat. The Blennerhassett’s were very wealthy and the mansion was a showpiece in the area. But he became involved with Aaron Burr and was labeled a traitor and lost everything and ended up moving back to London to live with his sister. After touring the house we took a wagon ride around the island and the young lady handling the horse was a bundle of information. A sign said you can tip the driver and kiss the horse so Bernie got to kiss the horse. Back on the boat we headed to the shore for our ride back to the hotel where some of the ladies plan to go shopping, a few men want to take naps or share stories over a cold beer and one game of cards before dinner. I think it was a good day; most of our group enjoys museum trips once in awhile.