Heading North

November 16, 2011

Abilene TX

            Seems that I’m challenged trying to depart a place L.

            The plan was to load up the trailer and truck Tuesday morning and be on the road by noon..HA!  Never happened.  There was laundry to do, gear to organize, pictures to download, bllls to pay online, blogs to finish up, yadayadayada.

            It was 7pm when I was strapping Sophia down that I released the wrong strap and she toppled over inside the trailer.  Got her up and properly strapped when Harley (My son’s sweetheart) called to check on me.  She suggested that I just spend another night and depart the next day in the daylight.....made sense.  So I locked things up to finish in the morning’s daylight.  Why is it that girls have a way of putting some sense into a fella’s head??

            Wednesday morning I decided to have a good exercise before departing.  When I went out to the trailer to finish strapping things down I found a green fluorescent tag pasted to the ramp warning me that the trailer would be towed away by 1700 that day!  Zach and I had already worked this all out with the office administrators twice, so it was very upsetting to see this a second time. I finished strapping things down then went to the office to complain about the defacing of my private property. Bottom line is that there was a lot of miscommunication.  Oh well, I will not be staying there again…the administration is a little too uptight for my “live on the road” lifestyle!

I enjoyed the run to Abilene listening to music, stopping occasionally to check the load, and viewing the countryside.  I like the way this part of the country rolls with gentle hills and how it is host to some unique looking trees.  The most interesting ones are probably oaks, seeminly smaller than the typical oak I am familiar with….I’ll have to learn a little about these trees for my trip out here next year.

Luckenbach Texas

November 15, 2011

Luckenbach Texas

            Can’t believe it !  I was looking at the Hill Country map to figure out where I would ride to on a gorgeous day and couldn’t believe my eyes….right below Fredericksburg is the town of Luckenback!  Is this the home of the famous Waylon Jennings song?  Oh man, I gotta go there.

            Weather is looking good so…..rolled Sophia outa the trailer and headed out for a ride to Luckenbach.  It was a perfect day for it…and I was anticipating catching some great views of the country.  

Salt Lick BBQ

November 13, 2011

Driftwood Texas

The best Damn BBQ in Texas ! 

Zach, Harley and me drove out to Driftwood to meet with Zach’s friend  Mike1 in red Tshirt, Mike’s aunt-forefront in blue, his aunt’s fiancée Mike2-forehead behind aunt, and Mike2’s niece-Mike1’s future cousin when Mike1’s aunt gets married to Mike2.  (I am having sooooo much fun trying to write this after losing my notes with everyone’s names)

The destination in Driftwood is this ranch style restaurant out on CR170, about 20 miles southwest of Austin.  Best route from Austin is to take TX1 south to TX45 then south on County 1826 til you intercept CR170.  It's the only place all lit up along that country road.

When you pull into the 2 acre dirt parking lot you’ll need to find a dirt spot to park at a hitchin post then walk in to the BBQ ranch house.

There’s quite a few unique aspects of Salt Lick BBQ.  First of all, you can BYOB in a cooler and sit n drink all nite long.  2^nd, you can either sit inside or outside.  If inside, you get to savor the aromas of the BBQ’ing of ribs, beef, pork, chicken.  If outside, you get to sit under the stars at big ol’ picnic tables, and listening to a local band playing some good music while drinking your BYOB.

We ordered the family style fixings which costs $20 a head and is all you can eat…including take home if you ‘d like to.  All the BBQ is served with beans and potatoes.  I stuffed myself silly….which sez a lot cuz I don’t particularly go outa my way to have a BBQ.

It was a wonderful evening with great company and interesting conversation, sure hope to meet all these wonderful folks again in the future.

I wish more places had a BYOB policy…..kinda like being part of the family J.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Deer in Sophia's Headlamp

November 11, 2011
Austin TX

            Rolled Sophia out of the trailer and headed out for the Hill Country with Harley coming along for the ride.  Harley, my son’s sweetheart, and I had originally planned for a run to Fredricksburg but decided to workout first and then go for the ride. 
            So, the late start got us only as far as Johnson City.  But that was a good thing because we discovered Texas Hills Vinyards and, lucky for us, they were open until 6pm….and we arrived at about 5:15pm!  We met Jana, the young lady serving the wine in the Tasting Room, as we entered, and she assisted Harley in selecting some cheese and a salami type sausage for us to munch on crackers in between tasting the various liquid grapes.  However, in my case, I didn’t drink the wine, I just sipped, aerated, tasted, and then spit it out.   Since it would be dark out when we made the return ride, I didn’t want to take any chances on being impairing my motorcycle skills on the night ride back to Austin.

Jana told us a lot about the winery and the area and engaged us in conversation.  We were the only customers there at the time but I suspect that it is Jana’s nature to be an excellent conversationalist.  It was here that I learned many of the grapes come from the Lubbock TX area.  Also, it seems that the Texas soil lends a spicy flavor to the grapes.  After taking my order to ship some bottles to Orange County CA, Jana opened the door to the winery warehouse and we had a pic taken of the three of us there.  I'm still amazed that the wine made in these metal vats match the taste of those aged in oak casks of old.  Here’s a pic of moi and dos Tejas cuties.

Texas Bats of Congress

November 10, 2011

Austin TX       

            First and Foremost…..Happy 236th Birthday to all my Fellow Marines….Semper Fi to all you Leathernecks out there !!

            Today was a beautiful day in Austin.  Harley and I started out with breakfast at 24 Diner where we ordered the Waffle Breakfast consisting of two eggs over medium, ham, brown sugar butter waffles and an Applewood Bacon & Cheddar Frittata with pickled jalapenos.  We then shared half and half for a great breakfast with very tasty coffee.  Kim was our waitress and she, as well as her teammates ensured we had everything we needed and never let our cups get empty!  A quick visit to Waterloo Music Shop next door gave us a view of all the LP’s they have in stock for DJ’s and the eccentric public at large.  Found a nice straw cowboy hat in there but didn’t buy it as I would like to check around.

            Our next stop was the Capitol building of the great Republic of Texas.  Wow!  It is a gorgeous building…and it’s taller than the Capitol building in D.C.  Passing security was not as strainful as airport security.  And the Texas guards engaged us in conversation the whole time making it a very pleasant experience.

Zach The Pizza Dude

November 8, 2011

Austin TX

            Low key day today, little rainy and windy.  Zach had to go to work…will be all this week…so Harley and I worked out then went to Torchy’s Tacos and had a breakfast burrito and coffee…..very, very delicious!  After that we did some grocery shopping at HEB and I picked up a Texas Hill Country bottle of wine….interesting flavor….will have to visit a local winery and get a little education on their grapes here abouts in Texas.  The final stop was at the AAA to pick up some maps.  Got maps of TX, OK, NM, AZ, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, UT, and CO.  Also pick up some guide books on all the camping sites within the southwest.  I’ll have to remember to pick up camp books for all the states so I can find campsites easier next year without relying on the internet.  And the last thing I was able to get was a map of the Hill Country….now I can do some local sightseeing on Sophia.

            Zach has always had an interest in cooking and actually makes a fantastic guacamole with loads of spices and lime and crunchy onions, tomatoes, and other secret stuff that I need to get the recipe so I can have it more often.  But a new surprise came to light today….he makes a mean pizza! 

            So we spent the evening eating pizza, drinking some wine/beer, and watching one of the Walking Dead episodes…..with only one zombie showing up in it….very gross scene!

            Hope I can sleep tonight without imagining I hear shuffling feet L,

C ya mañana

Gonzo

twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA

email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Looking Upon Austin

November 7, 2011

Austin TX

            Today was Harley’s birthday, and Zach had to go to work.  So Harley and I worked out, had some breakfast then picked up Melissa and IO and headed out for some sightseeing.

            Melissa really knows her way around the greater Austin area so she first took us to Mount Bonnell to view Lake Austin and the City of Austin.  The mount is around 800 ft above mean sea level and does indeed have a nice view to both…..here’s some pics below.

Happy Birthday All

November 6, 2011

Austin TX 

            We all slept in on this fine Austin “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down”, so it was a late start for breakfast.  That meant that the only place we could get breakfast served was at Kirby Lane restaurant on US183, about a 5 minute ride from the apartment.  Kirby’s is about the only place in the neighborhood where you can get breakfast all day long…..nice J.

            After breakfast we did some grocery shopping for the evening meal.  I had volunteered to cook Japanese style curry and Melissa volunteered to a pistachio birthday cake for Zach (5Nov), me (6^th) and Harley (7^th).  So I needed to get the curry sauce, lotsa

Pausin’ in Austin

November 5, 2011

Austin TX

            After departing Lander’s Toad Suck Harley in Conway I headed southwest to Texarkana then skirted around the east side of Dallas to pick up the I-35 for Austin.  Somewhere north of Waco I pulled into a Mexican Restaurant and had an authentic Mexican dish of taco, enchilada and tamal.  Ahhhh, it was so-o-o-o-o good to have a real dinner and a DosEquisXX!  It was late when leaving the restaurant so I parked in a motel parking lot and camped out there for the night.  The temperatures were in the 40’s during the night and my sleeping bag kept me toasty.  In the morning I found a Starbucks and treated myself to my usual medium latte no foam, and worked on my emails and blog.

            The next stop was at Temple to visit “Horny Toad” Harley Davidson for a Tshirt with “Horny Toad” on it.  Another must have!  Although I already have Texas T’s from El Paso, I felt that this one was a very unique name to have.  This time I remembered to get a pic of the store….hope that gives me a little credibility on the “Toad Suck” store in AR.  Found me a nice pinup T and headed down the road to Austin…about 2 hrs away.

Toad Suck

October 30, 2011

Somewhere in Arkansas

Spent the night camping in a Motel parking lot, hmmm, let me explain that a little. Earlier I had pulled into a rest area but signs directed me into a wooded area away from the Highway and it was totally isolated, no other cars were there.  I Didn’t feel comfortable with the set up so I drove a little further until finding an exit loaded with motels, gas stations and fast food places.  This is where I found a motel parking lot that could accommodate the Expedition and Trailer.

So what does “camping” mean to me on this road trip?? I’m driving a Ford Expedition

Thrill in Nashville

November 4, 2011

Nashville TN

Never been to Nashville before, hell, I’ve never been in Tennessee. Oops, let me correct that, I did drive through it with a friend in 1967 on my way from San Diego to Buffalo. This is an example of how memory fails and fools us sometimes.

It’s interesting how memories are subject to be corrected and updated when meeting with another who was involved in the events that created the memory. And this trip to visit Neal Nadler, a USMC flying buddy who shared a nighttime rescue flight with me on the side of Mount Fuji, updated a memory that was vivid in a few details, totally incorrect in some, and vague in others.

The ride from MD through VA and into TN was eye opening with the gradual change in geography, the hills and then mountains, the climbing and descending roads winding through the forests, and ‘smoke’ was visible in the valleys signaling the arrival of the Smokey Mountains.

First stop was at Pigeon Forge to get a H-D Tshirt from TN. Young lady there, Rachel, assisted me in finding the perfect pinup. She commented on how a customer said the pinup girl on the shirt looked like here. Actually, Rachel was a lot cuter J …probably should’ve said that to her but didn’t think of it at the time L. When I charged it and showed my CA driver’s license it turned out that she grew up in Huntington Beach…so we reminisced a little. The real nice part about this dealership (besides gorgeous young ladies) is that they offer a 10% discount to military. Nice!

It was great visiting with Neal and his lovely wife Liz. They both have had interesting and successful lives. Neal is now a PhD and owns a consulting practice while Liz is with South West Airlines flying around the USA (which is almost as good as Harleying around the USA :). Here's a pic of us infront of ther Lil' 4000 square foot cottage nestled in the country south of Nashville.

Since Liz was scheduled for a flight on Wednesday, she decided to take us to

Heading for Tennessee

October 29, 2011

Somewhere in VA

            It was interesting to drive from the relatively flat areas of MD along the Chesapeake, across VA and south into Charlottesville before heading west to pick up the I-81 to head south.  The flat areas began forming into hills, then larger hills flowing into small mountains and valleys and then WHAM, hello Shenandoah Valley and the Appalachians.  It was here that I saw the first remnants of the recent storm that brought the first snow to the higher elevations and the rainbow of Fall colors as the leaves began their change to the yellows, golds, rusts, and reds that are so beautiful this time of year. 

Maryland Butt Flutter

October 26, 2011

Lusby, MD

Just couldn’t seem to get to bed.  I spent some time standing at the dining room sliding door looking out over the creek, sipping cups of hot water.  Then I’d get more water and walk out to the front porch and listen to the soft breeze stirring the early autumn leaves.  I liked the whispering, no syllables, just mamasita natura flowing through the leaves telling them it was time to sleep, time to let loose, to leave their source of life and float to earth for the last time.  I think I got the message, finally went to bed.

At about 6 or so I woke up needing to go to the bathroom, that’ll happen after drinking about 4-5 cups of hot water the night before after having 2-3 glasses of red wine.  I drink the hot water because I no longer find the wine tasty and because it is good for a healthy system.

My eyes were weary, and my bones were tired with only 3 hours sleep.  So instead of standing I lifted only the toilet lid and did the unmanly act of sitting on the stool to urinate. 

Elbows on my knees, chin resting on my hands, I let my eyes close to shield the light and to rest the weary eyelids.

Suddenly, my eyes came wide open!

Involuntarily, my body froze all muscles.

I stopped breathing.

York Operations & Gettysburg Battlefield

October 7, 2011

Lusby MD

            Had a good breakfast courtesy of Quality Inn, and asked for directions to Memory Lane leading to Hwy 30, Arsenal Road, to get to the H-D York assembly plant.  The directions were either wrong or I misunderstood as I could tell after a couple of miles that I was not heading in the general direction where I knew the assembly plant was located.  I saw the hwy 462 sign and turned onto it…it was Philadelphia Ave, then saw a sign directing me to historical downtown York, cool, I’ll head there and check it all out…but wait, is that a baseball stadium over there to the left?  Gotta check it out! 

            It was the Soverign Bank Stadium, home to the York Revolution, an independent baseball team that is the 2011 Atlantic League Champions!  How about that?  With that I decided to pass on the downtown ride and check out my Droid Maps GPS to get to the H-D plant…aha! I was about a mile away from the place.

            The tour was fantastic!  Their manufacturing operations are fantastic, very advanced.  It was like being in the Renton Boeing plant watching a 747 being assembled….pretty cool J.  This place makes the touring, softail and trikes for the whole world.  Australia/New Zealand is the #1 importer of Harleys and Japan is #3.  California gets a special color because of the emission controls…go figure…always thot CA was a country of its own!

            Frames are assembled on a cart, VIN stamped on the finished frame (given birth) and that cart then is driven by under floor magnetic drivers to each place to begin the assy of whatever bike it is to become.  Hydraulic presses apply 300 tons of pressure to stamp out tanks and fenders from sheets of steel.  Painting is done on site, very sophisticated.  QA is abundant, employee empowered groups exist.  The place is clean, organized, well laid out.  I applied for a job but they rejected me due to lack of experience….bummer.

           

Little League

October 6, 2011
York PA

            During breakfast I noticed a few more pics on the walls in the Dining Room…Little League Pics!  Research on the internet confirmed that the LL World Series is indeed here in South Williamsport.  So my first stop upon leaving Genetti’s was to Lamade Stadium for a coupla pics….then to Horsepower H-D.

             Lamade Stadium is awesome!  So perfectly manicured…I can just imagine the awe that a young Little Leaguer would have upon attaining the playoff level in this stadium.  Hell, I’m sure coaches and families are equally impressed!

Riding Susquehanna Trail

October 5, 2011
Williamsport PA
Home of Little League World Series

            Well, I finally made it to the Home of the Little League World Series!  When I was coaching the Little League teams in Lake Forest, my son and I would watch the series every year….lotsa fun!

            Departed North Tonawanda around 2 pm, 4 hrs past plan.  But I did get Sis’ bathroom cabinet done, map and riding directions, etc.  Sis fixed me a very nice brunch so I would have the energy to ride J.

            Weather was a little cool, overcast, but no rain.  As I rode through south of Buffalo the sun broke through and things started to warm up.  The roads were good ones and traffic was light.  It definitely warmed up so I was glad not to be wearing the raingear….just had the jeans.

            Only came across 6 other bike riders during the trip…coming from the east as I was heading east on US-20A.  They were well bundled up….must’ve been cold wherever they originated from. 

            The countryside was rolling hills, wooded and farmed, very rural NY and very attractive.  It is nice to get out of the city.  The trees are beginning to turn into the colors of fall.  I could see reds sparsed out amongst the greens and some golds.

Buffalo Bills are 3-0 !!

September 25, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

Is this for real??  The Bills actually beat the Pats by a field goal??  Wow, what an exciting game. Well, at least the 2^nd half was exciting.  Seems the Bills are a 2^nd half team..they were down 21-0 in the first half when they scored a field goal before the half ending.  Then they come back in the 2^nd all fired up and coordinated.  Of course, it can be argued that Brady was just not at his best and the Pats secondary was 2^nd string due to injuries.  But bottom line, the Pats 2^nd half performance was sub par while the Bills stepped it up a few notches! 

Good for them.

Did another trip to Buffalo, this time finding the old house at 97 Norwood.  What a surprise!  It seems that to an 8 yr olds’ perspective everything is BIG.  Looking at it now it was a reality jolt to the memory.  I thot the place was brick…it isn’t..same as all the houses on the street….has sidings.  It is a 3 story with basement and as I looked up a the attic I could recall how my Aunt n Uncle had fixed up a bedroom in the back of the 3d floor attic for me. The basement was my favorite place however.  Back then coal was delivered and slid down the chute to be stored in the coal bin for the winter.  I had all the fun going down there and shoveling the coal into the furnace to keep the house warm….something I just enjoyed and which my Uncle gladly deferred to my exuberant ADHD youth.

From there I drove a few blocks east to

Schuele Ave

where we lived when my family moved up from TX and reclaimed me as their son.  Wasn’t much to see anymore….this has become a very run down area in Buffalo. 

Well, at least the Bills won another game….can they keep it going??

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Time Travelin’

September 24, 2011

North Tonawand NY

            Time Travelin’, how often do you wish we could do such a thing?  What would you do if you had such a capability??  Where and when would you have gone into the past to revisit something in history, or something in your own personal life, to prevent something, or to cause something to happen??  Where and why would you go into the future to somehow affect the current state of things.

            What prompted this reflection upon time travel?  I got sis the video “The Time Traverler’s Wife”.  It is a charming story.  But a story which still causes a wave of emotion upon me.

            I prefer not living in the past but it seems as if visiting here in the Tonawanda’s I have time traveled into the past.  Memories of events flood back into my consciousness.  Most memories joyous, of thrilling accomplishments, warming memories of youth; but some memories painful, harsh, sad, trials and failures, emotional scars carried through life and detracting from those joyous ones.  

I can only watch some of this movie, The Time Traveler’s Wife, for it keeps bringing back joyful memories that cannot be shared with those loved past.  But that is the value of memories.

I am glad that I have taken this venture of riding my Harley throughout America, even though I interrupted my western travels.  The eastern travels are awakening good memories, are renewing family relationships, strengthening my inner core to step into the future of the end.

I value my past, where I came from, my small accomplishments, what my family gave me to be capable of traveling my life’s journey, seeding me with the tools to survive.  I hope those seeds were passed on to my successors as they pursue their journey.

My journey still continues into the future with more of life to be experienced, but for now, I will just continue on working in the time present building new “memories”.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Shoppin’ In the Rain

September 23, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

            Breakfast at Tim Horton’s….a great alternative to Startbucks which is not easily found in Western NY.  But Timmy’s is everywhere!! And has excellent Arabica coffee and donuts, pastries, bagels, sandwiches, soups/chili, yadayada.

            From there we were off to the shoe store, then boot store, the cosmetics, and back to Blockbuster for another movie…this time we watched Tron.  Excellent FX but a variation upon “The Matrix”.

            I finally bought a bottle of wine….I need a nice glass of grape after shopping and getting wet in the rain.

C ya mañana
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Lost Gravesite

September 22, 2011

Buffalo NY

            We were on the road by 8:20 heading for the I-190 to downtown Buffalo.  Google maps had us picking up

Main St.

which would then become Deleware and connect to the 190.  Nope.  We ended up never seeing it…..so I headed north on Sheridan to pick up the 190 coming off the Grand Island Bridge.  Within minutes we were downtown and slightly lost.  I knew where we had to be but missed a turn and slowly worked my way back.  Eventually we found the building Sis had to be at and I dropped her off.  While she was doing that I went to a Starbucks about 4 blocks away and enjoyed a latte with free internet and free parking!

            I picked her up an hour later and we decided to ride back to NT via the streets…specifically,

Deleware Ave.

  We hadn’t gone more than 2 miles when I recognized the general area….I had lived

Home Town Visit

September 21, 2011

Tonawanda NY

            Rained all night with unbelievable thunderstorms and lightening.  Am glad I wasn’t riding out in that stuff !  Yesterday I broke the emergency parking brake in Sis’ car when I attempted to use it on Clifton Hill…seems parking brakes are not used here in NY.  So this morning we had the brake repaired.

            By midmorning the weather cleared and I saw that Dennis, the upstairs neighbor, was working on his 2011 black GMC Yukon.  He was adding chrome stripping to the door sides so Sis and I went out to join him.  And then Sis got lucky….Dennis used to ride and he still had his spare helmet and gloves!  So, I got out my toolkit and removed the rack that was bolted into the frame so she could sit on the backseat for a quick ride. 

            Off we went down

River Road

towards Tonawanda and what a surprise came before us!

The City of North Tonawanda has dedicated a park to the USMC.  It has a beautiful monument of the

Oh Canada !

September 20, 2011

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

            Woke up to a sunny day….no rain as was originally forecasted.  Talked sis into following me in her car over to Canada so we can take some pics of me and Sophia with the American Falls in the background.

            The ride over was easy….paid $3.25 to cross over the Rainbow Bridge from NF USA into NF, Ontario, Canada…had a brief chat with the USA toll person in regards to my rides and gave him my business card but forgot to ask his name to mention here.  Quick questions by the Canadian guard…where were I going, what will I be doing, how long will I be staying, any weapons….very simple stuff.  There was no one in line behind me so we chatted about my bike travels and I gave her my “Gonzo” card also….she was a cutie J. 

            We rode around the town as I got my bearings then headed “down” Clifton Hill and found the Harley store.  We parked Ginny’s car in the public parking ($10) and I parked on the street where there was just enough room for Sophia ($2).  The store was not a dealership but just a retail outlet…tourist trap.  A pinup t-shirt with a cutie wearing a Mountie outfit and leaning on a bike cost me $37 arrrrggghhhhh!!  But, that is my collection for this trip.

            We then headed down to the main parkway that follows the gorge where all the tourists walk to view the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls.  The Canadians have beautified their Falls, placed islands between the two lanes of road traffic, flowers, plants, bushes and trees trimmed nicely, etc.  Directly across from the American Falls I found a bricked surface in the island where I could put Sophia, and sis could then take a pic from the other side of the road capturing the American Falls behind me.  Worked out great!

Let’s Exercise !!

September 19, 2011

North Tonawanda, NY

            Poor Sis, she is the victim of my obsession with health and exercise.

            It was a rainy day so we did things around the apt then went out grocery shopping to fill her empty fridge with all the goodies I like.  For dinner we had roasted chicken and after cleaning up we worked the computer setting her up with a twitter account and introducing her to twitter’s workings.

            Then I suggested we do some stretching.  I have noticed that she walks very stiffly and, feeling in need of some stretching for my own sore body, thot this would be a good thing to share with her (hehhehheh).  I introduced her to the P90X stretching routine and she felt really good afterwards.

            Think I’ll see how she can handle going for some good walks and doing some other limited exercises. However, I need to be careful with her since she is out of shape.

            And I don’t want my lifestyle to cause her to invite me to go visit my brothers J.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Buffalo Bills WIN !!!

September 18, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

            Wow, did I ever sleep a long, deep sleep…think I was a little pooped.  Sis and I cooked up a nice breakfast then went to look at the American Falls via Goat’s Island.  We were hoping there would be a spot where I could pose with Sophia and have the Falls in the background.  But no such luck.

A nice thing happened however, in order to view the Falls you need to pay $10 to park the car. I explained to the gate guard what we were trying to take a pic of and he let Sis in her car and I with Sophia in for free since we would be there only about 10 minutes. 

Back at the apt we hung out while waiting for the Buffalo Bills football game to come on….she is a big time Bills fan.  They are playing the Oakland Raiders, a team for which I have no affinity, but was rooting for them just to stir the pot with sis and make it fun (but was hoping the Bills win J).  Yep, she is really into her Bills football…shrieking and jumping up and down at the times when critical plays were made.  It was a fun game, right to the end when the Bills went on top with about 18 secs left for the Raiders to execute a “Hail Mary”….at which the Bills intercepted and closed the game as the winners….made sis’ birthday a special one!

            Today was her birthday so, since she is very religious, I gave her the religious book and DVD that I had been carrying for her since I left CA….personal delivery without help from FedEx, UPS, or USPS.  I think she liked them.

            Dinner was with 2 of her close friends who cooked up a delicious eggplant parmigiana and chicken breasts and wonderful conversation.  Then back to the house for chatting with Sis and another night’s rest.

            I think this was a good birthday celebration for herJ.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Change Of Plans

September 17, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

The night in Cannajoharie (pronounced Canjaharie) was a quiet one….never heard the trains rumbling by during my exhausted sleep.  Canajaharie was affected by Irene; the town’s main intersection was under reconstruction and entry onto the road leading to the Rodeway Inn was closed off except to residents.  The Rodeway Inn was actually a very old style motel well past its prime but perfect for parking the bike right at the front door.  The room smelled a little musty and there was only warm water so I didn’t bother taking a shower.  I unloaded the T-bag and backpack then headed back up the closed road to find a takeout dinner…lucky me, I stumbled upon a Chinese place.  They packed me a dinner of Kung Pao chicken that was enough to feed 4 of me, or 8 Chinese. I only ate a bit and decided to save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch when I stop on the road.

I awoke at 7 feeling kinda “tween”, i.e. in between needing more sleep and being fully rested.  Did some stretching then went to get some coffee at the front desk and to tell them about the lack of hot water.  No one was at the desk and I didn’t bother making noise to wake them from their adjacent sleeping quarters. I’m sure when they clean the room they’ll also discover the chirping smoke alarm.

Knee Pads and Mask

September 16, 2011

Canajoharie NY

No, I haven’t gotten mythically religious and started praying, nor have I robbed a gas station.

The morning was cold….really cold…for a SoCal boy…. a chill factor of 40.  I wore jammy bottoms for supplemental long johns under the jeans, long sleeve Harley T with a short sleeve Harley T on top of it, a long sleeve shirt, Jeans jacket, and then raingear on top of that as a wind breaker. I figured that this would be enough to keep me warm….and it did as I got on the I-95.  BUT, before I reached the next exit my face was already freezing.  I pulled off at the exit and dug thru my tool kit and cold wx gear and found the neophrene face mask…I no sooner had put it on when my face warmed up immediately!

So off I went ….but only as far as the next exit…my knees started to freeze…they were taking the full brunt of the wind chill factor.  I needed a solution…the simplest way was to put something warmer between the jeans and the raingear….ahhh, I have two heavy duty synthetic cloth rags that could be folded over and placed over the knees!   So, pull off at the next, get the rags outa the bags and put them down the inside of the raingear…back on the I-90 and wow, what a difference, I was good to go to Portland and beyond.

The day slowly warmed up, but the gusting wind only got worse until I reached Worcester MA when it started to smooth out.  I ran all the way to Canajoharie , 50 miles north of Albany, for a total run of around 460 miles. 

However, about 30 miles from C-town (I think a pattern is developing here) there was a lot of construction on two bridges and it slowed/stopped traffic for an added 30 minutes to the run.  This meant that I was out there when the sun dipped behind the hills and I got cold again…and I'm coming down with a slight head cold.

So it’s into the hot shower and a long sleep. 

I may want to rethink my lack of religious orientation and use the knee pads to pray to the Harley gods for warm and dry weather for the next 24 days J

Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com