Lusby, MD
My MD stay became extended way beyond schedule. Being here with my brother and his business partner is like a second home. I have my own bedroom, home cooked meals when we’re not eating out, a social life with friends of Joe’s and Peggy’s, calm surroundings (rural), and chiggers that love to feast on me.
There
was much to do while visiting here. We
needed to visit our other brother Jim who lives in North Carolina near Camp
Lejeune….that took two days for a 4 hour visit.
Ant it was good to see that he is doing well despite his serious burn
injuries.
Dinners
were held with Ed and Mary. They are an
absolute pleasure to share time with while eating one of Peggy’s delicious
meals. Ed is a retired Army Colonel and
former Raytheon executive. This trip I’m
on has been successful so far due to advice he provided. Mary and Ed rode motorcycles and actually did
a road trip to Milwaukee to visit the Harley Plant…it was quite an experience
for them as Mary became known as the Harley Lady who rode her Hugger from MD.
We
also had Sunday breakfasts with the ‘Boys’….Mark and Nick. Nick is another one of my hero’s along with
Ed. Nick also was a Naval Aviator during
and after WWII. He has flown just about
every aircraft made during that era as he was a ferry pilot delivering every type
of aircraft throughout the USA !
On
a sad note….little Sommers, Joe and Peggy’s little put had to be put down. She was their shared pet for 8 years and
brought them a lot of joy. SomSom spent
her days on the job with Joe and at night (and mealtime) would be next door at
Peggy’s. This was a tough loss for both
of them. But they have rebounded and are
now looking for a new puppy.
Much
time was spent trying to figure out the Garmin and its trip planning tool. Finally gave up on it and called BuzzCap7
(SCMA) for help. He guided me through
accessing and using the HOG Ride Planner.
But I finally got a lot of trip planning completed using it. Joe mounted the clamps on Sophia for me
having to use wire to expand the clamp’s width due to the thickness of the
handlebars. I’m now using the Garmin on
the rest of this summer road trip thanks to Joe and to Ed’s suggestion to get a
Garmin.
Sophia
got a complete makeover by Jeff Gray, the Service Manager at All American
Harley in Hughesville. The guys there
tightened every bolt, did a full 30k service, installed new tires with a
current mfg date and also installed a new windshield on the fairing giving it a
lower profile. This lower profile will
allow me to see over the top edge of the shield which will improve visibility which
is especially needed when riding in the rain because the view is distorted
significantly by the impacting raindrops.
When I picked Sophia up from the Harley store she was completely
detailed….she hasn’t looked this pretty since I ran away from home back in
June. Somehow they squeezed me into
their full schedule knowing that I needed the work done so I could continue my
trip west.
Another
thing accomplished was activating the Bluetooth on the G9 Scala Rider. I can now connect the cell phone to the
hearing device….just haven’t figured out how to actually talk on it while
riding. Actually, I don’t want to…I just
turn the phone off J.
When
I was finally ready to get back on the road we got hit with some pretty bad
thunderstorms; seems to be that time of year in the east when the weather is
like this. Once the weather passed and I
was ready to ride again I came down with a bad toothache. The tooth had been a little sensitive but I
didn’t think much about it…figured if things get nasty I can see a good dentist
in Brentwood (Nashville). Well, that
night I woke up around 2am with a very, very achey tooth. No way was I going to be able to ride. After being up most of the night I called
Peggy in the morning and asked her to get me an appointment with her dentist.
That
afternoon (Wed 8/8) Dr. Anne Etzkorn, a perky gorgeous young lady in her late
20’s or early 30’s, determined that I either had an infection or a cracked
tooth. Xrays detected no cavities but
could not discern a crack if it were there.
Unfortunately this tooth is a capped molar so we couldn’t remove the cap
unless I were going to be there for 4 more weeks. After consulting with Dr. Tom Anderson, my
dentist back home in CA, and exploring options of root canals, antibiotics,
self-inflicted gunshots, Tom gave me specific direction to go on the
antibiotics and not have any dentist touch the tooth or the cap. Great advice because ultimately the regimen
of Amoxicillin and Ibuprofen took care of the problem and I was able to ride
outa MD on Sunday and head for the Blue Ridge Parkway.
And
unbeknowest to me, I took along some friends with me….yep, I had a few chiggers
wanting to relocate to better digs so they hitched a ride on my tasty
carcass.
This
is like déjà vu all over again.
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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