SuzukiSavage.com /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Let the adventure begin! /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1306583548 Message started by skrapiron -FSO on 05/28/11 at 04:52:27

Title: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/28/11 at 04:52:27 Day 1: Wed May 25. Steeltown to the Devil's Den. Everybody is up and dressed early so we can get underway for our big family adventure. We packed the bikes last night in preparation for our departure this morning and I jockeyed them around and put them in the driveway so they're ready to go. Leave it to mother nature to punish my hubris by making it rain all night. Oh well, its not the first time the bikes have gotten wet and it won't be the last. We're going to be in the saddle for the next 7 days and there's no such thing as parking under cover when you are on the road. A quick last minute check and we're under way! I can hardly wait!

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/28/11 at 04:53:25 We're here!  254.9 miles later, we are in Gettysburg!  We left Pittsburgh at 0700, hoping we could avoid the worst of the cross town traffic.  Boy, was I wrong.  The PARKway lived up to its name, the PARK way.  It took us almost an hour to get through the Fort Pitt tunnels and then we came to a screeching halt at the Squirrel Hill tunnels for another 30 minute delay.  Add onto that, the fact that if drivers in Pittsburgh see 2 molecules of empty space between your front tire and the car in front of you, they WILL try to occupy it.  What?  You were there first>? Sorry old man, I DID use my blinker.... After playing dodgem for the better part of 2 hours, we finally broke out of the city and it's gridlock and onto open road.  My mood improved greatly from there on out. Along the way, we stopped at Mr. Ed's Elephant museum and candy emporium.  It is a quaint, eclectic shop that has a lot of old fashioned candy. We arrived on the battlefield just before noon and I assumed my role as impromptu tour guide.   I gave the family the 6 hour special, trying to hit as many of the highlights as I could.  We finished the battlefield just before 1830 and got to our hotel shortly there after.  Right now, we're cleaning up and getting ready for dinner.  Tomorrow:  Devil's Den to the City of Brotherly love!!!  Pics to follow!!! All geared up and ready to roll! http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02101.jpg Our first 'stop' at Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02105.jpg My daughter looking photogenic on one of Mr. Ed's elephants http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02107.jpg Me acting the roll of tour guide. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02115.jpg The kids at the 20th Maine monument.  It was hot, they were tired.  You can tell. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02153.jpg My son climbing the rocks at the Devil's Den. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02159.jpg

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/28/11 at 04:54:11 Day 2 recap: We left Gettysburg about 0830 in the morning.  It was a bright, warm early summer day.  Rt30 runs a winding path through some beautiful country between Gettysburg and Philadelphia.  We passed through a large Amish settlement in Lancaster Pa, which looks like just the same tourist trap that is Berlin Oh.  Those Amish really know how to milk the English of their cash... 'See Jessie and Amy's Amish buggy! Only $20!' We pulled into Valley Forge just before noon.  If you are not a history buff, Valley Forge was the location of Washington's winter encampment from 1777 to 1778.  It was where the Prussian'officer Baron Von Steuben introduced close order drill to the Colonial army and transformed them from a rag-tag militia into a standing army.  We toured the museum, then rode around the encampment. Later, we headed towards Philadelphia only to be introduced to big city traffic.  We sat and sat and sat in traffic on I-76.  Once we got into Philly itself, we got stuck in even MORE traffic.  By the time we finally made it to south Philly, it was 1400 and we hadn't eaten lunch yet.  Being in Philly, we had to have a REAL Philly Cheese steak.  We ate at Geno's Steaks (right across the street from Pat's) and had a great meal.   After lunch, we headed south and sat in even MORE traffic on our way to the hotel.  I chose the West Chester Inn as our lodging, mostly out of nostalgia.  I used to stay there from the early 90's until 2003 when I worked for Bell Atlantic. Our headquarters was up the road in Frazer and it was the only all inclusive hotel in the area at the time. Once we checked in, we headed south again (and sat in more traffic) on our way to John's houes (LabRat). We had a great visit, and excellent meal and an even better ride home (no traffic! Yea!) We got into the hotel about 2100.  I tried to get on to the internet to update the day's adventure, but found the internal network wasn't working.  I went to the front desk to complain, and ended up behind the desk, working on the proxy server.  I finally got it up and running, but it was so late, I didn't feel like typing and went to bed.  Would you believe, the hotel didn't even comp me a breakfast for my efforts?  Typical.. Pics below!: An artillery piece from Valley Forge http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02186.jpg The typical hutment built by the colonial soldiers in the winter of 1777-78 http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/IMAG0028.jpg My son enjoying some 'colonial' comforts of home http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/IMAG0034.jpg Stuffing our faces at Geno's Steaks on Philly's south side http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/IMAG0038.jpg The world's famous Geno's Steaks http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/IMAG0041.jpg

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/28/11 at 04:54:53 Day 3:  The City of Brotherly love to the Nation's Capital Today started early for me.  Some time around 0200, I was woke out of a deep sleep with the worst leg cramp I have ever experienced.  It felt like someone had placed my calf in a vice and clamped it shut....  Not a fun experience 400 some miles from home. We left West Chester around 0800.  Can you guess what we ran into trying to get onto US 202?  You guessed it.  More traffic!  it took us almost 40 minutes to cover just 12 miles.  By the time we arrived at the McDonald's we were meeting at, John was already there.  We ate a quick breakfast and hit the road. Today's ride took us south on US1 from Lincoln University Pa, to Baltimore, Md.  From the time we hit US1 all the way to 10 miles outside of Baltimore, the road was GREAT!  We even got to ride across the top of a dam on the Suquehana River on the way south.  Once we hit the outer ring sub-urbs of Baltimore, it was like someone dropped a bomb on the place and the survivors had scraped together the wreckage to try and re-establish some sense of order.  It was poverty on display for all.  My daughter asked 'Dad?  Are these the slums?'  I replied 'No, honey.  Slums are nicer.'  We rode through this desolation for another 20 minutes before finally arriving downtown.  Our good friend TRAFFIC followed us the WHOLE WAY!!!  I hate East Coast drivers! We finally arrived at the inner harbor, only to be turned away from the parking deck where we tried to park the bikes.  Apparently, they don't serve 'our kind' there. We finally found a surface lot, parked and walked to the inner harbor. There, we toured the USS Torsk (A WWII Fleet Sub) and the USS Constallation (A Civil War era sloop of war!!! Too freaking cool!!!!)  For lunch, we went to Phillips seafood house and I had the best crab cake EVER!!!  At lunch, I made sure to propose a toast to by beautiful bride in celebration of our anniversary.  (Yeah, SHE forgot!) After lunch, we headed towards DC, only to be greeted by even MORE traffic!!!!  (Have I mentioned how much I hate East Coast drivers?)   It took us over 2 hours to go from Baltimore to Fairfax, Va where we are staying the weekend. The hotel is very nice, but it doesn't have a pool.  The kids are bummed. Dinner was at the Mad Fox Brewing Company in Falls Church, Va, A restaurant owned by DL Fox's relations.  The food was great, the beer even better.  But the approaching rain storm forced us to cut the meal short and head for the hills.  I am happy to report that our rain gear IS INDEED waterproof! Pics below: The USS Constellation in Baltimore's inner harbor. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02193.jpg The whole famdamily onboard the USS Torsk http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02265.jpg The kids at the helm of the USS Constellation http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02271.jpg The gun deck of Constellation!!!http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02273.jpg The crew's quarters below the gun deck http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02277.jpg An illustration of just how cramped the quarters really are below the waterline. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/Rolling%20Thunder%202011/DSC02281.jpg More to come tomorrow!!!

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by Driller on 05/28/11 at 05:23:59 Great! Keep it coming. That is a trip your kids will remember, for sure. ;)

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by WD on 05/28/11 at 06:19:23 Gettysburg and the Connie? Nice! You survived eating in Filthydelphia?  :o Too bad you guys won't be down here tonight. Symphony ends their Memorial Day concert with the 1812 Overture, and every cannon on the Memphis Bluffs gets fired off at the end of it. I think we're wrapping up today that way, go see a relative's grave in Memphis (General Nathan Bedford Forrest) and then go to the waterfront. My father in law loves to play tour guide. We aren't far from several battlefields, including Shiloh. Fort Pillow is less than an hour, and you can go fossil hunting in the river bank/bluff below it. Mastodon bones are starting to turn up around here. His house was around during the War, and we do have several metal detectors... Just offering you another trip option for next year's trip.

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by Wolfman on 05/28/11 at 11:20:28 I like the pic from lunch at genos. Daughters face says "Enough with the camera dad!"...lol Nothing like a road trip with the kids. ;D

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by Starlifter on 05/28/11 at 12:15:31 Wow you guys are brave and skilled to take on that kind of traffic. I lived in Jersey for a long time and I know what you mean by East Coast traffic. Ms. Starlifter is a "Jersey girl" and she does the city driving when we are in that neck of the woods. (As I recall the north woods of Maine was the only place we could escape "traffic" in the summer months). Wonderful trip, wonderful family, and wonderful pictures of your adventure. Thank you for posting. :)

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by kimchris1 on 05/28/11 at 13:20:54 Nice your sharing your family vacation with us. Great pics and story to go along with them. Kids do look as though their enjoying most of it. Plus your all doing it on the bikes.. It can't get much better than that..:) kim

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/29/11 at 15:51:24 Day 4:  The Nation's Capital!   If anyone would have told me, we would be in the saddle for as long as we were yesterday,  would have told them they were crazy.   We left the hotel about 0900 on our way to Ft Washington Harley Davidson.  The source of the OFFICIAL Rolling Thunder T-Shirts.  I don't know what actually makes them more official than any other T-shirt being hocked on the street, but the T-shirts were the order of the day!   While at the dealership, we walked around the vendor tents outside, then in the show room and I got to oggle the new bikes.   I really like the Fat Boy (the bike I like to refer to as Harley's version of my C50.), but by the time I add all the accessories I need to make it what I want, the price spirals quickly out of control....  Oh well, I can dream for free. we left the dealership about 1040 and started the hour and forty minute ride to Molly's Irish Pub in Warrenton.  The food was good, but the menu was more american-style bar food with Irish sounding names.  The onion rings are the second best I have ever had....   The best being from the Loudonville Street Fair every October... After lunch, we rode back to DC to go to the National Mall, where we went to Thunder Alley then walked around to see the monuments.  My apologies to Labrat, Annie H, Grouch and FX4 for walking so fast.   I have a hard time remembering that not everybody runs marathons for fun. Later in the evening, we rolled down to Alexandria, Va where we had dinner at the traditional Lone Star Steak house.  The food was good, the company was even better!!  It was a small, but dedicated group this year.  We did raise a toast to those who could not be with us. We finally pulled into the hotel at just past 2200.  It was LONG day.  A very long day.... A day I wouldn't trade for the world! The coolest mascot in Thunder Alley! http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02282.jpg Just how many times in your life time, do you come to DC and find the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool drained???http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02290.jpg My wife and kids at the Washington Monument.http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02302.jpg The Korean War Monument... Very moving...http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02310.jpg The WWII Monument with the Washington Monument in the background.http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02289.jpg My daughter and her greatest Hero.... Abraham Lincoln...http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/IMAG0040.jpg More to come!

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/29/11 at 18:12:19 Day 5: ROLLING THUNDER! Its here! The event I waited all year for is finally here!  As my daughter said to me on Wednesday 'Its time for the annual motorcycle migration to Washington DC!' As with every year, this one started early.  Up at 0515.  I managed to eek out the last of the coffee in the lobby, then went outside to see if John, Ron and Annie were up yet.  John - check.  Annie - check.  Ron - AWOL...  He finally stumbled his way out of the hotel around 0545 mumbling something about needing Starbucks and a good night sleep...  We saw the riders off as they headed to the Pentagon, then went back upstairs to wake our brood.  At 0630, we headed out and joined up with our riding club, the Western Pennsylvania Cruisers Riding Club. This year, we has the honor of laying a memorial wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.  The ride to the ceremony included 24 bikes... A HUGE turn out!!! Once in the cemetery,  most of the group chose to pay for the tram, but Grouch, me and the kids and 3 other riders chose to walk to the tomb of the unknown.   We got there about 45 minutes before the ceremony was to take place and got to watch the changing of the guard. The ceremony itself was incredibly moving.  As a member of the club, we were lining the stairs leading from the amphitheater down to the tomb itself.  The club was represented by our founders and two members who are veterans of the armed services.  At the end of the ceremony, there were many a red eye in our group.  As one member remarked 'this was harder than my first trip to the wall.' After the ceremony, we walked back to the bikes, only to have to wait an additional 45 minutes as the rest of the group got stuck at Arlington House at the top of the bluff.  By the time we got out of Arlington, the parade had already started, so we watched it from the entrance to the cemetery. The kids were at first enamored with the parade, but after an hour asked 'can we please go do something else?'  So  we walked the 3 miles from Arlington cemetery all the way to the Smithsonian on the OTHER end of the national mall.  Not the best decision of my life, as my leg is still cramping and hurt like mad before we got there. Once inside, I wowed the family with my knowledge of air and spacecraft, even identifying most WWII aircraft by their silhouette only.  The displays are much different than I remember.  Much more involved.  It is cool to see things like Space Ship One, the X-45 and the first plane to circumnavigate the globe non-stop the Voyager.   We hiked back to the bikes around 1600 and I got to see Marine One fly straight down the middle of the Potomac and right overhead.  We got to the bikes, suited up and rode back to the hotel.  It has been a very restful night.   We only rode 35 miles today, but this is the one day where the miles don't matter. On the road again! http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02326.jpg Approaching Arlington http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02332.jpg The club's wreath http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02343.jpg Presenting the wreath to the honor guard http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/IMAG0065.jpg At the Smithsonian.  I can't believe that John Glenn orbited the Earth in such a tiny tin-can! It would be a tight fit for my kids! http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02364.jpg The future of space travel http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/jdmessner/DSC02376.jpg Tomorrow:  Heading home!

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by babyhog on 05/31/11 at 07:36:03 Very nice story and pics Skrap.  Thanks for sharing!  Your kids will never forget this. I must admit, I don't think I've ever seen pics of that Korean War monument.  Going to have to look that up.  Watched several documentaries over the weekend on the Military Channel I believe, several on Korea, which I didn't know much about  (even though my step-father faught in it).     Maybe they drained the wading pool because they knew it would end up full of people!  I was there July 4, 1976.  That pool sure wasn't empty that day!   Friend of mine at work usually rides with his Patriot Riders group from the local VFW, but he couldn't make the trip this year... until a friend offered to fly him and his wife there in a little Cessna at the last minute.  He was tickled to death to tell me this morning that although he didn't get to ride to the wall, he still got to be there this year.

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by kimchris1 on 05/31/11 at 10:19:37 Thank you for a very moving and enjoying story. The pictures help us see what you experienced in person. I have never been to D.C. and yet thru your pics and story, I feel I just visited all along with you and your family. To be able to place the wreath at the "Tomb of the Unknown" is imo one of the most memorable and honorable things a person could do. For your children to get all of this history in person as well as your daughter having her pic taken with her "hero" Abraham Lincoln" will as well be a memory she will have with her for life. Continue to keep us up to date. Thank you once again for all the great pics. This is so very interesting. Travel safe and tell the family hi.. :) kim

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by Edgar on 05/31/11 at 10:44:26 Pats is better than genos...haha, great trip and pics

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by skrapiron -FSO on 05/31/11 at 14:19:35 Day 6: The long road home.... I want to first thank my wife and kids for making this the greatest vacation ever! When we pulled into the driveway last night, we'd covered 1195 miles and visited 5 states and the District of Columbia in 6 days. It was by most touring standards, a short ride, but for my wife and kids, it represents the longest distance covered in such a short span and the most consecutive days for long periods of time in the saddle. They did great, despite the heat and the traffic. Alisa even made up a song called 'We're stuck in first, again' to be sung to the tune 'Here comes the rain again'. Have I mentioned how badly east coast city traffic sucks??? Our last day on the road started at 0620. We were up and dressed, had breakfast in the lobby, packed the bikes and said goodbye to Northern Virginia. Our route home was chosen to take us to Antietam National Battlefield, where we could do a quick tour (with me acting as tour guide again). We pulled onto US50 and headed north. I hate my GPS. It is as stubborn and opinionated as a woman. Whenever it picks a route, it gets mad at me if I choose to go a different way to get where I'm going. Our latest argument was over using the Dulles Greenway to get to US 15. Why on earth would I want to pay a toll for two bikes, when VA7 runs parallel and ends up meeting US15 in Leesburg and it is free? The back and forth argument continued when we reached Point of Rocks, Maryland. I wanted to take a more scenic route over the South Mountain range, the GP(m)S insisted on routing us across US340. By 1100, we pulled into the visitor's center at Antietam National Battlefield. The receptionist asked if we would be interested in watching the hour long documentary about the battle, when my daughter chimed in ' No thanks. We have our own documentary with us.' I went on to use a park map to explain the order of battle to the family, then we toured the museum, giftshop and finally headed out on the battlefield. In terms of size, the battlefield is small, but the events are no less significant. What ended tactically as a draw between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, was a strategic victory in a larger sense, as Lee's invasion of the north was halted and McClelland's troops inflicted heavy casualties on Lee's army. After the whirlwind tour, we again pointed the bikes north and headed for home. We pulled in the driveway at a little before 1700 hot and tired, but grateful for the wonderful weekend we just had! It was once again great to spend Memorial Day with old friends and even to meet some new ones. I am just as happy as a pig in mud over the way my bike handled the trip. It was a proof of concept that a family of 4 can successfully tour for a week, out of state and carry everything they need on the bikes. It makes me look forward to our upcoming trip to South Carolina in July even more!!!! Pics to follow!

Title: Re: Let the adventure begin! Post by John_D FSO on 05/31/11 at 15:42:01 Wow, thanks for the great pics and narrative! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]  Despite the traffic and headstrong GPS it sounds like you had a blast, and that's what counts.

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