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!

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


The typical hutment built by the colonial soldiers in the winter of 1777-78


My son enjoying some 'colonial' comforts of home


Stuffing our faces at Geno's Steaks on Philly's south side


The world's famous Geno's Steaks

Great! Keep it coming. That is a trip your kids will remember, for sure.

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.

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

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!


Approaching Arlington


The club's wreath


Presenting the wreath to the honor guard


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!


The future of space travel


Tomorrow:  Heading home!

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

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!