Daniel is home. We made it.
For his final entry:
10 Things I’ve learned on this trip and what you should do for yours (in my opinion)
1. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
2. It is never too late to have a happy childhood but the second one is up to you and no one else. Make it a great one.
3. No one is in charge of happiness except you. Smile,
continue reading "Day 33 – 519 Miles – Daniel is home"

I’ve decided to write today’s entry.  Last night was uneventful with the exception that Daniel had his first experience with White Castle burgers and Chicken rings. We don’t have White Castle in PA or in FL. In FL we have Krystal. Not exactly the same but close.  Our intent was to visit the St Louis Arch and a few other places however when we got up and checked the weather we thought better of it. The remnants of Fay are going to be working up the east coast and it’s supposed to bring a lot of rain. That would really suck to have to ride the remainder of the week in the rain. So instead we ate breakfast at Bob Evans and went down the street to visit the  local Harley Dealer. They were having a big special event today with music and food and all kinds of fun things that go along
continue reading "Day 32 – 297 Miles – Inked"

We started the day with breakfast at Denny’s in Topeka. We met Amie, who works at Denny’s, and has the coolest tattoo on her leg. She and her boyfriend ride a Harley Softail. Are you surprised? Not a whole lot going on here but lots of acres of fields. We didn’t get rained on for the second day in a row. Yea! We rode most of the way across Missouri.  We put in about 300 miles today.  We saw a lot of large boats heading our way today. There must have been some kind of boat race or get together. Heaven knows. We didn’t even see a lake or river where
continue reading "Day 31 – 347 Miles – Gateway to the west"

Daniel here again.
Today was a long hard ride. We did about 300 miles again today. Winds probably 20 miles per hour right in our faces most of the day. Blasts of crosswinds that almost kicks you off the road. Whoever called Chicago the windy city never rode a motorcycle across Kansas. The good news is that we didn’t get rained on today. Yea!
We did see farms of windmills. Hundreds of them. Also saw some oil wells. They look a lot smaller than the ones
continue reading "Day 30 – 316 Miles – Toto, we’re still in Kansas"

The next few entries aren’t going to be very interesting, I suspect. We are starting East and I hear Kanas isn’t much of a tourist destination. Today we started by breakfast at Mary’s home then a trip to Wally World (Walmart) for some meds for Joe. I think he is getting bronchitis. Hopefully the meds will kick in and we  can keep going. We put on about 300 miles today. We made it through Colorado and into Kansas. So we’re in Kansas. Okay
continue reading "Day 29 – 182 Miles – East Bound"

Daniel here.
Today we started with breakfast at home then we were off to The United States Air Force

 Academy. In Colorado Springs, CO. We went to the visitor center and saw a 14 minute film about the Academy. It was really quite exciting. The tour of the Cadet Chapel was beautiful. Mary’s son Brian graduated there. After four years they have a BA degree and rank of 2nd Lt. Joe picked up some cool gifts for his boys at the gift shop.
We then rode to Pike’s Peak Cog Railway that would take
continue reading "Day 28 – More of Colorado Springs"

Daniel here again,
Today  was kind of an easy catch up day. We slept late, did laundry, rearranged the packs and caught up on our blogs and phone calls. Joe and I relaxed in the hot tub again this morning. Then, after a hot shower, I got to make an easy lunch of sandwiches and chips. Okay they were turkey pastrami and muenster cheese on Jewish
continue reading "Day 27 – Day of Rest"

Daniel here again,
OK, might as well get this over with to start. YES we did get rained on again We were riding back from Santa Fe and hit a small 2 minute shower. It wasn’t as bad as most but we did get wet. The good thing about riding the speed limit, which is 75 mph out here, is that you tend to completely dry off in the next couple of miles.On this ride we passed through a number of Indian reservations. There was the Sioux, Utes, Navajo, Hopi, Apache and the Comanche.
continue reading "Day 26 – 543 Miles – Santa Fe"

Well I’m about mid-way through this years ride. As I was riding today, I felt it was time to reflect back on some of what I’ve experienced and share some additional thoughts. I am up to  5200 miles into this ride. 5200 miles is a long way to ride in a car let alone on a motorcycle. There isn’t a whole lot you can do on a motorcycle either but ride and think. This, of course, was a big purpose of what I wanted to do. Although I find myself thinking about things far different that what I originally
continue reading "Mid-Ride thoughts from Joe"

NOTE: This was an entry done while this blog was hosted on travelpod.com. The same links don’t appear on this site. (at least not in the same way)
-RJV

Let me begin by giving some additional background on what I’m doing and then addressing some concerns that I have via emails about the donations. I really hope everyone understands what I’m doing. Those of you that know me, know my purpose for this ride. Those of you that have just met me or may not know me will benefit most from this explanation.  I started this ride with the intent of
continue reading "Clarifying donations *** Everyone Please Read ****"