Going Home & American Pie-Saturday July 2

I drove 333 miles today. The total trip was 8,382 miles. About 1300 miles further than I thought I would go and not one ticket, that I know of & only several near accidents. I left East Liverpool early today (no reason to prolong my displeasure with this part of the country). As I crossed over the Ohio River bridge I crossed into Chester, WV. Within 15 minutes I crossed into Pennsylvania on US 30E towards Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I missed my turn at Potato Garden Run Rd., but I did see a sign for "Far Wood 4 Sale" though. I eventually connected with 376 around the city. I jumped onto 79S towards Morgantown, WV & passed thru Presto, Washington & Waynesburg,PA before looping around Morgantown onto 68E. I passed over Cheat Lake which had lots of boats on it. This stretch of road is hilly & has lots of trees, but it was hazy & hot. After passing thru Hopewell (good thought) I got gas at Bruceton Mills, WV. As I stood in the entry way of the restaurant drinking a Gatorade I was amazed at all of the people that were smoking & snuffed out their cigarettes before entering the Sandy's Restaurant. It's no wonder half of them were on oxygen. Further on down the road I passed thru Friendsville & Grantsville where it intersects with 40-National Pike, a very scenic road that heads northwest into Pennsylvania. I crossed thru the Cumberland Gap & headed for Weaver's Restaurant in Hancock, MD. Weaver's makes the best Wild Berry Pie & I had to have a piece for my lunch before I got home. I once had my 1995 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide breakdown in Hancock & I had the bike shipped to Frederick to be fixed. I hitch hiked home in the rain. It was a long day. Stop by Weaver's & you will see what I mean about the pie. On the way east I passed by Sleepy Creek (time for a nap) & just south of Funkstown. I was now on 70 heading toward Frederick, MD where the traffic density & speed picked up. Down 270 I flew heading home. When I got to the 495 Beltway it reminded me of LA & its race car roads. I got off at Springfield, VA to get gas & had a women pull out & almost t-bone me. Further on down Franconia Rd. I had a car pull over in my lane while they were talking on their cell phone. Welcome to the worse drivers in the US. I cut over to George Washington Parkway to finish my drive home & as soon as I turned into Villamay, my neighborhood, there was a police car sitting on the corner. Had the Bad Man from the Badlands been caught? Nope, just sitting there in the shade. I revved the engine several times coming up my street & Mischief & Tracy came out to greet me as I rolled up to our house. Tracy had prepared a welcoming sign "WELLCOME HOME". I guess she forgot to use spellcheck. It was funny. I scratched behind my dog's ears & got a hug & got off the bike done with my trip across America, but not forgotten. Lots of people ask me what my favorite part was & if I would do it again. Driving thru Montana & Wyoming,parts of California, New Mexico & Washington was great, the national parks were awesome, the bison fondue in Missoula & Whitehouse Crawford meals were excellent, just riding thru such a pretty & vast country was something I was glad to experience. Lots of people were real friendly & I especially Thank Gordon, Leslie, Scott, Sue, Lou, Carol, my brother Tony, Tracy & Mischief for helping out & inspiring me on the trip. I would do it again, but only if I'm riding with someone else. I needed somebody to talk over directions, joke with, share the ride & have a drink with at night. But I hope to go back to a number of the places I passed thru & maybe there will be a Mischief's Wild Ride Part Two to share with you. Here's to Wind In Your Face & a cool dry breeze every once in a while. The ride made me appreciate even more what we have here that can't be found anywhere else in the world. Keep the bike up & spirits high. Thanks America for the opportunity to enjoy you first hand.