Day 3: Returning Home

Tuesday morning was also brisk. It was actually colder than the last two days. Today we would spend the bulk of the day on the Interstate heading back to northwest Ohio. The day was very uneventful. The Interstate doesn't make for one of the most scenic rides, but it is an efficient way to get home. Just outside Vermillion, Oh we exited the interstate to have a late lunch at "Quaker Stake". Judy and I had never been to a Quaker Stake and Lube before. The food was very much like a Buffalo Wild Wings. The decor was themed around cars and motorcycles. We enjoyed a nice lunch before heading home. A brief three day trip.

Day 2: Exploring Northwest Pennsylvania

The day dawned sunny, but cool. Day two of leather jackets and chaps. Not a wardrobe I would have thought necessary in July; but that is why one packs all necessary riding gear. We begin the day be following route 83 to Jamestown, New York. Using my Garmin GPS, we were able to locate the Harley-Davidson store in Jamestown. T-shirt stop number one one the day. I find that as I ride my motorcycle I need a break every hour to 90 minutes just to clear my "focus". After a short stop at the Jamestown HD we continued our ride in Pennsylvania along route 62 to Warren, PA. It was there that we entered the Allegheny National Forest where we would spend the remainder of the day along route 948. The ride through the Allegheny was beautiful. The roads were not as curvy as I expected. One of our interesting discoveries of the day was this little gas station - general store located at Russell Center. The gasoline pumps were vintage - they were the turn sprockets and only included two sprockets; so the pumps didn't register dollars. Hence the pump always read .XX. Upon entering the store, it was clear that the inventory was old and hadn't been updated in several years. The soda may have been more recently, but even that wasn't guaranteed. We entered the store hoping for hoagies. The clerk encouraged us to walk across the road to the ice cream stand where the food was "fresher". Her advice was taken. We did purchase chips to go with our hot dogs. During our break we planned our route to DeBois, Pa. We mounted up and continued along route 948 until we came to route 219 that took us into DeBois. As we entered town we found the local Harley-Davidson where we made our second Harley stop of the day. From there we sought out a hotel and a place for dinner before retiring for the evening.

Day 1: New York or......

On the road again....at last. Left this morning for a short three day motorcycle trip that will take us into western New York state and back home through Pennsylvania. The day is unusually cold for early July. Our morning ride took us on US 2 along Lake Erie to just west of Cleveland. Our first stop of the day was for breakfast at the Bay Bell Restaurant just off of US 2. One of the great joys of seeing the US on a motorcycle are the "little" discoveries that I wouldn't find if I was traveling by car. The breakfast stop was one of them. Homemade food and a tremendously reasonable price. A great way to fill my tank before hitting the road again to continue our journey along Lake Erie. From US 2 we traveled along US 6. This route provided us some great views of Lake Erie. The route wandered through some quaint little (and some not so little) towns. The homes were beautiful. Just before Cleveland we wandered to Interstate 90 to continue our journey to Erie, PA. Traffic on the interstate is always busy and this Monday provided no differently. Once past Cleveland we made our way back to US 6 to continue into Pennsylvania. Our late day stop took us to "Geneva on the Lake". Once there, we stopped at Eddie's Grill, where we filled up on chili dogs and ice cream. Upon leaving Geneva we headed for Erie, Pa. Our trip through Pennsylvania was short and we quickly clipped the Pennsylvania shore along Lake Erie as we traveled into western New York. Once in New York I was surprised at all of the grape fields and wineries. Our travels into New York were short as we stopped in Fredonia where we found a wonderful hotel called the White Inn. The architecture hinted of the White House in Washington, D.C. This little Inn provided to be a gem. We found a lovely meal after which we took a casual walk through the town before retiring for the evening.

Photo First:Ruby-throated Hummingbird & Red-headed Woodpecker

Of of my favorite memories from growing up was the annual return of the humming birds. Now, one of my favorite pursuits is the photographing of the humming birds. Just outside my kitchen window grows a trump tree. I compliment the tree with a fuchsia plant. Both are known to attract humming birds. Often my trumpet tree doesn't bloom until late June. Once it blooms, it affords me the opportunity to photograph the humming birds that daily visit the blooms. My first photo opportunity this year resulted in this picture of the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. She is sitting on the fuchsia plant. I have never seen, let alone photograph a hummingbird sitting still.  To learn more about the Ruby-throated hummingbird click here.  Another first that day was a infrequent visitor to my backyard, the red-headed wood pecker. He comes for a couple of days and then disappears for long periods of time. Just when I wonder if he'll come back he reappears for a day or two. Catching him with my camera has been another goal of mind for the summer. Here is appears in his favorite tree as he spies out the peanuts and suet that I set out to entice him closer to my window. To learn more about the Red-headed Woodpecker click here. 

Indians pay tribute to Michael Jackson

Cleveland Indians and the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" don't seem quite as natural as peanut butter and chocolate. But it was certainly appropriate tonight. After an amazing game between the Indians and A's, the Cleveland Indians changed, at the last minute, their "Rocken Blast" fireworks show to a more timely tribute to Michael Jackson who passed away recently. Beginning with Slider, the Indians mascot, doing the moon walk with a white sequin glove on his left hand, and ending with a fire works finality, the Indians honored the "King of Pop" with a lot of pop and circumstances. That capped off a night where the Indians beat the A's 15 to 3. The MVP of the game was Shin-Soo Choo who in addition to a two-run homer had for hits and seven RBIs. Travis Hafner contributed a solo homer, making all in our party happy, since we are all Hafner "groupies". When the A's took a 2 to 0 lead after the second inning on two solo home runs, we were all wondering if the only fireworks we would see tonight were going to be after the game. However, I "worry" didn't last long as the Tribe batted around in the 4th and added five more in the fifth, thanks in part to a two-run double by Cabrera and a three-run homer by Choo. The fire works had now begun and the ones after the game were even more amazing.