50 States, Day 321

  Galveston (Baytown actually),  57 Miles

"Watch, listen and learn.  You can't know it all yourself.  Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity."
~Donald Trump




Libby and I rode to East Side Honda for her oil change, and a few people were interested in the trip, i.e. some customers and Fred, the mechanic. Funny how most bike shops just don't care.

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They got us in and out quickly (relatively) in an hour, no problems. I wrote a bit in the waiting area after slobbering over the new bikes. The new sporty Gold Wing (it probably has a name, but ADD kicked in after I oohed and aahed over the sleek lines) looks pretty cool, but it ain't selling in this family. QG saw the back seat and said no way. I think most Gold Wings are sold from the back seat, a true throne for our queens.



We chilled today except for a putt to Target for jeans and shampoo. 
So let's go over The Ten Commandments and see how we've done so far:

1.) Thou shalt not ride on Sunday. 
We stand down Sundays pretty well, except a few where we've found ourselves sitting still on Saturday. This has helped stave off The Cumulative Effect, a grind of seven days a week of riding. 


2.) Thou shalt find a church on Sunday.
Every time but one. In Moline, IL, I couldn't find one still operating until it was too late. See 'Church Surch' on Sunday's blogs. 


3.) Thou shalt visit every state capitol.
We missed Denver CO, Boise ID, Juneau, AK and Olympia, WA. Maybe we'll do a NW swing and hit them. 

4.) Thou shalt find the road less traveled.
Pretty good. Sometimes like Louisiana this week there's no choice, and once in awhile we just want to get there. But we hate the road more traveled!

5.) Thou shalt not exceed 65 miles per hour.
My racing friends will be shocked and appalled, but we've kept it down, with thousands of cars and trucks passing us, and only passing a few ourselves. I'll probably compensate after the Adventure. Considering getting the Hayabusa out of mothballs and taking another run at 200 MPH on a motorcycle at Bonneville this summer. I'll keep you posted. 

6.) Thou shalt cease riding by mid-afternoon.
We've done this well too, with only a few exceptions. We've hardly ridden at night. 

7.) Thou shalt blog daily. 


While I've done well at this, it was much harder than I anticipated. Just before smashing the iPad into tiny pieces, I would remember the 7th commandment and settle for tearing my hair out, muttering and drinking Diet Pepsi to excess. 

8.) Thou shalt visit friends and family.
Wish we had more! We visited many, and have some really cool ones coming up. 

9.) Thou shalt camp.
Yeah, right. Except when raining, snowing, ice, wind, hot, can't find a place, found a motel coupon, not in the mood, it's too much trouble, or haven't seen a campground in the last eight minutes. We've probably camped half the time or less, but no worries.  

10.) Thou shalt stop and enjoy the journey. 
For an example, yesterday we met Clint and talked to him for probably 45 minutes about our trip and his (he did the Inter Coastal Waterways in a trawler for two years). If people engage us in conversation, we'll talk to them until they wrap it up. Except for a few exceptions (some would talk until you died), we've done just that. QG wishes for more people.  

We hang out some too. Although the 7th commandment keeps me hopping and I don't smell the flowers as much as I'd like.

It's still a great trip! We are enjoying the journey as well as the stops. Thanks for following. 
More Texas next week. Thanks for riding along. 




4 comments:

Mel said...

Looks like GW is trying to break into the Cruiser market. Not a bad idea, but I can see where QG (or any other veteran GW passenger, for that matter) wouldn't feel comfortable on that rear seat... no backrest, no armrests, no speakers. Did I miss anything?

Unknown said...

Well, no heated seat probably, and no floorboards. And no masseur named Pierre. He rides in the saddlebag.
KP

Mel said...

Oh, yeah... how could I have forgotten Pierre? BTW, would a deep tissue massage by said masseur result in Pierre pressure?

Unknown said...

You get a deep tissue massage and yes, you will get Pierre pressure from your Harley and Suzuki buddies!