Back to Work

Back to work today :(

Romeo got to go to work with me today too. Actuall, he just stayed in the car all day. I went down every hour or two to check on him or take him for a short walk. At lunch time he got a long walk after getting lunch.

He was so good I took him upstairs to my office for a little while so he could visit my co-workers. He does like to visit people!!!! Unfortunately it's against company policy to have dogs in the workplace so I had to take him back to the car. :(

When we got home I gave him his big bone that I brought back from California for him. He really loves that bone !! While he chewed on his bone I relaxed in the hot tub for a while. It's nice to have the hot tub working again since I'm still sore from the two day ride back from CA.

American Metal Bike & Car show.

Carole and Terry left for San Jose this morning. They went as far as Crescent City today and will finish the trip tomorrow stopping at some interesting tourist attractions along the way.

Romeo and I went to Eastide Harley this morning for the third annual American Metal bike & car show. Nice day and a nice turnout of cars this year.

The highlight for me was the "Sixpack Rat". A rat rod built out of a 1944 WC-62 troop carrier from WWII and a 1935 Dodge pickup. This thing is the coolest rat rod I think I've ever seen!

It's even powered by an old straight six out of a 1966 Chevelle instead of the usual small block chevy. I don't have anything against a small block chevy, I have one in my '57 and my corvette, but it seems like that's what powers most hot rods these days because of it's low cost and high reliabilty. It's really nice to see other engines in homebuilt rods.

This "Ace Five" is a really interesting car. I guess it's a car. It's actually a three wheeled vehicle. Powered by a Harley V-Twin, it has one wheel in the back and four speed transmission. The interior is very much like an old british sports car from the forties or early fifties.

Last Day: Ashland to Duvall

I left Ashland around 9:00 AM and headed north. There was an interesting historical site I saw on the way down that I wanted to make sure I visited on the way back. The reason I wanted to stop was because I happen to like covered bridges but this particular covered bridge was on the what's known as the Grave Creek Ranch which was on the Applegate trail.

The Applegate trail was the southern route for wagon trains coming to the Oregon territory and it allowed the pioneers to avoid the hazardous crossing of the Columbia River.

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Really interesting stuff, and I got it from a direct descendant of one of the pioneers who came on the wagon trains! The folks there at the Applegate Trail Interpretive Center take their role seriously and even do reenactments.

After leaving Grave Creek the ride north was pretty boring. At that point it's just stopping for gas, fast food and bio-breaks. I really hate to admit it, but during this trip I seriously thought that it might be time to trade the Harley for Goldwing. I'm sure I'll get over it, but I did think about it.

Heading Home

I took off this morning from Livermore for the first leg of my trip home. I rode Vasco road out to Brentwood to scope out the area a bit then crossed the Antioch bridge and rode the delta levy roads to Sacramento

The photo is of one of the many drawbridges throughout the delta. Riding this route was far superior to taking 580 out to I-5 and then north to Sacto.

After I passed Sacramento, I stopped in Woodland for gas and took the opportunity to visit the Agricultural museum there. Fascinating place full of old tractors and trucks. I have lots of photos but here are a few from the truck section of the museum for now. This notebook is tough to edit photos on ! :( I'll put the rest into a slide show when I get home.

Entrance to the museum

A 1936 Chevy Pickup

This is a full size wooden model of a 1957 GMC pickup. It's
made entirely of wood, not one piece of metal was used. I
Have more photos of this very cool truck!!!

A 1932 Pierce Arrow Truck

From there it was a pretty boring ride north on I-5 until I passed Redding. After that the ride is more enjoyable. It's a bit cooler because you start gaining altitude and the road has a lot more curves to enjoy. The scenery is also better.

Anyway, I rode as far as Ashland, OR today so I should make it all the way home tomorrow, albeit, a bit late in the day.

St. Johns !!!!

Slept in this morning. I really love that part of a vacation!!! Lunch today was at my favorite burger joint in the whole world and that's not an exaggeration, I really mean the whole world. At least the part that I've travelled, anyway.

Below is the Blue Bacon Burger. The absolute best!!! They do have some new items on the menu that I was tempted to try but I stuck with my favorite. The Philly Cheesesteak made with brie was a real temptation though.

After lunch we went to a park so Kit could play. She really likes driving things.

Day 3: Santa Rosa to Santa Clara

Slept in this morning, no point in getting up early just to get caught in rush hour traffic going into the city. I crossed the golden gate bridge about 11:00 AM or so. It was sunny and warm when I left Santa Rosa but it was freezing when I got to the bridge.

From there I took 19th ave through the city to highway one and continued down into Pacifica.

I stopped at the bakery there for a creme horn but GASP!!, they were out! The bakery there has the best Italian creme horns and I was really looking forward to one. Oh well. On to the old homestead. The house and neighborhood looks the same as it did when we left in 1987. For that matter, most of Pacifica is the same. There were a few minor things, the theatre is gone, the Central market is gone and converted into a group of smaller shops.

From Pacifica I headed down toward Half Moon Bay. I thought they had bypassed devils slide but the work isn't anywhere near done yet. In fact, they haven't even started boring the tunnel. From the looks of things, it will be ten more years before the slide area is bypassed.

After a lunch stop in Half Moon Bay I headed east on Highway 92 then turned south onto skyline blvd. Skyline is a really nice twisty road that runs the hilltops all the way down to the santa clara valley. Beautiful ride.

I met up with Dick & Sheila (and Fritz) for a visit and quick bite. Nice to see them and meet Fritz. From there I took the quick trip into Santa Clara and landed and Dan & Tuks house around 7:00 or so. I plan to stay parked here until at least Sunday.

Day 2: Sparkplugs to Santa Rosa

I left Sparkplugs around 8:00 AM and headed for Crescent City, CA. Unlike the day before, the weather didn't cooperate today. Drizzly rain off and on from the start. I had breakfast in Crescent City and headed south. Except for the showers, this ride is what it's all about.

I've often said that riding a motorcycle is an assault on your senses. Today was really the definition of that. The scenery in this part of the state is really awe inspiring With the Pacific Ocean on one side and thick towering redwoods on the other. The scent of sea air mixed with the smell of redwoods and evergreen, tarnished occasionally by the odor of a dead skunk or an ill maintained diesel truck spewing partially burned fuel. All of this accompanied by the rhythmic rumble of a harley davidson motor tooling down the road. Yep, this is why I ride.

But, By the time I reached Leggit I had had enough of the rain. I get plenty of that at home and didn't need it this week so I took 101 and headed inland to warmer and sunnier weather. heading south from leggit still offers plenty of beautiful redwood groves before opening up to vineyards that start to dot the landscape as you approach marin county.

Day 1: Duvall to Sparkplugs

Day one was really a pretty boring day. I left Duvall around 9:00 AM and headed for I-5. Flew down the slab stopping for gas and fast food.

I got to Sparkplugs motorcycle camp around 8:00 PM and was greeted by Brian, aka "Sparkplug". Brian is really quite a character. He and his wife Tracy run the camp that provides campsites for motorcyclists only. No cars allowed. Nice setup they have, a real throw back to the old days.

The Tee Pees were all taken by the time I got there but Sparkplug provided me with this tent with a real bed inside!! Worked quite well, except I had a dream that I got snowed on!!!