We left Texas at 6:45 with the temp at 63. It had rained all night and was still sprinkling when we got on the road. That meant leathers and rain gear. It only took about an hour to travel out of the rain and another hour until we could put our leathers away.

We rode through the rest of straight, flat Texas, still seeing no cattle or oil wells. Oklahoma started out flat but a little before Oklahoma City we started to see hills and grass and trees. The gasoline prices have been dropping; $4.19 in Texas and $4.09 in Oklahoma. Hope that trend continues as we get closer to home. We made a stop at Harley Davidson World in Oklahoma City. It was a nice store, brand new. The bikes were about $1000 more than at home, nice selections for men, sucky for women. The poeple were very nice in fact they were very nice every place we stopped in Oklahoma, We love to hear them talk!

Oklahoma to Arkansas. Lots more trees and mountains. Temps have been in the low 80's all day. Perfect riding weather We stayed in Little Rock. Yes, a hair dryer!

We slept in a little on Sunday. We were on the road at 7:45, Beautiful morning, we didn't need coats. We were starting to see lots more trees and grass. We crossed the bridge into Memphis, Tennessee and when we were past the city a short way on I-40 we saw lights and heard a siren. It was then that we realized we forgot to check the book at our last stop in Arkansas to see if Tennessee is a helmet state. A very kind sheriff's deputy pulled us (really just Jim, my helmet was on), over. The deputy was cool and just wanted Jim to put his helmet, which was hanging off the bag, on before a state trooper saw him because a trooper would for sure give Jim a ticket. I was going to take the deputy's picture, but I didn't want to push our luck

.Gas prices are going back up. A gallon of 93 octane was up $4.19 then $4.21 at the next in Tennessee. The cost continued to rise and was up to $4.59 in Ohio.

We were seeing more trees and hills, things began to look more familiar. This is what we are used to riding. It is as beautiful as the other parts of the country we've enjoyed riding.

We stopped at one more Harley store. Is this the last one? It was in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is a very nice store and the staff was very friendly. Bikes were about $1000 less than we're used to seeing at home.

The gps kept giving us weather warnings of storms and rain but for awhile we saw no signs of any. Then the winds picked up, the clouds got thicker and darker, and the temperature dropped by 10 degrees. We hoped to get to a hotel before the rain got us. We were in Kentucky and wanted to get through Cincinnati before we stopped so we wouldn't have to deal with the city traffic in the morning.

Our luck held until we crossed the bridge into Ohio. Welcome home! We pulled into a huge shopping center but could only find an overhang at a Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Rain gear on again. We drove out of the rain but not for long.

The motel search is another story. I'll just say that we found one and after switching rooms a time or two. We settled in for the night just before the rain hit. No hair dryer.

We have put 6348 miles in 13 days. Tomorrow is our last day on the road. We will be glad to see all of you, but sad that our trip is over. We have lived and breathed this trip for months. We have anticipated it for so long! It will be strange to sleep in the same place for more than one night. We will feel lost when our butts aren't on the bike! I will be glad to have a hair dryer and peanut butter.

We rode across Illinois and Iowa today. As we were riding I was thinking that I wouldn't have anything interesting to tell you about . . .boy, was I wrong. We put rain gear on and off all day but never had more than a few drops and some wet roads. We stopped about 100 miles from our destination for the night to take our rain gear off one more time. As we were pulling out, a guy stopped us and said that we'd better find shelter from the tornadoes and storms heading our way. We rode as fast as we could to the car wash he directed us to, watching for funnel clouds along the way. We met quite a few people at the car wash while we were 'ridin' the storm out.' One guy invited us to his home, a couple others kept us abreast of the storm's path. Three National Guardsmen kept us company. All were there to keep their cars from hail damage. The storm and tornado warnings kept up. There was a tornado near that killed 30 people. We were lucky, no tornadoes for us. We ordered Pizza Hut pizza and had it delivered to the car wash. We ate dinner with our new friends in bay #3 at the Oasis Car Wash in Storm Lake, Iowa. We decided it would be safer to spend the night in Storm Lake. We were calling the Super 8 we could see down the street, (which was now closed due to flooding), when a pick-up pulled in and two reporters jumped out with their camera and notepad. They were reporting on the storm for the Storm Lake Times After getting our names and our story, they were kind enough to find a motel for us that had a roof to pull the bikes under. We have miles to make up so we have to get a very early start tomorrow.

The badlands are first, followed by Rushmore, Crazy Horse, then Needles Highway. I also re-sent yesterday's pics. We had to leave Storm Lake, Iowa at 5 this morning to make up the time we spent partying in the car wash. We were a little chilly, but most of the day was clear and sunny. The roads were in very good condition and everywhere is so clean. We put raingear on just before the Badlands. The Badlands were so cool. It looks like lots of sandcastles. We saw falling rocks and a mountain goat. We went through VERY high winds on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Both of us had to lean into the wind to keep the bike on the road. Definately the strongest winds we've ridden through. Next. . . Crazy Horse. Words can't describe this place. The sculpture itself and the story that goes with it is so amazing We got to go on a tour to the top of the mountain. You can see three states from the mountain. We gathered some granite form the mountain and bought Crazy Horse Harley shirts. We rode Needles Highway before we found our hotel. That was an incredible ride! There were LOTS of switchbacks, hills, winding, and natural stone tunnels. We only saw two deer. We had some rain, but we also saw two outstanding rainbows. We are spending the night in Custer, SD. Temps will be in the 30's tonight so we will be pretty cold when we head out. Tomorrow we will be going through Wyoming before we ride the Rockies.

Yesterday we rode about 600 miles and 450 today. Today was soooo incredible!!! We rode through some great areas of this country. The roads we were on today were made just for bikes. We left Custer, SD at 7:15. We had lots of warm clothes on. Between there and Cheyenne, WY was nothing but clear blue skies and beautiful scenery. The roads were in perfect condition and wound through green rolling hills. We could see mountains on the horizon. Besides the two dozen or so vehicles, the only other signs of life were herds of cattle, sheep, and buffalo grazing alongside deer and antelope. There were no traffic lights, stop signs, or even speed limit signs. We cruised that route for at least 250 miles. There were areas of high winds, though not as bad as yesterday's. We hit civilation again in Cheyenne. On our way to Rockie Mountain National Park, we stopped at Thunder Mountain Harley in Loveland, CO. The store was huge. They had tons of bikes, and of course, lots of Thunder Mountain bikes. The weather was perfect for a ride through the Rockies. We rode 48 miles through breathtaking country. I took lots of pictures, but pictures don't do it justice. You have to experience it yourself, and there's no better way to do it other than on a bike. If there's ever a ride you want to make, it's the one we went on today. (We recommend heated gear).

There were so many bends, curves, and switchbacks going up and down through the mountains. There were so many beautiful sights. We rode to 15,000 feet among snow covered peaks. We stopped to take pictures and we had to walk through snow. We rode by people building snowmen! We saw elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, marmots, and moose. Thankfully none of them posed a danger to our ride. Most were just sitting there while the tourists photographed them. The ride to our hotel in Dillon, CO was as great as the park. We continued to wind through the mountains for another 90 minutes. We rode through quaint villages and ski resort towns. We were able to travel faster on these roads and even got some peg scraping in. We are staying in Dillon, CO, a little town at 9000 feet above sea level in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and just had dinner at a micro brewery. Tomorrow, Vail and Utah.

We left Dillon, CO at 7;15 with the temps in the 30's. We wore lots of layers knowing we would be riding into much warmer weather. Our route took us through CO, past Vail, and into Utah. We rode beside the Colorado River for awhile. It was amazing to see how the river has cut through the rock. It was also amazing to think about all of the time and hard work it was to build the road we were riding on. There were tunnels cut through huge granite mountains. How long did it take to build those?

The mountains and canyons are so beautiful. The roads are in incredibly good condition, no potholes at all even with the winters they get. Ohio needs to find out what Colorado and South Dakota use to pave their roads and get it for our roads. It is also very clean. From Iowa to Nevada we saw very little litter or even animal carcasses.

We rode rhrough four states, Colorado, Utah, a little of Arizona and into Nevada, and put on 620 miles,

Most of Utah was desolate. No animals grazing, not even a bird in the sky. The only signs of life were the bugs on our windshield and most of those came from Colorado. We stopped for gas in a town that looked like it came from a science fiction movie. There were houses and businesses with vehicles parked in driveways and parking lots but not a person in sight. We got right back on the highway and got gas in the next town. It was beautiful, though. The clearest, bluest skies with not one cloud. We rode through areas where to the right you see desert, then turn you head to the left and see a hill green with vegetation and on the distance you see a snow covered mountain. The rock formations look like someone intentionally arranged them.

The canyon we rode through in Arizona was fantastic. The raod snaked through enormous stone mountains the Nevada desert is surprisingly beautiful, not at all what we expected. There are green plants and some cactus along the road and mountains along the horizon, and the clear, blue sky!.

We went from freezing to HOT in a short time today. We spent the night in .Mesquite NV where it was 100 when we got off the bikes at 7:30 p.m. The heat radiating off the road was unbelievable, We stayed at the Virgin River Casino. (Yes, Lynn, I played a machine for you, but no luck.)

We will be on the California coast late afternoon tomorrow - one day ahead of schedule! That gives us lots more time to ride in California.

Riding through the desert is not for sissies.

We left Mesquite at 8:45. It was already 90. We hit Vegas about 10:30, then it was on to the Mojave.

We've been in tornadoes and storms, froze, and suffered nosebleeds and headaches from dry air and high altitudes, and rode more than 600 miles in one day, but all that is a piece of cake compared to riding through the desert. Today we rode to California by way of the Mojave Desert. I can't explain the intense heat. I drank more water today than I have in the past two months. We had bandanas covering our faces and 80 spf sunblock on all exposed areas. Temperatures were over 110. Add that to lots of traffic in five to eight lanes and it makes for an intense ride. There isn't much time to look at the scenery.

We tried to take a cooler ride to our destination in Ventura but the road through the San Gabriel Mountains had been washed out so it was back to the interstate to Ventura Highway. We then rode Topanga Canyon Road with lots of downhill bends and switchbacks to the Pacific Coast Highway at Malibu. We stayed with Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) to Ventura.

Today we rode in temps that ranged from the 100's to about 60 on Pacific Coast Highway. Not for sissies.

We are definately in California. We are paying over $5.00 a gallon for gas, we saw bottled water that we get in Ohio for 3.88/24 selling for 9.99/12. And the worst thing of all- all Harley dealerships are closed on Mondays, some are even closed Monday and Tuesday! That fact was unfortunate for us because we are in California and it's Monday AND we need work done on one of the bikes!

During a stop in Vegas yesterday, Bill noticed that he had very little tread on his tire, (he had taken his bike to his local dealership before we left and they assured him he did not need a newback tire). Jim called a couple of dealerships in Californis near where we were going, only to find out if we didn't get there Sunday we wouldn't be able to get a new tire until Tuesday. Luckily one of the servicemen Ji'm spoke with told him about a mechanic in Carpenteria who is open seven days a week. He said, "just tell him Noodles sent you". Well, thanks to Noodles, we were able to get the tire replaced Monday morning. Bill's tire may have been fine when he left but due to the fact that his dealership had not put air in the shocks after working on the bike, and with the extra load, the tire had been rubbing on the fender most of the way across the country. (Let this be a lesson to mechanics and bike owners - always double check). Jeff, the bike mechanicn was great. He really knows bikes. He changed Bill's tire and checked a few things on Mike's bike and we were on the road again in about 90 minutes.

Since we arrived on the coast a day ahead of schedule, and we didn't have to wait long for the tire, we took it easy. We put on under 300 miles.

We left Ventura and went to Carpenteria at 9. After the tire, we continued north along the coast. It was a perfect day for riding. The sun was shining and the temperature was comfortable. The scenery was awesome! The Pacific Ocean on the left, mountains on the right.

We headed into the mountains in Santa Barbara.

So many beautiful sights! Around every curve was another breathtaking view. We rode around the Santa Ynez Valley. We stopped at The Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez. We also went to a couple of wineries and bought some wine to take back to our hotel. By thw time we were heading to the hotel, temps had dropped. It was a cold ride to Cambria.

We spent the night in Cambria, California at the Moonstone Inn, It is a great little motel on the Pacific Ocean. They served us breakfast in our room and we took a morning stroll on the beach

The motel was so nice, There is a hot tub on the deck overlooking the ocean and fireplaces in every room. The fact that we didn't have power until around 2:30 a.m. made no difference to us. We just went to dinner after watching the sunset, enjoyed our wine, and showered by candlelight.

The owner and our host at the Moonstone Inn, Bob, was great. He told us a lot about the area and served the breakfast of our choice in our rooms. Unfortunately, we can't go back again. Bob has sold the Moonstone Inn. It will be demolished and two private homes will be built in it's place.

Bob told us not to miss the elephant seals that can be seen on a beach 12 miles up coast. We decided to stop there when we left. We passed Hearst Castle on the way. The elephant seals were cool. It is the season for the teenage seals to be inland and they were behaving like typical teenagers - either sleeping or harassing each other.

Bob also told us about the difference in temperature we would feel as we drove inland. He was right. We left Cambria with all of our leathers plus some. About 30 miles out of town we had to pull over to take them all off. Although it wasn't quite as hot as the desert, it was still damn hot. There wasn't much to look at, and parts were very windy. It made for a long ride. We did find some good bends and curves and managed to scrape a floorboard or two.

We stopped. At two :Harley dealerships since it was Tuesday and they were open, Gary Bang in Atascadero and. Harley of Fresno..

About 6:30 we could finally feel cooler temps as we neared Yosemite National Park. More fantastic scenery. The tallest trees, mountains of rock, huge canyons. The roads were amazing. There were areas with little traffic and lots of winding road. There was 17 miles of ascending and descending bends. They were the most incredible we've ever experienced. Over 200 bends! The banking of the bends was perfect, just like the Indy 500!

We rode past Bridalveil Falls and through more amazing canyon. Then it got dark and freezing. We stopped twice to put more clothes on. Thank Goodness there was a full moon. We rode through Yosemite for three and a half hours. We saw snow capped mountains and the biggest, brightest shooting star and only one deer. We rode through the exit gate at 10:30 p.m. We still had half an hour to go to get to Mammoth Lake and our hotel. Again, extreme temperature changes in a relatively short distance in one day.

We were so happy to finally get to the hotel. We hadn't eaten since lunch in Atascadaro and we wouldn't until breakfast because all of the restaurants in town were closed! At least we had heat and hot showers. Last night we slept at 40 feet above sea level and tonight it would be 7000

Of course it was cold when we left Mammoth Lake and we had to wear warm clothing. It didn't take long before we had to stop and take everything off again.

We rode through the mountains on fun roads. The roads had lots of dips and bends so when our stomachs weren't rolling with the dips, the pegs were scraping on the turns.

As soon as we were out of the mountains, the roads became flat and straight and hot. Besides a nice view, we saw some interesting things. We saw twirling dust clouds, Big Dune, (a gigantic sand dune in the middle of the desert), a Nomad pushing his bicycle across the desert, cows hanging out on the road, and a small plane that had crashed a long time ago. We stopped at the Death Valley Nut and Candy Co for a break from the heat.

It was 104 when we hit Vegas. Not too much traffic. We stayed within walking distance of the strip. We had a wonderful steak dinner at Gallagher's in New York New York and played a few slots at the MGM and the Tropicana. Our plan hasn't changed for our trip home so what does that tell you about our luck in Vegas.

It's a sad day because it is the end of the trip for our friends. Patty, Bill, Barb, and Mike will be flying home Thursday night and their bikes will be trucked. We've had such a great trip together. We've laughed, we've cried, we've gotten pissed off, and we laughed some more. We'll miss you guys!!

Sadly, we had to leave our friends in Vegas and begin our trip home. We pulled out at 7 a.m. It was in the high 80's. We crossed the Hoover Dam going into Arizona. The weather was beautiful with the temp around 91. It was hot, but not nearly as hot and uncomfortable as the past few days. It was weird riding alone. We had to get into a new groove.

Arizona looked exactly as we expected. There were mesas and lots of red sand. There were lots of cactus and tumbleweeds. There were also little roadside stands and stores that looked like they were straight from an old western. We expected to see Clint Eastwood riding across the desert. The road was straight and flat most of the way, only a few bends in the mountains before the Grand Canyon.

We stopped at Mother Road Harley in Kingman to get the oil changed and clutch cable adjusted. Mother Road was disappointing. No sign on the building saying 'Mother Road' or 'Route 66'. I took a picture of the only Mother Road logo I could find and that was on a salesman's shirt. The store was much smaller than we expected and they also sell Yamaha, Suzuki, and Polaris. Breakfast at Denny's was NOT disappointing.

The temperature dropped by about twelve degrees as we climbed the mountain to the Grand Canyon. We saw more bikes today than on the whole trip. Lots of foreigners on rentals. We were entertained by a group from Holland at one stop.

The Grand Canyon is spectacular! You can't have an idea of it's size or depth if you've not been there. Pictures don't come close to the real thing. We stopped at many of the overlooks on our way through the park. The canyon and how it was made is so amazing, especially when you see how little the Colorado River looks running through the bottom of the canyon. We stopped once to get pictures of a HUGE elk. Thank goodness we didn't go to the walkway out over the canyon built by the Indians with the floor you can see through. We also saw a carnivorus squirrel. At one of the overlook stops we saw an animal that looked like a chipmonk with a scrawny squirrel tail running across the walkway with a bird almost as big as it was in it's mouth! What a weird sight. I'm glad our squirrels just eat nuts..

About 20 miles after the Grand Canyon we got a surprise. We rode over a hill and the Painted Desert appeared before us. It was so beautiful! The colors were amazing! Reds, golds, pinks, all under a big blue sky!

On our way to the hotel in Flagstaff, wee stopped at Grand Canyon Harley. It was pretty nice. It has an Old Wes decor.. Lots of clothing and Buells, but not too many Harleys.

We wanted to go on to Winslow but the hotel wouldn't let us cancel our reservation, so we stayed in Flagstaff, which was very nice..

We pulled out of Flagstaff at 6:45 and it was cold, AGAIN. This is the desert, I thought it would be warm! It was bright and sunny, though. You can't have everything. We only went about 20 miles before temps rose to the 70's.

We decided to go to Winslow to have breakfast and ride a little more of Route 66. Well, just about the only thing you can do in Winslow, Arizona is stand on the corner and take it easy. We couldn't find a place to eat except for the Flying J truckstop on the edge of town. Good thing we stayed in Flagstaff last night because the motels in Winslow were not the most inviting.

On to New Mexico. It is amazing how the terrain changes from state to state. You can tell when you're near a state line by the landscape. The gasoline prices vary by state, also. The gas we paid over $5.00 a gallon for in California cost around $4.89 in Arizona and $4.39 in New Mexico. We saw regular advertised for $3.82 a gallon.

We rode a little on Historic (or Historical, depending on where you were) Route 66, but rode most of the way on I-40E. Route 66 could be seen for many miles along I-40 though. At some points it was only about 30 feet away. At times it was a two lane paved road, then it was a two lane dirt road, then it was a dirt path, then it would disappear for awhile. You can just imagine your parents or grandparents cruising across the country in their '57 Caddy on Route 6f feeling as badass as we do crusing across on our Harley.

There were lots of roadside stands selling Native American jewelry and crafts, lone gas stations, a few very small towns along the way. We only saw cows and horses grazing in a couple of fields along the highway. We did go through Albequerque, which is a fairly big city. It is also very pretty. The overpasses and barrier walls are terra cotta and turquoise or have decorative stone or ironwork on them. The temps stayed in the 80's. The sky got cloudier as we went east.

Our next state for the day was Oklahoma. It was straight and flat. The clouds got a thicker and darker.

Then came Texas and another time zone. Texas is also straight and flat. We passed a beef producer that had more cows than you could imagine. There were thousands in lots of different pens. The aroma as we passed by was not the most plesant.

This is the first night we didn't have a room reservation for the night. We decided to wing it especially since a group of riders we met at a gas station told us we'd have no trouble finding a room around Amarillo. We (not really me) chose a little roadside motel in BF, Texas. (I'm withholding the name so I don't offend the town or the motel owner.) It was pretty clean and had a hot shower with a little water pressure, but NO HAIR DRYER. We ate dinner at the diner next door. The food was good, real down-home cooking. Everything was either deep fried or covered in butter.

The dark clouds we had seen in Oklahoma were now darker and coming closer to us. There were severe thunderstorm warnings-with hail and high winds. I guess the motel was better, and safer than a car wash.

Day 14

17 states

6586.3 miles - over a quarter of the way around the earth.

This is the last day of our ride. We don't want it to end!

This has not been a vacation. It has been an adventure, a challenge at times, an experience, but it definitely wasn't a vacation. Not that it wasn't fun!

On a vacation you eat too much, get a great tan, do lots of shopping. If you get too hot, you just order a cool, refreshing, usually alcoholic drink or go inside where it's air conditioned,

We are tan from our shoulders to our fingertips and from our neck to our eyebrows. You may not even be able to call it tan. It's kind of a suntan, sunburn, windburn look. The skin that hasn't peeled will soon and we have sunblock-road dirt pimples.

We were lucky if we took time to eat twice a day. We did always have breakfast. Sometimes lunch would be a Slim Jim and a cheese stick or beef jerky, chips and a candy bar. We tried to eat dinner every night but sometimes all we wanted to do was get a hot shower and go to sleep.

Our shopping consisted of running into a Harley store that we happened to pass on the way, and getting back on the bikes as quick as we could. We saw many quaint towns where we stopped for the night but they were already closed and wouldn't reopen until we were long gone.

When we were hot, our refreshing drink was bottled water or Gatorade that had been heated to just under boiling by the sun and the heat from the road. Our only alcoholwas two bottles of wine shared between six people on two different nights,.

Air conditioning? Harley's don't have it. Usually the gas stations had it and we could enjoy it for the short time we were there, but that only made it feel hotter when we had to go back out.

Our adventure did let us experience so many amazing sights, smells, feelings, and cool people in a way that you can't on any vacation. We were on the edge of cliffs and at the bottom of canyons, we were in the snow on the highest mountains, we were in the middle of the desert, we watched the sunset from the seat of a Harley. We saw elephant seals in their natural habitat. We rode alongside the mighty Colorado River and saw how it has changed the land over centuries We saw homes in the middle of a field in Wyoming, Utah, and Iowa and homes in the middle of the desert in Nevada, California, and Arizona with absolutely nothing around for many miles and wondered why anyone would want to live there and what in the world do they do?.

We felt the fresh, crisp, cool morning air of the Rocky Mountains We travelled through four time zones and 17 states. We smelled breakfasts cooking, spices at a spice factory in Iowa, rain in the forest, and sunshine at the ocean. We also smelled rotting grass and crops in the states suffering from terrible flooding, dairy and sheep farms, a beef farm in Texas with thousands of cows, the Purina dog food factory, and the air during a tornado.

On a vacation you may chit-chat with the person next to you at the pool or at the bar. We met people who were as passionate about their ride as we were about ours. We got to talk to people who had been where we were going and couldn't wait to tell us how much we would love it. We met people who were going to where we had been and wanted us to tell them everything. We all carried a little of each other along the rest of our journey.

The young men we met at the beginning of our trip told us about what riding through Vail is like.. A couple of guys at Fresno Harley were so excited that we were going to Yosemite. They went on and on about how great the bends and turns were. They told us we HAD to go see the Giant Sequoias. .

If it weren't for fellow bikers, we would have rode into a flooded city and a tornado in Iowa. But because of those bikers, we got to have dinner in a car wash with three young servicemen who had served our country in Iraq and will have to go back. We got to thank them personally for doing that for us.

We learned many things. We learned to ALWAYS have you camers ready. We learned to have your hat in your hand before you take your helmet off. You don'.t want one of those people who had learned to always have their camera ready to get a picture of your helmet hair! We learned that you shouln't take medicine if you don't know how your stomach will react to it. We learned to look at the map VERY closely if you're headed anywhere near L.A. We learned that the gps isn't always right, and also that sometimes it really does know the best way. We learned that it's better to start out with too many clothes rather than too few. We learned that it's probably better to ride through Yosemite in daylight. We learned that Harley's don't like gasoline made with corn. We learned that if you're staying at a Motel 6, you'd better have your own hair dryer or else you have to learn to live without one. We know that we'll take an adventure over a vacation any day.

We worked together to be safe, to get each other over the rough spots, to have more fun than we ever imagined and to create the some of our best memories. We will talk about this trip for many years and for sure one of us will remember something the rest of us have forgotten and that will bring back even more..

We rode as hard and as long as we could everyday, Somedays that was 500 to 600 miles in all kinds of weather, but we took time to enjoy everything along the way. The idea of this trip wasn't to get 'there' as fast as we could, the idea was to ride and to enjoy the ride. It is the journey, after all.

We aren't the first to go on this adventure and we are far from the last, but we all like to tell our story when we do.