CHAPTER SEVEN: DAY 5 TRULY THE BEST PLACE TO SPEND MEMORIAL DAY

 

DON’S MILES:  TODAY 8.3   TOTAL TRIP 894.4

BRETT’S MILES:  TODAY 8.3   TOTAL TRIP 682.0 

That brings us to Memorial Day.  We woke up to rain.  It wasn’t a hard rain but it was still….wet!.  We headed down to the breakfast area of the hotel.  This was a much different breakfast for us.  We were the only two motorcyclists in the room.  We ate and chit-chatted about the day before.  A few of the people greeted us with a “good morning” or “hello” but no one struck up a conversation or try to match our stories with something bigger-better-faster.  What we did have was the TV.  Since both Brett and I would NEVER think to question what a TV weather person says, we listened intently.  According to the blonde weather guru, the rain should stop by 9:00, be dry as a bone the rest of the day, and be nice for both of us as we begin our rides back home tomorrow.  Try to remember those words as you read on.

We left the breakfast area with the agreement that we would be going back to our rooms to organize, maybe start packing, but most likely trying for a power nap.  We agreed that we would meet in the parking lot at the bikes at 9:30.

Right on schedule we met at the bikes.  Things were wet but, as predicted, the rain had stopped.  After wiping the bikes down we headed out.  The ride was a short one.  We left the hotel lot and crossed over I-66.  A block later we pulled into the METRO parking lot (that’s the subway & transit system for the area).  We went into the East Falls Church station and we each bought a day pass for the system.  Actually, I think that I could have had a free one, however, I will probably never know.  I was staring at the big vending machine to buy tickets trying to figure out which button to push when the attendant said “your ticket is already out”.  Then, the busybody guy at the next machine said “no, that’s not his it was there when he got there”.  The attendant grabbed the ticket and said something about it being a good one but the busybody guy made sure that he made his point by telling the attendant TWO MORE TIMES that it was there before I got there.  The attendant walked away with the ticket and I paid for my ticket.  I really have no idea what that pass was for or if it was any good at all.  It really didn’t matter but I thought it was pretty humorous how that guy just wouldn’t drop it.  Anyway, he was still walking with the attendant while Brett and I happily went through the turnstile to the trains.

We hopped on the next train and rode it for a stop where we got off to change trains.  The second train took us to within a block of the gate to the Arlington National Cemetery.  If you have never been to this massive facility I think that you should put it on your bucket list……I’m not saying that you should see it after you kick the bucket, but before.  Not only is it a massive complex that will stir your emotions but it is also filled with many interesting pieces of history.  I have been to several of the National Cemeteries around the country but none of them has the power of the Arlington National Cemetery.

The first thing you do when you arrive is go through a security checkpoint.  On “normal” days this is a very, very quick process.  On Memorial Day, the process is still quick, however, there is a line to make it through the process.  I was directed to the “fast” line because I carried no bag.  Brett, on the other hand, was sent to the line for old bags.  I was probably 10 people back in line and I watched as each person went through.  They would hold their cell phone in the air, hold both arms up, and walk through the scanner thing….easy-peasy.  They all whipped right through…..until……ME.  I held my cell phone, lifted my arms, went through the scanner, and “wait sir, we want to run the wand”…….TWICE!  I have no metal plate in my head and my knees are original equipment (for now) but, for some reason, I was beeping.  After a couple scans they assumed that I was harmless so they let me through……silly people!  Brett came through with no issues whatsoever.

As we walked through the various sections it was very……hmmm, it was not sad but it was uplifting to know that there were (and are) so many patriots in our land.  There is a lot of talk now days of disaccord in the USA but I would like to believe that we are just as patriotic as we have always been.

We meandered up to an intersection.  We were just in time to see a company of honor guard deploy in formation.  They ceremonially broke off one by one along a vast portion of roadway.  It was very fascinating.  Once each soldier was in position, he/she remained motionless.  Apparently, our timing was perfect because, after being able to watch this very impressive maneuver, they all went to “Attention” and a line of vehicles…..and not just a few…..went by.  The first set of several SUV’s, military vehicles, police cars, and limos was for Vice-President Harris.  Then came a whole new set of vehicles that dwarfed the first set.  In the middle was the limo carrying President and Mrs. Biden.  What struck me, being on the older side of the Baby Boomer Population, is that I remember that wide-open convertible that President Kennedy rode within on that Day in Dallas.  Now, they ride and a closed off limo that could repel some of the strongest rounds.  But I digress, we saw both dignitaries on their way to the Tomb of the Unknown to lay the Wreath.  That gesture and the Wreath is for the remembrance of far too many unidentified souls.  Regardless of your political stand, for me this was an honor for me to watch them going toward such a noble cause.

We moved on through the property taking in the look of the Lee Mansion and the area of the Kennedy Eternal Flame with JFK, the Kennedy Brothers, and Jackie.  We made our way back to the visitor center and wandered through looking at the pictures and reading the historical data.  Arlington National Cemetery is truly a magnificent place.  I will not flatter myself thinking that I could describe it.  However, the fact that it is indescribable is, in itself, a description.

As we left the property, the little gal who was the road guard right outside of the gate stopped us at the edge of the street as we were crossing to return to the METRO.  There we were, at the right place at the right time.  Here come the LONG line of vehicles housing the President and Vice-President and, again, we watched them wave as they returned to the presidential residence.  All and all, it was kind of cool.

We returned to the METRO platform and boarded our train.  We changed trains at the correct place (whew) and rode to our stop at East Falls Church.  We looked for some “deserving souls” to hand our METRO passes to since they were good for the rest of the day…..but we didn’t find any.  There was NO ONE there let alone a deserving soul.

We went to the bikes and pulled out the phones to see where we would go to eat.  First, Brett found a pizza place.  That sounded good and it was only a mile or so away.  Then he said “oh wait, there’s a BBQ place right next to it”.  Ahhhh, BBQ wins.  Off we went with Brett’s GPS guiding our way.  We pulled into the parking lot and……well, crap…..the BBQ place was closed until Wednesday.  That’s ok, there was still the pizza place.  So, we walked the five storefronts in the little shopping strip to the pizza place.  We walked past a little, nice looking restaurant called Maya Bistro.  Yeah, yeah…..we were having PIZZA.  That is until we saw the pizza place.  It had an ordering counter and two little round tables…..you know the kind, chrome legs and a top that looked like kitchen linoleum.  It took us about two seconds to say..”Maya Bistro wins”.  We went in, found it to be a fine, little Greek restaurant.  We ordered and got delicious meals and wonderful service (and the owner didn’t try to spray our wounds with Windex).

As we finished eating, it started to rain and it wasn’t a light rain.  Apparently, the weather gal that we listened to in the morning forgot to let God in on her forecast.  We stayed in the restaurant for another 20 minutes and the rain went into a light sprinkle.  We were only about ¾ of a mile from the hotel so “what the heck”.

We walked to the bikes and off we went.  We had to go right past the 7/11 near the hotel so we thought that we would top off the tanks so we wouldn’t have to worry about as we left for our respective homes in the morning.  I swung over to turn left and………WHOOSH…….the skies opened up like they had been storing the water for 6 months.  In the 60 seconds that it took for us to go from the street to be under the canopy we had gotten soaked.  We filled up and went into the store to buy some snacks for the evening.  It was still pouring as we returned to the bikes.  We looked at each other and shrugged “what the heck” since we only had 2 blocks to go.  Out we went sure that we would be seeing animals approaching two by two so they could get in the ark.  Of course, as we parked the bikes it went to a light sprinkle.

We said that we would go to our rooms, finish packing, and would meet in an hour or so.  We chit-chatted in my room and, while Brett was still in the room, I put in a call to Lisa so we could all talk.  I was doing some typing and Brett was working on sorting out some of the HOURS of video he had from his two cameras.  Finally, we said let’s load the bikes.  We got the bikes ready to pull out in the morning.  We both said that we would try to leave around 5:00 in the morning.  The deal was that if we went out to leave and the other wasn’t there……we would leave.

With that thought we said our goodbyes as we went back to the rooms pretty sure that we would NOT see each other in the morning.  And that is how our memorable Memorial Day ended.  Tuesday, we leave for home.  We both plan on two days of riding to get home.  Unless there are some dramatic events, I plan to make the last two days one chapter.  In other words, I’ll talk to you again when I get home.  Thanks for listening.

CHAPTER FIVE: DAY 3 REMEMBERING THE FALLEN IS HUMBLING

 

DON’S MILES:  TODAY 33.6   TOTAL TRIP 863.7

BRETT’S MILES:  TODAY 33.6   TOTAL TRIP 651.3

It is Saturday morning.  The “free” hotel breakfast is to start at 6:30.   Knowing that the coffee and juice machines would be up and running I went ahead and meandered down to the breakfast area.  When I got there, I met up with another fellow from West Texas near Odessa.  He had come in with the Run For The Wall ride.  It would take pages for me to totally explain it but, briefly, this is a group ride from the West Coast to Washington, DC.  There are 3 routes, a northern, a southern, and a middle.  All three have hundreds of bikes participating and they all arrive in D.C. at the same time.  We had a great talk about the ride, the upcoming Rolling To Remember event, and my ride.   About that time, Brett entered the room and the conversation continued.  This guy actually rode from Odessa, TX to California and did the entire ride rather than waiting for the same group to pass right through his town just a few days later.  If you want to read about some dedicated Americans Google “Run To The Wall”.

About that time Brett entered the room along with the two riders from Ohio that we talked to the previous day.  We had a light and hardy conversation with lots of laughter and a lot of trying to outdo each other with better stories.  Personally, I thought that mine were the best but I’ll give them credit that they gave it a good try.

It approached the time that Brett and I picked to head for DC so we gathered what we needed……or, at least, what we thought we would need…..and went out to the bikes.  It was a wee bit cool and we wore our jackets but it was nice.  The ride into town was good, ALTHOUGH, I believe that I-66 was the first expressway EVER built and it has not had ANY upkeep done to it since Lincoln’s inaugural parade.  Even Michigan roads are better than I-66 between Arlington and DC.

Of course, I pulled off an exit too early.  I did it on purpose because I was sure that it would take us right to where we wanted to go.  HA!  It took us to a U-turn and sent us into the bowels of Downtown DC.  We were pretty much right where I was yesterday, going around in the same circles, and me repeating the same profanity at each turn.  I did, however, have yesterday’s experience and, just like A.I., I learn (more or less) from experience.  I got us to the Washington Monument, got us on Constitution Ave. running along side the Reflection Pool (the Forrest Gump pond), wham-bam-thank you ma’am, we pulled up onto the grass and parked.   To be very honest with you, I am almost positive that we were NOT supposed to park there.  However, there were 40 or 50 other bikes there and I took it as a “Safety In Numbers” scenario.

We immediately went to the Vietnam Memorial Wall.  Brett had never seen it and wanted to go to it first.  He found, as I always do, that it was a very emotional and humbling experience.  Add to that, the “Run To The Wall” riders……hundreds of them…….had just finishing laying their wreath at the Wall.  They do that every year and it is what they call “Mission Complete”.  They set out, ride across the country, and they have a mission to lay a wreath at the Vietnam Memorial Wall.  Each year, when they lay the wreath in a Saturday before Memorial Day ceremony, they proclaim that that year’s mission has been completed.  Because they had just finished doing that, there were hundreds and hundreds of Run To The Wall participants (many who have done the ride annually for years and know each other) who had tears stained faces, with lots of hugging and support.  That only added to the emotional experience and being humbled.

From the Wall we wandered over to the Lincoln Memorial.  Aside from the fact that it is…..well, it is the Lincoln Memorial, it is also a really, really great spot to watch people.  Touristy type of people are so much fun to watch.  They are kind of oblivious about all their surroundings except for what they are looking at and they are looking at it with amazement and astonishment.  At the steps of the Lincoln Memorial you have the Lincoln Memorial right in front of you and at the other end of the “Forrest Gump Pond” is the Washington Memorial and separating the two is the Reflecting Pool.  I’m not sure how many phone pictures are taken every hour on those steps but if I had a penny for each one I am sure that I could be living a lot higher retirement lifestyle.

I asked Brett where exactly the World War II Memorial was at, he checked his phone and said “at the other end of the Reflecting Pool”.  Now, based on what Google tells me it is 2,028 feet long or, roughly, a quarter mile.  Hogwash!  We walked from one end to the other and I can swear that it was about 250 miles from one end to the other.  And the worst part was that WE HAD TO WALK BACK!  That was a total, I am sure, of 500 miles.

After visiting the WWII Memorial and heading back, we viewed the Vietnam Memorial Wall again.  Then we skipped over to Constitution Ave. where the event vendor area was located.  It is called Thunder Alley.  They really didn’t much in the way of vendors, however, Icicle Sunglasses had a booth.  Just so happened that Brett owns a pair of Icicles and the lens would pop out on occasion.  He went to the booth and the gentleman there fixed Brett’s glasses, got them as good as new, and there was no charge.

We started back to the bikes and was again crossing Constitution Ave. when, just as we hit the center of the road, the police stopped us.  It was the Sandbox Ride.  That is the aforementioned Run To the Wall riders as they are heading out of DC.  Many of the participants of the run TO Washington, DC leave on their own and head home.  However, the actual run continues on from DC to Marseilles, IL and the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial.  It was a joy to watch these patriots ride by on start of this 3 day/750 mile ride.

As the last bike of the Sandbox Ride passed we continued on and got to our bikes.  We did a quick check of Brett’s GPS and headed to Fairfax and the Hooters there.  I had a burger, Brett had tacos and our waitress, Kira, took good care of us.  After eating we headed back about ½ mile to the Patriot Harley-Davidson Dealer.  We both bought official Rolling To Remember t-shirts.  Brett also bought a Patriot Harley-Davidson t-shirt and a Patriot hoodie to take home as a gift.  As we were leaving the building to check out the vendors in their lot Brett stopped at a table to see what she had.  Well, all she had was 50/50 raffle tickets for a buck a piece.  Brett said that he would buy some.  I figured that since he bought some I would match it……he certainly wouldn’t buy more than $5 worth…..would he???  So he says, “give me 20”.  WHAT??  Well, I wasn’t going to let me better me so I bought 21.  She said the drawing was at 4:00 and you had to be present.  Cool, we bought some Cokes and sat at a picnic table.  We killed the hour striking up conversations with everyone that passed us by.  4:00 rolled around and she called the number and, GUESS WHAT, I won.  Yep, she handed me $96.  Since I spent $21 on tickets I basically won 75 bucks…….not bad.  I took it and I did NOT share it just because the only reason I bought tickets was because Brett bought them.

We immediate mount the bikes and headed back to the hotel.  Along the way we stopped at a 7/11 and grabbed a 6 pack of beer and 12 waters.  Back at the hotel, we set up our chairs in the parking lot and, before we knew it, the gentleman we met earlier from the Run To The Wall ride (I’m sorry, but neither Brett nor I got his name) came by and a few minutes later the two riders from Ohio joined us.  We talked out there for about 3 hours……..with each other and with just about everyone that walked by on the bike path walking their dog.

Finally, we could hardly keep our eyes open and said goodnight.  We both did quick calls home and then…….BED!  Talk to you after Day Four.

CHAPTER FOUR: DAY 2 THE TWO WANDERERS JOIN UP

 

DON’S MILES:  TODAY 345.1   TOTAL TRIP 830.1

BRETT’S MILES:  TODAY 264.2   TOTAL TRIP 617.7 

I’m going start right off by saying…..what a day.  I hope that I can fit it all into one blog post.

For starters I got up and ran a couple of things out to my bike…..YIKES!!!  It was COLD.  The good, old weather person maintained their reputation of missing the mark.  Long story short…..it was not supposed to be real hot nor was it to be real cold.  Just a nice temp morning, noon, and night.  There was a whole group there from Florida on their way to DC.  Their jackets had the name Buffalo Soldiers.  They were a lot of husband/wife couples.  Unlike me, they were dressed for the cold.  Of course, they were ALL dragging little trailers behind their bikes so they had room for all kinds of extra stuff.  Me?  Well, if I didn’t think I would need it I didn’t pack it.  So, I was cold.

Got a message from Brett early telling me that he was hitting the road at 6:30.   Good for him.  I was not quite as ambitious and didn’t leave until 7:30.   I meandered around the other bikes and riders talking with them a bit.  Then I headed back inside to THAW OUT and to have breakfast.  After my “free” breakfast I finished up packing, made sure that the Day 1 blog was posted, and out I went.  I’m not sure but I think that out of my window I saw a mama polar bear and two cubs drinking Cokes.  I could have been mistaken but…………

I did a quick stop at the Mobil station at the corner to top off the tank.  I jumped onto I-95 and headed north.  The sky was a bright blue with only slight whispers of clouds to add to the visual beauty.  However, the beauty stopped with the visual because it was FREAKIN’ COLD.  Nevertheless, like a real trooper I motored on.  Traffic was light, which was good.  The wind that I experience on Day 1 was continuing to howl.  The wind stayed strong for most of the ride and finally let up as I rode north of Richmond.

I got to the North Carolina/Virginia state line and pulled into a One 9 truck stop.  You will be happy to note that I did a normal “on the road” meal.  I got a bag of mini glazed donuts, a small bottle of orange juice, and a HOT coffee.  I sat next to the bike and gave Lisa a call.  We chatted a bit until it was time for me to drag my leg over the seat and get going again.  I sent a message to a great friend who lives in Virginia.  We hoped that we could hook up.  He told me that he wasn’t too far from Virginia Exit 104 which is about 20 miles or so north of Richmond.  There is a McDonald’s at the exit and a Love’s Truck Stop and I told him that I would pull in, fill my tank, and head for Mickey D’s parking lot and that I should be there by noon.

Like clockwork, I pulled into the Love’s gas pump area just minutes before noon, did a gas ‘n go fill-up, and headed over to McDonald’s.  Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy……I had a bunch of coffee and orange juice to get rid of so I rushed into the restaurant to…….ARGH……..find and handwritten note on the door of the Men’s Room saying “restroom not working”.  Apparently, they thought it a good idea to have a new urinal installed during lunch.  So, there was a line of guys (3 of us) waiting to use the women’s room.  Of course, for some reason, they thought it necessary to insure that it was not in use.  I told them that, temporarily, we were identifying as women…….it wasn’t funny then and, as I read it, it isn’t too funny now either.  Naturally, they were done with the installation 15 minutes later.

I sat and waited, writing in my journal, and munching on a cheeseburger (that’s about all I can afford at McDonald’s anymore).  I figured that I would give my bud until 1:45.   I hadn’t heard from him so I really wasn’t sure.  When the time came, I hopped on the bike to leave.  I was sorry because I hadn’t seen him since he moved to Virginia several months ago.

While this was going on, Brett was tooling on U.S. highways through the mountains.  He had a chilly start but a really great ride.  He had his two action cameras going.  One is his helmet which basically is looking wherever he is looking (I hope that he isn’t wearing it if we go to Hooters).  The other is a “360 camera” that videos a front view and a rear view at the same time.  That way he will know where he’s heading and, at the same time, he will know where he’s been.

I started my last leg into D.C. by leaving McDonald’s and getting on I-95 again with only 75 or 80 miles to go.  The last 40 miles leading into Arlington was SLOW & GO!!  For probably 30 of those 40 miles I was not able to leave 2^nd gear.  It dragged on and on.  All of a sudden…..YIKES……I needed to exit and I had to cross 4 lanes to do it.  AND those 4 lanes were PACKED with bumper to bumper cars that were filled with people who were as tired of the SLOW & GO as I was.  The last they cared about was that OLD guy on the motorcycle trying to change lanes.  So, before I knew it I was being “welcomed” into Maryland.  I found an exit that I could do a turn around in.  Tried to determine where I was and………dag nab it…….I wound up in Downtown D.C.  I spotted the Washington Monument and thought “ah ha, now I got my bearings and I can get to the hotel”.  Not so fast, Grasshopper.  I was facing the back of the monument but I thought that I was on the side of it.  I followed that street and……bam…..I had to do it all over again.  With actually very little swearing, I got myself to the right spot, whipped onto I-66, and in 10 minutes I was pulling into the Arlington Econo Lodge.  The 75 or 80 miles had turned into 100 miles….le sigh!

I got off the bike and I had 10 text messages.  Several from Brett who was laying comfortably in his room.

We had some good conversation about our respective travels as I was checking in.  I proceeded to throw (literally) my stuff into my room and we walk a half block to a small Mediterranean café.  I couldn’t pronounce most of the stuff on the menu let alone know what it was.  I threw caution to the wind and got penne pasta shrimp thing with some salad type stuff in it.  I said that it looked a little too healthy and my body might reject it.  Nevertheless, I cleaned the dish and it was actually pretty tasty.  I would love to tell you what it was but, frankly, I haven’t a clue what it was.

As we walked back up the hotel parking lot we ran into a couple old guys from Ohio.  They weren’t as old as me (few are) but they still fit into the “old guy” category.  We stood out in the parking lot and chatted with them for over an hour.  It was fun and there was lots of laughter.  There were stories being told by them and stories being told by us.  Statistically, I would say that 40% was untrue, another 50% was embellished, 8% didn’t make any sense, and 2% MIGHT have been a socially acceptable truth.

Finally, we had to say that it was time to get to our rooms.  Brett’s room is next door to mine and when we got to our doors we squeaked something that sounded like a “good night, see you in the morning” and we were gone.

We both did quick phone calls home.  Lisa and I talked for a few minutes and I said that I was really tired and I had a lot of typing to do.  So we hung up.  I typed about a paragraph……..oops, sorry, the first paragraph of this page was all that was typed.  I finished it on Day 3.  But, I slept REALLY good, Brett said that he slept REALLY good.  I would say that getting this post out a few hours late was worth it.

That takes care of Day Two.  Now, stay tuned for Day Three.