This was originally posted to my FB friends, and they all know each other.

This week seemed to take forever to get here. Wife (Ashley) and I had this trip planned for a looong time.

We flew to Arizona to meet up with Phil and Kami, stayed overnight at Kam’s, then headed West. A little backstory, Phil and Kam are father/daughter, and I’ve known them since I was 5. Kam is a year older than me and Phil has been a neighbor and friend most of my life.

We had the experience of meeting Kami’s dogs, although we had met before. She has four. Three of which are full of personality, one of which is the spawn of Satan. This dude is an *******. If he were more than 4 pounds, he’d likely try killing everyone. Instead, he snarls and growls, and when you walk away, bites your feet and ankles. I think his plan is to trip his victim and go for the throat. Just a theory.

I rented again from Rider-share. Think of Airbnb but for motorcycles. When and where, and then chose what ya want. I got a 2016 Street Glide. The bike is solid, Ashley hates the seat. I mean HATES it. She misses her bike after day one. Our bike back home is a 19 Ultra Classic

Over the last couple months, Phil and I acquired com systems for the trip. Ashley and I used our bike intercom, but these add the ability for all 4 of us to chat during the ride. It’s made for a new experience of saying things like “I need to pee” when you’re the last in line and want to telepathically get a message to the front person to pull over. Technology Yo.

That is, until they all died getting into San Diego and we had to revert to the “old way”. Technology Yo.

Anyway, we rolled out just after 9 am on Tuesday and enjoyed South Phoenix traffic heading to Maricopa and then west on 8. Just west of Yuma, we stopped to walk to the Border wall, and see that for ourselves. Border Patrol was on a hill about 3/4 miles away but we look like tourists from Indiana, so we weren’t interrogated.

Further West of Yuma, the mountains were getting closer, and temps were in the high 80’s. As we started up the mountain, it felt like we had dropped 10-15 degrees in the span of a few miles. It hit a low of 59, which isn’t bad until you factor a 70 mph wind and very light clothing. We were freezing. I was shaking and we finally had to admit to stopping and adding a layer. The casino at that exit was advertising $7.77 Prime Rib. Tempting.

Ashley grabbed her drink bottle and opened the straw, and it “spurted” and stream that went two feet up, some inside her helmet, and the rest just up. We could not contain the laugh. Of course, all the Inappropriate comments flooded me, but all I could muster was “I need a smoke after that”.

The gas light came on Kamis bike and we began looking for a station. Good news here is premium octane is only about 20 cents more a gallon than 87. Bad news it was as high as $6.79. Anyway, saw a sign for a station, hit the exit and off we went…..up. Another sign said “no stopping next 4 miles”. So there was a station at the top of wherever this went? On limited miles? Through broken coms, I heard “turn around” and we tried another one. We had a famous Phil gas station food break consisting of meat and cheese in a bag, hard boiled eggs (Phil) and a Payday.

Things we learned yesterday.

Kami does yoga wherever. In a rest stop, she worked on her Sochee, or So-As, or so something. She spelled it once but there weren’t enough vowels to make it make sense.

Ashley is ready to get an Uber for the last 30 miles. This seat is not what her previously fractured tailbone is used to. Let’s not mention to currently fractured toe.

I set the GPS for our room for the night, about 35 miles out. What I didn’t know….the gps was set to avoid highways and interstates. Normally a good thing on a bike. Not this time. I had us all sorts of screwed up. Add the coms had died and we were all ready to be done. Finally arrived…and our cottage is ON THE FRIGGIN BEACH. We made it to the Pacific. The waves are brutal.

The place tried charging me 10 bucks extra for the three bikes, using logic that they are three vehicles. I said that was not a problem, but we were taking three spots then. We settled on one spot.

We walked to a local dinner joint and came back where I was introduced to the show Ridiculousness, and the laugh of Chanel West Coast. Kami left the marathon show on all night on the TV, and that laugh will haunt my dreams forever now. I may sneak it into the coms today as payback. How do these people become famous?

The next morning there were lots of peeps milling around at 6 am. Some were dressed like snow was coming, and others were in bikinis. We watched from our heated cabin a guy dive into the ocean. He was trying to impress the bikini ladies, but got our admiration instead. “I WAS IN THE POOL” was what I kept thinking from George Costanza.

A random dude called out my Bucees shirt, again. It gets comments wherever I am.

Riding in sand on heavy bikes is a challenge. But Adventure Yo.

Today, North bound along the coast.

 

Az and Mexico on the other side.

If you’re charging me for three spots, I’m taking three. We negotiated to one spot.

Kickstands up

People always think I’m from Texas. Dunno why.

 

LOVE Bucee's..!! They've opened several in Florida.