End of the Trail :(

Well, that's all, folks! Kelly came to get Ken and me in Dahlonega, GA, and we returned home. I was beyond sick, unable to breathe, stuffy head, etc. After we got home, I was tested and found out I had COVID-19. I am so tired of the virus and how it has ruined everything for the past couple of years. I hope and pray that we will have another chance on the trail one day. 

Location: Greeneville, TN, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

This Week!

In and Out of Dodge!

Image
When considering my next destination on Monday, yesterday 8/8 I decided to ride to Dodge City, Kansas. Yes, that Dodge City. No, I didn't see Marshal Dillon, Ms. Kitty, or Festus, but I did learn some great history of the old west and how Ft. Dodge became Dodge City and why they called the burial mound "Boot Hill." Dodge City was once home to the great lawmen of the west, such as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp.   The way I understand it, in the times of the conflicts between the US and Native Americans, the government wanted to deplete the buffalo herds so they invited a hunting "free for all." They thought this would cause the This caused every ragtag hunter within hundreds of miles to decend upon Ft. Dodge. Most of them took a liking to the many saloons. Fights would break out and then be taken to the streets. Someone would end up killed. If they were an unknown or of little means, then they would end up in a mass grave that was called Boot Hill. This was becaus...
Read more

Headed to the Low Country (South Carolina)

Image
Rice, Shrimp & Grits, Salt Marsh… I miss it and I don’t miss it at the same time. I lived in Charleston, SC from 1985 to 1994. All three of my children were born in Charleston. Kelly and I were married in Charleston. So much of our life originated in Charleston. It’s nice to be in the low country once again. On the way here I was able to catch up with 2 friends. The first was the Rev. Don McCann, a Presbyterian pastor that was in the town of Cleveland, NC when I was at Christ Church. Don and I started the first of the ecumenical study groups that continue today. We met for lunch at LuLu’s at Barefoot Landing, North Myrtle Beach, SC. Beautiful view! The next was Julieanne Humowitz. Julie lived across the street from my family when I was in High School. She was a classmate of my sister at Western Branch. We’ve been friends with one another for 43 years. Our fathers worked together at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. We met in the historic section of Georgetown, SC along the boardwalk. The rid...
Read more

Beginning of Route 66 (Third Corner)

Image
I’m not sure the complete reason for the infatuation I feel for the Historic Route 66. When I traveled 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica in 2017, I spoke a bit about the “sacredness” of the road… about how traveling the road connected me to something from the past and something other than myself. I prayed the Litany of Supplication at the 3rd Corner of these contiguous United States, asking God to guide us to peace and reconciliation.  One of the main treats of today was meeting up with my classmates and friends, Pete Ince and Bobak Montemedi. It was very cool to get together with them at Ye Olde King’s Head, a restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd. just up from the West End of 66. Pete, Bob, and I graduated from Frederick Military Academy together 40 years ago. With this as the year of our 40th, and them not able to make the reunion in August, I felt it was a real honor to see them. We enjoyed stories of yesteryear and bringing each other up to date with what’s going on in our lives. Like...
Read more

Up the Coast of California!

Image
Yesterday (7/20) I set a course for the coast! Starting at San Francisco, I started up Hwy 1. I came to San Francisco via San Jose where I stopped in and visited the Manager of the Spartan Bookstore at San Jose State University, Jesse Nelson. Jesse and I went to Frederick and graduated in 1985. He and I roomed together Sophomore year and remain great friends to this day! It was great to catch up with him and have some lunch. I went from San Jose through San Francisco to pick up Hwy 1. I got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on my motorcycle! That was very cool 😎. Once I got through the traffic and got on Hwy 1 is was AMAZING! North of San Francisco I followed Hwy 1 up to Salt Point State Park. Today, I went from Salt Point SP to Arcata, CA. Salt Point was COLD last night! It was good to get up and get moving this morning. I tried something a little different with the GoPro. I mounted it to the bike and shot video. I thought the scenery it revealed was awesome. My though...
Read more

Much to Process - Day 2

Image
May 3, 2022  Considering the evening before, we woke up late. We made another 1/2-mile trek down the hill and 1/2-mile back from to camp to get water. I can honestly say, drinking filtered water from a mountain stream beats ANYTHING coming out of your tap!  We had breakfast and broke camp. Breakfast was a carnation instant breakfast with a coffee pack. It was rather tasty, sort of like a mocha shake. Still very sore and tight from the night before. I slept with my feet elevated, which helped the swelling in my feet. Stretching helped! The pain eased up a bit and we thought we were going to be ok. Extreme ups and downs in the first 3 miles, we felt every ounce of our bodies and the packs we were carrying. We were both starting to hear our bodies saying, “what in the world do you think you’re doing.” After a 1000-foot drop in 1/2 mile down to Horse Gap parking area, and looking at the assent up Sassafras Mountain, which was UP and steeper than we previously went down, we decided...
Read more

Getting Ready for the AT

Image
We are less than a week out from Ken and I beginning our trek northbound on the Appalachian Trail. I think I have packed, repacked, shaken down, and prepped about 3 dozen times. We've been talking back and forth, getting excited about our journey, talking about food and gear and bears and trees (personal joke).  I'm not sure I have many concerns. I am thankful that Ken will be with me. He has always felt like the older brother that I never had. We plan to go slow, listen to our bodies, savor the experience, and enjoy the trip. We have both wanted to do this for a long time, but I'm not sure we ever expressed it to one another. It was just brought up in a conversation about a year ago, so we said, "let's do this!" "Going for it" is something that I have always done in life. If you read the 2017 Sabbatical entries in this blog, you will see that I love adventure. The journey then was epic, and this one, though shorter, will be just as epic. I hope you ...
Read more

Getting Ready / Preparation for the Journey

Image
I now realize that preparation for a long journey is just as important as the journey itself. I have been preparing the trip, getting the gear together, making sure that I have the right amount of the right stuff. Kelly and I were talking the other night, and I expressed my worry about forgetting something. She reminded me that if I continuously worry about forgetting something, I probably will. I have used guidelines posted by other motorcycle riders and campers when making my list, so hopefully that will pay off. I want to be "free" to experience the pilgrimage "by the Spirit," so I think it's important not to plan every segment of the trip. However, I have planned out a general route that begins here in Towson and goes North into New England then across the Northern US to Chicago then down historic Route 66 to California, Up the coast of California and then diagonally back across the US down through the Rockies toward Louisiana then down into Florida and...
Read more