Retired and Trippin

Joyce is our neighbor and a good friend. She and Chris are very good friends. Joyce mentioned a while back that taking a ride on a motorcycle was on her “bucket list” and she wondered if I would take her for a ride. Our schedules and the weather finally meshed today. We rode north into Wyandotte County to Hwy 32 then west through Edwardsville and Bonner Springs. West of Bonner we took a couple of county roads north across the Kansas River into DeSoto and then home on 83 St and K-7 Hwy. It was a 50 mile loop and Joyce was a great passenger. The weather was fantastic – 78 degrees under blue clear skies. Check that off the bucket list. For the few pictures taken today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6047477203412326689?authkey=CKXNu5vNv5yqjQE

Last night we stayed in the Fossil Creek Hotel in Russell, KS ( http://www.fossilcreekhotel.com/ ). They had a LARRAPIN good complimentary breakfast – an omelet bar with a many other options as well. Chris and I both enjoyed our omelets. We left Russell at 8:55. It was sunny and 79 degrees. It was 84 when we stopped in Abilene for gas. We left I-70 at exit 303 (just east of Junction City) and rode back roads the rest of the way home. Our route took us through Manhattan, Wamego, St. Mary’s, Topeka, Perry, Linwood, and DeSoto, where we had lunch. From Junction City on east it was obvious (from the dark clouds to the south, wet roads and a drop in temperature) that we were on the heels of a rain storm. Fortunately, we never caught up with it. After 246 miles we arrived home – another trip under our belt. It was fun sharing the vacation with Eric, Molly, Jenna and Ben. Chris and I also enjoyed the motorcycle ride to and from and our visit with the Bossermans. No pictures were tak

It was sunny with blue clear skies this morning. The first in a long time. We could see Pikes Peak from our motel parking lot but I walked out onto the street and got even a better shot. I love the view of Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs. We left our motel at 9:15 mountain time and it was 69 degrees. We rode 339 miles to our motel in Russell, KS. We stopped for gas in Kit Carson, a bathroom break in Cheyenne Wells, lunch at the Stephens Restaurant in Sharon Springs, KS and a McDonalds ice cream cone in WaKeeney. When we arrived in Russell at about 5:15 it was 95 degrees. The Goldwing runs like a top. We enjoyed a dip in the motel pool before calling it a night. For pictures from today click the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6043126673473335649?authkey=CNSKxM6J3MKFPg

We had to be out of our cabin/house by 11:00 and we did not rush our departure. I left slightly before the others because I was riding the Goldwing over muddy washboard roads to Hwy 9. Yes, it was cloudy and rainy again this morning. I made the bumpy ride to Alma and stopped at the Almart General Store ( http://almartcolorado.com/ ) for a bag of ice. A short time later Eric & fam dropped off Chris. Eric, Molly and the Grands took off north for Breckenridge while Chris and I rode south, headed to Colorado Springs. It was 11:30, 52 degrees and cloudy. Hwy 9 took us south to Hwy 24 eastbound. We stopped for lunch at the Hungry Bear restaurant in Woodland Park before riding down into the Springs. We did run into some more light rain before reaching the Springs. After checking into our motel and taking a little walk, we had a visit and dinner with my cousin, Deb, and her hubby, Jim. It was good to visit with them again. We rode 100 miles today and the high temp was in the upper