Retired and Trippin

Day 1; Friday, November 7th, 2014 Chris and I left home today at 8:25. It was sunny and 45 degrees.  We rode south to Gail’s Harley Davidson in Grandview, MO, where we met up with the other folks participating in this weekend’s ride.  There was Gary (ride leader) and Bambi, Carl and Marge, Rod and Maureen, Bill and Shannon and Chris and I.. Gary, Carl and I were riding Goldwings,  Rod was riding a Harley, and Bill and Shannon were driving their Dodge Ram pickup.  When we left Gail’s it was 9:10 and 48 degrees. Our route took us east and south through Greenwood, Pleasant Hill, Holden, Chilhowee and Windsor to Cole Camp, MO, where we stopped for gas and a butt break.  We then continued east and south through Stover, Sunrise Beach, Camdenton, Lebanon, and Mansfield to Ava,MO, where we had another break.  Our very late lunch (we started eating after 4:00) was enjoyed at the Rainbow Trout Ranch in Rockbridge, MO ( http://rockbridgemo.com/ ). From Rockbridge we rode south and east to H

The Quality Inn we stayed at last night was quite bueno.  It was the best motel we had this trip.  If it was a flat motel it would have been perfect.  We had a nice room with a good bed and an excellent complimentary breakfast. At 9:35 we rode out of Jefferson City under cloudy skies with a temperature of 48.  Just west of Jefferson City we experienced a few rain drops but we were under blue skies in short order.   In Tipton, MO we stopped at a roadside statuary business where Chris bought a concrete angel for our landscaping. We stopped in Warrensburg and visited the University of Central Missouri campus for a short walk and a bathroom break. We rode on to Shawnee, had a late lunch, got a few groceries and then went on home.  We rode 164 miles today and our high temp was 64 – much more pleasant than yesterday. So that is THE END of this trip and I’m  looking forward to the next one in four or five days. To see pictures taken today click on the following link: https://plus.g

It was brrrr cold this morning – the temperature dipped below freezing during the night.  When I went out first thing in the morning there was frost on my motorcycle cover.  The temperature had skyrocketed to 37 degrees when we departed at 9:20. We rode north on Hwy 19 through Alton and Greer.  It was a pretty day and we enjoyed the scenery.  We saw two deer along this route.  One ran parallel to the road for awhile before suddenly crossing the road in front of us.  I’m glad I had slowed so there was no crisis. We were making good time until north of Eminence we came upon one of those slow-moving trailer-pulling traffic obstructions. Eventually we were able to pass and rode on to Salem, MO, where we stopped for gas and hot coffee (sugar-free cappuccino for Chris). From Salem we rode north through Rolla, Vichy, Vienna and Freeburg on our way to Jefferson City.  We checked into our motel, a Quality Inn, before having a very late lunch at Oscar’s Classic Diner ( http://oscarsclassicdi