Retired and Trippin

Here it is, that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when I should be dieting and preparing to pig out on the Christmas feast (or feasts).  Instead I’m in a feeding frenzy. Last night Chris and I went out to eat with friends and neighbors, Joyce and Tom.  We went to the Cheesecake Factory on the Plaza and, though Chris and I split an entree, that piece of cheesecake (cheesecake layered with red velvet cake) almost did me in. This morning, at 7:00, I met some friends at the Big Biscuit in Shawnee for breakfast. After resting for awhile I rode to Gary’s house in DeScroto where 7 of us met for a ride to Wellsville for lunch at Smokey’s BBQ. I really enjoyed my burnt end dinner.   If I had to do it over again, however, I would have had their baked beans instead of fries.  They really looked good. Since it was a beautiful day (sunny and 60+) we took a little ride to let the meal settle; south to Hwy 68, west to Pomona, north to H...

We left our motel in Ozark, MO shortly after 9:00 and headed north to Pomme De Terre State Park.  It was cloudy and 35 degrees. Our plan was to walk the Cedar Ridge Trail on the north side of the lake but we arrived two days too late. Access to that part of the park was closed from December through February.  Instead we drove to the boat ramp area, parked the car and walked the park roads in that area. We thought about having a picnic but the water level was too high.  Not to mention the fact that it was brrrr-titty cold. Before leaving the park I checked the map and planned a route of back roads to Hwy 13 near Lowry City.  I was pleasantly surprised when I realized the route would take us through Iconium, MO.  I recently heard about Iconium from two different people.  It has a general store that also sells food and they are famous for their peach floats. And so we stopped at Scott’s General Store (also known as Scott’s Iconium Store). Chris bought so...

One of my Facebook friends posted a link recently that identified 5 ghost towns in Missouri ( http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/missouri/ghost-towns-mo/ ).  Chris and I departed at 10:00 this morning on a car trip with a goal of visiting three of them. In Carthage, MO we stopped at the Pancake Hut Family Dining restaurant for lunch.  I had an excellent Texan Burger while Chris enjoyed her chicken strips.  We also rode around the beautiful Jasper County Courthouse on the square in Carthage.  I should have taken a picture. Our first “ghost town” was Avilla, which the article described as a “living ghost town.”  The sign said there are 125 residents so it really is living.  I’m not sure how this qualifies as a ghost town.  There were some old buildings so I took a few pictures.  This bank turned post office was built in 1915. The next ghost town was Jollification, MO.  It is now the site of Jolly Mill Park.  The mill, which was once part...

Taking advantage of the great weather (low 60’s and sunny) I decided to take a little ride to blow the cobs out of the Goldwing. I rode north out of Shawnee on I-435 into Missouri where I caught Hwy 45 west and north.  Hwy 92 took me west over the Missouri River into Leavenworth, KS.  I stopped at Riverfront Park for a few pictures. Before reaching Leavenworth, on the Missouri side of the river, I stopped for some $1.69/gallon gas thinking it was a good buy.  While riding through Leavenworth I saw a Casey’s with gas for $1.65 – figures. I rode past the U.S. Penitentiary and on the west side of Leavenworth I caught Tonganoxie Road which took me into Tonganoxie, where I caught Hwy 24/40 westbound.  Before reaching Lawrence I turned onto Hwy 32 eastbound.  Before reaching Bonner Springs I took some back roads south and east across the Kansas River into DeSoto, KS.  Old Hwy 10 took me back into Shawnee and home. Despite the strong wind it was an e...

Chris and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and ride north to visit the Shatto Milk Company.  We read about it a long time ago and had been meaning to visit. We took off at 10:30.  It was cloudy and 61 degrees.  Our route took us north and a little east through Smithville (MO), Trimble, Grayson, and Plattsburg to Shatto Milk.  Shatto has an Osborn, MO address but it is located on Hwy 33 south of Osborn. We purchased a quart of egg nog from the Shatto Milk Country Store and put it on ice for transport home.  A tour of the facility was not possible but we were directed to the calf barn where we could see some calves and witness their milking operation.  Chris enjoyed herself with the calves. I don’t know how many cows they have but they have two groups of cows that are milked twice a day and one group that is milked three times a day.  I believe the cows we saw consisted of one group.  Those milkers are busy guys.  ...

Last night was a real treat.  We watched the Royals kick butt on the Mets to win the World Series! Chris and I departed our motel in Camdenton at 9:40.  It was 57 and we had clear blue skies.  The motel we stayed in was the Sleep Inn & Suites.  It was very nice accommodations for the two nights we stayed and the staff was friendly and helpful. Our tourist stop for today was at Bagnell Dam located a short distance north.  We spent some time taking photos from numerous directions. After leaving the dam we rode north and a little east to Eldon where we started westbound on Hwy 52.  In Cole Camp we noticed an interesting highway sign.  The DOT seems to be giving passersby the big F U. As we headed towards Windsor the skies became cloudy and the temperature dropped from 68 to 59.  We stopped for lunch at the Wagon Wheel Café in Windsor and enjoyed their meat loaf special.  We did not enjoy the fact that they had a smoking section that ...

We sure enjoyed watching the Royals execute a come-back win against the Mets last night.  Hope they win again tonight. We also enjoyed the extra hour of sleep last night and Chris slept in later than usual.  We were up in time to go to Wal-Mart to buy some discounted candy before riding to the Camdenton United Methodist Church for their 10:00 service.  It was 55 degrees under blue clear skies – a beautiful morning that turned into an unseasonably warm and beautiful day. Our first stop of the day was at the spring in Ha Ha Tonka State Park. followed by the natural bridge in the same park. From Ha Ha Tonka we took off west on Hwy 54, south on Hwy 73 and east on Hwy 64 to Bennett Springs State Park.  We tried to eat lunch here but the park restaurant was closed.  Luckily for us, we arrived at the spring as 4 scuba divers were diving down into the spring.  Very cool.  I took a series of photos of the divers heading into the spring and the last photo ...

After gassing up we left Farmington at 9:40.  It rained during the night but it was cloudy, dry and 55 degrees when we left.  We were expecting rain sometime during the day.  We rode west on Hwy 32 to Bixby where we caught 49 north to Hwy 19 to Steelville.  This was a pretty route and although the highway was wet in places it did not rain. The only real cause for concern were wet leaves on some of the corners, which activated the ole pucker factor. At Chris’ request we stopped at the Lange General Store in Steelville, MO so she could do a little shopping.  This time she scored a couple items to decorate the house. Eleven miles west of Steelville we stopped at the Meramec Spring Park, which is owned and operated by the James Foundation.  I believe it is one of the prettiest places in Missouri.  We love to visit here. Besides the spring, a fish hatchery, and trout fishing there are remnants of an old iron works.  We enjoyed a walk around the par...

We departed the motel in Farmington at 9:00 and buzzed the highway north to Bonne Terre.  It was sunny and 41 degrees.  We toured the Bonne Terre Mine, which is an old lead mine. Inside the mine is a large subterranean lake.  Besides providing short boat tours on the lake it is used for scuba diving.  The water is crystal clear and a constant temperature. After the mine tour we split up.  Carl and Marge took off on a route to Hermann, MO where they would spend the night before returning home on Saturday.  Chris and I went south to the St. Joe State Park.  A lady at the Bonne Terre Mine said we might see some pretty fall foliage at this park.  We didn’t.  The main attractions at this park are a few small fishing lakes and a large off-road vehicle riding area. At the south end of St. Joe State Park I checked the Garmin (we named her Gertie) for cafes in the area because we were ready for lunch.  I found Sissy’s Corner Café - 9 miles aw...

Chris and I left home at about 7:45.  It was a nipply 37 degrees with mostly clear skies.  We met Carl and Marge at Midland & Renner in Shawnee at 8:00 and we departed on our trip at 8:08.  We were comfy with our heated grips, seat and jacket liners. We braved the rush hour traffic through Kansas City to Lee’s Summit to Warrensburg, where we drove around the campus of the University of Central Missouri hoping to see gorgeous Fall foliage.  Not so much.  There were a few pretty trees and that was it.  The temperature had risen to 41, a real heat wave. Our next stop was the Dutch Bakery in Tipton, MO where we picked up some goodies. We enjoyed a LARRAPIN good lunch at Oscar’s Classic Diner in Jefferson City, MO and then we were off south and east.  We rode through Linn, Belle, Owensville, and Cuba on our way to Onondaga Cave State Park.  We knew the cave would be closed but we took a short half mile hike to a bluff overlooking the Meramec ...

Larry and I met at Casey’s, Johnson Drive and Woodland, at 10:00 to ride to Wamego, KS for lunch.  A friend of mine had somebody post a link to an article on Facebook that listed 10 great diners in Kansas ( http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kansas/ks-diners/ ).  The Friendly Cooker in Wamego was on the list. We rode through Bonner Springs on K-32 to its intersection with Hwy 24, which took us west through Lawrence (almost), Perry, Topeka, and St. Mary’s to Wamego.  The Friendly Cooker was a typical small town diner with good food and a friendly waitress.  My only complaint was that I got fries instead of tater-tots with my chopped beef steak.  The cook was a big guy wearing a Wildcat shirt, which was a good sign. From Wamego we rode south, crossed the Kansas River, and at Alma we hopped on the Skyline Mill Creek Scenic Drive, which runs southwest to Alta Vista.  It was a pretty ride but not with a lot of fall color.  In fact, many trees had dropped th...

Son Bryan had a rare day free and the weather was nice so we decided to take a little ride.  The plan was a ride to Lake Perry but a closed road changed our minds.  We rode through Edwardsville, Bonner Springs and Perry to Oskaloosa, where we stopped at a Casey’s for a beverage and a little conversation.  Then we were off through McLouth, Tonganoxie and Kanas City to home. It was a nice little ride of a little over 100 miles with partly cloudy skies and a top temp of 76.  Life is good!

Another day (morning) on I-70.  We left Warrenton, MO at 7:55.  It was cloudy and 51.  We rode the 205 miles home with two stops along the way.  The high temperature was 59 degrees.  It was cloudy the entire route until we hit Kansas City and then the sun came out.  We were pulling into our garage at 11:45. It is good to be home. So another trip is over, and it was a dandy - to Lubec, ME and back.  Our total mileage was 4,598.  We got to spend time with good friends and see some great sights and a lot of pretty fall foliage.  Thanks to Bill & Jamie for planning and organizing this ride. No other photos were taken today.

We left our motel at 8:05 and it was a chilly cloudy 46.  As we were riding westbound on I-70 we encountered a few light sprinkles here and there. While we were riding, Bill got a phone call from Gary, who said he just received a call from Rod, who said he saw us as he passed us (going the opposite direction) on I-70.  Rod was on his way to pick up Gary and his bike.  Rod later sent me some pictures.  This is a sad sight – a Goldwing being trailered down the road. We crossed from Ohio into Indiana and as we approached the exit for Knightstown I saw an advertisement for the “Hoosier Gym”.  We made the side trip down from I-70 to Knightson, IN.  The most excellent movie, “Hoosiers”, was made in 1985.  This gym in Knightstown was used to portray the home town Hickory High School gym in the movie.  It was very cool to see it. The lady who showed me around told me that all the boys who played on the Hickory High basketball team in the movie were hi...

When we departed our motel this morning at 8:05 it was cloudy and 49 degrees.   Today was to be all Interstate riding and Bill was back leading the pack. We rode west to and around Cleveland and then south towards Columbus, OH.  At exit 131 on I-71 we stopped for gas.  When Gary attempted to restart his motorcycle – it wouldn’t.  His F1 error light was on just like it was before he replaced his fuel pump the day before yesterday – bummer! Gary called ASK Powersports, a Honda Dealer in Columbus and explained his predicament.  They said they would not work on Goldwings older than 2010 models.  Not even for travelers from out-of-town.  No help was provided or offered at all.  Not a good representation for Honda motorcycles. Gary then attempted to rent a truck and trailer to haul his bike home.  Nobody he called would rent a pick-up truck or van for a one way trip to Kansas City.  Box vans were more than he was willing to pay....

We left our motel at 7:30 (it was 48 degrees and cloudy) and rode a short distance to breakfast at a truck stop.  As we rode away from breakfast it was 8:30 and 50 degrees – still cloudy. Gary led us to Letchworth State Park, a short distance away, where we viewed the gorge/valley, the lower falls (really more rapids than falls), the upper falls and the impressive middle falls. It remained cloudy at the park and there was a cold wind.  The mist created by the middle falls made a light rain around it and made the pictures look like there was fog. Our next stop was Niagara Falls.  Chris and I had been there twice before (both times on the Canadian side) but nobody else in our group had seen them before.  Niagara Falls is an impressive sight and sound. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café located across the street from the parking lot at Niagara Falls before taking off south and westbound.  We rode to  Austinburg, OH where we found a motel and called it a ...

The management at the Hampton Inn in Watertown, NY sure treated us well.  Yesterday, when we were just hanging out killing time waiting for a fuel pump, the manager offered us a ride to a local restaurant for lunch.  It was raining outside and we were down one motorcycle so we took him up on the offer.  We had a LARRAPIN good lunch at the Fairgrounds Family Restaurant.  Chris and I really enjoyed the stuffed green peppers.  The guest clothes dryer was on the fritz and some of our crew had to do laundry.  They did their wash in the guest’s washing machine and then the desk clerk arranged to have them dried and folded.  The warm cookies and snack mix in the evening were good too!  Also in the evening we played some cards in the large lobby area.  We had a very good experience at the Hampton Inn. The fuel pump arrived via UPS at about 9:30 this morning.  Gary got it installed and his Goldwing fired right up.  He was one happy camper....