Finally, a hotel with a computer! I need to go back to Friday when we were in Ely, Nevada. We left that morning with a good frost on and the temps in the low 30’s. We took route 50 west, the loneliest road in America. We went through beautiful mountains and valleys. We went by a Sand mountain and salt flats before getting to Fallon. For the ones that know, there is a big naval air station here, so there’s lot of fighter jets tearing holes in the sky. Got our papers to get our certificate in Ely, and also had stops in Eureka, Austin, Fallon and Fernley. We then took I-80 to Reno where we were to spend two nights. We rode 328 miles. On Saturday, Larry, Steve, Paul and Mike decided to take a day off riding and try their luck at the slots. Not a gambling man, I decided to ride to Lake Tahoe and take the road around the lake. I took I-80 out of Reno to Truckee, California then route 28 to go around the lake. What great scenery and a great ride. The best part, I think, was the overlooks for Emerald Bay. If you get a chance to do this, make sure and stop and take plenty of pictures. It seems that they are having a drought because the water level looked to be 6 to 8 feet below what I remember it. The boat docks were out of the water too, but still a beautiful lake. Then I took route 50 into Carson City then past Washoe Lake and state park and then back to Reno. I rode 151 miles. On Sunday, we left Reno, some with less than they came with, on I-80. This was some of the roughest roads we had seen going over Donner mountain and all along this route in the mountains. I guess it was from all the trucks with chains going over the mountain during the winter. It was cold from Truckee on through the mountain with lots of traffic. We then took I-680 and then route 101 and then route 1, which is the Pacific Coast Highway. Even though it was cold and foggy, it was still a great ride. The views from the vista points were spectacular and we were a little concerned about finding a place to stay, because we had no reservations, but we got really lucky at Ragged Point. I’ve got to tell you, by this time, we were all freezing and needed to find somewhere warm. We stopped at the Ragged Point Inn and Resort and got two rooms. What a great place this is. Great views and also a very good restaurant next door. We had no cell service here, but the fellow running the desk loaned us a phone so we could check in with our families and tell them we were ok. I can recommend this to anyone that wants a place to stay while on the Pacific Coast Highway. Get your gas before you get on this though because it was $4.44 a gallon. We worked on Steve’s kickstand while we were there. A big speed bump in Vegas wiped out the spring. On Monday we left Ragged Point and headed south on Highway 1. We came across Sea Lions and wanted to stop and take some pictures at a vista point. When I turned in, I hit a large hole, and the bike and I parted company. I bought the bike in January of 09, and after 24,000 miles, it hadn’t been dropped until today. As luck would have it, I wasn’t hurt and the bike only had minor damage. It fell on the left side and when it did, it twisted the clutch and switch housing around 90 degrees. I had the wiring inside the bars to make it look better, but when it twisted around, it broke a wire on the inside and I had no turn signals or brake lights. We went down the road to a restaurant in San Simeon that had an overhang, since it was raining, and got our tools out. We found the broken wire, so Larry rode to the next town and bought a soldering gun, solder, tape, etc. and came back and we got it fixed. What a vacation! This is going to be the trip of trips for us. We got back on the road after repairs, and headed to route 101, then I-405 though LA. It was 3 pm and the traffic was horrible. We felt our lives were on the line every step of the way. We then took I-5 to Oceanside where we spent the night. What a great town to stay in. It’s close to the beach with lots of things to do. We left Oceanside with the temps in the low 60’s and light rain. Within just a few miles, the sun came out and since we were riding on the Pacific Coast Highway, the views were great too. We stopped at the Biggs Harley Davidson in San Marcos to check them out and get a few shirts. We met a salesman named Spud that really made us feel at home. Thanks Spud! We stopped at Wal-mart on the way in to download our cameras so to have more room for pictures. On down the PCH, we came into San Diego and stopped at their HD dealer on Kettner Blvd. Yes, more t-shirts. We only rode 76 miles here, but we just wanted to stay the night here before heading back east. We found a place to stay on the Harbor where all the naval and shipping museums are. We toured the Dolphin submarine and the soviet foxtrot sub along with several other boat and ships at the museum. After that we headed to the USS Midway, which is open for tourist, but we were just a little late, and they had closed the ticket sales. But, to just walk beside the mammoth ship and wonder what keeps it from turning over because it seems too top heavy. We have ridden a total of 4687 miles. After this, we’re heading east. Jack
