Anniversary Dayz
Tuesday
Miles: 222
Hours in the saddle: 7:07
Theme music: Apocalyptica, Fast & Furious, Sarah Brightman
Tuesday began with a vacation foul when Jaron’s work alarm went off for the second time this week. I mean, the first day is understandable, but...
Had a chance for a quick line of internet this morning while picking up bkst from the lodge. There are 2 books I’ve been eagerly awaiting which were released today and I brought my kindle up with me for the purpose of downloading them while I could. And I read 16% of one of them before we even left today. (Note: I’ve noticed that books are always released on Tuesdays.)
Our destination was highway 666 which Jaron thought looked like a good road from the map, and it suuuure was. Lots of windy turns and pretty scenery. We ended up eating lunch in Kane, PA at about 2:00. We were super hungry and stopped at the first food-producing establishment we could find. We really lucked out because it did not look like much from the outside. Had a nice conversation with the female proprietor/chef/waitress/cashier. Jaron had his first Beyond burger and said he did not think he would have known the difference in a blind taste test.
We also encountered highways 6 and 66.
We kept making our way north and realized that we were not going to make it to the restaurant for our anniversary dinner in time. Jaron suggested that we go back to the cabin and have some other frozen food he’d picked up last night. Julie really wanted a decent meal, but after analyzing the logistics and trying to optimize reducing the amount of riding we did in the dark (deer are quite numerous here), we decided the place we’d gone to on Sunday. After some re-navigating we finally made it there and they were CLOSED, damnit! GAAAHHHH. Again, super hungry at 8:30. So Jaron got his wish and we had frozen stuffed peppers for our anniversary dinner.
As soon as we got home, Jaron built a fire in the firepit and we ate dinner outside. Julie heard the telltale chirp of her adventure bike and not long after, two motorcycles came down the gravel road to the cabins. It was two couples and we talked for a little bit.
...spontenaity has its perks, but today it resulted in us both getting pretty close to the hangry danger zone twice in one day. So, the title of this blog is Anniversary Dayz because we are going to try again tomorrow.
Wednesday
Miles: 141
Hours in the saddle: 3:50
Theme music: Johnny Cash, Boyz II Men
Woke up tired to my 8a alarm. We are scheduled for breakfast every day at 9a at the lodge and were wondering if we should get frozen burritos so that we can sleep in. On the other hand, having this schedule forces us to go to bed at a reasonable hour and not sleep the day away.
Spent some of the morning reading my new book and had to cut myself off at 48% so that we could actually go enjoy the beautiful weather before I got sucked in. Recursion by Blake Crouch - twisted, hard sci fi for anyone interested.
Found this spider web with an actual spider in it from my bike sitting overnight.
We started off by riding through a different state forest and managed not to get pulled over. Followed a 3-digit road and had lunch in Ridgeway, PA. They served breakfast all day so Jaron ordered berry waffles while Julie ordered a man-bowl. They were misdelivered, so we switched and the waitress said “oh! I had you two totally backwards”. Julie teasingly asked why, and she said that usually women order something sweeter. Ah HA! And this man-bowl was really something. It had bacon, sausage AND ham, potatoes, eggs, AND biscuits & gravy. Julie ate about 1/4 of it and then requested a salad to go with it because it was just too salty and heavy.
Here is Jaron cleaning his windshield.
We continued to the 555 which we agreed was the best road of the entire trip. There weren’t a lot of people on it, it was twisty and the hillsides had some exposed rock (Julie’s favorite), the road quality was good, and there were great views of the mountains.
It ended in a T junction in a small town so we looked for a place to take a break. All there was, was a bar. (We passed through a different small town yesterday that only had a closed bar to stop at. And both towns had a church. They say every proper town has a bar and a church.) There were like 10 people hanging out in the bar at 3:30 in the afternoon. A little weird. There were 2 cruisers parked out front and Julie was prepared for the inevitable “isn’t it hot under all of that gear?” question which we’ve learned is just a precursor to poking fun at riders who wear protective gear. (Because PA is not a helmet state, and it’s WAY “cooler” to wear a tank top and no protective gear 🙄.) We got it in friendly form from our lunch server and explained that the vents provide a lot of air flow. Anyway, the answer we’ve come up with is “it’s not too hot for me”. Ha!
Here’s my bike lookin’ sexy, because it just doesn’t get old.
Passing on two lane roads continues to be our biggest hazard on these trips. Twice this week we’ve had to cut bait and get back in line. Damn people speeding.
We stopped at a Sheetz for a break. Gotta stretch those legs. We love being in Sheetz country.
We made it to The Opera House Cafe for our anniversary dinner and had a nice time. It’s only been open for 10 months and the owner is from DC. He worked as a diplomat for the state dept for 35 years and asked us to google/fb/yelp review him, which Julie did before we left. It was a really cool place.
I forgot to get a picture of the edible flower served with my baked potato.
Someone at the table next to us was talking about her wedding planner, which led us to some really inspiring conversation about the wedding industry in the US, cultural rites celebrating birth and death, and how marriage only came about to record wealth transfer and property ownership. Happy anniversary!
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