A Little About Us

A Little About Us
INTRODUCTION: First, allow me to introduce the members of this group...I'm Mike riding my 2003 Heritage Softail Springer...my wife Juju is on her 2015 Freewheeler...and Ed and Nancy are on their 2009 Heritage Softail. For the purposes of this trip we are referring to ourselves as H.A.R.P. HARP is a made-up name and it simply stands for Hogs And Retired People...and all that means is that we are members of HOG (Harley Owners Group) and we are...you guessed it...retired! The name came about when seven of us made a trip out west, but just the four of us this time. I've done blogs before, and this one will be for the same reason...to refresh our memories in our "Golden Years" (they say the memory is the second thing to go...and I can't remember what the first thing was). What is different this time is the blog is being shared by THUNDER ROADS PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE...Truly, an honor. This journey will be a round trip from, and to our home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plan is to travel to the Atlantic coast at Ocean City, Maryland for the "Official" start on U.S. Route 50. We will follow U.S. 50 west for over 3,000 miles to its terminus in Sacramento, California. From Sacramento, we will head a bit further west to the Pacific Ocean before we begin to travel south. California Highway 1 and U.S. Route 101, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, will be the route for about 500 miles to Santa Monica. At the world famous Santa Monica Pier, we hop on Route 66...The "Mother Road". Travelling about 2,500 miles to the north east, we'll arrive at the end of 66 in Chicago, Illinois. The "Official" end of our journey. From Chicago, it's just another 450 miles and we're back in Pittsburgh. We've made very few lodging reservations, thus eliminating the pressure of trying to get somewhere by some deadline. The whole purpose of this ride to see this country and whatever piques our interest along the way...and we will be looking for that giant ball of yarn! So we invite you to ride along with us. We hope you will find it both entertaining and informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and share this with anyone you feel would have an interest.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Day 17 Monday August 10, 2015

We weren't quite finished with San Francisco.  This morning, Ed and Nancy
escorted us to the top of Twin Peaks.  From here, the city spread out below us as the fog rolled in off the ocean.  A magnificent sight that explained why the homes up here run in the millions of dollars.

Boots in the Pacific Ocean
From there we rode to the Beach Chalet for a dual purpose...First, we needed to put our boots in the Pacific Ocean.  This signified the completion of our Ocean to Ocean trek.  At over 4,000 miles, it has been a fun-filled and adventurous cross country trip....and we ain't done yet!

                                   
The second part of the reason for this location was to
meet Leonard.  A dear friend of Nancy's recently deceased Uncle Bob.  A true gentleman Leonard is and it was delightful having lunch with him.

Now, for the first time since this journey began, our compass heading changed.  Our general direction was no longer west.  We were now headed south, toward Los Angeles.

Along the way, we ran into a nightmare of a traffic jam on Highway 101.  According to the locals, it was normal traffic!

Before long, we were cruising through the Big Sur area.  Mountains that lead down to a rocky coastline, followed by thick forests, then back to the coastal views.  Incredible views around every turn.

Services around this area are sparse, as are available lodging opportunities.  After stopping at every Inn, cottage, motel, etc, there were no vacancies.  Going further than we anticipated, rooms became available in San Simeon.  Which was fine, since our planned activity for tomorrow was visiting Hearst Castle.
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