>Home at Last
>
>July 26, 2007
>
>13,000 miles and 36 days later we are home!  Has it been a great trip? 
>You bet! It was everything we thought it would be. We made it, our 
>bikes made it and we are glad to be home. Today was another 400+ mile 
>day in good weather which was mostly cool. It did start to heat up 
>during our last 3 hours on the road. Unfortunately our last day was on 
>Rte 80 and 84 but it did get us home a few hours earlier than the 
>alternatives, even with all the road construction. Actually it got me 
>home, Jim and Marilyn don't have one yet. They just sold their home and 
>their new home won't be ready for a couple of months. Anybody have a 
spare house for a couple of months?
>
>Making a trip like this with anybody is difficult but Jim made it easy. 
>He is a pain in the ass but so am I. We laughed a lot together and we 
>laughed a lot at each other. We both had to adjust our lifestyles a bit 
>and by last week we were almost there. We enjoyed each others company 
>and enjoy a strengthened friendship. We each dropped our bikes while on 
>kickstands and one of us did it twice. Have you ever tried to lift an 
>800+ pound motorcycle? We each need another set of tires and the bikes 
>may never be clean again.

>Our arms are sore from waving at the hundreds of other motorcycles we 
>saw during our trip. By the way, the bikers on Vancouver Island don't 
wave.
>
>How much did this trip really cost? Ask Faith and Marilyn for the real 
>costs but, fuel is about $3.25/ gal, and $1.20/ liter in Canada for 325 
>gallons each and about $200/ day for room and food for two. Throw in a 
>few tires, some safety gear, getting the bikes ready, a pile of snacks, 
>a few ferry rides, a flight around Denali, a raft trip and about 300 
>cups of coffee and your getting close. The least expensive fuel was in 
>Ohio with Pa. a close second. We paid $3.75/gal in Skagway, Alaska and 
>Jim paid $3.89/gal in Nevada along Rte. 50, a function of need and the 
>only show in town. In Canada the highest cost we saw was about $1.40/ 
iter.
>
>We did have a GPS, actually Jim had a GPS. I think it might be for sale 
>if anybody is interested. Jim is considering a brain transplant for it. 
>I generally used maps and the computer to help determine our route. I 
>don't think we would change much if we did it again. It was a great trip!