Road Trip, Home

It's Monday morning and I am sitting in my home, drinking coffee from one of my favorite mugs.

I've been perusing Facebook and thinking that I should start writing about the adventures of my journey.
The thoughts that come to me this morning are that I am so blessed to be able to do such a ride. Even though Chris has no desire to ride, she is very supportive of my doing so and is willing to stay home while I take to the road.

The early retirement (and good retirement package) that I enjoy from my service as an air traffic controller is not lost on me. I know that few people find themselves in my position at this age. We are not wealthy by any means, but we are doing quite well as middle class Americans.

Because I was traveling alone, I didn't do much sight seeing that couldn't be done from the road and on the seat of my motorcycle. I'm not disappointed about that, but it seems necessary to mention that this trip was more about the ride ... and the personal visits.

In the end, if I had to pick a favorite part of the journey, it would be the one thing that started the whole process -- visiting with my brother in Vermont.
Steve lives in a small, seasonal cabin on Lake Champlain. He lives where other people vacation or go to get away from their normal lives. He hikes and camps in the Adirondack Mountains, kayaks on the lake or on any of the mountain rivers and streams. He'll have to vacate his cabin in the winter (lake living is seasonal and some services like water and septic are off during the winter) and find another place to live for a few months. Last year, he wintered in a house on nearby Mt Philo.

As I was preparing to leave, Steve picked up a voice mail from a friend asking if he was going camping on the weekend and if they could tag along.
Yep -- when others are starting to think that it's getting a little chilly to escape to the lake, he's packing up for a primitive camp in the mountains!

I really enjoyed our visit. We talked about our kids and what great adults they've turned out to be. We talked about life, family, work, and whatever came to mind. We ate a pizza by the lake as the sun set over the mountains, hiked up Mt Philo, toured the Shelburne Museum, walked the lake walk in Burlington and visited some of the shops, and we took the kayaks out for a paddle on the lake. (I kind of got my fat ass stuck in the kayak!)  I ate Steve's vegan diet at his place and indulged in a burger at the Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington, and a roast beef sandwich at his friend's after our hike.
In spite of the activity, it was a relaxing couple of days.
Did I mention that it was my favorite part of the journey?

Because I'm not much of a selfie picture taking guy, I regret that I didn't snag a pic of the two of us. I didn't think of that until I was riding through the Green Mountains on my way out of Vermont. I also missed the early photo ops with Mom and Dad, Aaron and Jenny, and Jo and Gord.
Dang!
At least I was able to get a few pics with people after that.

I'll have more on the people, places and food in future posts.
Today, I'm going to enjoy being home.

John <><