6:00 a.m. Bzzzzzz. Steve forgot to turn off his alarm. So of course I woke up. We went to bed last night facing the possibility of rain for the start of our trip. I went out to check the radar - it looked like we could get a jump on the weather so went back to tell Steve that. After watching we decided to go for it. But by the time we were cleaned up and ready to roll, the window was closing and we decided to wait for the front to go through. Steve went back to bed.
I got some things done, and by the time Steve woke up again, we were headed down the road at 11:00 a.m. First discovery - the BMW is not as comfortable as the Wing. And Steve agrees tonight. 2nd discovery - something wasn't right with the sound system. So no communication or music. There was a horrible squelch and other noises which weren't supposed to be there.
1st stop (besides the Lowell Meijer for gas) was a rest area in Northern Indiana. After the usual reason for "resting," I made a quick walk to try to find the cache. No luck. Ended the search and headed back to the restroom building, just in time to meet up with Steve coming out. He didn't even know I'd been looking for a cache until tonight when I told him.
2nd stop - Waponetka, Ohio. Gas stop. Ended up right next door to the Neil Armstrong Museum (his birthplace city.) We didn't have time to stop but did drive through the parking lot and see a few planes and space ships.
I definitely have less space on the Beemer (and no, it's not because of me, it's the bike!) so wiggle room is at a premium. I can shift just a bit to change position of my posterior; extend my legs one at a time to stretch them; and not much else.
Next stop - Troy, Ohio - Sierra Electronics, where we bought the sound system. Steve wanted to have them test the CB antenna, and also had them look at the problems he'd discovered that morning. The latter was easily solved - you have to pull out a certain knob to adjust things! The CB also apparently solved - guess having a passenger doesn't help but it still works. I had hoped to do a cache or two in Troy (there were six within a mile on the same road as Sierra) but they were a bit too far down the road to walk. It was about 5 p.m. by now. I would have been happy to stop at any time, but told Steve to go ahead as long as he felt like it, or until rain.
Rain looked very possible a few times today - but we lucked out and never felt a drop.
After leaving Troy, we headed towards Dayton and Cincinnati. At some point during our trip through Dayton, I realized that the tail trunk (which my back rests against) had some wiggle in it which it didn't have before. Really no place to stop in Dayton, rush hour traffic plus construction. So when it was safer, let Steve know and we stopped to check it out. There is definitely a little wiggle but he thinks it's still ok.
On to Cincinnati. I'd have been ok with stopping here, too. Steve was like an Energizer bunny (kept right on going....) Haven't been to Cincinnati for a few years, since we moved his Dad up to Michigan. Ok, once since then. But probably quite a bit longer since I've been through downtown. We passed by Princeton High School, Steve's alma mater. (Steve is from Cincinnati if someone doesn't know that.) Then over the river and into Kentucky. By now my body is thinking, "I've had enough!" but I'd told Steve it would be his call. Dumb move on my part.
So we kept going. Finally I noticed a cache at a rest stop near Georgetown, Kentucky. My plan was to have him stop there if not sooner. Low and behold, though, he stopped at the exit before the rest area! We checked into a Days Inn, then walked to the nearby Waffle House for dinner.
Now back in the room watching TV (Steve) and surfing the net (me.) Nobody on Skype tonight when I have good access to high speed - oh well.
Hope to make it the rest of the way to Johnson City, Tennessee tomorrow.
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