Been away, haven't seen you in a while...

How've you been?

Where was I? I was on vacation for a week. I rode the motorcycle up to Erie, and over to Cleveland. Over 1,000 miles on a Kawasaki Versys. Everything I took with me fit in the hard saddlebags. The weather was a little better up there than it was in Lancaster, but I still did one leg in the rain. My Frog Toggs kept my core dry, but my feet and hands were soaked. I learned some things about touring by motorcycle. All in all, I had a real good time.

While in Erie, I attended a family reunion and went to the Zoo. At which one do you think this picture was taken? My first job was working at the zoo, running the Merry-Go-Round, in 1985 for $2.10/hour. Today, their set-up is much better. A machine sells the tickets. It's out of the sun. And the soundtrack isn't a loop of old calliope music. Kids these days... they don't know how good they have it.

Pictured below is the new Erie Convention Center. The hotel to the left is attached via a walkway. To the left of that is a parking garage. The facilities can be entered from either the Bayfront Highway or State Street. It looks out across the bay to Presque Isle.

But I'm sure Lancaster's Convention Center will be nice too (ahem...).

Here are some scenes from Cleveland:

That's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I also saw the Great Lakes Science Center, the NASA Glenn Research Center, and attended an Indians Game. Thanks to WKYC and my brother for the luxury box seats.

I ended the week by staying at Pine Grove Furnace, in a cabin with friends. I took 322 all the way from Cleveland to Port Royal, then 75 and 74 from Port Royal to Carlisle. If you have a motorcycle, you definitely should check out Rt. 74; up and down the mountains, switchbacks to be taken at 10mph (wink, wink!), and beautiful vistas. There's even a gas station in between, but bring cash. They don't have those new-fangled pumps there.