We woke for the day, excited that we would be back in the United States of America within half an hour. We had tried to use up our Canadian cash so that we would only have a little change left and nothing substantial to exchange. First stop, our last Tim Horton’s breakfast. Next stop, border patrol.
A quick check of the passports, and we were in the fingers of the mitten of Michigan. We got to add another state to our map of places visited by motorcycle. Somehow we have missed Michigan on every other trip.
The first scene to confront us back in the states was the Mackinac Bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. It is a 5-mile long bridge. Seriously. And of course, the bridge was under construction. One lane was closed, and the other lane had the asphalt removed down to the bridge deck latticework so that two-wheeled vehicles sway all over the place and people driving the two-wheeled vehicles can see all the way down to the great lake below. People driving the two-wheeled vehicles were terrified and whimpering inside their own helmets.
The whole reason we planned our trip back through Canada instead of heading back through Montana, etc. the way we came is that there is a route along Lake Michigan that is highlighted by the Harley Owner’s Group as an especially beautiful motorcycle ride. We thought it would be a great way to cap off our summer trip.
We looked at the map and did some math. If we put in 500-some miles today and 480 tomorrow, we could get home a day earlier (Saturday) so we could relax and decompress on Sunday before returning to work. And if we headed straight down I-75 instead of jogging west for the pretty highlight route, we could cut today’s mileage to the 440 range. This is what a long, exhausting trip will do to you: we said t’hell with the highlighted route and barreled down I-75 instead. The entire reason we came back 2,000 miles or so through Canadian provinces, and we bagged out on the pretty route.
Our first gas stop, and we were thrilled that back in the states, pay-at-the-pump is the default standard. We only saw pay-at-the-pump at new gas stations in bigger cities throughout Canada. We saw speed limits in MPH again, and bought gas in gallons. I should also add that gas is significantly cheaper in the States. And we were back in the land of traffic. Friday morning and then afternoon brought a torrent of traffic with it. We knew it was coming, that reacquaintance with population and big city traffic, but it was still difficult to readjust.
We hit a little bit of rain that turned to bright blue skies as we entered Ohio. Today’s destination was a KOA in Toledo, in the middle of cornfields. For our last night of the trip, we pulled out all the stops. Instead of eating out of freezer bags, we pulled out a big pot and made a pasta dish together to be eaten out of, yes, bowls. We also made a just-add-cold-water cheesecake-like dessert.
As we were talking and laughing and licking the remains of our dessert off our sporks, a guy in a Harley t-shirt walked over to chat with us. He was traveling alone in one of the RV’s, headed to North Carolina for a work project. He travels all over the country for his specific construction inspection skills, and he lives in his RV. He was unassuming and clearly lonely. Who were we to deny a fellow traveler a little conversation? None of us had the heart to turn him away.
I shouldn’t have waited 3 weeks from finishing the trip to write about it. I’m sure really funny things happened on this day, but now I just don’t recall.
Daily Recap: 420 miles, States: Michigan (new on our maps), back to Ohio
A quick check of the passports, and we were in the fingers of the mitten of Michigan. We got to add another state to our map of places visited by motorcycle. Somehow we have missed Michigan on every other trip.
The first scene to confront us back in the states was the Mackinac Bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. It is a 5-mile long bridge. Seriously. And of course, the bridge was under construction. One lane was closed, and the other lane had the asphalt removed down to the bridge deck latticework so that two-wheeled vehicles sway all over the place and people driving the two-wheeled vehicles can see all the way down to the great lake below. People driving the two-wheeled vehicles were terrified and whimpering inside their own helmets.
The whole reason we planned our trip back through Canada instead of heading back through Montana, etc. the way we came is that there is a route along Lake Michigan that is highlighted by the Harley Owner’s Group as an especially beautiful motorcycle ride. We thought it would be a great way to cap off our summer trip.
We looked at the map and did some math. If we put in 500-some miles today and 480 tomorrow, we could get home a day earlier (Saturday) so we could relax and decompress on Sunday before returning to work. And if we headed straight down I-75 instead of jogging west for the pretty highlight route, we could cut today’s mileage to the 440 range. This is what a long, exhausting trip will do to you: we said t’hell with the highlighted route and barreled down I-75 instead. The entire reason we came back 2,000 miles or so through Canadian provinces, and we bagged out on the pretty route.
Our first gas stop, and we were thrilled that back in the states, pay-at-the-pump is the default standard. We only saw pay-at-the-pump at new gas stations in bigger cities throughout Canada. We saw speed limits in MPH again, and bought gas in gallons. I should also add that gas is significantly cheaper in the States. And we were back in the land of traffic. Friday morning and then afternoon brought a torrent of traffic with it. We knew it was coming, that reacquaintance with population and big city traffic, but it was still difficult to readjust.
We hit a little bit of rain that turned to bright blue skies as we entered Ohio. Today’s destination was a KOA in Toledo, in the middle of cornfields. For our last night of the trip, we pulled out all the stops. Instead of eating out of freezer bags, we pulled out a big pot and made a pasta dish together to be eaten out of, yes, bowls. We also made a just-add-cold-water cheesecake-like dessert.
As we were talking and laughing and licking the remains of our dessert off our sporks, a guy in a Harley t-shirt walked over to chat with us. He was traveling alone in one of the RV’s, headed to North Carolina for a work project. He travels all over the country for his specific construction inspection skills, and he lives in his RV. He was unassuming and clearly lonely. Who were we to deny a fellow traveler a little conversation? None of us had the heart to turn him away.
I shouldn’t have waited 3 weeks from finishing the trip to write about it. I’m sure really funny things happened on this day, but now I just don’t recall.
Daily Recap: 420 miles, States: Michigan (new on our maps), back to Ohio
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