Wandering Retirees

On July 3rd, we rode about 300 miles to the new home of our oldest son, Ben, his wife, Aabha, and grandson Lucas. We were so happy to arrive and enjoy being with family. New and exciting job opportunities prompted the move across PA and the purchase of their new (and gorgeous) house in Canonsburg.

We spent the 4th enjoying local celebrations and thoroughly enjoyed our time. Lucas is a joy and a handful at 3. Their dog Rowan is exciting and friendly and has an unhealthy affinity for washing ears. Mine when I’m around. Ben and Aabha are a pleasure as we relaxed together.

Then on the morning of the 5th we all hit the road. Ben still works as a PA State Trooper and temporarily remains based in Philly, so he took Lucas to pre-school and drove 5 hours to work. Aabha started a new job on the medical faculty at West Virginia University Med School so she headed to her new office. Connie and I gathered our stuff one more time, loaded the bike, and rode about 7 hours home. We arrived hot, tired and wringing wet. There’s no cool and dry in the Delaware Valley in July. No, there is not.

All told, we rode 7800 miles in 35 days. No Iron Butt Awards, but we’re glad and proud of ourselves for this trip. It was exhilarating, exhausting, sometimes frustrating and totally amazing. And our butts still hurt.

It was totally worth it.

As we’ve said before, the people we meet along our journeys enrich our experience. In a world where we hear of divisiveness and discord daily, we find only kindness and curiosity. The people we meet generally want the same things for themselves and their families.

Now a word for my sponsor. A huge part of our successes riding resides in Connie’s ability to plan, finding lodging at modest rates, project traveling needs at key stages, and investigating travel routes via online forums, groups, and websites. She is amazingly talented at logistics and makes it all look easy. She is the best company ever with whom to explore new roads and sights, which she captures beautifully with her iPhone. And her riding experience offers us a valuable extra set of eyes for both safety and opportunities. This is our third cross country ride since 2017 and I could not be more happy. We’re looking forward to our next adventure once we figure out what it will be.

We are blessed.

Thank you kind reader for following along with us. We hope you’ve enjoyed our travelogue. Many of you have left comments for which we are grateful, and we are tickled that you thought it worth your while.

I’m going to sign off now. There’s an ice pack and a soft pillow waiting.