Today will be our first day on this trip so far where we never even started the motorcycle. We intentionally selected qa hotel that was in walking distance of the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame so that we didn't have to deal with parking or anything. In fact, since we are parked at a free meter, if we move the bike and lose our place, we will be forced to park in the $18 per day Guest Parking. Not knowing what to expect, I looked around to find some other things to do downtown if we finished early. That would not be a problem. There is a Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel, so rather than having a formal breakfast, we just stopped at Starbucks for coffee and a muffin. The girls at Starbucks ... read more

Our plan this morning was to get an early start as we new it would be a 300+ miles day, but all good plans are subject to adjustment, especially when we didn't wake up until 7:00. After a quick breakfast, we packed up the bike to head southwest to Auburn located in the northeast tip of Indiana. We checked the weather forecast and it looked like scattered showers throughout our travels for the day. It wasn't actually raining yet, but to play it safe, and as a little insulation from the morning chill, we went ahead and put on our rainsuits. Our trip took us west on US-12, and once we were outside of Dearborn, the road turned into a wonderful country road between farms with lots of twists and turns and hills. It made for ... read more

Our second day in Dearborn started out strangely. As I was waking up, I noticed that the room was a little warm, and made a mental note to be sure and turn down the A/C tomorrow night. Jody woke up, headed to the bathroom and yelled back that the lights were out in the bathroom. As we both looked around, it was evident that there was no electricity in the entire room, and a peek out the door showed the emergency lights were on in the hall. There was no electricity in the entire hotel! Jody's big concern was with the availability of coffee, of course. So while she headed down to the lobby in search, I headed into the shower in the dark before we ran out of hot water. Jody came back with the ... read more

This morning we bid a sad goodby to the upper peninsula, though we technically left yesterday when we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, but we could still see it across the bay. After a quick hotel breakfast, we loaded up the bike and hit the road at about 8:00, about typical for us lately. It was warmer this time, mid-60's, jean jacket weather for me but still leather jacket weather for Jody. Our plan was to follow US-31 all the way from Mackinaw City down to Saugatuck and ride the dunes. Since our hotel was actually on the old US-31 it didn't take long to get on the right US-31S. In the first hour, we passed through a series of towns in what is somehow called Upper Michigan which actually means Upper Lower Michigan as opposed to ... read more

This morning we are continuing our trek northward to a place not many people have visited - The U.P. For those who don't know, "The U.P." stands for the Upper Peninsula. As I vaguely remember my elementary school geography, Michigan is an odd shaped state actually split into two pieces by Lake Michigan. The lower half is affectionately known as "The Mitten" as it is shaped like a mitten, and most of the people live there. But the upper portion is known as The U.P. and the people who live there are called "Yoopers". Now that the geography lesson is done, back to our adventure. After catching up on a little rest yesterday, it was time to start the 300 mile journey into Munising, Michigan. Though we typically stick to the secondary roads, the first half ... read more