And so the journey begins...

If you have been around any member of my family in the past few months, you'll know that your family vacation (sans Lioba*) is a little different this year. We are taking a road trip across the US on historic Route 66......on motorcycles. The condition of letting me come on the trip was that I write a blog with pictures on the tour for people to keep up with. I'm only half-joking on that. So this is it! We leave on Friday, June 5 from our respective locations (me from Harrisonburg, VA, and my parents from Exton, PA) and meet up in Louisville, KT on Saturday afternoon.  From there it's to St. Louis, MO, where we'll pick up the Route.  It actually starts in Chicago but that would add another few hundred empty highway miles which is no fun. We'll have to take care of that bit another time.  From there we'll follow the historic route, stopping at weird monuments, eating at kitchy dinners, and staying in an assortment of sleeping establishments, from motels and hotels, to a wigwam (!) and a haunted hotel.  After taking a look at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, CA, we'll fly back to PA. The motorcycles will be shipped back to PA and VA and arrive a week later.

It's going to be unlike any vacation that we've taken, especially being on the motorcycles so much, but it's going to be a lot of fun! I've already taken the first step and drove mine 4 hours to Harrisonburg after being home last weekend. This is our current status.  As we go along, we'll update the map with different colors so you'll know exactly where we are.

I currently don't have a good picture of all three bikes but there will be plenty of pictures taken in the next two weeks so you'll have to wait on that. This is what we'll be riding though:

Dad: Harley Davidson Electra Glide 103 cu in (1,700 cc)
Mom: Harley Davidson Softtail 103 cu in (1,700 cc)
Ruth: Honda Shadow 74 cu in (1,100 cc)

Leaving PA for the trip down to Hburg on the Honda Shadow

FAQ

Q: Where are you going to put everything?
A: That black bag on the back of the motorcycle. I'd estimate it to be around the size of a medium suitcase. Obviously packing for two weeks on a motorcycle is a little challenging due to that size limitation and the gear that is required. Luckily the bulkier items (i.e. white jacket, pants, helmet, boots) will be worn while riding which diminishes the volume quite a bit. Aside from the essential gear and some tools/hardware, I'm taking an assortment of clothes that will mix and match and pack up tightly. I did practice run last night packing up everything that you see there and it all fit with enough room to buy some things along the way. 

Q: What if it rains?
A: See the bright yellow on the top left of the picture? That's my rain jacket and pants that fit over the white jacket and pants. If it starts to drizzle, I'll put that on and keep going. The bag has a rain cover as well.  I got caught in some rain coming down from PA so I pulled over to the side and put it on. It kept me dry and warm too. Obviously if it starts downpouring, we'll pull over and wait it out for a little bit. At that point, there's no use trying to continue. 

Q: How are the motorcycles getting back if you're flying back?
A: There are various companies that will ship motorcycles so that you don't have to drive it all the way back.  They have different locations across the US so we'll drop them off at the location in Santa Monica and pick them up in Exton and Richmond the first week in July. 

Q: Won't those 3,000 miles be super boring since you can't talk to each other?
A: Actually we can talk to each other. There's these little bluetooth/radio device thingies that attach to the side of the helmet so we can talk to each other! And listen to radio if we care to as well.
That's all the FAQs that I've actually been asked so far but if you think of anything random, just let me know! If you know of any good places to see along our way, let me know that too.

If you're in an especially stalkerish mood right now, it's late at night and you're wasting time on the internet, or are just curious about this blog, you can continue scrolling and read about my travels around Europe last summer and Guatemala the summer before that. 

* Lioba is spending the summer in Skagway, Alaska, as a hiking guide! Here is a link to her blog if you want to catch up with her:
https://liobam.wordpress.com/2015/05/30/on-the-road-to-skagway/