Started: San Diego, CA 8:00am
End: Scottsdale, AZ 3:09pm
Miles driven: 390
High/Low temps: 107,66
Summary:
Started off the day driving through cool, clear air up through the mountains east of San Diego. The weather turned hot though once the sun came up and I dropped down into the desert plains. Wide open spaces, cactus, hawks soaring above, trains that stretch for a mile, fast food truck stops. The bike handled the heat beautifully. Ended the day with an evening skate session at one of Scottdale’s local skateparks. The park was fun: a good pool and fun street course. A quick Wal-Mart dinner now it’s off to bed. Tomorrow I hope to go north up in elevation and out of the heat. Destination: Albequerque.
The first major trip on the Aspencade is in full effect! This will really test the bike and the rider. It’s going to be a long ride but will be worth it! I should be going through some beautiful country during a good time of the year.
- Departing September 26, 2009
- 2,609 miles
- 6 states
- 7 days
- 39 total hours (predicted)
- 1 man
- 1 Honda Goldwing Aspencade 1200
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One of the best scooter shops in San Diego hosted their NC-17 (no cars) event in North Park. I ended up buying and installing a windshield on the 290 Elite which so far has been awesome. I don’t get blasted by wind, can see over the top of the windshield, and can hear the radio even at top speeds. A great scooter just got even better!
Back to event. Lots of scooter enthusiasts showed up to take part in the revelries. Carne Asada and other Mexican delights were served up before the scavenger hunt and dice games began. By the end we all were sunburnt, some were drunk and others were not, but all had a great time!
Click for pics Last week San Diego played host to East Coast representative and male parental unit of EHough and MHough, none other than the venerable Rod Hough of RodHough.com fame (make sure to go check out his site more photos). The visit was great! Eric and I got to play the multi-faceted roles of tour guide, prankster, personal valet, auxiliary photo-documentary crew team member, male model, heckler, boat captain, and personal sunglass shopping assistant. Highlights of the trip include visits to Coronado Navy Base, Cabrillo National Monument, a boat ride around San Diego Bay, a drive through the remote desert land of the Mojave National Preserve, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, scooter rides around the city, and a classic California sunset. Did I forget to mention all of the great food? Mama’s Bakery, In and Out Burger, Lucha Libre, Phil’s Barbecue, Yo-Gart, Outback, and Santana’s to name a few. Overall it was truly an epic visit and, as I’m sure my little brother would agree, a memorable and joyful time that will bring fond memories for years to come. Enjoy the pics!
Click for pics This past weekend I was finally able to scratch off another area of the world I wanted to travel to, the remote old-growth Redwood forests of Northern California. Eric and I flew to San Francisco where we hopped in a rental car to drive north to the small town of Arcata for our cousin Pete’s wedding.
Arcata is an interesting town that’s for sure. It’s almost like Woodstock never stopped going and only was moved from a small town in New York to an even smaller town in California. The line between homeless, hippie, drifter, and college student are blurred in the heavy sea fog that drifts in each morning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many dreadlocks or sudden performances of hippie folk songs. We went down by the ocean and I scoped out some great looking waves. The Redwoods were majestic, tall, and awe inspiring. Looking at their root structures grabbing the Earth, I secretly wished we all could be so steadfast and firm in our morals and convictions. It’s too bad we don’t have role models like that anymore.
The wedding was not what you would call traditional by most standards, but hey, who makes up these rules anyways? All in all, for an Arcata style wedding, I wouldn’t expect anything else! Enjoy the pics!
Click for pics Here are the pictures from my recent San Francisco trip. I shot the whole trip in black and white. I walked about a million miles, covered a large portion of the city and surrounding areas, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, drank tons of great coffee, watched the Chinese New Year Parade, and toured the SF Museum of Modern Art. Additional writeup to come soon… Enjoy!