416 and 3

Yesterday was a great day.

We have a 2002 Harley-Davidson Road King. Despite having four young children, we really try to get out on the bike once in a while. Its great to just hit the road, if only for a couple of hours. And once in a GREAT while, we get to take a BIG trip. We've been up and around the thumb of Michigan to see Lake Huron. We've been around Lake Superior, from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan through Canada and back around through the Upper Peninsula, which took four days. We've been on a southern trip, starting in Michigan and heading through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virgina and back, which took nine days. Yesterday was just a one-day trip, but it was great.

My parents took the three older kids to the cabin for the weekend and Jason's parents took the baby for the day. The reason for this trip? My brother-in-law's fortieth birthday. We had three bikes for the trip:

Kelly and Jim (the birthday boy)

Mark and Alice, who are family friends

and us. The trip was actually an overnight trip for the others, but because I have a baby to feed, our trip was just a day trip.



If you're not from Michigan, you might think that our state is all about cars and crime and snow. And while our state is known for these things, there is so much more to us! We rarely take the freeway on our motorcycle trips, so we get to see Michigan's small town life, up-close and personal. Its not always pretty, but its still a part of us. This time of year, you can't drive more than a few miles without running into a roadside stand offering the finest in home-grown fruits and veggies, including raspberries, blueberries, watermelon, peaches, apples, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and the best sweet corn you've ever tasted. You also can't go more than a few miles without catching the scent of manure, mainly from the cows, but we've got horses, pigs, sheep, goats, donkeys, and chickens, too! Another thing we like to do on our trips is to eat at local restaurants. Although we never quite know what to expect, we usually find some really great food and meet some wonderful people.

By car, from where we live, you can reach the western border of Michigan in a little more than two hours. Our trip yesterday? Took SEVEN hours. Sure, we stopped for lunch and a few other times for breaks, but seven hours? Now that's taking your time! We made it to Lake Michigan around five o'clock, said goodbye to our riding crew, and headed for home. We made it back in less than five hours, including a stop for dinner at a great place we found in St. Louis called The River Rock Bar and Grill. YUM!

So, you're wondering what those numbers mean up at the top, aren't you? Well, 416 is the number of miles my butt was on that motorcycle. And the 3? That would be the number of continuous days of sleep I need to fully recover from all that riding.