Day
9, Thursday, April 23, 2015
We changed up the line up for partners last night. I forgot to tell you. Chuck/Jake, Jan/Bruce, J.B./Ken and
C.E./Me. My alarm sounded at the normal
6:30 AM. I got up and started to get
dressed and C.E. got up also. We dressed
and packed up our stuff. We each took
out a couple of bags out to our Motorcycles.
We packed our Motorcycles and cleaned them; however, they weren’t very
dirty from yesterdays ride. Even the
windshields didn’t look bad. We went in
for breakfast and J.B. and Ken were already there. Everyone arrived for breakfast and we had a
good time visiting and eating. We were
done so we packed up the rest of our stuff into our Motorcycles. C.E., Jan, Bruce and I were parked on one
side of the hotel while the others were on the other side. Jan had already moved to the other side of
the hotel. C.E. and I followed. When we got there, Chuck was checking out his
Motor. It appears that when he was
cleaning it this morning, he noticed that his rear light bar was loose. Ken got his tools out and Chuck was lying on
the pavement tightening the bolts. Now
it was fixed. Bruce rode over and we
were all ready. We got ready and then we
left the hotel at 8:53 AM with Chuck leading the Group on Highway 670 South.
Chuck turned onto Highway 90 and we rode through some
beautiful countryside. As we rode, we
crossed over into Alabama at 9:37 AM.
After riding for 75 miles, we stopped in Grand Bay, Alabama at 9:42 AM
for a pit stop. While we were having a
break, Bruce suggested that we stop at the U.S.S. Alabama, docked in Mobile,
Ala. Chuck checked with everyone and we
all said that we didn’t mind. We left at
10:00 AM.
Chuck led us on Highway 90 then Highway 19 and onto
I-10. We were entering Mobile when we
went into the tunnel. We have gone
through this tunnel before. I like going
through the tunnel and honking my horn.
How many of you people out there do that? How many remember your Dad doing that when
you were children? I do. Anyway…when we exited the tunnel, we got off
of the next exit for the Alabama. We
entered the grounds and came to a guard shack.
Since Chuck was leading, our rule is:
whoever is leading and we come up to a toll booth or place where they
charge entry fee, the leader pays. Chuck
paid the $2 per each Motorcycle. Chuck
tried to tell us that he paid $5 per Motorcycle. We heard the lady in the guard shack tell
Chuck it was only $2. We rode in and
parked. We had ridden 28 miles and
arrived at 10:30 AM. There were a lot of
planes, helicopters, tanks and assorted vehicles from different wars parked on
the grounds. Then there was the
ship. The U.S.S. Alabama was there in
all its beauty. It was awesome to
see. We took a break and cooled off
before starting the tour. It was very
humid and warm. We all paid our $13,
Senor Rate, for our entry. Ken and C.E.
didn’t tour. They stayed in the gift
shop area and waited for the rest. There
was a large building that housed several Historic aircraft from the WWII, Viet
Nam and other eras. The Submarine U.S.S.
Drum was displayed. Jan, Jake and Bruce
went off together, while Chuck, J.B. and I went a different way. We toured the Alabama and took a lot of
pictures. Both groups met up together
after a while at the forward, top deck close to the big guns. We were all sweating and also had enough and
were ready to go. We talked about having
lunch in the lunch room by the gift shop.
We found that all of the food was “packaged,” and not fresh. We decided to go elsewhere. Before we left, I suggested to Chuck that we
all park our Motorcycles in a row in front of the U.S.S. Alabama and take a
picture. We set up the Motorcycles and I
asked a gentleman walking by to take the pictures. He did and I didn’t have to set my camera on
the tripod and have Jan or Jake click the camera and run to their
Motorcycle. It was easier this way. After the picture, we left at 12:53 PM.
Chuck led us back onto I-10 and then onto Highway
90. We rode for 19 miles and stopped in
Loxley, Ala at 1:20 PM. Where? You guessed it. Subway.
The Subway was empty when we arrived.
We surprised the young lady, Cheyenne, working alone. Her eyes opened very wide when she saw us
coming in. Chuck told her that we were
the “advanced group” for a busload of tourist that was going to stop at the
Subway. Her eyes got wider and her mouth
opened. Chuck told her that he was
kidding. She did a great job serving us. She was pleasant and understanding . We told her to just take her time, as we were
not in any hurry. While we were in line,
a local Police Officer walked in. He
stood by the door, looked at the line and then left. We were there for a while. Chuck was checking the map, C.E. rode to the
nearest gas station and filled up and we were just waiting on them to
finish. As we were leaving, I spoke with
Cheyenne and told her who we were and what we were doing. I gave her a Phoenix Police Patch and her
smile went from ear to ear. She was so
happy that she told me that she was going to put it on the wall of the
Subway. Chuck told me that we were going
to go to a Harley Davidson Dealer in Pensacola, Fla so that Jake could have the
mechanic take a look at his Motorcycle.
It seems that Jake’s Motorcycle makes a funny noise when it is idling. We left at 2:16 PM.
We rode on Highway 90 for a distance and then onto
Highway 29. We were in Pensacola now and
looking for the Harley Davidson Dealer.
We crossed I-10 and a short distance later, we found the Dealer. We had ridden for 38 miles and arrived at
3:07 PM. We all parked in front while
Jake rode his Motorcycle into the service bay.
Of course we had to go in and get a cup of coffee. Some of the guys were happy that they were in
a Harley Store. Jake came in and told us
that they would be looking at his Motorcycle when the mechanic was finished
with his current job. Chuck suggested
that while Jake was with his Motorcycle, someone could stay with him, Bruce,
and the rest of us could go and find a hotel.
Chuck had checked the internet and found a few hotels about 6 miles
away. Chuck told Jake that when we found
a hotel, he would call him and tell him where we were. We left at 3:40 PM.
We rode 6 miles away and stopped at a Best Western Plus,
Blue Angle Inn at 3:52 PM. Chuck and
J.B. went in to “make the deal.” Ken and
I were with the Motorcycles. I walked
into the lobby and Chuck and J.B. were in the process of checking in. I went outside and whistled at Ken and gave
him the “thumbs up” sign. We were all
checked in now. We got our bags and took
them to our rooms. The clouds were rolling
in and it looked like it was going to rain.
Chuck called Jake and told him where we were. We all went to our rooms to relax. A couple guys went to the fitness
center. I went to my room to start the
blog.
Jake and Bruce soon arrived. Jake had told the guys that the “capacitor”
needed to be changed and that it would be finished about noon tomorrow. Jake went across the street and rented a
car. The repair is a warranty item. Bruce rode and Jake drove their vehicles to
the hotel. We had decided to go to
dinner at the Cracker Barrel. Jake took
C.E. in the car, since the Cracker Barrel was .8 of a mile away. The rest of us walked. Jake came back and met us after we had walked
about a quarter of a mile. He offered us
a ride and J.B. and Jan took him up on it.
The rest of us walked. We had a
good dinner and when we were done, Jake brought C.E., J.B. and Me back to the
hotel. Jake then went back to try and
pick up the rest.
We got back to the hotel and covered our Motorcycles and
tucked them in for the night. Today we
rode for only 138 miles. We did spend
almost two and a half hours at the U.S.S. Alabama. We also spent some time at the Harley
Davidson Dealer. It was a long day, it
was warm and humid and we were all tired.
We don’t have to get up early tomorrow because Jake won’t be ready. I don’t know what we will be doing, whether
we ride somewhere or wait. We shall
see. So, until tomorrow…
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