Week
Four:
July 22
to July 28, 2004
This was a day I had been looking forward to
since I first made an appointment with Brandy Mouser, the ashiatsu therapist in
today’s destination of Dexter, Missouri. Brandy had overwhelmed me with concern
for my well being during my visit. She introduced me to a friend who runs a bed
and breakfast, and I subsequently arranged for my overnight stay at Lynda
Lovins B&B. As if that weren’t enough, Lynda put together a small dinner
party for the evening of my visit, including my therapist and her husband and
parents, plus a local portrait photographer of some note, Joe Craig. I felt
like royalty.
The ride itself from Springfield to Dexter was
smooth and uneventful. Weather was good, but warm, and the roads were in fine
condition. Most of the way I could make the same kind of time as on the
interstates. Called my B&B hostess around noon to tell her I was about 20
miles away, and showed up at her doorstep shortly after.
I was given the downstairs “suite” – elegantly
outfitted bedroom with adjoining private bath and its own living room with a
huge TV. Upstairs Lynda was getting things together for the evening festivities
so I hung out in my quarters until it was time for my session with Brandy.
Lynda was kind enough to drive me into town so I didn’t have to fool around
with riding apparel, and then Brandy would bring me back for the dinner.
The massage was first rate, and would be a
reason in itself for another visit to Dexter. And to top it off, she is a beautician
as well and carved out enough time to give me a light trim (she and her mother
run the salon), since it had been over three weeks since my last cut. Had to
look decent for tonight’s distinguished gathering.
The dinner was sumptuous. Lynda is a fantastic
cook and an enthusiastic and charming hostess. Everyone seemed to enjoy the
evening, swapping hometown stories and getting occasional insights into my
life. Joe Craig, a professional portrait photographer, had postponed a trip to
Las Vegas so he could be with us. Joe is attending a professional
photographers’ association meeting over the weekend and giving a keynote
address Sunday evening. As he was getting ready to leave the party, Joe asked
what time I was leaving in the morning, and I said about 7:30 or so. He said
please come by his studio at 7:30 and he’d shoot a portrait of me. Hard to turn
down an invitation like that. So it would be an early rising tomorrow.
Before turning in for the night, and armed
with a glass of Lynda’s red wine, I prepared to watch the Letterman show for a
while. But before doing that, I (with Lynda’s help) selected the shot of Brandy
from this afternoon’s post-massage photo-op to post on my web site. With
minimal fuss, it was done and uploaded. It will be a nice surprise for Brandy
in the morning.
What a memorable day yesterday was. It will be
hard to top, and my new friends in Dexter will remain treasured memories. Was
up at 5:30, got the bike loaded, enjoyed a delicious bacon and eggs breakfast
Lynda had fixed, including some fabulous fresh fruit, and then we set off for
Joe Craig’s studio in Dexter. Lynda led the way and I followed on my bike,
since I’d be leaving from there for today’s destination of Columbia, Tennessee.
The portrait session was painless and quick.
Lynda got her turn before Joe’s camera as well. Joe works in black and white,
mainly, and after consulting with Brandy and Lynda, selected one of me to print
up for me to take with me – a 5”x5” signed print, well wrapped to protect it during
my travels. It fit neatly into my riding jacket so it should make the trip home
just fine. Then it was time to say my goodbyes to Joe, Lynda and Brandy, and
hit the road. But Dexter will always have a special place in my heart, you can
be sure. I had known this would be so since my very first conversations with
Brandy and Lynda. Couldn’t ask for nicer people.
The weather for the ride was hot and humid,
but dry. That had been a concern last night and we did get a round of
thunderstorms during the night. But they were well out of the way this morning.
Rode into Tennessee, stopped at the welcome center for a map and some help with
directions, and then proceeded to miss a turn I should have taken. Cost me
about 25 miles, but could have been worse.
Pulled into the Jameson Inn here in Columbia
about 1:30, fooled around for a couple of hours, and then went to the Fox &
Co. Salon and Day Spa for my session with today’s ashiatsu therapist, Diana
Russell. Diana is a former marine, started out as an enlisted type, then was
selected for OCS and received her lieutenant’s commission. Had to leave after 6
years’ service due to a recurring back injury. Good thing for her clients,
including me, that she did, cause that enabled her to get into the bodywork
business. She gave me one of the nicest performances of the trip – a really
outstanding job. It’s a mixed blessing when I meet someone like Diana that I
like so much – great that I have that one chance to be worked on by her, but
sad that I’ll probably never see her again.
Got back to my room about 6:15 (she gave me a
two-hour session – wow!) and promptly went next door to Applebee’s for a pretty
decent steak dinner. Yeah, I know, I’m out of Kansas, but hey, they still eat
beef in the rest of the country. So anyway, that’s about it for Day 23. Time to
get some other housekeeping items taken care of and prepare for tomorrow’s
journey to Knoxville.
Today would prove to be a mixed bag. Started
out well enough. Early departure from Jameson Inn at Columbia was due to a
moderately long ride combined with losing an hour as I return to Eastern
Daylight time. Made good time, mostly using interstates, and called my
therapist to arrange to move our starting time up from 3 to 2 this afternoon.
Sharon Brightly was today’s nominee for
therapy work, and did a really nice job. Her studio location is well off the
beaten path, but I was able to find it with no trouble, thanks to her phone
directions combined with my usual downloaded Internet map and driving directions.
Interestingly, Sharon and her husband are off to a family reunion next week in
Bedford Hills, New York, a little town not far from where we lived before
moving to Maine.
Then it was on to Comfort Inn, my home for the
next two nights (tomorrow being my day off). That’s where the mixed bag part
came in. While raising the bike onto its center stand in the parking spot
outside my room, it fell onto its side – apparently the pavement surface had a
different slant than I thought, and it tipped when it wasn’t supposed to. With
some assistance from others who happened by at the time, got it upright and
assessed the damage – some scratches on the front body panel and rear side bag,
plus the right front turn signal was broken. Not a major catastrophe, but kind of
a poor way to end the day.
Dinner shortly after at O’Charleys up the
street was okay but I’ve had a lot better. Some home cooking during my upcoming
visits with family in the next couple of weeks is looking pretty good.
This was my day off,
and I was ready for some real relaxation. My only obligation today was an 11
a.m. massage with Margaret Lavery, about a 10-minute drive from the hotel. She
did a great job, combining all the elements I like in ashiatsu. She also
happens to be a motorcyclist herself and was talking about going out for a ride
later on. She had given me some suggested routes in case I decided to venture
out. But the weather was overcast and muggy, and I really didn’t feel like
confronting the Sunday tourists and such on roads I knew nothing about. So I
came back, finished dealing with some trip stuff, and caught some shuteye.
Tonight’s dinner was
next door at Applebee’s, mainly because we were in the midst of some
thunderstorm activity and I didn’t want to stroll too far from the inn. Like
last night, the food was okay, nothing more. And the waitress seemed to be
having a bad day – hardly cracked a smile at her various customers. Anyway,
tomorrow’s a new day; weather forecast is mixed – we’ll see. Destination is
Greensboro, North Carolina, over the Appalachians. Beautiful riding country
when the weather is nice.
Decided to get an
early start, partly to beat the major rush hour traffic, partly to try and beat
the predicted afternoon thunderstorms, and partly just to get to my destination
with time to spare. So it was up early, quick breakfast, and on the road around
7.
The good news about
today’s ride to Greensboro was that the weather predictions proved to be
off-target. The 70% chance of rain the forecasters had been talking about
eluded me, and it was a dry ride the whole way. Much more to my liking. The bad
news – well, bad is a relative term – was that the low-hanging clouds and murky
air effectively hid the gorgeous scenery for which the area is famous.
Anyway, it was
smooth sailing, and pulled into my Days Inn a little past noon. My room was
ready and I had time to relax and get some telephone calls made before I had to
head out for my afternoon ashiatsu rendezvous. Today’s therapist, Bette George,
turned in an amazing performance – it rates inclusion in my personal hall of
fame. She’s from the Philippines, and came to this country with her American
husband in 1983. Most of all, she has a real talent for the barefoot massage
work and is at least one good reason to come back to Greensboro.
There were no
restaurants of note within easy walking distance from the inn, so I went next
door and got a takeout dinner from Arby’s, then over to the gas station on the
other side of the motel for a large Heineken, and back to my room to eat in the
comfort of my room while watching the Democratic convention goings on in
Boston.
The weather forecast
for today had been for a wet ride, so I decided to get an early start. Got up
at 5:30, and looked outside to see that it was absolutely pouring. What a
depressing thought. But luck would be with me. By the time I was ready to leave
my room and head to the lobby for this inn’s version of a continental
breakfast, the rain had stopped and the skies were beginning to clear.
And the weather
stayed nice for the whole ride – nice that is in the sense of dry. It was hot
and humid, and the skies were afflicted with the same haze that has been common
for several days now. Stopped at the Virginia welcome center to pick up a map
and stretch, then found a McDonalds a couple of exits up the way and had a
longer break – coffee and map reading.
The route was easy
and trouble-free – interstates or their equivalent the whole way. Actually, the
most disconcerting thing about the whole trip occurred today as I was
approaching my destination city of Newport News. The interstate, I-664, makes
its final approach through a tunnel. I realized that if my bike should break
down, I’d be killed for sure. No way to escape the cars and trucks racing along
right behind me at breakneck speed. I shuddered at the thought.
Arrived at the Econo
Lodge a little before 1, checked into my room a little later (and learned in
the process that the front desk clerk who checked me in also shares a birthday
with me!), and rested up before taking off for my 3:30 ashiatsu fix. Today’s
massage was close by – only about a mile away – so that was a nice change from
yesterday, which was 17 miles from my hotel. The therapist, Allison Durkee, was
a really fun gal to work with, and I enjoyed the session immensely, as I think
did she. Great attitude, and a first rate job.
Dinner tonight was
next door at a steak and seafood place. Tried one of their specials, crab cakes
with Manhattan clam chowder. Good, but not as good as the waiter’s description
had made me expect it to be. But it was convenient, at least. Then tomorrow
it’s off to Washington, D.C., and three nights with son Bob and daughter-in-law
Natasha. It will be great to be in the company of familiar faces, and I’m
looking forward to some quality time with the newlyweds. Guess it’s fair to say
I’m on the home stretch.
Up at 6, packed and
ready to go by 7, then killed time till it was time to bid farewell to this
seedy excuse for a lodging spot and head out for my 10 a.m. ashiatsu
appointment at the same place I went yesterday, DeStress Express. This is one
of those days where it worked out better to get my daily ashiatsu treatment in
the morning, before the day’s ride, rather than at the end of the day. My
therapist was Julene Fisher, one of several ashiatsu-certified practitioners on
the staff here, and she does excellent work. Nice way to end my brief stay in
Newport News.
The ride was pretty
uneventful. Threatening dark clouds did nothing more than sprinkle a few
scattered drops – once again I seem to have dodged the rain bullets. Drove
through the heart of Washington and on out Connecticut Avenue to Bob and
Natasha’s apartment on Van Ness Street in the Northwest section of the
district. On the way, spotted a Citibank branch at the corner of Connecticut
Avenue and K Street, and stopped to snap a photo of their sign. Seemed only
fitting to pay tribute to my employer of 30 years, without whose past and
continuing support this trip might never have happened.
Arrived at Bob and
Natasha’s a little before 4, got unpacked, and did a quick tour of the
neighborhood with camera in hand. I have been short of photos for this week’s
update, but figured I could find a few creative opportunities to make sure week
four doesn’t get shortchanged. I think I succeeded.
When I returned,
Natasha had arrived home from her job (office manager for an accounting firm)
and Bob would be coming before too long. He’s just starting his third week with
Wilmer Cutler Pickering, a Washington law firm of considerable stature, and is
feeling great. We then enjoyed a pleasant evening together along with some of
Natasha’s tasty spaghetti. Sure nice to have a home-cooked meal with family
after all these weeks. Probably shouldn’t have had the coffee offered after
dinner, but I’ll never learn, I guess.
Trip
Statistics at end of Week Four
Miles
ridden this week: 1,540
Miles
ridden this trip: 5,695
States visited: 17