Full Circle - August 26

We are home.

At Mink Pond, a tearful, joyful reunion with the rowdy entourage that is our family made the descent into reality very palatable. Then to be joined by our nephew and great friends was the icing on the cake. Fishing, shooting clays, listening to night songs on the porch and watching shooting stars, we slowly melted into our former life. And best of all, Winnie, our grand daughter of a year and a half, remembered us and can now say our names.

Two days off the bike and we were ready to ride again. Down the mountain and through the Delaware Water Gap, Magic remembered the beautiful River Road that she has run so often and treated it with the same respect that she has afforded every turn on our trip. There were roads we liked better than others, but there were no bad rides.

Music matched our moods as "Bittersweet Symphony" played. We rode through New Hope, past hundreds of bikes parked at bars, and maybe we felt a little smug because of all we had seen and done.

On the road, we met people who were riding from corner to corner ...the northernmost point of Alaska to the southernmost point of South America that is road worthy. So in the realm of extreme motorcycling, we are small change. But we have taken those pennies, nickels and dimes and used them well. I think we are allowed, at least, some pride. We turned 60 and 66 on the road, and are talking about the next trip.

Toward the end of our adventure, Jules and I had a heady conversation about how everything has to end. We will ride soon (maybe next week), but the overtone was obvious. This is the journey we took ... the trip of our lifetime. But coming home to our children and grandchild we know that all the trips in life that we have taken will blossom into others with different settings and new characters. The theme will remain the same.

Thank you all for coming with us.