Travelogue -- Dr Bob's Wrap-Up Motorcycle Ride
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24 May 2018, 7:15 PM ET, North Palm Beach, FL

My day began quite early. The picture above was taken at 4:30 AM. I woke up at 3:00 AM and went back to sleep. I awoke again about 3:50 AM. Maybe I had had enough sleep. Probably not, but I was awake. I thought about going back to sleep, but then a sudden thought hit me. Maybe I should get up now and get on the road. There is supposed to be rain everywhere around me today, but maybe now is a good time. I checked my trusty iPhone weather app. No rain in Ashburn. None in Tifton. None in Northern Florida. I checked my NOAA Weather Radar app. Looked good.

Looking at individual cities on the iPhone weather app, about 9:00 AM there is rain everywhere. If I could get on the road by 5:00 AM, I would be well into Florida by 9:00 AM. So that's what I did. The picture above was at my hotel in Ashburn. You can see my trusty steed under the portico. You may have to look hard, but it is there.

My ride today was 440 miles. I was expecting it to be about 430 miles. My total ride was 8,137.2 miles. My original plan was for the ride to be 21 days and 8,000 miles. It was exactly 21 days.

I was in Florida before sunrise. Here's the Florida Welcome sign.

I was unable to read the sign, it was so dark. It was only later when I put this picture into Photoshop that I realized what it said. Had I know that at the time, I would have ridden into the Welcome Center a mile down the road and used the Welcome Center's Photo Opp.

Be that as it may, I kept riding until sunrise. And what a nice sunrise it was.

The weather was extremely cooperative. I wore my gaiters all day, but I did not need them. Better to be prepared, though, I thought. I did not wear my rain jacket all day. I departed Ashburn at 5:00 AM and arrived in North Palm Beach at 1:30 PM. I did run through three different brief rain showers. I had spritzing rain many times, but not enough to bother me.

I kept track of rain showers all day with my NOAA Weather Radar app. They were around, just not where I was. My plan of leaving early worked perfectly. Later, there was rain in Ashburn. Later, there was rain along the Florida Turnpike. I was simply ahead of it. Here's the radar shortly after I got home.

I had a wonderful welcome when I got home. Doris, Hanna's daughter, had put welcome balloons on my F-150.

Doris spent the entire three weeks with Hanna while I was gone. Here's Hanna and Doris welcoming the Road Warrier home upon his return.

That's my story for today. But please come back tomorrow. I will give you my wrap-up of this ride. Plus other thoughts.