Hi daddy how are you? I know i'm not punctuating very well but I love you!!! And Today is very Friday morning so i'm cleaning my room now (with Dana) (she is sleeping over today) and I cant help but notice how you left your blogger account open so I'm writing you this sweet post (and after you read this you can delete this because you have the password) So I just wanted to say that me and mom cleaned up the whole house and that I'm still very confuzzeled about the whole proscout thing so you know. But that's okay. How are you, I didn't get to read all of your blog but I definantly will then. It rained cats and doggies thursday around sixish and that definately sounds smartical!! :) Me and brad have been playing monopoly for two days in a row. So as you can see it's very very very very very very very very very very veeeeeeeeeery exciting here at the Klinger homestead and everything and yes that was me who wrote this (cant you tell from the smartical part :) ) he he well dana is poking me to death so I ought to go now before this post becomes a novel (with all this typing) your posts are longer though. But I haven't talked to you on the phone lately so I just want you to know that i care about you but you better wear your helmet at allllllllllllllllllllllllllllll times (you hear me) dana says to make sure you quote "Staaaaand clear of the closing doors!" quote But most of all please make sure your safe but I have to tell you a couple more things: tell pop-pop I said hi and ask him if he liked his fathers day present!! thank you!!!! have fun, Ilove you, I miss you, and I hope to see you soon email me please since I seem to be away when you call!!! Dana says Hi and Bye and have fun. So does mom. Well see you on next Friday. --K8e
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Motown
Today is Opposite Day. Where yesterday was hot, hurried, and kinda stressful, today was absolutely beautiful. When you’re riding in strong winds, you’re constantly “steering” the motorcycle, leaning into the wind. When a 32-wheel truck (actually counted them today) comes barreling past you, it blocks the wind and suddenly you are veering in the direction the wind had been coming from. 
Then when the truck has passed, you'd better be ready to make sure you don’t get blown back in the other direction. When that wind is 99 degrees and you’re doing 70 through a construction zone, it can make for a long day. It’s not really as bad as it sounds, though, and still better than a good day at work. Today was crystal clear, cool chamber of commerce weather. In fact, it was only 22 degrees when we left Kitchener! The ride was beautiful, traffic was very light heading west toward the other end of Lake Erie, and again, there’s the courteous drivers who are paying attention. What a concept.
Today’s discovery: you can’t do the hokey pokey with out bumping into two Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada. McDonalds seems like exclusive dining in comparison. Curiousity piqued, I finally did eat in one, but it was across the river in Port Huron, Michigan. You can save yourself the trip; it wasn’t all that.
The border crossing, which I again expected to be a hassle, was a 10-minute affair including the line. We got into the Motor City (actually staying in Auburn Hills) a little after lunch, and spent the afternoon exploring the Chrysler museum and learning about all the cars I grew up being enchanted with.
Tonight we will have a moment to catch our breath, get re-organized, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow before heading to the races, we will take a driving tour of Detroit and see pretty much the entire history of the American auto industry. We will be unarmed. Wish me luck.
Then when the truck has passed, you'd better be ready to make sure you don’t get blown back in the other direction. When that wind is 99 degrees and you’re doing 70 through a construction zone, it can make for a long day. It’s not really as bad as it sounds, though, and still better than a good day at work. Today was crystal clear, cool chamber of commerce weather. In fact, it was only 22 degrees when we left Kitchener! The ride was beautiful, traffic was very light heading west toward the other end of Lake Erie, and again, there’s the courteous drivers who are paying attention. What a concept.Today’s discovery: you can’t do the hokey pokey with out bumping into two Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada. McDonalds seems like exclusive dining in comparison. Curiousity piqued, I finally did eat in one, but it was across the river in Port Huron, Michigan. You can save yourself the trip; it wasn’t all that.
The border crossing, which I again expected to be a hassle, was a 10-minute affair including the line. We got into the Motor City (actually staying in Auburn Hills) a little after lunch, and spent the afternoon exploring the Chrysler museum and learning about all the cars I grew up being enchanted with.
Tonight we will have a moment to catch our breath, get re-organized, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow before heading to the races, we will take a driving tour of Detroit and see pretty much the entire history of the American auto industry. We will be unarmed. Wish me luck.
Oh, yeah: we checked in this afternoon and there was a FedEx package waiting for me! :-) So... there will probably be no more updates for a while, as we will be spending the next few nights being drunk and disorderly at the racetrack campground in Norwalk, Ohio. During the day, it will be 300-mph Top Fuel drag racing. Just the ticket for a simple redneck like me.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Canada -My New Favorite Place
Here I am in Canada, Eh? Kitchener, Ontario to be exact (originally named Berlin until WWI, according to the guy on the next barstool.) We rode about 220 miles after work on Tuesday night and stayed in upstate New York, then up early for a run to the border today.
This was my first experience in Canada. The border crossing was surprisingly easy and went something like this:
Border guy: "I need your ID."
Me: "Here you go."
Border guy: "Do you have a knife?"
Me: "No."
Border guy: "Do you have any guns or explosives?"
Me: "No."
Border guy: "Have a nice day."
There I was with travel bags strapped to backpacks bungeed to zipper bags looking like a freshman on moving day. I was hoping I wouldn't spend a half hour taking the whole shebang apart for him, and it turns out I didn't need to even pull a zipper. Very nice.
We did the tourist thing in Niagara Falls, made our way here to Kitchener, and checked in. With the searing wind still relentlessly assaulting us and the muggy skies darkening, we made for Toronto with our fingers crossed. After a trip to the top of the CN Tower (highest observation deck in the world) and a quick tour of the **very nice** city, we found it much cooler and much less threatening for the ride back. Since entering the country, we had been getting passed by everything on wheels --including trucks with 28 of them-- and with the day's priorties completed and the promise of a cold beer in my future, I hunkered down and picked up the pace considerably.
Holy cow, this is like the friggin' autobahn around here! People actually stay out of the left lane unless they're passing somebody, and unless you're doing 80, you ain't passing anybody. We started running 70 mph, which is well above the 100 km/h standard, and cars were literally rocketing past us. 75? Still a traffic hazard. 80? Nope - get the hell outta the way.
OK... pin the throttle and hang on? Hey, at 105 mph we're finally starting to pass people! :-) We kept that up for a while, then settled in at around 75 and just stayed out of the way. I drive in North Jersey every day and didn't think this existed. What a country!
Also of note: I had my first minor crisis today. I woke up this morning and realized that I'd left the race tickets and campground passes at home! That had been taken care of months ago; it was how the whole trip got started in the first place.
In the time since, I'd been putting so much effort into planning the rest of the trip that I totally forgot about them. After a few minutes of panic, I made a hotel reservation for tomorrow night in Detroit, then called Lisa (hi sweetie!!) and had her FedEx everything there. I told the staff to expect the package, and Lisa put my cell phone number in the comments, so hopefully disaster has been averted. We shall see.
That's 550 miles, three states / provinces, and one (hopefully overcome) setback. So far, so good!
This was my first experience in Canada. The border crossing was surprisingly easy and went something like this:
Border guy: "I need your ID."
Me: "Here you go."
Border guy: "Do you have a knife?"
Me: "No."
Border guy: "Do you have any guns or explosives?"
Me: "No."
Border guy: "Have a nice day."
There I was with travel bags strapped to backpacks bungeed to zipper bags looking like a freshman on moving day. I was hoping I wouldn't spend a half hour taking the whole shebang apart for him, and it turns out I didn't need to even pull a zipper. Very nice.
We did the tourist thing in Niagara Falls, made our way here to Kitchener, and checked in. With the searing wind still relentlessly assaulting us and the muggy skies darkening, we made for Toronto with our fingers crossed. After a trip to the top of the CN Tower (highest observation deck in the world) and a quick tour of the **very nice** city, we found it much cooler and much less threatening for the ride back. Since entering the country, we had been getting passed by everything on wheels --including trucks with 28 of them-- and with the day's priorties completed and the promise of a cold beer in my future, I hunkered down and picked up the pace considerably.
Holy cow, this is like the friggin' autobahn around here! People actually stay out of the left lane unless they're passing somebody, and unless you're doing 80, you ain't passing anybody. We started running 70 mph, which is well above the 100 km/h standard, and cars were literally rocketing past us. 75? Still a traffic hazard. 80? Nope - get the hell outta the way.
OK... pin the throttle and hang on? Hey, at 105 mph we're finally starting to pass people! :-) We kept that up for a while, then settled in at around 75 and just stayed out of the way. I drive in North Jersey every day and didn't think this existed. What a country!
Also of note: I had my first minor crisis today. I woke up this morning and realized that I'd left the race tickets and campground passes at home! That had been taken care of months ago; it was how the whole trip got started in the first place.
In the time since, I'd been putting so much effort into planning the rest of the trip that I totally forgot about them. After a few minutes of panic, I made a hotel reservation for tomorrow night in Detroit, then called Lisa (hi sweetie!!) and had her FedEx everything there. I told the staff to expect the package, and Lisa put my cell phone number in the comments, so hopefully disaster has been averted. We shall see.That's 550 miles, three states / provinces, and one (hopefully overcome) setback. So far, so good!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
On The Road Again
Road Trip, version 2007
Looks like I'm all set to leave tonight for my annual adventure. This time, I will have a road mate (my Dad) which is always a nice thing to have when you're 1,000 miles from home on a motorcycle. We're heading to the drag races in Ohio, via Toronto and Detroit. The route home will take us through Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio again before riding back through Steelers Country and the Alleghenies.
Tonight will be late - hopefully updates by Thursday sometime.
Happy Trails!
Looks like I'm all set to leave tonight for my annual adventure. This time, I will have a road mate (my Dad) which is always a nice thing to have when you're 1,000 miles from home on a motorcycle. We're heading to the drag races in Ohio, via Toronto and Detroit. The route home will take us through Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio again before riding back through Steelers Country and the Alleghenies.
Tonight will be late - hopefully updates by Thursday sometime.
Happy Trails!
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