***Connecticut to California – Day 22 – September 2, 2000***

Well, I’m home.
The bike total miles is 8,487.
The Garmin III+ total miles is 8,769.
And all of this at the end of a day of beautiful riding.

The fog was thick this morning in Ohio – thick enough to delay my departure for an hour.

Ohio passed by shrouded in fog like parts of the California coastline, but Pennsylvania surprised me. Yes, surprised me.

I have traveled I-80 through Pennsylvania many times, but today I saw it through different eyes. My eyes today were looking at Pennsylvania as though it were California. Perhaps I had to go across the country to learn to appreciate the beauty in my own back yard.

The forests, the farms – the rolling hills – I cruised across the state as if I were seeing it for the first time – it was truly beautiful.

I saw a sign along I-80 for Reynoldsville – and it brought to mind my last trip across America. It was 1963 – I was 16 years old, and my parents and I drove from Pennsylvania to San Diego, California in a 1961 Chrysler that my father bought in Reynoldsville. That was almost 40 years ago – I don’t remember any interstate highways – but I do remember the trip – and I remember being amazed by the distance – marked by the miles and the hours – across this wonderful country.

As best as I can recollect, my feelings tonight – sitting here in my living room – are pretty much the same – this country is wide and it takes a lot of hours to reach the limits of America. Still, I think, at least for me, driving across America is the only way I can begin to get my arms around this great country. It gives me time to digest the changing landscape – the changing people – the changing time zones.

I didn’t see all of America on this trip – nor do I think I ever shall – and I understand that every time I go looking for America – there will be a new America to find. That, after all is the story. And in looking for America – I find that I am also looking for myself. On a motorcycle, I learn about myself by understanding how I feel about where I am. Noticing how I participate in the drama – rather than just watching it pass by – viewing it through the frame of a car window. I feel the temperature – I smell the smells – I see a broader perspective. From that perspective, I put myself in the experience and not only learn about America, but also about myself.

This journey is finished, but the journey will never end.

Ride safe and often.

The bike trip meter says 556.2 the Garmin III+ trip meter says 572.6 and I say Goodnight from home.

For those of you who can read them we have included the Excel spread sheets on Miles and Gas. If you are using a Windows machine these files will open automatically in Excel if you have that application. Those of you using WebTV or Macs won't have much luck I'd suppose... oZ

Connecticut Yankee in Yosemite Valley- the Trek
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