I sure love thunder storms and neon signs

It seems that I have developed somewhat of a tradition. Before I take up residence, I sit in my new abode watching a thunderstorm. This happened with the last house I bought and Riley and I did just that last night in our driveway.

There is something exciting about thunderstorms for me. The tattoo of the rain on the roof, a flash of lightning followed by the rumble of thunder. Even better when the thunder is immediately after the flash. FLASH!! CRAACKK!!! Wow that one was close! It is positively exciting to watch mother nature's best show from a safe place. Riley was a bit uneasy and he nuzzled close to me. With reassuring words (which I know he didn't understand) in a soft tone and gentle stroking of his head he relaxed a bit. During times like these, Wayne Hancock's song “Thunderstorms and Neon Signs” plays in my head.

Done in the best of Classic Hank Style, Ya got it right Wayne!

“There's big black clouds blowin in from the west
I've been drivin all day lord I sure could use some rest
There's a motel up ahead where I can unwind
Cause I sure love thunder storms and neon signs”

Thunderstorms and Neon Signs

Riley's first encounter with Rocinante

When I brought Roz home for the first time it was dark and I put her to bed in the driveway. The next morning when I opened the living room curtains and Riley saw her he started to growl, then excitedly and defensively bark, very loud. You see my furry buddy reacts in fear and with defense at things he does not understand. So from his perspective there was this strange beast in the drive. After attaching the leash to his collar we walked out to greet our new rolling protector. Riley approached gingerly at first, with a low rumbling growl and sniffed her all over. Tires, grill, doors, and everything else he could reach. With him now satisfied that there was no cause for concern I opened the door and ushered him in. He sniffed the carpet a bit, walked to the bedroom in the back and immediately jumped on the bed. Lying there with his head up looking at me as if to say. 'OK Dad, we can keep her but this is gonna be my sleep spot.' “OK Riley” I said, “we'll see about that.”

Adopting Rocinante

I decided not to get a perfect RV so as to somewhat match the namesake Rocinante.

There were many candidates interviewed for the position of Rocinante. Some were outright disasters that I would not let a rabid dog sleep in, some were way too prissy and expensive, some were behemoths far too big for me to handle. The one chosen was just about perfect considering price and condition. We got a great value for the money. She was won at an Ebay auction which was exciting right up to the last minute. I pulled out some old Ebay bidding skills of mine and was victorious. Hooray!! Fortunately she was close to me so I had the opportunity to inspect her before bidding. I will add that I met a very interesting couple. John and Debbie were the former owners and a very amicable couple they are. After my preliminary inspection and listening to John describe their road trip with her I knew she was the one to take us on this odyssey. I felt very comfortable and genuinely knew that John was totally honest and probably really wanted to keep her. The first full day of inspecting her systems and such proved to be both fun and rewarding. She is in even better condition than expected. Not perfect mind you but very serviceable and road worthy. We will be spending many memorable hours together and hopefully none of them along the side of the road unless we are admiring the scenery. Now the apprehension is subsiding and the excitement is growing.

How this started...

As many of you know, in the summer of '09 I was fortunate enough to be able to take a 48-state-in-one-run ride. In all, I spent 38 days traversing 13,000 miles and 48 states.

Although the motivation for the ride was a family tragedy, it still was a dream that came true. When I finished the ride, I had a serious case of after-the-trip blues. I decided it was time to take the next logical step (logical for me, at least).

I have one more road trip seed that has been growing steadily in my “things to do garden.” See, the one thing that frustrated me on the cycle ride was that I couldn't spend nearly enough time in the places I would have liked to.

Beginning in mid-October, my roomie Riley and I will head out on a USA tour. Traveling by motor home, we will visit and spend as much time as we wish in some of this country’s most beautiful spots.

At times Rex will be in tow and at other times Mack (my Jeep CJ-7) will be in tow. I will take short trips back to Pennsylvania for grandkids’ birthdays and for visits with family and friends; this is a unanimous requirement from my children.

My passion is photography and there will be plenty of that. Part of my dream for this trip is to create a coffee table book chronicling my travels. I also dabble in writing and, with the help of my fantastic editor daughter, Jen Darr Sweeney, I hope to put a lot of words in a coherent order. I hope you will follow Riley and me as we discover our America. John Steinbeck, Charles Kuralt and my “little sister” Buffy all helped me make the decision to finally Scratch this Itch.

What has me particularly excited about this trip is the opportunity to have face-to-face time with many of my CycleFish friends while out and about. For this future joy I have to thank Lucky and Hdbeech for having put together this fabulous CycleFish site (www.cyclefish.com) . So hang with me here at  “Scratchin’ the Itch” blog-site, where I hope to keep in touch with you . I still will be a regular on CF so you can catch me there too.