Getting ready

So here I am in Bahrain getting ready and planning for this trip. I know I said I wasn't going to plan for this thing and that's still the plan. However I do need to let some people know that I'll be coming through their area. When I start thinking about when I'll be in different parts of the country I immediately begin to plan without any conscious plan to. This whole not planning thing is harder than I thought it would be. Maybe this is because of the time I spent in the Army. All those classes on planning, planning how to plan, planning for when the plan doesn't work....well, you get the idea. The funny thing is that I never figured I was all that good at planning when I was still in. Go figure.

So now that I'm done whining about planning, I guess I'll tell you what I'm doing to get ready for my trip. Since I'm half way around the world from where my motorcycle is, it's pretty hard to get the bike itself ready right now. I tried to have everything good to go before I left for Bahrain one and a half months ago but you never know what might happen. Hopefully I won't have to replace a battery or a flat tire or something. That said, I'm thinking I need a new seat. The one I have is what came with the bike and doesn't have a back to it. It's not really all that comfortable. Since I'll be leaving the day after I get back to Maryland from Bahrain I won't really have time to order anything so I may just have to buy the best seat they have in stock at the Harley store. The other option would be to order something from Bahrain and hope it's there waiting for me when I get back. Of course if it isn't, then I might just be out of luck.

The other thing I'm doing is making sure I can do what I need to in terms of posting blogs, pictures and video from the road. I've downloaded some apps to my iPad so I can do just that. This is the first post that I'm uploading entirely from my iPad. For the last one I used both my iPad and laptop.


I'm using an app called BlogPress to post and ReelDirector to edit, splice and clip video. It's actually a pretty cool app. I put together a short video clip using the it just as a test. Since I don't have much video on hand, I had to use some clips from an air show, one showing my godson Ethan and the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile (don't ask me where I got that from). They don't really go together at all but that's ok, it's just a proof of concept. The whole thing is pretty basic but I now know I can do everything I want to.

Pretty cool, eh?

My next step is to email people I think I'll see along the way with my best guess as to when I'll be in their area. After that, it's fly home, jump on the bike and go.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Road No 2408,Manama,Bahrain

Introductions

Hello everyone, I hope this post finds you all well. If you're reading this on my blog, odds are you know I'm planning a little trip in September and August. I say little but I really mean the longest road trip I've ever taken and likely the longest one I'll take my entire life. I'll be starting off from my home in Scotland Beach, Maryland on 16 August and heading west to Washington State, then south down the Pacific Coast Highway to San Diego and finally east through the southwest, Tennessee, the Appalachians and back home to Maryland by 19 September. All totaled it will be right around 8300 miles and (according to Google Maps) 147 hours of drive time over a five week period. How could a trip like this possibly get more interesting you might be asking yourself? Well, I'll be doing it all on my motorcycle, a 2009 Harley Street Bob. This is my very first motorcycle and I'll only have ridden it for about two months by the time I leave.

I can give you a general outline of where I'm going and when I'll be there but only a very general outline. Part of my plan for this trip is not to plan very much. I'll go where the road takes me (as long as it's in the right general direction) and see what there is to see when I get there. That said, there are a few places and people that I definitely want to see along the way. The rest of the time I'll just wing it. See the map and the list below to get an idea of where I'll be heading.

Week one: Maryland to Spokane.
The West Virginia/Ohio Paddens. Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument. Yellowstone National Park. Glacier National Park.

Week two: Washington/Oregon friends and family.
All the family in Spokane. The North Cascades Highway. The Evelands at Whidbey Island. The Seattle area friends and family. Old Army buddies at Ft. Lewis. Family in Portland/Vancouver.

Week three: The Pacific Coast Highway.
The family beach cabin at Seaside, Or. The highway itself should provide all the scenery and ocean views anyone could ask for. Cousins and brother in San Francisco and LA.

Week four: The Southwest.
Old Army buddies at Ft. Huachuca, AZ. The Grand Canyon. Chaco Canyon. Old Army buddies in either Ft. Hood, TX or Ft. Carson, CO (depends on where everyone is when I get there). Old Army buddy at Ft. Sill, OK.

Week five: Tennessee, the Appalachians and back to Maryland:
The food, music and culture in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville. The scenery of the Appalachians. The Shenandoah Valley. Home.

Keep in mind any of this could change if something more interesting comes up or circumstances change. In fact, one of the things I'd like from all of you is suggestions or ideas on how to make this trip even better. If you know of any cool places to see, interesting restaurants to eat at, great places to hear live music or anything else that you think I might like please let me know. Ideally I'd like to ride into any given town and check all the emails or posts I've gotten from you all to figure out where to go. And if any of you are willing to offer a couch to crash on for a night I'd be grateful for that too. Spending five weeks in hotels could get a bit pricy.

One of the major things I'll be doing as I ride around the country is update my blog with all the neat things I see or do. I'll be using some of the new technology that's come out in the last couple years to do all of this. My posts will go up using my iPad. The pictures and high definition video will be shot with my iPhone 4 and Canon Powershot TX1 camera/camcorder. I encourage you all the check it out periodically and follow along.

Let me know how you are doing and what you think about this trip or any ideas you might have. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you too. Take care.


P.S.
Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested or have some input. I know I don't have contact information for everyone I want to send this too so please help me out. Also, don't be afraid to send it to people I don't know, meeting new people is all part of the adventure.