Oregon, Ohio

You got it, I’m in Oregon on my way to New Hampshire. You might be asking how can that be since Oregon is West and far West, but there’s actually a suburb of Toledo with the same name. Right now I’m at Ye Ha’s after a full night of adventure, more on that in a bit as I try to piece together the last couple of days heading East. 

Friday, yesterday was the start of my adventure and pretty uneventful except for the new bar which use to be our normal Wausau bonspiel stop. It’s no longer the Silver Spur with a bartender/owner light on the eyes, but the Kurtis Korner and they didn’t even get Curtiss right.  I also caught my parents at home...no, nothing going on that I may have walked in on, but always nice to see them. Today was a whole other story since I had a milestone to reach, my bike turned 9 today even though it’s only a 2006. If you’ve been following along as this bike keeps turning digits, you’d realize what I’m talking about is reaching 99,999 miles in 6 years. Actually forget the 99,999 because before the day was done it was 100,456 and in my book, that’s a lot of miles.

Ok, tonight is no different than all of those other nights I’m sitting in a bar with all the fun going on around me while I’m telling a story. but tonight, it could be even more of a story since I scored on a room with a jacuzzi, another more on that later which I hope to have a story for you tomorrow.

For my Saturday I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have hoped for, but that’s also why I don’t like making too many plans for these kind of trips. The problem is I have to get from Colby to Milwaukee in time to catch a 12:30 ferry across Lake Michigan that when I woke up early I dreamt that I missed it. That meant very little sleep before my alarm went off, but that’s a whole other story. Normally my travels are whenever I get up I go and depending on where I end up is a mystery, even to me, but for some reason they always work out and tonight is no different.

My ride East took me through Wausau so I texted my friend Chris to see if he wanted to ride along. Ok, the initial intension maybe was’t to ride along as much as finding out when the Harley shop opened since I had a running light that needs to be replaced, but he was actually up for a ride. I met him just off the freeway and although I was excited about my milestone I was hoping to reach soon, he had me thinking about a new bike. Wouldn’t you know it, he showed up on a new 2012 Ultra and told me about all of the features he’s already added. I may have been a bit jealous and that’s because a year ago when I was getting my bike fixed at St Croix Harley they were trying to sell me a new bike. Now when I look back and all I’ve done with this bike I wished I would have, but hey, how often do you hit 100,000 on a bike, and not only that any vehicle? Ok, maybe the cruise isn’t working the best since I have to hit the brake switch a few times before it engages or that I have to switch the radio back to FM every time it jumps to Aux, but hey, who needs tunes to ride to...besides me?

Now for the ferry ride instead of going around Chicago which has always been the case.  First off, I’m that much further East about 155 miles to be exact and instead of dealing with the Chicago traffic, I got to relax for 2 and 1/2 hours even if it was with a bunch of people from Chicago. I had no problems making it to the ferry since I made sure to hit it hard and average just under 80 mph, but keep that between us. The toughest part riding a ferry is strapping the bike down, especially when every one else around you is trying to do the same. They want you to park as close to the others that you can and then put 2 straps down on the front and 2 on the back. Well, that causes a lot of tripping over each other and when you’re in the bowels of the ferry, it hotter than all hell. Well, I got away with 3 straps and it’s a good thing I brought some straps to wrap around the handlebars with me.

The ferry ride was just like any others I’ve been on, but nice to relax for a change. Once off the ferry I had to don a helmet and I wished I would’ntve. I saw a number of riders  without a helmet and just found out that Michigan changed the law a couple of weeks ago, thanks to Sherri who you’ll eventually meet. A 69 almost got in my way today and that’s only because it’s a lot like a 96...you haven’ heard of that one...look it up. Well I knew I needed 96 to 23 before heading south, but saw a sign for the interstate heading east and since I wasn’t paying attention took 69 instead of staying on 96. You can see the confusion, but once I hit 217 which I had remembered from a previous mapquest I was back on track. As far as I thought and I should’ve stuck to my own directions instead of depending on the new technology which won't let you get lost I was on the right track, but did take the time to pull over to make sure.

From there, that‘s part of the reason I’ve ended up in Oregon Ohio. The other is looking for a cheap motel and my mistake was taking the trip downtown Toledo to see it since I’ve never been here before. Well the downtown hotel wanted $175 that I figured I could to a lot better in the burbs, well so much for that. Thanks to the guys downtown Toledo they got me headed in the right direction, but not much of hotel help. I ended up driving around this area for awhile before finally coming upon the Holiday Inn Express, but all they had available was a jacuzzi room, sure a great deal, but that’s because all of the Jehovah witnesses in town didn’t want to spend the money.

Ok, so a few days are getting long, but the other story is the chick I met at the Boom fest which, would’nt you know it, placing and timing are everything. Well Oregon has the Boom fest going on and the bar next to the hotel I scored has a free shuttle to and from and I’m in. I did have a Pabst at the bar before heading to the fest, but the free ride is worth it. The fest was pretty cool since they had the lead singer from Journey on stage and it was some pretty good music to listen to. Well, as part of the fireworks after the band I happened to befriend that chick next to me, remember Sherri who let me know about the helmet law. Well, she should know since she’s a cop in downtown Detroit. Ya, we had a bit of a talk, but for what she has to deal with, I don’t know why you’d consider it. I did try to relate to those deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, but apparently she’d rather be in the Detroit turmoil instead of with the boyz overseas. I have to give her a lot of credit for fighting for a downtown USA though and doing it all without smiling much.

Ok, I’ve had a few and get to stubble back to the hotel that there’s always more to the story, all you have to do is ask.