Scooterman Summer 2016

• Reap What I Sow . (5/20/2016) - My summer long trip is a celebration, and a tragedy, and the responsibility rests solely with my own hands. As you read about my journey of discovery, of growth, of change; remember that it is all predicated upon my separation and divorce from our marriage of nearly 40 years. It is impossible to be excited …
• Why I’m Going (5/23/2016) - As part of my summer 2016 Scooter Trip, I am trying to methodically expose myself to a wide range of subjects, both mentally and as I visit around the country. I started this list before I departed, updated it all summer, and did one final edit after I returned home.  I know its right!. Things …
• Coffee Dates & FetLife (5/26/2016) - While still married I had been on many internet dating sites, looking to find a local bay area woman seeking “just friends”, for coffee and gossip. I attended church pot-lucks, belonged to many social and political groups, and attended (even headed up) meet-up groups. But I missed having one-on-one time with caring empathetic people (that …
• We’re Off … (SNAFU!) . (5/29/2016) - I had been looking forward to my 2016 summer long trip, planning and researching for nearly six months, sending emails and making reservations. I’d made preliminary “dry run” test trips to Orlando, Daytona, Port Canaveral and Tallahassee. However, as time ticked down to departure, it was just a series of mishaps. I had reserved my …
• Amtrak: Orlando and onto WDC . (5/31/2016) - Just Plain Nuts! That was my departure, running out the door, a day late, sleeping off a migraine, carrying an untested telephone. I had eight weeks to get my act together and this was a most unceremonious departure. The Reason Rally in Washington was the following Saturday, but I wanted three days in the city. …
• My First AirB&B: Another SNAFU (6/1/2016) -   When I decided to start my summer trip in Washington at the Reason Rally, I wanted an AB&B near any metro station, with a place to stash my scooter (in a backyard, for instance). Parking is a premium in Washington, and I’d want to be 100% on foot and transit, not having to ride …
• The Journey Begins (6/5/2016) - With Saturday’s Reason Rally over, capped by dinner with my Tampa friends, it was time to start my summer trip. The CNU conference would begin in Detroit on Wednesday, so I had only half of Sunday plus all days Monday & Tuesday. No amount of planning could compensate for the simple “hope for good weather” …
• Supporting Single Moms (6/26/2016) - Time for a bit of a confession, nothing too out of the ordinary. I was married 40 years, and traveled on business more than 20 of them. Although lots of opportunity, I was always faithful. That said, in the policy of “look but don’t touch” I did permit myself ample opportunity to visit “gentleman’s clubs”, …
• Walking Around Rockwood . (6/30/2016) - I spent an extra day today in Rockwood, PA at the hostel. I didn’t mean to, time just slipped away. Tomorrow I’ll head back to Columbus for a fourth of July picnic invitation. This has become a cool little town. No cell reception, no traffic, no grocery store, really no reason to be here. Its …
• Breakdown and Repair . (7/1/2016) - We’ve all been waiting for disaster to strike, and it finally happened, July 1st, on a Friday night, at 6pm, at the start of the 3 day holiday week-end. I had just enjoyed 4 days of R&R in tiny Rockwood PA, and had spent the morning visiting Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s wonderful futuristic house south …
• Back to Columbus: Doo-Dah & “The Space” (7/4/2016) - I returned to Columbus, Ohio for a chance to meet two more internet idols. Some folks swoon to meet movie stars like Matt Damon or Jennifer Aniston. Sports fan want the autograph of ARod or LeBron. Politics junkies line up for a picture with candidates, even cardboard cut-outs. But I’ve got fan-boy pictures with my …
• Back to Columbus: Walk in the Park . (7/4/2016) - This story will be sketchy to you, but not to me or the few people involved. On my last day before leaving Columbus after UU-GA, I stopped for breakfast at a local bakery, and had a delightful time. The poor girl got my “full Forest Gump” treatment, rambling, questioning, funny stories, and active listening (when …
• My Coy Kitten: Flirting, Disconcerting: (7/5/2016) - As I settled in on the trip, I realized it was time to stretch my wings and start dating. Of my many principles, a big one was “make your mistakes out-of-town”. I have a habit of doing everything wrong the first time and I really seem to only learn through hands-on mistakes. I didn’t want …
• Catch a Wave . (7/7/2016) - Motorcycles are everywhere! Especially on Saturdays, and Sunday, on two lane roads, scenic byways, riding in packs, enjoying the open road. After a week of riding America’s open highways, I learned that motorcycle riders have a secret handshake, a “cool guy” wave. For over a year I had been riding a tiny dorky scooter on …
• Leaving Cincinnati: UUs and Jazz . (7/10/2016) - Cincinnati is beautiful on 2 wheels. The middle ring of course; not congested downtown, nor the distant suburbs, and certainly not ugly industrial I-75. The middle  area is hilly, lush green with mature trees, and often full of historic houses. Scootering among those hills, popping in and out of shade; climbing, then descending long lazy …
• Tale of the Tail (7/12/2016) - Tuesday started in Knoxville and ended at the Iron Horse motorcycle lodge, an inn, hostel, and campground specifically for those on two wheels. I programmed the GPS for the long way around, saving the scenic mountain routes for tomorrow, without my top heavy luggage. The I followed her voice as she said turn here and …
• Never Met a Stranger . (7/12/2016) - After my accidental ride through the “tail of the dragon”, I arrived at the rural motor cycle campground tired and a little disoriented. I was sitting on the bunkhouse stairs looking blankly at my scooter, trying to figure out what I still needed to do. I struck up a conversation with a guy sitting on …
• SUUSI Mon: Morning Worship Service . (7/18/2016) - I was told SUUSI morning worship services were inspirational and thought provoking. Monday certainly started off with a bang. Shoehorned in between bkfst  and opening daily session, so only 45 min, I was sceptical how “inspiring” they would be. Well I’m sold and I tend to drag my sorry ass out of bed 4 more …
• SUUSI Day 6: My nuubi departure (7/23/2016) - .SUUSI ended today, with the same emotional roller coaster each day brought. So many smiles, and hugs, and encouraging words. So many new friends, now familiar faces and common stories about our backgrounds, and goals, and what makes you mad and what makes you proud. Like 1,100 clones running around the hills of western north …
• Lost in the Mountains (7/24/2016) - For a full week, my first SUUSI had kept me hopping. Up at 9am, ballroom dance lessons, running to meals (or missing them), staying up singing at 3am, napping, dancing all night, catching a snack, riding into town for supplies, and meeting new people at every hour of the day and night. In all of …
• Across TN, Crossing Paths (7/25/2016) - After my Saturday lost on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I finally pulled into Johnson City, TN just before dark; wet, tired, and hungry. I had used a website to grab a hotel room and the place was a redone 1970’s chain; either a raddison or rodeway or quality inn. Once again, the desk clerk (and …
• Dancing In Roanoke: Hurry/Wait (7/25/2016) -

  After my day lost on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I pulled into Johnson City, TN just before dark; wet, tired, and hungry. I had used a website to grab a hotel room and the place was a redone 1970’s chain; either a raddison or rodeway or quality inn. Once again, the desk clerk (and the […]

• Wasted Day in Roanoke (7/26/2016) - As the late summer sun set, I set my GPS for downtown Roanoke and used her directions and my own instincts to take a city tour. From the dance center I drove by the shopping mall, the UU Church, and eventually downtown. Roanoke is situated on a historical rail yard so is cursed with one …
• All Day at a Desk (7/26/2016) - After the crazy day racing across Tennessee, only to arrive four hours early for my dance, I needed to get my act together. I turned my full attention to my upcoming stay in NYC, going forward two weeks to AMUUSE camp in Michigan. Distances, days, probable overnight locations. Places to stop, things to see, people …
• Transit Report #1: Washington DC (7/27/2016) - For My Bus & Trolley Buddies I’ve dropped the ball, its been 8 weeks and I’ve not written up anything on Transit. Washington DC (June 1-5, 2016) What can I say, the DC Metro. Upon arrival, I parked my bike at my B&B and didn’t touch it until the morning I left. I stayed near …
• Reflection on The Bronx . (7/29/2016) - In my 40 yrs of travel, and million miles of flight, I’ve been everywhere. Well, not everywhere. Until this week, I’ve never been to the Bronx or Yonkers (beyond a single Yankees game). And when I depart Sunday, I will visit Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, New Rochelle, and the rest of the tiny wedge of land …
• People in NYC . (7/30/2016) - .My time in the Bronx was amazing for my exposure to a new location: homes, geography, transit. But this story relates to the people, situations, and conversations I shared in that area: I got stuck in Roanoke, VA when my plans suddenly changed. My friend Jack, who I met on the atheist cruise the previous …
• Leaving NYC: North from the Bronx (7/30/2016) - I visited the Bronx for three days, and took the train into the city. When it was time to leave for upstate NY, I left directly north, crossing through a part of America I had never visited. In my 30 years of travel, in millions of miles, there are not a lot of untouched places …
• Upstate NY: New Platz to Kingston (7/31/2016) - My experience in New Platz was weird, but I just roll with the punches. After driving from the Bronx, I encountered a total downpour as I approached Newburgh, NY. I tried to wait it out, but it would not stop. I finally drove on, into the dark, in full rain gear and soaked to the …
• Rochester to London, Sans Windshield (8/3/2016) - I had 5 days to get to my AMUUSE summer camp in norbythern Michigan. It was apparent I did not have time to get a replacement windshield overnighted to me in Rochester, so I would have to drive across Ontario using only my facemask and a positive attitude. I spent my last day getting used …
• Arriving at AMUUSE (8/7/2016) - We just had our Sunday night orientation for AMUUSE, August. There was also a July session. There are 33 attendees and I’m the only nuubi in this session (Everybody knew to expect me). Like all my meetups in Pinellas, I’m either the youngest or nearly so. Everybody here are long time friends. When we did …
• AMUUSE 2: Costumes and Comets (8/10/2016) - Another great day at AMUUSE camp ended with a bucket of fun, then a mystical finale. First we had our United Nations themed costume party. Those who came in cars brought outfits to represent (truly or humorously) some country of the world. Elaborate Viking, Egyptian, and Scot outfits appeared. Also authentic garb ftom China, India, …
• Leelanau and Traverse City . (8/15/2016) - I’m stuffed! I’ve been on my own in my home state of Michigan for 3 days and have essentially eaten any “made in Michigan” product I could find. All those apple orchards I’ve been seeing are, of course, cherries as Grand Traverse bay is home to the annual cherry festival and that entire industry. And …
• Top o’ the Mitten . (8/16/2016) - Everyone knows Michigan’s lower peninsula is the shape of a “mitten”, of your held out left hand. I’m in Interlochen, in the Leelanau peninsula, the fingernail of the ring finger. This is cherry country, Traverse City’s famous cherry festival, and of sailboats on the protected harbor. The grand traverse bay burrows 20 miles inland, so at …
• New Friends: West Michigan Edition (8/19/2016) - My time in Traverse City, and now Grand Rapids has been filled with the most interesting, informative, inspiring, and delightful people. I met all of these in the last third of my time in Michigan, in just the one week after AMUUSE csmp. In Traverse City, I first spent a day in Empire, with a …
• Grand Rapids & Kalamazoo . (8/20/2016) - My Grand Rapids AirBnb stay was way out in the country. One of those houses you pass by and ask “why would somebody live there?”. Well I met two of the nicest people, and I can answer the question. Their house is modern, on a huge tract of land, surrounded by corn fields, on those …
• The Latest Plan: Pitstop in FL (8/26/2016) - Here’s everything: I contracted a guy to haul the scooter home, privately, in a sealed trailer. I used a website called uShip.com. it’s like ebay or Airbnb, but you list what you want shipped and where, and truckers bid on hauling it. There’s a category for motorcycles; also cars, sailboats, household furniture, and live pets. …
• Father and Son . (9/6/2016) - It was Christmas, my birthday, and Father’s Day rolled into one this morning. I’m not sure I should be posting something so personal. My son and I share breakfast out, three or four mornings every week. We’re squeezing in time this rushed week with not a minute to spare. From time to time he’ll mention …
• It will be ok, Jim . (9/6/2016) - I just had another bizarre encounter, here on my next to last day in Florida. I wasn’t quite ready for bed, so I stopped at a small bar on the way home, figuring to listen to some music and relax for 30 minutes. I was sipping my orange juice like I do whenever I’m on …
• Dancing in Bare Feet . (9/9/2016) - I started ballroom dance lessons to gain poise, lose weight, and improve my crappy attitude (after 2 horrible months of 6am aerobics). I’ve had great success toward my poise, weight, and attitude, without actually becoming any good at dancing My career and knack for computation and details had made learning difficult. I made my poor dance instructor …
• 9/11 Memorial Service . (9/11/2016) -     I wasn’t paying attention again, landing in DC and driving to Metro NYC on September 10th. Gee , why was every overpass festooned with American flags? The small town of Marlboro NJ lost 14 Souls on 9/11, employed at WTC or involved in the emergency. This neighborhood seems to be a migration point …
• The Jersey Shore . (9/11/2016) - I woke up today in the NJ suburbs near Rutgers, on an extended stay with my friend Jack. As I posted elsewhere, we started Sunday 9/11/16 with a stirring memorial service at the Marlboro memorial park. From there, Jack showed me “the Jersey shore”. A couple of scamps, trolling for trouble in his corvette. Watching …
• Tell Me You’re Voting for Trump . (9/14/2016) - I escaped this summer’s poisonous presidential election, in part, by taking my extended motorcycle trip. But running can only take me so far. I am a flaming liberal who at times considers Bernie Sanders to be a corporate shill. Jack, my host, teases out his political leanings, here and there, and it is no secret …
• Adam Saves My Bacon (9/16/2016) - I have said a hundred different ways how Adam has taken care of me, planned ahead for me, and yanked me out of the fire, time after time. But I want to write a post, so I can read this and remember years from now. When the bike blew in Indiana, it was Adam that …
• Oh, My Aching Foot (9/17/2016) - My host Jack loves the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and attends all the home football games. So I took this sunny September Saturday and headed out to the beach again. It was great to sun myself, after being wrapped in the cocoon of safety gear all summer. Here’s some background that I’ve kinda kept under wraps. …
• UU Monmouth: Cool RE Ceremony . (9/18/2016) - I witnessed a really cool RE ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth today, to honor the first week of the new RE semester. It was all based on surprise, and required that they have a rectangular sanctuary. When you make a toast at a wedding or say “ready, set, go” at a race, its …
• Breaking the Ice (Schrödinger’s Stalker) . (9/19/2016) - I was told, earlier this summer, that I’m the kind of person that “never met a stranger”. That was very insightful, but there is one caveat to that insight. The cold call. I can address a group of 100, I can do a public Q&A session without being fully prepared. I can confidently introduce somebody …
• NJ and Baltimore . (9/24/2016) - I’ve had a great couple days. After leaving Toms River seeing Bill’s new house, I drove down US-9 to Cape May. I learned the term South Shore. I had scallops at sunset overlooking a marina, after touring the kitschy motel resorts of adjoining  Westwood NJ. Too cool. Zoning requires new construction (walgreens, wawa) to adopt 50’s …
• An Angel, with Cinnamon Tequila (9/29/2016) - She appeared in my life like a thunderbolt, she disappeared like the morning dew, and in the middle she changed the very way I have been looking at life. It had been raining the 2 days of my stay in Delaware, so I decided to press on to Chincoteague, the small coastal Virginia tourist town …
• Is that your Burgman out there? . (9/30/2016) - I stopped at a quickie mart for a coffee refill, and a  county sheriff paused across from me. Then he really paused. … and made eye contact. “I like your Burgman”. (Think fast : how’d he know it was mine? Oh, the red safety jacket, the day-glo yellow vest, the dripping wet helmet on my …
• Two hour diversion to OBX . (10/1/2016) - I had a weird day. I checked off a thing from someone else’s bucket list. In Chincoteague, my surprise cohort had come directly from the Outer Banks of NC, checking off a long time desire to visit there. Hearing that, it struck me how I’ve never been to famous Kitty Hawk; one of the few places …
• Met at the Gym . (10/3/2016) - I’ve been riding too much, just sitting, no exercise. My legs have lost some strength when I hold the bike at a red light, or try to push it back from a curb. So tonight I once again hit a local Anytime Fitness gym using my universal access keyfob. I tried to put my stuff …
• New Urbanism: Give the People What They Want (10/4/2016) - We know that food photographers have a stable of tricks to fool the viewer. That appealing ice cream is really mashed potatoes sprayed with olive oil. Those cheerios are lying in thinned out glue or yogurt, certainly not milk. And that stack of pancakes is probably swimming in photogenic but inedible motor oil, because it …
• Hurricane: Duck & Run . (10/6/2016) - To my many friends: Thank You for you heartfelt worries. YES, I’m watching the weather and our unexpected visitor: Hurricane Matthew. I’m in Charlotte, NC. Visiting a “town square” example of New Urbanism and riding the rails on their transit system. (Red Star on Map) I was supposed to go to Charleston and onto Savannah …
• There You Are (10/6/2016) - Icebreakers: Be they steel hulled ships, hand held picks, or cutesy words to nearby strangers; they have always been incredibly difficult for me to command. I made a new friend here in Carolina after being introduced. She was never married, but incredibly charismatic and social. Her charm filled a room and some spilled out. She …
• An Impossible Puzzle (10/7/2016) - This summer has been an exercise in thought and discovery. Hour and hours (and hours and hours) alone in my head, riding on 2-lane highways, listening to Barry White croon “I’m not braggin’ on myself baby”. Thinking about my past and my future; my goals and my accomplishments; my joys and my sorrows. Thinking about …
• Solving the Puzzle 1.0, Caring (10/8/2016) - I’ve proposed the puzzle of pursuing an independent woman, a woman that doesn’t need a man. Now, with no earthly experience to draw upon, and nothing more than common sense to guide me, I will propose my first attempted solution. After decades of counseling, marriage counseling, productivity and team building seminars we all know that …
• Passing through the door … (10/14/2016) - Last night was a time of a sad transition for me personally. I spent it in quiet contemplation and mourning. Nothing to celebrate, like a funeral. No ball to spike, no endzone; and nobody to hold. I slipped off to the beach, long after dark. I emptied out a water bottle and refilled it half …
• My Upside Down Instincts . (10/15/2016) - I’m amazed by the law of opposites. Everyone knows the adage “If you want something done, ask a busy person” and “Good fences make good neighbors”. The prophet Muhammad, pbuh, has an apocryphal story of him traveling every day on the same path. A neighbor would throw garbage in his path (or upon his head, …
• Setting Off Gaydar . (10/21/2016) - Through AirBnB, I have made a friend in Orlando. He is unable to drive so he rides a bike or takes buses everywhere. When I spend the night, I try to help him run difficult errands or enjoy a dinner out someplace he doesn’t normally get to go. Like every one of my AirBnB hosts, …
• Trust is an Aphrodesiac (10/28/2016) - I started ballroom dance lessons for poise, aerobic exercise, and gross motor skills. After three or four months, as I gained confidence, I was shocked that I was picking up an entirely different vibe. Something spiritual, something visceral, primordial. Something unexplainable. I spent my summer talking to people, listening to their stories, especially people that …
• You Need to Go See (11/1/2016) - I enjoyed myself, time after time, across the 22 weeks of my trip. I’ve come to think this trick played a major role. Whenever anybody said “You need to eat at …” or “You need to go see ..” a certain thing, I would. I would make every effort, if I had the time and …
• The Tiny, Tiny House (11/2/2016) - There is dancing, and there is parenting, and when a father and adult son find themselves living under one roof, it becomes a daily transition between those two. During the divorce, there was a thought the three of us would go our three separate ways. But common sense dictated my son stay and finish college …
• What’s in a Name? (11/4/2016) - I’m starting a new chapter in my life, thinking about fundamental changes in what I want, what I value, what I wear, how I relax, where I live, what I do, who I am. So its logical that my mind wandered to my name: Dave There’s a funny thing about traveling by yourself across the …
• Election Night Sadness (11/8/2016) - I sit on this election night, overcome with sadness, pondering my future. Lacking imagination, I once again headed to the beach, with my lawn chair, the stars and surf, and cinnamon tequila. I am thinking the day is coming that I will leave my country, and by that I mean my country has left me. …