We woke up and said our goodbyes and hit the road.  We decided to meet up with friends in North Carolina instead of heading straight back down to Florida...plus, we would be able to add to our "total states visited" number.  We have no plans on where we are going to stop this first night.  We will just ride and see how far we get before sunset and then find a campground.

The route took us through West Virginia and we made it to Charleston, West Virginia, just in time for a late lunch.  Of course I found a brewery...but not just a brewery.  I found a brewery that serves burritos and tacos...BONUS!

While at the brewery I used my phone and found Jefferson National Forest campground just 2 hours south of here.  So, after some great beer and burritos we headed out in hopes to make it to the campground before dark.  Success...and a great campground at that with a low cost of only $12.

The next morning we woke and were ready to head towards North Carolina when we got a text saying that our friends plans had changed and they wouldn't make it to North Carolina, so we decided to now just head south back to Florida.  Just an hour or so later is when we wound up on the side of the interstate being pulled over by a state trooper for speeding.  BUMMER...the last 500 miles will now be SLOOOOOOOW.

As we were riding we realized that we wouldn't make it all the way to Valparaiso, Florida before dark, so we started discussing our options.  We decided to see if our fellow US Military Vets living in Alabaster, Alabama were around.  We called up Little Dog and he agreed to meet us at their clubhouse were a couple of other brothers showed up as well.  After a couple of beers and great conversation we headed to a hotel for our last night of this great adventure.

The next morning we headed south and after only 225 miles and 4 hours or so, we made it to our "home" in Valparaiso, Florida.

A final picture of me and a final picture of the speedometer to close out the trip:

The trip is over but all is still good since we come home to this beautiful part of Florida.  Here we are the very next day taking a boat to Sunday Brunch.

Numbers Games
Total States Visited: 24 (New ones: West Virginia, Virginia)
Total Breweries Visited: 67 (New one: Charleston)
Total Miles Ridden: 11,854

We woke up, broke camp, and went into town for breakfast after which we headed east along the Lake Superior shoreline.  We stopped for gas and my bike was slow to start.  As a matter of fact, it was slow to start that morning which I didn't really think twice about until now, when it had trouble starting again.  Now I am starting to worry a bit.  At the next gas stop I did a "hot-refuel" meaning I left the engine running.  I thought I knew what the issue was.  Something like this has happened before and it was a loose cable.  I didn't think I had the tools to take the seat off to get to the battery, so I decided to find a hardware store and turn the engine off there.  That way, if it doesn't start, I can buy the tool I need to fix it.  20 miles later we pull in front of a True Value, I turn the engine off, and as expected it didn't start.  I take off the seat and unfortunately all the battery cables were tight.  After push starting the bike we make it to the closest open Harley shop 60 miles away and up on the lift it went:

Poor motorcycle.  It winds up not being the battery after all, but the stator.  Since it is a 3 hour or so job, we must spend the night and wait for them to fix it in the morning....thus the stop in West Branch after just over 300 miles are riding this day.

So, on the eve of our 5th wedding anniversary we spent the night at a mom & pop motel in West Branch, Michigan.  The next morning we woke, checked out, and went to the Harley shop to hangout and wait for the bike to be done.  We hit the road around 1:00 PM and at around 6 PM we finally made it to Mary Lou Mack's house in Collins, Ohio and settled in for a one week stay.

After a great visit with family, it was time to head back to Florida and prepare for our next adventure.

Numbers Games
Total States Visited: 22 (New one: Ohio)
Total Breweries Visited: 66 (New ones: NONE)
Total Miles Ridden: 10,651