Looking for America - A Listening Tour

I-40 from Memphis to Ft. Smith, AR.  Continue on I-40 W through eastern Oklahoma to Muskogee Turnpike (Hwy 51), Broken Arrow Expressway, I-244 to Sand Springs Expressway, Cimarran Turnpike, Hwy 177 S to Stillwater, OK. It was hard to leave Memphis, but Theresa at the Westin served me a good breakfast and was interested in my ride.  She and her husband are retired military and moved to Memphis about 10 years ago.  I love meeting people from the real world. Crossing over the Mississippi River is awesome.  The river has generated many legends of old.  Seemed like it was a mile wide with massive amounts of water destroying everything in its path.  Thus, my introduction to the State of Arkansas. I have never seen more truck traffic in my life on I-40.  I thought that I would see little traffic, but I was wrong.  A semi had overturned and eastbound traffic was backed up for 10 miles.  Once past Little Rock, traffic thinned out. Nothing ...

From Dothan, AL via Hwy 231 to Montgomery, I-65 to Birmingham, I-22 to Tupelo, MS, I-22 Continued to South of Memphis TN, I-55 into Memphis. Entered Hwy 231 at 7:30 am - a beautiful country 4 lane ride to Montgomery.  Trying to get a feel for the state.  Mellow and easy going.  In general, I did not feel threatened in any way - folks were nice.  The weather was great - the many trees cooled the air.  From the road Birmingham looked like a much larger city than Montgomery.  Northern Alabama had nice hills - pleasant all round. Then I crossed over the state line into Mississippi.  The road changed color to a bright orange.  Was headed to Tupelo for lunch.  Stopped at a Shell station before going into town.  It was then that I felt in personal danger.  A toothless man was eyeballing my bike from his beat up pickup.  "Sure is a nice bike - I would love to have that ...".  Then his equally dirty friend came out with a si...

I-95 to Turnpike at Jupiter, to Hwy 75 at Wildwood, to I-10 at Lake City Exit, to Cottondale Exit, 231 north to Dothan, AL. Got on the road at 4 am.  Just south of Orlando (6:45 am) when it started to rain.  Hit road construction in the rain.  Was this how the ride was going to \be?  But, when I reached Gainesville, FL, the skies cleared for the rest of the day.  Temperature was ideal - a cool mid-70s riding with just a t-shirt and jeans. I have been in Florida for many years and I have never been to the panhandle.  It is a different world from South Florida.  The pines look different, the atmosphere is unique, and I feel a change in the spirit of place.  Stopped in Tallahassee for the first time in my life.  Had lunch at Backwoods Crossing - The Farm Table.  A farm-to-table restaurant - the restaurant actually is located on the farm itself.  Emma recommended the Shrimp with Spirit salad - which was fantastic.  Apparently, ...

Well, it is time to pack up the panniers, set a route for my on board GPS, and head for the hills. On this cross-country trip, I am driving my Harley from Boca to Denver - taking the southern route through the panhandle of Florida, up through Alabama to Memphis, then through Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas before entering Colorado from the east. My initial concern was: will I be safe riding through the Deep South on my Harley.  I have flashbacks to the movie Easy Rider.  For those who have seen the movie, you know how it ends up - NOT GOOD.  Or Deliverance .... sheezzz. So, in preparation for the trip, I took the basic course needed for a concealed carry permit, got the license, and then took more advanced concealed weapon instruction from Andrew (who is great should any reader need such instruction).  In other words, I entered a parallel universe hitherto unknown to me in the whole of my 68 years on the planet.  Let me put it this way: carrying a loaded pi...