Roadtrip to California

In the beginning of September, I set out on a long roadtrip from Huron, Ohio to Los Angeles, California. I decided to try my fortune in California. My plan was to ride my motorcycle to Austin, TX where I would sell it, and take a train back to Chicago, IL. There I would meet Annika Krygsman, and continue by car for the next week until we arrived in LA. But, as with all the best experiences in life, things didn't go according to plan.

Day one of riding took me to North Vernon, IN where I stayed with Lynn Marsh and her parents. The day of riding was pretty good with only one small hitch: One of my saddle bags fell off without me noticing it, and I was unable to recover it. I lost some clothes, and camera cords, but the biggest loss was the bag itself... or so I thought. The next morning when I woke up, I discovered that the title to the bike had been in that bag, and I could no longer sell the bike as planned. The good news is that I had more time to spend with Lynn. So after a morning of fun, I headed back toward Huron. And I made it most of the way before my cam cover rattled loose (again) and I lost all of my oil leaving me stranded. Luckily I was close-ish to Huron, and my parents came to pick me up in their truck. With their help, and that of two random friends I made while waiting for the ride, we loaded the bike up, and headed home.

The new plan was to take a train to Ann Arbor, MI and visit Anne Fennema, and meet up with Annika there. And that plan did work out. From Ann Arbor, the stops were:

• Grand Rapids, MI
• Chicago, IL
• Fort Collins, CO
• Gallup, NM
• Grand Canyon National Park
• Phoenix, AZ
• Los Angeles, CA

More details are in the photo captions that follow.