Days 22-24 August 14-16

423 miles

The first night on the boat, this guy came around to have dinner with me.
The second night, he brought a few friends.

The ride from Mojave to Marina Del Rey was nothing to write about, 100 miles of heat and crowded LA freeways. I was glad to get anchored and cleaned up. The sailboat was very comfortable. Lee and Lisa joined me on Wednesday for conversation and dinner. I was not looking forward to the ride back to Arizona for several reasons: going east at sunrise, LA rush hour traffic, and Phoenix rush hour traffic. So, I left LA at 2 am. I sliced through LA in an hour and a half. Coincidentally, I arrived at the Arizona border just as the sun was coming on strong, so I stopped at the Flyin J for gas and coffee. When I returned to the road, the sun was well up into my sunshield range. I arrived in western Phoenix about 8:45. The bulk of the traffic had passed and I made it through Phoenix in an hour.

For those who like statistics: 4665 land miles, 2200 sea miles, a total of 122 gallons of gas, cheapest price in Arizona at $2.65, the most expensive in Whitehorse in the Yukon at $4.23. Strangely, LA wasn’t too bad at under $3.00.

In a couple of blogs, I alluded to some observations I had made while traveling. You may enjoy them.

The “tendencies” I have observed while motorcycling

1. The air around semi tractor-trailers tends to be unstable.

2. Slow drivers in the no passing areas tend to speed up in the passing areas.

3. Gas prices tend to be cheaper just before you fill up, or right after.

4. Posting slower speeds for trucks on two lane highways tends to back up traffic behind trucks.

5. Female passengers on road trips tend to ride with their bare feet on the dash; colorful at times.

6. The further north you go the weather tends to get cooler. Corollary: The further south you go….warmer. The higher you get…cooler, the lower you get….

7. Tourists tend to travel without manners.

8. When riding five hundred miles in a day, the number of different riding positions tends to be unlimited.

9. Many tourists tend to drive like they are in a hurry to reach the next destination.

10. The hotter and hotter it gets, minutes tend to get longer and longer.

11. Slow vehicles tend not to use the turnouts provided.

12. Things left unlashed, unsnapped, untied, unbuckled, unlatched, or otherwise unattended, tend to become problematic.

13. Failing to downshift completely into first gear tends to spoil a smooth take off.

14. The allegedly random, engorged insect tends to land smack in the middle of the face or wind shield, which has a tendency to make a rider cross-eyed.
    
    
15. And, the most important;
    After 24 days on the road, it tends to feel real good to get home.