2018 Gettysburg motorcycle trip
Day 1
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Last year we had planned a trip to the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. Unfortunately the trip never materialized. This year we planned a similar trip but moved our base of operations closer to Gettysburg. All systems were 'go' this year.
This spring Mike bought a beautiful new CSC trike. A few weeks prior to the trip we had installed a two-way radio system, LED foglights, and a trailer wiring converter on it. He also installed a backrest and passenger armrests. John had also installed a video system with front and rear cameras on his trike. He's hoping to get some good footage to upload to the Goldwings of Bedford Facebook page he created.
June 7
 Vacation day is finally here! Donna had the day off and I took off work early. The bike is pulled around front and loaded. The trailer has new tires for the trip. For a long time I have been wanting to get a better camera. A few days ago I picked one up at Walmart. The jury is still out on it so Donna will be using it to try it out and to get a second source of pictures.
 A sad part of every trip is leaving behind our dog, Buford. While we are packing and loading the trailer he seems to know something is going on. We get 'that look'. Donna's daughter Shanon is here to take care of him so he'll be in good hands. Before we left he and I walked around the yard looking for moles. We've killed six of the little monsters this summer. Then we hugged him goodbye.
The pre-trip selfie. Nurse Shanon is on the porch and Buford is at the front door.
 Bedford, IN. 15:31, initial mileage 97,065 - We are planning to meet at John & Debby's at 4p so we stopped at Revere's for gas. Donna got ice and some drinks for the cooler. We have cut out pop and are drinking water and tea.
At the Potter's.
 Debby buys some groceries ahead of time so we offloaded some supplies into the Dumpster then lounged in their shaded breezeway. It feels good given the temperatures are in the 90's and the sun is plentiful.
 Soon the Kurdzioleks arrived on their new trike...nicknamed "Purple Haze". It was nice to stand around and bask in the glow of the beginning of vacation. Mike is pondering building a larger trailer like John's.
 At 16:20 the Goldwings whirred to life. Radio checks were made, and we were off! Vacation has started!!
 Stopped for road construction on US50 between Bedford and Brownstown. Behind us they appear to be setting up for a future construction project. Road construction is everywhere.
 Seymour, Indiana...home town of John Mellencamp. There was a northbound train passing through but it was gone before we got to the crossing. After passing I-65 US50 merges to one lane. As usual I was in the left lane and as usual I was in the wrong lane and had to make a last second lane change. Dementia, I think. Also, there is no signage until you are at the intersection.
 Everytime we pass through Butlerville this old schoolhouse is falling further and further into decay. I imagine all the kids who sat in the classrooms while trains rumbled by. The fire department here has a 180' radio tower that I lust over.
 I hadn't planned to stop until the Lawrenceburg area but as we neared Versailles I had a backseat request for a pitstop. We had just passed the Crossroads Restaurant...one of our favorite places to eat. Later we wished we'd stopped there.
 Several miles east of Versailles US50 becomes four-lane. I was looking forward to this part so we didn't have to follow slowpokes. More road construction killed that idea. We were limited to one lane all the way to Aurora. The plan was to eat at Whiskeys Restaurant in Lawrenceburg if it wasn't busy. When we were near the restaurant the GPS directed us to a back street. A back way to the restaurant? When it brought us back out to US50 we were too far east so we made a big loop to get back to where we needed to be. Apparently the software thought the restaurant was on a main street but in reality you have to access it from an alley if you use the back street. When we got to the restaurant it was jam packed so it was all for naught anyways.
 Soon we were south of Cincinnati on I-275. For some reason I dislike this road. Too much traffic and wanna-be race car drivers.
 Fort Mitchell, KY. 19:08, mileage 97,196 - About halfway around the bypass we pulled off for fuel and a stretch at Speedway. The 'attraction' signs showed a large number of gas stations and restaurants to choose from.
 After fueling we went to a nearby Frisch's Big Boy. The food was okay and the service was a little slow. The air conditioning was fantastic. When we left the restaurant we were happy to see that clouds had moved in to the east. Clouds are good!
A military helicopter passed over. It had that nice, 'thumpy sound.
Mike tightened a loose handlebar end weight.
 Once back on the road it was only 59 miles of four-lanes to the Comfort Inn in Seaman, OH. We arrived at sundown and all had first floor rooms. It was nice lounging around the hotel with our whole vacation ahead of us. The hotel was pretty full and we found out a lot of people were attending a nearby shooting school. Tomorrow will be the longest haul of the trip so I tried to get some good sleep but excitement made it hard.
188 miles. Click here for the next day's adventure.
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