2018 Gettysburg motorcycle trip
Day 5
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June 11
 Today's weather was wet, cold, and gloomy. The weather girls said the rain was moving off and should be gone by 10'ish...and it was. The bikes needed a good drying off after yesterday's storms.
The nearby mountains are enveloped by low cloud cover. The plan for today is to go to Harper's Ferry, WV. It'll be a relatively short 42 mile ride. I'm looking forward to it for two reasons. First, is the historical significance it played before and during the Civil War. Secondly, it has a lot of railroad traffic and is a popular place to watch trains. Trains! This morning when John went to put the memory card in his camera system he made a gruesome discovery. His trunk well where he hides some of his electronics was full of water. Not sure how it got in there, but it was flooded. He soaked up the water then did a damage survey. His camera system worked. However, his two-way radio wouldn't transmit. His radio is in the trunk so there was no threat of damage to it. His FRSet4 interface box was in the water though. When he tried the transmit the radio showed no transmit activity so the PTT signal was absent. The FRSet4 interface is relatively simple with only a relay, a couple transformers, and some passive components. Nothing that could really be damaged by water. We'll have to see how things function today then tear into it tonight. Today's route will be 2-lane all the way. Just like we like it. Due to the threat of rain near Harper's Ferry and the cold (mid 60s) we wore our rain gear. My rain jacket was the only jacket I had brought. I started with my rain gloves on but I couldn't use the camera with them, so I handed them back to Donna...who wore them.
 We had barely crossed into Maryland when this guy on a Harley blew passed us then got stuck behind other traffic. I like a nice sounding Harley but this guy's bike was way too loud. It was nice when we turned onto MD-66 and he didn't.
 Nice roads. Nice scenery. Cool temperatures. Cloudy skies. Traffic moving briskly. A warm sweetie setting behind me. Ahhhh...vacation.
Boonsboro, MD.
 Rural Maryland reminds me of rural Indiana...except the roads haven't been ruined by chip & seal.
 The closer we got to Harper's Ferry the wetter the roads became. Our fingers are crossed that we won't run into any rain.
 Crossing the Potomac River on US340. We came this way on our fall trip in 2014. In the distance you can see the church steeple in Harper's Ferry.
 We stopped at the visitor center to browse the information and use the facilities. They recommended going to the park next door and riding the shuttle into Harper's Ferry. They said finding parking is very difficult in the town. On the bike front John reports he can hear Mike and I talking just fine, but he still can't transmit. He has also developed a loud hum when he makes a sharp left turn.
 John and I checked out this expediter truck that we thought would make a great RV hauler.
 We rode across the road, paid the $10 entrance fee, then parked at the visitor center. We will board the shuttle here.
 They had a cool diaroma of Harper's Ferry. I was unaware of all the canals in the area...which I find interesting.
Waiting on the shuttle. It was a short wait.
 The shuttle drop off is near some elevated train tracks. Hopefully a train will come by.
 The buildings at the lower end of town portray the history of the town. There are some museums and period correct stores.
 This is the building where John Brown and his followers hid out in after their failed raid.
 This is the foundation of one of the armories destroyed during the Civil War. Because of its location on the North/South border Harper's Ferry saw many skirmishes.
 One of two railroad bridges crossing the river. On the rock face is an old advertisement from the early 1900s for Mennen's Borated Talcum Toilet Powder.
 The piers above are from the old B&O railroad bridge. It was destroyed nine times during the Civil War. Four by military action and five by flooding. It was destroyed for good by flooding in 1936. Down the river you can see the US340 bridge we were on earlier.
 We took the walkway across the bridge. It was neat to walk to the other side. I was hoping a train might come by but none did. This crossing is part of the Appalachian Trail.
 Remnants of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The are also remnants of the Potomac Canal along the southern edge of Harper's Ferry. There are remains of water-related businesses all along the canal. It would be fun to be able to explore them. Things related to canals seem to be lost to history.
 Back at Harper's Ferry we continue along rows of historical houses and shops. The old architecture is interesting. These buildings have survived many floods.
 About this time I heard the delightful sound of a train horn. It was crossing on the farther trestle. I ran up on the bank to watch.
 Sad, abandoned tracks. This used to be an interchange track between two railroads. Now that CSX owns all the trackage this interchange has no more usefulness and deadends at a parking lot.
 While I was watching the train the others continued on. When Donna saw me heading back she waited on me. She is my precious. She looks cute in her rain pants.
 Many of the Appalachian Trail hikers were visiting the general store and left their equipment outside. Hiking that trail would be fun to do if I was 30 years younger and didn't have to work.
Motorcycle parking. Who knew? The trikes would need two spots.
 Time to climb the stairs and check out the other street. We've decided it is time for lunch. Several of us at work have been walking two miles during lunch. I can tell it has helped me. I wasn't dying at the top of the stairs.
 The upper road is more touristy. Shops and restaurants. Donna has been cold and she found a sweatshirt for 50% off. There was also a little winery but the winos (Donna, Jerri, and Mike) didn't find anything interesting.
 We decided to eat at the Potomac Grille. It is accessed passed the barrels. We sat outside and enjoyed the wonderful weather and scenic hills. The food was good, too.
 While we ate I heard another train. I was a little disappointed that is was an Amtrak passenger train. I prefer freight trains.
 After lunch we continued visiting shops then made our way back to the shuttle stop, then back to the bikes. As we walked back to the shuttle stop another train came through but I was too far away to see it.
 Mount Lena, MD. 16:19, mileage 97,383 - Fuel and stretch stop. This is about midway between Harper's Ferry and the house. There were rumors of an antique store in Boonsboro but we didn't see any. John got a bunch of paper towels and stuffed them in his trunk well to absorb any moisture still lurking.
 We returned the same way we came on the same nice roads. There is now no threat of rain. The Pennsylvania countryside is pretty with the hills, farmland, and old houses.
 Donna and I had compiled another shopping list so we went to Walmart while the others headed back to the house. We didn't see any cross dressers this time. Donna hurt her back last week so she needed some Tylenol and Benadryl. I also found a pair of cargo pants.
Look at that happy face! She is sporting her new sweatshirt. I love her so much!
 When we got home John was already working on his water issue. He took the FRSet4 box apart and dried it out. This fixed his radio problem but he still had the humming problem. We did quite a bit of troubleshooting and determined the problem was the passenger volume control. He blew a couple teaspoons worth of water out of it then Debby dried it with a hair dryer. Upon reassembly everything worked fine!
 Now that John's bike was ready for action again it was time to start on supper. John is cooking steaks tonight. The house has a charcoal grille and a gas grille but John decided to cook the steaks over an open fire...just like Civil War times.
 While we were watching the fire burn I heard the far away wail of a train horn. I went across the road to await its arrival. Soon a CSX train rumbled into view. It had three locomotives and maybe 20-25 cars. This line runs from Hagerstown to Hanover and services several industries. The line weaves around a couple of the mountains so we could hear the train for a long time.
 Soon the steaks were cooking. Debby made baked potatos and cauliflower. Supper was awesome.
84 miles. Click here for the next day's adventure.
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