Oceanside – Key West – Fairbanks – Oceanside: Completed.

Yesterday I drove the I5 down from San Francisco.  The less said about the drive, the better. It was easily the worst day of driving.  But that was almost assured right from the start.  Though I still rank Floridians as the nation’s worst drivers, Californians’ are the least civil.

81 days elapsed, 69 days of actual driving, 17,203 miles, 22 states, 3 provinces and 1 territory.

The drive was awesome.  Words or pictures can’t describe the various experiences.  “America the Beautiful” really should be our national anthem.

Didn’t become a member of the “I Dropped My Bike” community.

The GoldWing performed beautifully. Small compartment door broken by my foot: Rear part of the front fender slightly cracked by gravel. (Worth mentioning; a BMW GS1200, supposedly built for rough roads, broke a fork on the Alaskan Highway gravel. Just because the GW is prettier doesn’t mean she isn’t tougher too.)

My plan to go east to Nova Scotia is delayed until September/October due to three factors: 1) Fall is a much better time to see the Northeast; 2) Reserving lodging/camping spots in the summer would be more difficult, and 3) Dealing with a multitude of noisy tourists would degrade the overall experience.  I think the drive down from Washington confirmed the second factor.

My walk across Scotland begins July 7th.  I’m not sure what the wifi situation will be there, but it was available in the most outback of Canada’s outback.