2019 US Four Corners Run: Day 11 - "On the Road Again" or "Shuffle off to Buffalo"

Saturday, August 2nd (Continued)

Coach Paul Throne

I spent the morning catching up on email, the blog and paid some bills. I then rode over to my 45th Class Reunion and was able to visit with some friends some of which I had not chatted with since graduation. I had the opportunity to chat with one of my mentors in Junior High who still lives in town and stays in touch with many of classes and reunions. At 87, his memory is sharp as he remembered me, my brothers, our mother and even the fact that my nephew Casey works for his nephew Michael. He still stays in touch with students and is a treasured resource for the city of Hobart, Indiana.

The party was held in one of the classmate's backyards and was only a couple of blocks from the High School building we attended. It is now the Middle School. As I was leaving I started to head out past the old City Ballpark where we played our High School baseball games at. It stuck me that the Hobart Garden Club had planted a small memorial to my mother Sadie McCallum Aldrin nearby. I stopped and immediately found it. She joined the club in 1955 when we moved to Hobart from Cedar Lake and was an active member for over fifty years serving and President on numerous occasions.

I went to my niece Raven's home in for a birthday party for my brother Bill (his 60th) and my sister-in-law Kathy. When I arrived, their dog "Reggae" was barking up a storm at me, then he wouldn't leave me alone. It took a few minutes for him to warmup to me. We had the traditional "ice cream" cake and played a bean bag game similar to horseshoes. This game must be popular since they had one at my reunion as well. I got Kathy's brother to snap this photo of the family together. It was a beautiful summer day, low humidity, no clouds and not an enormous number of mosquitoes.

From Left to Right, Rear: Kathy, Brother Dave, Me, Nephew Casey and Brother Bill. Middle row: Maxine (Casey's Bride), Niece Raven (host) and then her two boys Caleb and Rory.

Sunday, August 3rd - The trip resumes

After three days of rest and relaxation, fellowship and friendship, it was time to continue the trip. I realized that it takes over an hour to get ready, then load the bike and get rolling. I took a little side trip of 10 miles or so to buy gas in Michigan so that I could count another state. I added a total number of four to the list which if I can count correctly is 17 now. I spent the night on the east side of Buffalo, NY and will try to get an early start. I hit really bad traffic coming out of Cleveland where six lanes of traffic had to merge into one for construction. I had to revert to some "Chicago School of Offensive Driving Skills" tactics to get around some of the traffic and prevent destroying my engine. I got to my motel by the airport around 7:30 that evening. I have some friends (Mark and Tracy) that moved back into the Niagara Falls area but I wasn't able to hook up with them. It had been a long day and I was really tired. I am sorry we couldn't visit.

Tomorrow I head to Albany, head north through Vermont and spend the night in Western New Hampshire.