Day 17 & 18 - Finally made it to the FOURTH CORNER

Saturday, August 9th - Savanna to Homestead

When I looked at the long-term weather forecast a couple of days ago, it looked like this is where I would hit steady rain. This was the first morning since Day #2 that I didn't have to put a jacket on. It was in the mid-70's and the sun was shining. I left about 8AM and started knocking off miles until I arrived in Homestead, Florida some 555 miles and 10 hours away.

For the second day in a row, I decided to stop at Cracker Barrel again for lunch. I ate quickly and sat on the front porch and took a short nap on one of their rocking chairs. That break makes it less likely that I will get tired in the afternoon. The heat in the afternoon was difficult and I used the DuraCool towels to try and stay cool. I got a mild sunburn on my upper wrists since my shirt sleeves had drifted higher than normal. I was able to beat a few rainclouds and missed a couple of others.

I arrived at the hotel around 5:30PM and was delighted when I walked into the lobby where the air conditioning felt great. I took a shower immediately after getting into the room and then did a load of laundry. I met a woman in the laundry room who had just come in from Key West. She mentioned that this weekend was Lobster Fest and that traffic was stop-and-go most of the way. So based on that information I decided to get an extra early start and return as soon as possible.

Sunday, August 10th - THE FOURTH CORNER

The fourth and final corner

I left the hotel at 5AM for the 130 mile run to Key West. Traffic was very minimal so I made the trip in about 2.5 hours. I took a picture of the sunrise over my shoulder while doing 70 MPH (can you say: "hey mom, look, no hands").

Sunrise at 70 MPH

I arrived at the final corner at 7:30AM so the monument was not crowded. A nice couple helped take some pictures for me. It was quiet with people coming and going to have their picture taken next to the monument. After about 15 minutes, I turned and drove the complete length of Duvall Street. It was quiet and all of the businesses were closed. The city was cleaning up the streets using leaf blowers, street sweeping machines, and power washers to deal with the mess from Saturday night. I had breakfast and got gas before leaving town at 9AM. Traffic was pretty good until I got to Key Largo. I took the advice of the woman last night that said that the motorcycles used the shoulder to keep moving. It turns out that there was a group of people that had set up a small tent in the ocean next to the highway and had chairs and jet skis. This caused a 2-3 mile "gapper's block" heading north as drivers slowed to a crawl to see the scene. I feel bad for those heading southbound since their backup was close to 10 miles. Today like yesterday I missed all of the rain showers so I stayed dry.

I really think that the heat got to me today. I made it back to the hotel, got out of my sweaty clothes, took a shower, and went back to bed. I got up and completed the documentation package and emailed it off to the Southern California Motorcycle Association (SC-MA) which is the sanctioning body for this run. I completed the trip in 18 days with three days to spare. I had three days of downtime in what seems like a lifetime ago.

I need to adjust the "heel shifter" since it is not positioned correctly. I had to shift the transmission in a different manner and occasionally I shifted to a lower gear instead of a lower one or the other way. Hopefully, this is a simple item to fix.

It is nice to have the run completed and be off-the-clock. Tomorrow starts the 2,800 mile trip back home

The final leg of the trip