GLVROC Rally in Swanton, OH

The sky finally cleared after 10 am and we were once again on the road at 10:45. Aside from a few spots, the roads were back to being dry and the sky was clear. We followed a path similar to last month's and rode I-69 to Flint, where we'd take US-23 into Ohio.

Moments before departing Port Huron.

The roads were fairly empty and even a couple of construction spots didn't slow us down much. With a 70 mph speed limit, I kept a pace right at the limit or just a hair below. I guess I'm too used to Ontario 60 mph speed limit. The construction along I-69 must be a major project as several mile-long stretches of the road were completely torn out with only a dirt mound present. In those cases, both eastbound and westbound traffic were squeezed onto the same road separated only by a concrete barrier.

The traffic slowed down to a crawl as we took the ramp from I-69 onto US-23. The cars were forced to merge into the right lane as there was an accident a few hundred feet ahead. To Heather and my dismay, we saw a motorcycle on the road. The rider must have been long taken away from the scene as only one police cruiser was present along with the motorcycle.

Today's first stop was going to be in Grand Blanc (exit 88), which is where we stopped on our way to Kentucky. But I managed to screw that up and we took exit 84 in Lakeside. We had a quick lunch at McDonald's and continued on our way. As we were leaving, though, we noticed a restaurant across the street that was specializing in Canadian food. We'll put that on our list of places to visit next time we come this way.

Exit 84 on US-23.

Some 67 miles later (exit 17) we stopped in Dundee for fuel and to get some other shopping done. We went to Walgreens where we purchased some snacks, drinks, sunscreen and two lawn chairs which would come in very, very handy this evening. We strapped those in to Heather's luggage rack and got back on the road.

In front of Walgreens with new lawn chairs already strapped in.

We arrived in Swanton, at Boomer and Shannon's house around 3:30 pm. Most of the people that came to the rally, which started Friday night, were out riding the local roads. Heather and I started to unwind from our trip: we switched into our Crocs and decided to settle into our brand new lawn chairs. As soon as we slipped them out of their covers we realized we bought children's chairs. It was priceless. We could have sat in them but we'd be hanging two inches off the ground.

Demonstrating the new chairs much to Strider and Scotty's amusement.

The ride returned about an hour after we arrived and another hour later the dinner was about to start. Our hosts, Boomer and Shannon, with the help of Roseman on the grill, prepared steaks with baked potatoes and beans. The food was great.

An impatient crowd waiting for steaks.

Once the dinner was over, we all headed to the tent area, where everyone was gathering in anticipation of the night's bonfire. While a few attendees left after dinner, there was still a crowd of about 20 of us gathered around the fire.

John getting ready to kick-start the campfire.

Some of entertainment was provided by Boomer's dog, Blitz, a South African Boerboel. This powerful dog enjoys being around people and even more so, enjoys being chased around Boomer's property by a four-wheeler. Boomer's son, Brad, did the honours tonight and he and Blitz did a few laps around the house. She then wandered around the campfire and became especially fond of Heather. We retreated to the house, where we were going to be sleeping on an air mattress, around 11:30 with a few other house crashers.

An exhausted Blitz resting at Heather's feet.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 304 km - 189 miles
2009 to date: 5,376 km - 3,340 miles (63.2%)
2009 goal: 8,500 km - 5,282 miles
To obtain goal: 3,124 km - 1,942 miles


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