Kickoff...... Blog Post #1 of.....Well, it's anyone's guess.

Here we go....an attempt to document the fulfillment of a dream to ride across America on a motorcycle. I'm not doing the whole bit, East to West (My son did that and he's still got a sore back!), but I am planning a scaled-back adventure that starts in Alexandria, Virginia (my current home), though the south, to New Orleans, Louisiana. 
And back.



A goal for the trip is to avoid, whenever practical, the Interstate Highway System. Instead, I'm making my way through the Southeast via back roads and through small towns. I want to re-discover America, and maybe even my roots. I've always felt "southern", and consider myself a Texan (sorry Baltimore). For me, this is like a trip home.



My Mom and I spent many summer hours and countless miles on the roads between Baltimore and Fort Worth, Texas, and through the window of the car I saw countless places where I wanted to stop: Roadside stands, tourist traps, snake farms, and all those signs pointing toward something historic. On this trip, I'm making some of those stops, and might even spend a little extra time in a friendly town if the mood strikes. Even longer if one of the local ladies talks me into it. Of course, the local authorities might just encourage me to get my ass back on the Harley and move on. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.



So with that intro, I'll try to tell you a little about my long-awaited trip, and maybe you can ride along with me...in spirit, anyway...on a trip where I'm looking for a little Southern Comfort.

PS - I'll probably lapse into using my old nickname, "Cowboy", through much of this. Old friends still call me that, and it somehow seems appropriate to resurrect the name for the ride.