Friends and family would soon be coming to visit so I had to go run some errands. The weather was nice so why would anyone take the car for the five mile trip when they could take the motorcycle and make it a 56 mile trip? At home in Connecticut there are some great roads to ride but it takes a while — sometimes even via an Interstate — to get to them. At the vacation place in Pennsylvania, I get on the bike and I am already on a back road and then it just gets better and better. Up Route 507 through Hawley and then over Route 6 to Honesdale — stopping along the way at Dutch’s Supermarket (a bit of an exaggeration), the seafood store, an ATM, and lastly at the Exxon station to top off the gas tank using the Mobil Speedpass wand (more on Speedpass in a posting soon).
The traffic was a bit heavy in Honesdale on the way back because of the annual Wayne County Fair. Amazing how many people go to see hog ties, sheep shearing and farm tractor pulls but actually quite nice to know the 4-H is still alive and well. It doesn’t get much more wholesome! County fairs can make you feel very American and proud of it. The traffic was a mess, though, and so I got adventurous and took some side streets through Honesdale hoping to get onto Route 191 and head south. The Garmin GPS III on the Sportster is not as sophisticated as the Street Pilot on my other bike but it does the job. I never worry about meandering because I always know exactly where I am and what direction I am headed. Much to my delight I ended up on a country road that was one of the best I have ever seen. I don’t think it had a state or county designation — it just curved its way through the hills and valleys of northeastern Pennsylvania. It was sheer delight just riding along observing the farms with the mountains in the background.
I feel very fortunate to be able to take some vacation time this year. Many people are currently out of work or fearful of that happening. Others planning for retirement are not sure their investments will permit it. Hopefully, better days are near. The economy is fundamentally strong from everything I can read. The government has taken strong steps to deal with those few who have defrauded their investors. The majority of companies are managed by honest people and they are taking steps to be more forthcoming in what they report and to insure that there are adequate independent points of view on their boards and in their audit processes. It will take some time but I believe that confidence will be restored, investors will return, and American companies will gain in market share as part of an internationally competitive country.