Even so, it is a little sad to say goodbye to such a great bike!
After two weeks at home I am still sorting out the impressions of the ride. There are some many aspects, details and experiences that could not be dealt with in the blog.
So I will continue to write a page from time to time to capture some of the impressions of my journey.
After returning home, I re-read ¨Travels with Charley¨by John Steinbeck.
It was the first English-language book I read in 1963 and it has traveled with me all over the world for almost 50 years. It may well have been the original inspiration for my trip.
Although our trips were exactly 50 years apart, I was astonished at the actuality of the book, and wonder about some of the similarities (He and I were both delayed by a hurricane, great parts of the route he describes was the same, I enjoyed many of the same views like the one from Sausalito to the Golden Gate and his goatee looks somewhat like mine!).
Steinbeck began the book by describing his preparations to travel the country again, after 25 years. He was 58 years old in 1960 and nearing the end of his career, but he wanted to rediscover america. He had a truck fitted with a custom camper-shell for his journey and planned on leaving after Labor Day from his home in Long Island, New York, but delayed his trip slightly due to Hurricane Donna which made a direct hit on Long Island. According to Thom Steinbeck, the author's oldest son, the real reason for the trip was that Steinbeck knew he was dying and wanted to see his country one last time.
I have always felt attached to writers like Steinbeck and Hemingway, because , like myself, they owned boats and loved to go out on the ocean, and loved hunting, fishing , and good food, company and drink and, unlike myself, they can write about it all.
This is the picture of the Steinbeck house in Salinas, now a restaurant.
And by the way, you can still donate funds to Ak Tenamit. In case you came later to this blog, check out chapter 5 of this blog: how to donate...
Jean, the Riding Dutchman
