An old Army buddy that I served with in the 1/6th Infantry in Illesheim, Germany, John Fogarty, asked me to come visit him in Darlington, Maryland. I had not seen in him in about 18 years, so I decided that was long enough. A long motorcycle ride seemed like a good idea too. Here is the story of the ride in pictures.

A few days before departure, I noticed the clutch had came loose from it's clamp and the exhaust burnt a hole in it. Honda Aeros are about the most popular bike sold now, but you have to special order something like a clutch cable. Aggravating to say the least. Luckily, one arrived in time for replacement.

On the PA Turnpike, I came across a group of Grabber Orange Mustangs. Apparently, these things have entire clubs according to their color. Nice cars, but it's the first time I've seen a car club dedicated to color coordination.

Contrary to weather reports, it rained and rained heavily most of the trip. I stopped at this rest stop on the turnpike during one of the drier spells of the trip. At least it was warm rain.

Here's my old buddy John. His choice of camo pattern has changed from our Army days. The flash from the camera sent off a hell of a glare from the shirt blinding him here.

Here's John and Birgit in front of their new home that they built.

Here's a picture of John's house that he built. Awesome place. It has a bar and a rec room loaded with guitars. It's like they knew I was going to visit when they built it. :-)

Visited an old flour mill near Port Deposit, Maryland. Amazing how little flour comes from all of the huge machinery.

Flour dribbles out in the final process.

Nearby dam on the Susquehanna.

Then we headed back to the Fogarty Homestead. Time to blow something up and start a fire or something.

Click on the photo below to view a video demonstration of how to light a fire. Highly improper, yet effective. Caution foul language, not suited for minors. No lectures accepted either.

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Sunday there was a bike meet at the famous Union Hotel in Port Deposit, Maryland.

John and his friend Brian drinking beer near Brian's old Shovelhead Harley.

Brian, Woodstock, Me, Fogarty. Yes, Woodstock is what he goes by.

Then we ran into a few folks at the water falls who had a guitar they acquired as collateral for a cell phone. This guy's name was Jeff, from Reading, PA.

John played a tune on this California model Fender acoustic. Didn't sound bad, but still glad it was a free concert. Cool waterfalls in the background.

Then, Brian got ahold of the guitar. Brian's pretty good and has a band. The interesting story here is the blond long-haired guy. He actually owns the guitar. He gave us a long story about all that he owned in this world was that guitar and that he was going to try to make it by playing the guitar. He gave us a business card with his phone number. He also requested that if we get ahold of the number on the card, that dude stole his cell phone and he'd really like it back. Brian taught him a quick song since the entrepeneur didn't know any. Woodstock gave him some great advice, "It's only up from here because you're sure at the bottom!" Then we left him to ponder those words of wisdom.

Then Woodstock got into some sort of confusion on the seating arrangements at the bar.

Then the person under this picnic table got knocked out in drunken quarrel. Time for us to go at this juncture.

So - we went and seen some sights in beautiful Havre De Grace, Maryland. Here's some pictures of the lighthouse and boats on the bay.

The next day, I headed back out on the bike. Not long into the trip, more rain. I was tired of rain and didn't feel like digging the camera out. Fun trip overall though. I had a great visit!

Thanks again John, Birgit, and Jessie if you're reading this!