With the exception of my brief stay at Detroit Lakes, I have never really said good morning to you. I have written backwards each day, recounting my adventures for that day. So, I would like to say Good Morning.

I am sitting at a desk; overlooking Valley West Blvd. Right outside my window is a beautiful Super 8 sign. Directly across the street is a Carls Jr and a modest little shopping center right behind it. It could be Anywhere, USA. There is a grey, morning sky, which is likely the haze you encounter close to the Pacific, at least that is my theory.

I also wanted to write because I wasn’t thrilled with last night’s entry. I was too easily distracted by a huge burrito that I couldn’t stop eating, along with an Eye of the Hawk Imperial Ale from Mendocino Brewing. I was sitting in this very spot, wearing the same clothes as this morning. I have been slowly destroying a blue, flannel shirt, part of my all purpose road uniform. Any biker will tell you that one pair of jeans end up being tattooed to your body on rides like this.

It may have been spending so much time with the Redwoods that did me in. I have felt obligated to describe the sights along the way because that is what you do. I wish I had a better vocabulary, one that can string together adjectives and brilliant metaphors. I have seen and experienced a lifetime of the most exquisite sights imaginable. I have been eavesdropping on nature every day and it can get a little numbing, which may sound crazy to you, but not to me.

There is so much going on internally for me and it will be with me forever. I feel like a container that is too small to hold what is coming in. It will take months to pick up what has been spilled and briefly living with the Redwoods yesterday is one of those too big to hold experiences.

I was also feeling a bit pressured, thinking there is some creative standard I need to maintain. Last night felt like more of an obligation than a desire and it laid kind of flat, at least for me. This morning, I do feel the need to communicate with you, partially to apologize for not being as genuine as I would have liked to be last night.

Today, I am back on Hercules the Harley and we are traveling to Ft. Bragg. Aside from using my Kauai Beer Company connection to get a tour and free beer at North Coast Brewing, there isn’t much on the agenda. My notes say I should visit Fortuna along the way and we’ll see how the ride goes. I also have to figure out how you pay the toll to go over the Golden Gate. Did you know that you can’t pay at the damn bridge and you have to go online? It is only a matter of time until plastic completely replaces paper and currency becomes invisible.

It’s 8:30 and the office that handles toll payments is now open. I can’t wait to tell them that I am riding a motorcycle I don’t own and it has Alaska plates. I could get stuck on this of the bridge for the rest of my life if things don’t go well.