EAST COAST USA (DAY TEN)

It was time to get back on the road. Erin was the perfect hostess and welcomed me into her home. She even remembered to buy me my Cheerios. She had a noon commitment so I didn't want to leave till then. Our relationship has only gotten better over the years and living so far apart is difficult at times. I will miss her. It was a tearful good bye after the perfect weekend in the Big Apple.
My plan today was to ride to Philly and check out Revzilla's retail store and then head back out to the coast and start looking for a camp ground. Revzilla is an online motorcycle website that sells all kinds of gear for the biker enthusiast. I was interested in a pair of new gloves. It was another scorcher with rain in the forecast later in the day. By mid afternoon it was 92'F and riding the Jersey Turnpike was not an enjoyable experience. There are numerous toll stops for turnpikes and bridges along the way. The most infuriating part of their toll structure is that they charge based on the number of axles. A car has two axles. A bike with a trailer has three so I was being charged the same as a big heavy duty pickup truck that was pulling a large single axle trailer. For example, one bridge crossing was $1.00 for a car and $3.00 for me. By the time I had reached Philadelphia I had spent $45.00 in tolls.
On top of all this heat and aggravation Revzilla was closed on Mondays. I peered into the darkened store and saw people so I knocked on the glass. The store manager came forward and opened the door explaining that they were only there for inventory and couldn't sell me anything but I could come in and look around. The store didn't have the same items as their online store so I decided to push on. The manager felt so bad when he heard my story that he gave me a $30 gift card for use online and a free Revzilla t-shirt. What a guy!!!
Because I'd gotten off to a late start the day was slipping away and I needed to start looking for a camp ground.
Checking my GPS for a KOA site pulled up nothing so I settled for The Happy Trails independent camp site near Greensboro, Maryland. Ten minutes before arriving the sky opened up and I got totally drenched. The first sign I noticed as I approached the camp ground office said, "No motorcycle riding in the park". I assumed that this was for campers that might have a little mini bike to get around the large sprawling property. I was wrong. Apparently a biker had fallen years ago in the soft sand and burned his leg on the hot exhaust pipe and then sued for damages. From that time on their insurance company advised them to ban motorcycles. So there I am, hot, tired and soaking wet and they don't allow bikers in the park. The owner sensing my frustration offered a spot just inside the gate, at least a half mile from the main camp area. He explained that there were no showers but the bathrooms were fairly close and it had electricity and water. I grabbed my wallet and pulled out my credit card but he tells me their machine isn't working and I would have to pay cash. The one night charge was $45 but all I had was two twenty dollar bills and two ones. He looked at me and said, "Just give me $22 so I don't clean you out". Deal!!!
The rain had stopped thankfully so I set up the camper and poured myself a well deserved Vodka Tonic.
Later that night at around 2:00 am I was wakened by a huge downpour that pummelled the tent for about twenty minutes. After the day I had I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been a tornado. Here's hoping that Tuesday is a little less frustrating.