It was still dark as I got downstairs after a shower and getting all my stuff packed up.  No one else was up and I went into the garage and drilled a couple of holes into the wooden rod that Gary  gave me to display his American flag that he loaned me off the front of his house.  I attached the pole to the rear of the rack and tucked the flag into the back pack.  Still nobody came into the garage so I opened the door and backed out and reached back inside to hit the closer button.  I rolled the bike down the street and bump started it a few houses away so as to not wake anybody up.

On the freeway I started to ride with a couple of guys but passed them after a short while.  They were too slow for me.  When I got to the staging area at Miller Park it was only about 15% filled as far as I could guess.  I got a phone call from Nancy and she was not very happy with me.  It seems that she got up right after I went into the garage and made coffee for me.  I didn’t know that or I would have had some.  Sorry Nancy!  She told me now that I left that I would have to get my goodbye hug and kiss from Gary!  I said a hug yes but NO to the kiss!  A few people came up to me right away and said that they saw me at the parade five years ago or in Dc or….  Michael Lichter, the photographer, was there with Sean, his son.  He did a few more shots of me and my bike.  Then I saw Ken with his wife Tami.  He is another photographer who I have seen at a few Redwood Runs in the past.  Noel called me to see where I was, and I met Noel and Yvette for some more good conversation.  They sure are good people.  I introduced them to AJ and Horda from Egypt.  Noel and Yvette took off from Duluth to go to Milwaukee early and get into the museum for an early tour, that’s why they missed meeting  AJ and Horda.  There was a lot of good stories both heard and told.  Dave found me after I did my train horns.  Dave and his wife Yonna from Coos Bay, Oregon were at the last two anniversary rides.  I rode with them for awhile five years ago out here.  Yonna was over in the shade so I didn’t get to see her but I met Ray who flew out from Oregon and was on Yonna’s bike for the parade.  

Shortly after 9:00 a.m. a few bikes started off on the route.  It was Willy G. Davidson and a few other people from Harley-Davidson.  A few minutes later all the flag bearers from various different HOG chapters from all over the world were next out.  I guess about a half hour later I got to go out.  This parade was very slow and there was a lot of stopping and getting motors very warm.  Last time at the end of the parade route we were made to assemble in a large lot and could not even move to get our bikes out.  This time I looked at a map of the 4 1\2 mile route and found out where I needed to get on a side street just before the end.  I was going to tell a cop that I was overheating and had to get out.  Little did I know that I really was going to be running very HOT.  The upper end was knocking and I got out of line and on a side street after Gary came out from the crowd and told me where they were.  I parked and found Roy and Gary.  I was already packed for the road and so was Roy, so we said thanks for everything and hit the road.

We stopped about 20 miles up the road for fuel and some drinks.  It was getting quite warm already. We had an uneventful ride to Roy’s home town of St Paul, Minnesota.  We went to a motorcycle shop of a friend of his named Wild Bill.  We visited Bill for a while and then went home to his wife Shirley.  Roy called his two sons to see if they were able to come over to visit.  First Jim showed up riding a Triumph café style racer.  Next the other son, David showed up with his girlfriend Luanne, and Shirley ordered Pizza to be delivered.  They were at the state fair which is in town this week.  The town was a zoo for the Republican National convention which was to be there all week too.  They had a lot of the streets blocked off for security and it made it a challenge to get to where you were going.  This was quite a coincidence as the last time Joni and I were here in June the democratic stuff was going on.  The company left and they made up a room for me and we all said goodnight…