Stray Kat

I got a ticket to the Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) races at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track near Austin, Texas, and had a three day drive to get there.  As I was passing through Arkansas I was really impressed with the beauty of the countryside.  I’ve never known much about the state, but it’s covered with forests and green rolling hills that are just gorgeous!  I stopped one night near Little Rock, and in the morning visited the Toltec Mounds…

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It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, that the success of my odyssey is very dependent on the health of my beloved FJ, Baby Blue.  We’ve had our moments — such as when I had to replace a broken windshield, and a couple of times when my immobilizer system has gone haywire and killed my battery — but for the most part the FJ has been rock solid reliable.  Well, that’s why I bought a Toyota. Just a note on…

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Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the home of Harley Davidson motorcycles, so I decided to visit their factory museum for the afternoon.  Once you get through all the construction and detours on the highways, the museum itself is actually quite easy to find, and if you’re not sure you’re in the right place, this imposing entrance will take away all doubt! By the way, admission is $10 on Tuesdays, and double that the rest of the week.  Very coincidentally, I was there…

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I had been told by a friend that there was a guesthouse at Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, and I thought that sounded like a very pleasant place to stay while I visited Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I couldn’t get them on the phone, so I took a chance and showed up at the monastery office to check availability.  Unfortunately, half of the guesthouse was being renovated, and the rest was booked up, which I suppose was not unexpected in the…

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I’ve developed a habit when visiting big cities of staying somewhere outside the city, and only venturing in after rush hour in the morning, and that’s the pattern I followed with Chicago.  I stayed the night before at the Indiana Dunes State Park, waking up in the morning to this view across Lake Michigan.  If you look very carefully, you can just see the tallest buildings of Chicago on the horizon, about an hour’s drive away. I don’t think I…

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