Day 9 - Valley Forge, PA

221 Miles today.


God is in His heaven and all is right with the world. I have an oil filler cap for Betsy. And all thanks to some very nice people at Woodstock Powersports, 601 Route 28 West, Kingston, NY.

Last night I had programmed into my GPS four Kawasaki dealers headed south down through New Jersey. I was sitting at the door to the first place, Woodstock, when they opened this morning. As I expected they did not have the filler cap in stock. It is just not something the dealers will carry. But this group differed from that feces in Poughkeepsie yesterday who wouldn't even acknowledge my problem. In fact, when I asked for the nearest other dealer he said Kingston but then, when asked said he didn't even have their phone number. Yeah, right dog-dropping.
Anyway, whenever the folks at Woodstock recognized my dilemma they did what you're supposed to do: they served their customer. They pulled an oil filler cap off one of their bikes and let me have it. They will order in a replacement and they now have a very happy customer who is more than willing and excited to pass the word where ever he can that this is a dealer with whom to do business. Obviously, I will recommend them on the MTF (Motorcycle Tourer's Forem) so more bikers know of their commitment to servicing the customer. Seeing they weren't all that busy I asked them if I could give them some work, i.e., an oil change. One of the ladies asked me if it was time for an oil change and I said, "No, but it's close enough to give you some business," so that's what we did. The filler cap and gasket were only $17.00. And they earned more.

Pulled onto the road about 11:00am, heading south.


View of the Hudson river valley off 9W about ten miles north of West Point.












Besty, meditating before reporting for Hell Barracks, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, June 2009.










Stopped at West Point for a short visit.

Visitors entrance and museum. There is a tour where one, I am sure, can snap all sorts of pictures of the site. Me, I don't do good tour.











This pretty much sums it all up. The history, the people who have attended here, their contributions and sacrifices do us all the honor anyone could deserve.








But...that isn't to say they haven't fielded their share of jackasses either.













For example: Why are they targeting a church?











Pulled out of West Point and proceeded just south of New York City and took the famous, or is it imfamous, New Jersey Turnpike to just outside of Philidelphia, exiting there and riding through Philly to the western side near Valley Forge. I'm going to pop in there for a few minutes tomorrow then head for the "eastern" shore of Delaware then over to Virginia Beach where I'm meeting up with my friend, Claye, famously known on the MTF and in Iron Butt circles as "Fleeter." Believe me, compared to Fleeter I'm no rider. She's a rider.