The United States Capital Building

I have been on a RV vacation and trip of a lifetime for the past 36 days. I am presently sitting at the table in my RV in a campground somewhere near Cleveland, OH typing this update for all of you. It is now day 36 of my trip.

My last real update was on August 4, 2012 from the Washington DC area. I am giving another update now.

So far we have driven through or stayed in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. We have many more places to stay and drive through before we get home.

We ended up staying in the Washington D.C, College Park, Maryland area for about 11 days. Washington D.C. was an important stop for us, and with so many things to see, and such a great RV resort, we were in no rush to leave. We toured the Smithsonian museums’ and major monuments, among other things. I have tons of video that I will process when I get home and upload onto here.

The only negative part of the Washington D.C. trip was the hot balmy weather on some days, coupled with thunder storms and rain on other days, and the horrendous drivers in the Washington D.C. area.

My Harley Electra Glide enabled me to park near monuments and areas where people in cars just cannot go. On a few days Liz and I used the bus and train due to the weather. We also took the double decker tour bus for 48 hours as well.

The RV resort in College Park, MA was off of the charts. I went swimming every night with all of the other tourist. Hell on one night I found myself alone in the pool with 20 or so bikini clad coed girls from Europe. I could not decipher what language they were speaking, but my god it was a very nice sight.

I did not want to leave Washington D.C.; it was almost as if I needed to stay there longer. Maybe I should run for Congress?

When we finally left Washington D.C., we drove through Maryland and New Jersey. Maryland and most of New Jersey are truly beautiful states.

I found myself getting pinched for tolls every few miles. It turns out I was on a toll turnpike. My GPS was not set up to avoid tolls. By the time the day was over I had paid almost 0 in tolls because my RV and motorcycle trailer have 3 total axels. They were charging me like I was a bus. It really sucked.

When we got to New York we were led to an expensive KOA campground north of Newburgh, New York that was billed as the New York City KOA campground; talk about fraud, we were about 70 miles northwest of New York City in the middle of a forest.

Upstate New York is a truly beautiful state let me tell you, I had no clue. When we got to the campground it was kind of late and almost dark because of the trees. When we hooked up I discovered that the trees prevented my Satellite TV from working, my cell phone did not work, nor did I have Wi-Fi. Then it started raining as well. I had to rough it with DVD’s from Redbox for the night. Further, we only had a 30amp hookup, so I could not run both air conditioners and my microwave at the same time :]

Anyway, we got the hell out of there first thing in the morning, opting to go to the Liberty Park RV resort in Jersey City, New Jersey instead where we would have to dry camp for $50 a day. The Liberty Park RV resort was billed as the closest RV Park to New York City just 15 minutes away from Manhattan, and with a local water taxi that takes you to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. All of this turned out to be true.

On the way in to the campground I noticed that we were in Orange County New York, so I figured I would check and see if Orange County Choppers was nearby. As it turns out, Orange County Choppers was on the way to Liberty Park in Jersey City, so I figured I would stop in and check it out.

All I can say about Orange County Choppers is that it was a huge disappointment. It is the only motorcycle operation I have ever seen that does not sell motorcycle stuff. They have all sorts of shirts and other crap with OCC all over it, but no motorcycle stuff. They don’t even have examples of their production motorcycles in the showroom; all they have is motorcycles that they built in the past. I did not even like those. It is what it is. I got some video and got the hell out of there. It is nothing more than a tourist trap. The bikes on display seem un-ride able and not practical to me.

It was a very interesting trip through narrow streets in New Jersey to the Liberty Park RV resort in Jersey City, New Jersey. My rig is 35’ long with an attached 10’ motorcycle trailer. Some of the streets and turns I had to make near the Holland Tunnel on the Jersey side were monumental, but I finally made it to the RV Park. The RV Park was a combo Liberty Park Marina and RV park. There were ocean going boats, sailboats and the like dry docked on the other side of the park, with an actual marina and a bar and restaurant there.

Since the RV Park was totally full, we had to dry camp which basically means that we had no external electrical, water, or sewer hookups. We had to rely on our RV, and our generator. There was a dump and water site in the park that we could use as needed.

Since we wanted to run our generator past 10pm they basically put us in an area that was by itself in the middle of a field next to a bunch of boats. On the other side of the fence was a construction site in Jersey City. The setup was kind of like in New Orleans where we were 3 blocks away from Bourbon Street but smack dab in the middle of a bad neighborhood.

The Liberty Park RV area of Jersey City was kind of like a small island of a good area in a real bad area if you know what I mean.

We were so close to NY City in the Liberty RV Park that we could see the World Trade Center and Wall Street just across the Hudson River, and I could see the Statue of Liberty from my RV.

Due to a breaker on my generator, I did not get full power until just at dark on our first day in NY City, so we decided to wait until the next day to hit the city.

The next day we immediately went to the World Trade Center site and the 911 memorial. It was a very rainy day.

We did so much in New York over the next week that it is too much to write about here. Like Washington D.C., I felt attracted to the city; as a matter of fact I fell in love with the city. We rode the subway and went all over the place.

Three days before I left New York I ended up partially tearing my calf muscle walking down the subway steps. The reason I know it is partially torn is because three nights ago I spent most of the evening at Jersey Medical Center ER where they confirmed the tear with an ultra sound.

My years of sports and injuries have made me kind of tough when it comes to injuries like this. I tooled around New York City for three days in severe pain because I did not want to miss anything.

We finally left New York City two days ago on August 20, 2012. It took a while getting out of the city, we did not really want to leave, but we had to so we could finish the 3^rd and final leg of this great trip that we are on.

We ended up driving to Northumberland, PA where we found a killer RV resort right on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. We got there just before dark. I swear I could live in this place. Pennsylvania is one of the most beautiful and big states in the United States.

The locals there upon seeing my Harley Davison in tow assumed I was there for “PA Rally on the River” which was set to begin on August 23, 2012, or the day after we were set to leave the campground.

Unfortunately the campground was booked and full months in advance for the rally. I was told that if I paid $50 a night, I could dry camp there with my RV. Had they gave me a regular camp site, I would have stayed for the rally. I think if they knew who I was, that they would have accommodated me. Liz called even after we left asking if there were cancellations; there were none.

Based on what I was told 2k people would fill up the camp grounds for the event which is adults only. I knew that if I stayed for the event, I would be stuck in the campgrounds until it was over due to the number of people. Further, there would be no way to dump the brown water tank or refill the fresh water tanks for the next week.

I decided to not stay for the rally but to instead spend the time tooling around Sturgis, SD when I get there. We left today on August 22, 2012. We drove all the way to near Cleveland, Ohio where I now sit writing this update.

We still have a long way to go on our trip and further updates will come soon.

By California Personal Injury Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez

The post Day 36, Somewhere near Cleveland, OH first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

The following article was written by a long time Biker Law Blog member Sandra Lee Miller as a guest author. Her article is about how the bad economy is affecting her and her families life. As you read it you will realize that she poured her heart into this article. It makes me wonder what is happening to our nation.

I was born in Maysville, Kentucky, the number one tobacco market in the USA.
The last time I went home for a visit, I was stunned at how many manufacturing plants and jobs were gone. We had the Cotton Mill which ginned cotton. My great-grandmother, great-grandfather, two great-aunts and maternal grandmother all worked there. The business has since closed and the buildings have been torn down. Why? Because, we no longer gin cotton in the United States.

At one time there was the Pants Factory, located in Manchester, Ohio which made Haggar pants. It is now closed and a building stands vacant as it deteriorates with the passing of time. Why? The work that was once performed by hard working Americans with two eight hour shifts, five days a week has now been outsourced to Mexico.

Wald’s Manufacturing, also in Maysville, Kentucky made bicycles, was another place that my family worked. My paternal Grandfather worked there over 20 years. My Great Aunt and a Great Uncle worked there as well. The plant was closed and two shifts of both men and women are out of work today. Why? Inferior bicycles are now made in China with sporadic recalls and safety concerns an issue. I never thought that I would see the day that you would have to take a child’s bike away from him because of the lead in its paint.

At one time the pride of Ripley, Ohio was its Red Cross Shoes Manufacturing Company. This is yet another company that employed men and women who worked one of the two shifts, five days a week in order to fill the demand for quality and stylish shoes. The plant was closed in the late seventies. Why? The plant was moved to Mexico and has since gone out of business. Now the country of Mexico has unemployed workers as well!

As a teenager I remember there was excitement in Maysville, Kentucky when Blue Grass Industries built their state-of-the-art facility that was perched on top of a beautiful hill, surrounded by the renowned glistening blue grass. The company manufactured men’s t-shirts and underwear. They were of durable and fine quality then. You would recognize them as JOCKEY. Today, Blue Grass Industries is closed. Why? Their work has also been outsourced and production is now in Mexico.

Next is, Welded Wire of Manchester, Ohio which manufactured industrial wire. When I last returned home for a visit, Welded Wire was only running one shift with a skeleton crew. Today, as I fact checked, it appears that Welded Wire has fallen by the wayside and the property and building are now advertised for sale. I can only wonder what the two hundred plus men and women are doing for work these days. Why? Welded Wire is a victim of the times and American trade policies. This is a fact and not a political comment.

The four small river towns I have written about are dying on the vine, so to speak. The downtown areas where there were little retail shops, bakeries, restaurants, drug store, Doctor’s Office and beauty salons, to name a few, are all gone. Why? The hard working, honest men and women who were formerly employed by the manufacturing plants and facilities cannot support the small businesses that once thrived in those areas.

Today, I reside with my husband in Sebastian, Florida. Unemployment in INDIAN RIVER COUNTY is now 12.4 percent. By the grace of God, we are working. The jobs are not our normal line of work, but like so many of us, we are finding ways to bring in income and pay our bills. We have a 2002 Harley Davidson Fat Boy. This year due to economic times, the bike sits in the garage a lot more than days past. We used to look forward to our weekend getaways to beautiful Daytona. We would roll our clothes and fill the leather saddle bags and head for a motel. Sometimes we would order Papa John’s Pizza or head out for Seafood. Next morning we would rise, pack our gear and head out to breakfast. We used to stop at every Harley Davidson dealership to purchase one of their t-shirts and spent anywhere from $50 on up. We can no longer afford to patronize the stores. The gasoline, motel and food expenses add up quickly. We won’t even mention the purchases at the Harley Dealerships. I did not buy this years Harley Davidson Christmas Ornament. I did not shop at the Harley Dealership this year. Credit cards are not being used in my house. They are for an “Emergency”. WE are smart enough to know better than to make unnecessary debt. I do not want any extra bills in my mailbox. I no longer go to a movie when I feel like it. I go to a Matinee because it is cheaper. I eat before I go so I pass up the concession stand. A small popcorn is $4.75……too expensive for my budget. Then you have to have a $4.75 Small Soda to wash it down.

I now grocery shop where I can redeem coupons and have to watch every penny that we spend. Gone are the days of eating out two or three times a week. This past Christmas, the outdoor decorations were left in the attic to collect dust because of the additional $200 that would drive up the electric bill. I now consign clothing and buy clothes at Consignment shops as well.
We used to sit and count our dollars at the end of the week. Today, we count pennies.

Written By: Sandra Lee Miller
Sebastian, Florida
email: bobharlibob@aol.com

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney

The post The loss of the American Dream; The Recession / Depression hits home hard. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.