Birthday Breakout 2021
Day 1
Celebrating with Mothman
Day 2
River Bank Cruising
Day 3
Homeward Cruising
April 7, 2021 (day 3)
Barns, bricks, and beer while flitting around a big forest. By the end of
the day, I was safe at home.
April 6, 2021 (day 2)
Another beautiful day and another old hotel. More meandering river and
more road tracking alongside it. Then dinner at a craft brewery and it's
not even my birthday anymore.
April 5, 2021 (day 1)
It was a beautiful day to drive across Ohio and check out a West Virginia
sculpture. I bounced back to Ohio for dinner then back to West Virginia
and a bed in a 120 year old hotel.
Prelude - April 4, 2021
I took exactly two trips in 2020. One in September and one in November.
Tomorrow I start my first trip of 2021 which will, in some sense, put me
ahead of last year's pace. I don't believe I've ever taken a birthday trip
before but I'm doing it this year. I usually go out for a fairly fancy
dinner on my birthday. That wasn't possible last year, so instead I picked
up a fairly fancy dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and enjoyed it
safely at home. Things are a little looser this year, and I'm sure I could
find a fairly fancy joint open that would serve me a fairly fancy dinner.
But I crave motion more that a meal, and a birthday seems like a good
excuse to test the water... I mean pavement.
The rate of new COVID-19 cases has dropped, due in large part to the availability of vaccines. When I hit the road, exactly a month will have passed since I got my second shot of Moderna. I feel safer but I do not feel invincible and I know there are lots of people who aren't yet even as safe as I am. I will continue to wear a mask where appropriate and I hope others do too. The pandemic is not over. I will continue to be cautious and caring.
I'm not going far. It is basically an all Ohio trip with about a one mile excursion into West Virginia. I will be staying at a couple of rather old hotels and looking for roadside attractions in between. I'm gonna have a good time. I'm glad it's my birthday. Happy birthday to me.