My sincere apologies for the belated post this week.
The boyfriend and I took a break over the long weekend and just relaxed.
Including a few days off from writing. Although, it was rejuvenating and
fun, I hated to miss my weekly deadline.
I was thinking of what the summer and the Fourth of July
holiday means to me. Obvious things come
to mind, the appreciation of my freedoms, but also that freedom to travel
wherever we want whenever we want. We
live in a country where states are bigger than most European countries. We don't need a passport or need to speak a
different language.
Just in the lower 48 there are multiple cultures. That's one of the great things about our
country. It made me think about my solo
road trip west. From Florence,
South Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I traveled one thousand seventy six miles
over the course of three days by car. In
a 2005 Nissan Murano she was a very comfortable ride and sleep some nights! Below is the route I took on my westward journey. Cutting through the majority of the southern states.
I started my journey in Florence
with the mind that I wanted to see the Barber Vintage
Motorsports Museum. I am a motorcycle junkie and I'd been trying
to get there for years. This was a great
time to add it to my trip. I spent the
night in Birmingham, Alabama at the ALOFT hotel downtown. These are nice hotels not terribly expensive and in general really nice no matter where you go. aloft.starwoodhotels.com It was different, little to no service at the
desk, but the modern room was comfortable with a lovely glass shower. I slept well and got up the next morning
heading for the museum. 
As you enter the
museum parking lot you would not guess that it's as large inside as it is. It's 740 acres of land, and has a 2.38 mile
racetrack that was in use while I was there. The front of the museum is graced by these a bit odd sculptures. Upon closer inspection of the plaque below you can understand the creators thoughts a bit better. There is that rush when riding a motorcycle that is unlike anything else you do. 
Toward the end of my tour I stood at the back windows watching the racers zoom by with distinct
jealously.
The nice thing about the
Museum is it's about history of all motorcycles not just Harley's, Indian's, Honda's or
the Triumph's. I saw and
drooled over a number of the most beautiful motorcycles in the world. Entry into the Barber is $15 but totally
worth it. There's 3 floors of motorcycles including the one's attached to the elevator shaft. So hard to pick my favorite. It ranged from 1912 Harley's to 2000 Honda's. I walked around the museum for several hours. I enjoyed a coke and a chat with a fellow rider in the small cafeteria in the basement. Swapping stories about rides, road trips and which way we were headed. This is the beauty of a road trip. The different things you see and the normally very nice people you meet. As a single female, I rarely have an issue, if ever have an issue.
I'm going to include several pictures here and let the beauty of the bikes speak for themselves. I highly recommend this as a place to stop on your way East or West. For more information on hours and events check barbermuseum.org/.
Later this coming week look for the second half of my road trip to Memphis.
Thanks for reading!
S
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