Cross Country WITH an RX3

The original plan was to ride cross country ON an RX3, but that didn't quite pan out as I'd imagined due to time restraints and underestimating speed limits and crosswinds on remote stretches of interstate.  So... I loaded up the RX3 into a 16 foot Penske box truck after my amazing 5 day adventure in Baja and here is a quick post about our cross country journey from El Centro, CA to Atlanta, GA.

I was hesitant to make the call to not ride the bike, but I was stressing out about safety concerns and not being able to make it home in the timeframe I had available, so I ultimately decided to rent a box truck and haul the RX3 home in the back.  I was very nervous about loading the bike into the truck by myself, so Blake gave me the great idea to use AAA to tow the bike to Penske (65 miles from El Centro, CA in Yuma, AZ) and have the tow driver help me load it directly from the tow truck.  So I called AAA and had them tow my bike and everything worked out perfectly!!  I had stressed out for hours in the morning trying to decide how to get the bike home (ship it, ride it anyways, tow it, etc...), but when this worked out so easily with the box truck, I knew it was meant to happen this way and it helped ease my mind.  I still was pretty disappointed with the original plan not working out, but this definitely helped.

My great tow truck driver!

Loading the bike from the tow truck into the box truck

Once I was all loaded up, I really didn't have a lot of time to spend on the road before dark, so my mom and Blake helped me figure out where to stay on my first leg of the cross country trip, which ended up being in Tucson, AZ.  I checked on the bike after checking into the hotel and it was still standing, but my good friend Dan recommended that I put a couple more tie downs on the bike, just to ensure it stayed standing, so I took his advice.  I used 7 of the 8 tie downs I bought.

The RX3 all strapped down and ready for the rest of our journey

The 2nd day was my "tourist" day, so I stopped by Tombstone, AZ on my way east.  For those of you that know me, you know I like my ghost shows... so I did a tour of the Bird Cage Theater (which is supposedly very haunted) and enjoyed being a goober remembering scenes from my ghost shows inside the building.  Tombstone is such a cool town and I'm glad I listened to my new friend Justin's recommendation to stop there.  I didn't make it to the super amazing town of Bisbee, though, Justin.  Maybe some other time ;-)  On my way to my hotel for the evening, I kept seeing signs for "The Thing" and Blake told me that I HAD to stop in to see "The Thing", so I did.  I spent my $1 to walk through the little museum and see "The Thing", and it was totally worth it.  I highly recommend you stop by this roadside attraction on your next trip through Arizona.  :-)  I was hoping to make it to San Antonio this night, but there was absolutely no way I'd make it, so I stayed in El Paso for the evening.  Blake was nice enough to give me a spectacular view of the strip club next door.  LOL

Horse and carriage tour through the streets of Tombstone, AZ

All shady "Ladies" of Tombstone

Bird Cage Selfie (no ghosts present)

"The Thing" is a must see when travelling through AZ!

The Thing Selfie!

Wednesday, day 3, was to knock out some mileage and try to get back on some sort of a "schedule" like I had originally planned for myself when I was going to ride the RX3.  It was a tough day as the wind knocked the snot out of the truck.  I spent the entire day fighting to keep the truck upright and on the road.  At one point in time I even had my hazards on and was going 60mph in an 80mph zone simply because I was struggling to keep the truck in a single lane when going much faster. I was originally planning on being in New Orleans this night, but now I was just trying to get east of San Antonio.  I made it half way between San Antonio and Houston to a little town called Columbus.  I stayed at an Americas Best Value Inn that was infested with gnats and had no working internet, but the mom and pop steakhouse next door definitely helped take my mind off the rooming situation.  That was the first sit down meal that I had eaten since leaving Mexico 3 days prior.

My first sand storm

There was some gorgeous scenery

Day 4 was a shorter day as the only thing I wanted to do was to stay on the beach and relax as an early birthday present to myself.  Blake helped me find an amazing hotel room in Biloxi at the South Beach Hotel and I enjoyed the most relaxing part of my trip!  I rolled into Biloxi around 3:30pm, immediately walked to the restaurant next door and sat on the patio on the beach with a fruity drink and ate raw oysters and a low country boil.  It was definitely worth the long hours the day before!  I also took a cab over to the Beau Rivage because I had been there when I first turned 21 and had grand memories of this high class hotel, but going back made me realize that it just didn't have the same grandeur as it once did.  Gambling just seemed like a waste of money to me now and the premises just lacked that "wow" factor that it once had for me.  It was a nice trip, but I think that'll be my last time there.

I just wanted to listen to the waves... it was glorious!

Day 5 I took advantage of another shorter day and slept in until 8am!  It was great!  I packed up my things for the last morning and loaded everything into the truck.  I made sure the bike was still doing good (as Louisiana interstates are some of the bumpiest roads I've ever driven), and then we got on the road heading for home!  Unfortunately, there was a deadly plane crash on Interstate 285, which was affecting ALL Atlanta traffic and would be for hours, so I decided to head North through Alabama and then East into Georgia, then take back roads for the rest of the trip home.  It worked out great and I barely hit any traffic, even though I was going through the Atlanta vicinity right during rush hour.  I made it home and was greeted by Blake in the driveway and 3 balloons on the mailbox: 1 said Welcome Home, 1 said Congrats, and 1 said Happy Birthday.  Yes, there was much to celebrate!  So much so that we drove to Taco Bell, I had a couple tacos, and then I passed out in my own bed for the first time in almost 2 weeks.  I live such an exciting life.  LOL

Today I unloaded the truck, returned it, changed the oil in the RX3, gave it a quick wash, and then let Blake ride it around the neighborhood before I took it out for a spin myself. Home at last!!

It's HOME!!