So I'm having a hard time wrapping this up.  I could use humor to just say it all, but that really doesn't seem to be what it's all about.  I could use eloquent words but that doesn't fit either.  To put it best; I think I have been so very fortunate to have such a wonderful family to have given me life and one to have raised me.

There are so many emotions that go along with this experience it's hard to just place the experience where it should be placed.   I'm still on the proverbial high from all the adventures leading up to, at, and away from this journey. It's been phenomenal in every sense.  One, I could not have imagined doing this without the three folks that went with me. They were incredibly awesome, and I know I don't say it enough but they really are truly friends.  When we were cranky, tired, dirty from the road, snarky, didn't want to get up at 6 am, laughed on the cb after 400 miles of hard riding, took turns on roads with no guard rails, made funny photos, watched people tight rope walk from building to building, ate breakfast in the UFO restaurant, etc. I just can't even figure out how to end that sentence. It seems to be a theme of how I am about the whole trip. Perhaps I can't finish the sentence because it would be acknowledging the trip is over. I learned so much about myself and others and also this great country of ours.

For close to my whole life (since I could understand what being adopted was) I wondered who my birth mother/father were and why or what circumstances were involved to give me up.  I wondered what fiber I had been cut from.  I never wanted to replace my parents in any way as they had given me a fabulous life and knowing I was "chosen" made it seem so much more special.  I just wanted to know circumstances and to get to know my "roots".  I know I am one of the few who have ever gotten to experience this and I am grateful.  I am home now, and I went to my Krav Maga/MMA class tonight and my partner Katie said to me "holy cow Hil. You look so refreshed and relaxed. I love seeing you this way".  She's right. I had to ride 5943.5 miles to settle the questions and to grow new relations with people I felt were important.   I was not settled/relaxed during my ride; my mind was always churning on the what if this turns disasterous; or what if things aren't what I thought they'd be, or what if.... I could create any answer for the what if's that had been going through my head the whole ride leading up to meeting my birth family.

What I can say is this: take chances; challenge yourself to go past the what ifs.  You may be surprised as what you find. Do things out of character. You only go around this ride once (that we know of) so ride it like it's 6 Flags everyday.

Thank you so much to my family for sending me with your blessings to go figure/learn what my heritage is. Truly who knew I was part indian? wow!  Thanks to my husband for allowing me to go with three of my guy friends. That showed a lot of trust, faith, and respect towards the ultimate goal- finding these answers.  Without both; I'd still be wondering.

Some have asked me things similar to "what the F are you doing going with three guys! and how does THAT work?"  It worked great actually.   These three guys can't compare to the regular gene pool.  You could see the total admiration, love, caring, etc (whatever you call it) for their spouses as well.  When we all talked about stories it was all about family stories.  What made each person's family special and unique.  From finding a gift for a spouse, or what  another spouse would say to a conversation we were engaged in, etc.  By the end of the trip; everyone knew everyone in a way that good friends do.   I knew Chuck before quite well, but learned so much more about Brian and Munds on this trip.  And what I knew of Chuck? he surpassed that for his never ending admiration of Caren; and also that he can talk to an inanimate object about the four corners ride.   They are all such wonderful dedicated people. I  took away what I could learn from their experiences in life. They were all wonderful supporters in their own way of this journey and they got to see a lot of great things along the way as well. You can't go wrong with Badlands, Glacier, Custer, Needles, Bear Tooth Highway, Skylan, Niagara, Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower, water slides at the hotels, and big greasy burgers. Then add on a family that is willing to welcome EVERYONE into their lives whether they are blood, or merely just there to participate in the experience.

A few have asked me what  I did on my birthday. I know I've posted that already in prior blogs.  What happened?  My uncle John made me cry. That takes a lot to tap into my waterworks. And so did my birth mother and grandmother. You could see that they wanted to give me something that  was so important to them; so here it goes.

First and foremost:  Denise my birth mother came up to me and said "I tried to find a card that would summarize exactly everything but Hallmark doesn't make a card Nice to meet you daughter. Happy 40th".  I almost died laughing and peeing at the same time.  Now you all can understand where my crazy humor comes from. It comes from her and I love that.   She gave me some of that green stuff, no not pot (pot is very legal out there if you have a medical card.  Everyone has a medical card), money.   I decided that I was going to take the boys out for a good decent meal with that on the way home. Hence we skipped the deep fried hot dogs and went to The Keg.  One of the best steaks I have ever masticated. Not that I didn't have money (I was loaded with cash from hitting up every gosh dam ATM in the US because it turns out my card doesn't work in Canada), but I wanted to share that gift.

My uncle John, Denise, Steve and my grandmother  presented me with a few items that had belonged to my grandfather; who passed away a few years back. I remember conversing with my birth mother, Denise, when he was declining and could hear how very important he was in her life. I learned through my visit with my family that everyone not only loved and adored my grandfather but worshiped him. Very rarely do you find a  family that can say 100% absolutely without a doubt he was the most wonderful man ever.   When we pulled out pictures of him at the bbq it was a trip down memory lane for them , and a new meeting through moments for me.   So my grandfather was a watch man. They gave to me one of his favorite watches.  I will cherish this gift forever; it's unfortunate that I have never had the chance to meet him.   They also gave Patrick one of my grandfather's hand stamped belt buckles.  So very very cool.  I have still yet to be able to write thank you cards because I"m still at the choking up stage when I think about this.   On top of all this, everyone at my birthday had taken the time to sign a card for me; family or not.  Folks that knew about me that were not family, and even my motorcycle family.  Cheryl from MA had also taken the time to go buy a cake which to me spoke volumes because I don't believe that was the easiest feet to find. It's not like around here where there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner and  a Shaws or Stop n Shop within a mile each direction.  My birth mother's cake (posted pictures in a previous post) was absolutely amazing!! I mean holy chitcakes amazing.

I thank the Sutherlin's for all their hospitality. Not only was it wonderful to learn my heritage but it put a renewed sense of faith in me that the majority of folks in this world may be good people.  They certainly didn't have to accept me in, but they did.  And they accepted 4 others that were associated with this journey; no questions asked.

My Uncle Steve also gave us all crystal pendants and me a cloak.  Unfortunately I could not find any space for the cloak to ride home with.

One thing that was special and Chuck told me about it after the BBQ.  While we were there on the first night the family took our "posse" up to the ghost town on their mountain.  The history in this area was so rich. I mean  so out of the old world that you could almost hear the history of what it must have been like from walking through these ghosted buildings. The houses, the mining building,  the numerous mine shafts we drove past.  Just amazing.  The way things were back then. The mine up there was to gather silver and lead. And much of this was done with using draft horses back then.  Chuck told me that he and Munds were given a horse shoe from one of the horses from back in the day that helped out in the mining town.  Chuck showed it to me when we had returned to the states.  It looked like a belgian's shoe with huge plates and manually stamped cleats in it.    Very awesome for them to have that type of history to keep.

John says he's going to try to rally the family to come east next summer for a vacation. I hope that happens.

So again,  this journey has to end; for now.

I now have more family in my life and this is a good thing.

stalling

So I keep meaning to do a final post and I'm having a hard time with this as I keep getting emotional looking back at this trip. This may take a few rough drafts to get it right.  Stay tuned.  It will be great, but I have to think all my thoughts through completely to come up with the best way to sum up this trip other than just saying "wicked pissah" or "awesome" LOL

Home sweet home - tarmac I lurve you

So the title was from Danno.   Short post for now.  I'm home.  8 hours of driving through crazy storms.  I mean CRAZY storms. I'd swear but I'm too tired.   Chuck drowned me in a puddle/lake/reservoir on the road in Uxbridge with his bike.  I truly mean that my bike was under water.  Fully.  Anyway. No one crashed, fell off, swam away or sank. I/nor the bike even fell down.

I will update the blog tomorrow. I have to see to this bite on my leg that I got a few days ago. The one where we stayed in some hotel where I think a spider bit me.

Horses were happy to see me as I were them. Same with the cats!  I'm officially tired.  When I get to open a bottle of wine, So many stories to share.  What a great trip, what a great crew of folks. Great people we met along the way too. Ok.

Off for now

We are home!

Fun ride today towards home. At least our tires won't overheat

wrapping up

So we're all on our last night here. Let me re cap what I've learned....  The top 25

One: Once you cross lake Michigan someone has turned off the speed limit signs.   By the time I had hit South Dakota my bike was going "seriously? 75 minimum speed?". The nurple wanted to file a complaint.  I can't complain my bike did a phenomenal job and has kept me safe throughout this whole journey. 

Two.Cutlery:  you can never not have enough.   And you never know where it's been so better carry your own set.  

Three don't declare your cutlery at the border crossings.

Four. Always ride an ATV with a loaded  40 cal hand gun.

Five: If you pack all the necessary parts to fix your bike in the even of an emergency; you will not need to fix anything.

Six: If someone in your group wears rain gear; it will not rain.

Seven: Always carry a straw.

Eight: Don't wink at the female customs officials.  However,  do wink at the male ones. Do not show the male customs official the nougett bar that you bought in canda called a "Pleasure" bar.  They have no sense of humor.

Nine: Chuck has a button somewhere on him where he will just start the talking tour of his four corner's ride. Randome bikers, strangers,  customs officials, girls waiting for the bathroom at a gas station,  prarie dogs, pine trees, etc.

Ten: Don't get into a cab where the driver has a hearing aid. You have no idea where he'll take you.

Eleven:  The QEW is exactly the same as 128 Aye.

Twelve:  Always bring plastic bags for your clothes. No matter how much people make fun of you and call you "the bag lady".

Thirteen:  Go drink at a bar with your mother, uncle,  and grandmother (if they're still alive. Not as fun otherwise). Oh and Mark.

Fourteen: Operate shiny side up and rubber side down (the bike). 

Fifteen: Don't be afraid to accomplish life/bucket list goals.

Sixteen:  Know you limits.  That means I am not on a Goldwing and cannot pass tractor trailer/wide loads in a one lane highway in the pouring rain.   I know my limits; I just had to remind the other Goldwing riders that I'm the little person on the little bike.

Seventeen:  My riding boots should not have a fish in them.

Eighteen:  Don't name hairballs in the shower. Nothing good will come from that.

Nineteen:  This was one of the best experiences of my life.  It has unlocked a whole past that I never knew about and am so incredibly priveledged to have been able to experience this.  So many search but do not get the find/experience this.

Twenty:  I want to thank the three people that came with me. They all made this trip amazingly special for me.  I have no words to express my gratitude for putting up with me and riding  450 - 500, taking ferries,  sitting on bridges in traffic,  slipping on pine cones, crying at my birthday party (yes.. hard ass got emotional), smuggling VO (yes a canadian whisky that you can't seem to buy in canada) across the border,  sleeping in motel rooms that had spiders and no AC,  going down the kids water slides (while the kids were), telling stories, etc.   Brian, Bob and Chuck are truly special people and I thank then all for coming along and also their familes for letting them.

Twenty One: Mount Rushmore is a joke to pay the money to go see.  Just park 1/2 mile before the gate; save 20 bucks and get you pictures.

Twenty Two: If you're nice to the OPP (ontario Provincial Police) They will cut the patches off their uniform and trade patches with you.

Twenty Three: Vodka can taste good in anything except tap water.

Twenty Four: I ran out of gas unofficially 8 times. My knights in shining armour (notice the french spelling I've learned) always had a gallon or a leeeeeeeetur  to get me going.

Twenty Five:  Thanks to my family for letting me go and supporting this quest. I can't say it more succinctly than that.  Thank you!

I'll be home tomorrow. Look out civilized world. There will be a final blog post to come

Or.. Had a whole big blog post I was going to write but my netbook crashed. I will do it tomorrow when I'm home