U.S. Travelogue Finis

The recent transcontinental odyssey of LEONIDAS and company ended Wednesday after putting nearly 6500 miles on Nessie's odometer. The last 2400 miles put a bit of a strain on Nessie as the spare engine and transmission for stepson's vintage Mercedes 450SL weighed in at a bit over 800 lbs. That weight added to the auxiliary 90 gallon fuel tank/tool box resulted in rather copious amounts of black smoke being belched by Nessie while attempting to maintain highway speed over the mountain passes of Utah and Colorado.

The last stop before arriving home included a fireworks factory "outlet" in Alabama to acquire the wherewithal to celebrate the first birthday anniversary of the most recent granddaughter later this month. While wandering about in the "outlet" Leonidas was struck by the fact that possession of each and every item sold in this lawful business establishment is a crime in the state of Kalifornia.

As is common on the highways and roads of the nation during the summer season many motorcyclists are in evidence. The difference on this trip being that in many states the helmet laws have amazingly been repealed. Many bikers have therefore chosen for themselves, as opposed to the state requiring, to not resemble medieval knights . I remarked on this situation to a distant relative who happens to be employed as a sergeant supervisor by the California Highway Gestapo Patrol and he appeared dumbfounded. This is the same relative who could not advise me if I could legally transport my 5 year old granddaughter in my 1951 Chevrolet pickup on the highways of California as it is not equipped with "restraining" (a pun?) devices.

In any event the condition of the highways in California has deteriorated further as compared to most other states, so it would appear that the politicians continue to prioritize other projects such as publicly funded tattoo removal for former gang members and consideration of enforced neutering of all family pets. It is good to visit Bizzaro land from time to time in order to cease complaining about the state of freedom here in the red state of Georgia.