Finally got back to the hotel room after eating.  Every restaurant here was packed with prom kids.  We finally settled on Bob Evans as the wait was only 15 minutes.  When we got to the hotel, we carried our bags up to the room, then went back down to move the bikes to what we felt was the safest place, and one that we can see from our window.  I lubed my chain and put the cover, alarm, and locks on the bike.  Brian put his fork lock on and disk lock,  We cleaned our face shields with Plexus and got situated in the room.  Some things that happened today:

1 - Every living animal within a quarter mile of whatever road we were on felt like it had to run out in front of me.  From sheep, to turkey vultures, to squirrels, to pheasant.  Saw them all. Got so close to a squirrel that he lifted his tail up to avoid being hit.

2 - It was so cold when we first started out, that Brian had to add more layers to continue on.  Had it been raining, he's not sure he could have continued.  Tomorrow he'll start with more layers.  I was fine on that first stop, but somehow after he was having such a hard time, when we got back on the road again the cold started to wear on me, too.  We both adjusted and got warm enough, but both went through a trial with the cold.

3 - My bike lived up to everything I hoped it would.  There are plenty of people who raised their eyebrows when I told them what type and size of bike I was taking on this trip.  My little 400cc dirt bike was awesome.  From gravel roads (sorry Brian), to bumpy asphalt country roads, to side streets through little towns, to 70mph on the highway.  It did it all without a hiccup.  If it's possible to be "proud" of a motorcycle, I'm proud of mine.  Hahah.  Without the windshield, the ride today would have been a no-go.  Ditto for the seat.  380 miles.  Did I feel it?  Yeah, for sure.  But stopping for gas every 75-90 miles was a great idea and very helpful.  The last time I filled up, I had 90 miles on the odometer and it only took 1.5 gallons to fill it.  That's 60mpg!  Not too shabby.  My dry duffel doubling as a backrest was great, too.  Overall, very pleased with the mods that I made to the bike to make it more road worthy.

4 - One of the funnier stories (in a nasty way) was when we stopped for gas somewhere in Indiana.  Brian went in to use the restroom, but it looked like it was occupied.  He knocked on the door and someone replied, "hold on".  So Brian waited.  A few minutes later, the door opened and a lady came out, giving Brian a big smile.  When Brian went into the single toilet bathroom, he said it smelled so bad that he almost threw up.   I was cracking up.
I think he was most disturbed that she smiled when she came out.  Hahaha.

Tomorrow I'm breaking my "no highways" rule.  My bike seems like it can handle it no problem, and we just want to get down there.  It's over 6 hours of riding on the highway, plus our 15 minute gas stops and a stop for lunch.  We're not even sure what time we're leaving....whenever we feel like it and are rested enough.

Bikes are resting, too: