Friday June 3rd, 2016
Day 7.

Having spent the best part of 2 nights and a day with him, I set off at 4:35 a.m. into a dark but pleasantly comfortable morning of 63’F (18’C) and continued southwards, still pounding the pavement.
I arrived in Howell, NJ at lunchtime. The weather had gotten much hotter. We opted for a McDonalds lunch – a la choice of my granddaughter who had just turned 8 years of age.
With my vacation practically at an end now, I did not have the luxury of another couple of nights on the road.
I had to be back at work in 2 days and needed a full day at home to unwind from the road before returning to work.
So it was mandatory that I arrived home as early as I could on the Saturday before (tomorrow) or sometime on Sunday in event of any delays of mishaps on the road.
I stayed with my daughter and granddaughter for as long as I could and eventually and reluctantly had to part and start the last leg of my journey home.
Back on the interstate.
Around sundown, I pulled off the highway in search of some coffee. I needed the kick to keep me awake.
I pushed on.
Around midnight I was definitely fatigued.
The 18 wheelers were relentless. Trying to stay ahead of them was a safety hazard. I had to pass them at very high and must I say, unsafe speeds.No sooner had I passed 1 or 2 in convoy, I found myself behind another and several others.
So what was I trying to accomplish?
Construction on the Pennsylvania Turnpike had narrowed the road down to 2 lanes.
This was insane!
I had no business “running” the way I was.
As the road went up in elevation into the forest, the fog got more dense.
Nah!
This was unacceptable.
So I slowed it down and exited the highway at a rest stop – which was closed!
I pulled up in the parking lot right underneath one of 2 street lamps there, unfastened my compression bag of laundry, and using it for a pillow, laid right down on the asphalt beside the bike and tried to sleep.
The silence of the night was broken by the relentless sound of 18 wheelers whizzing by on the highway.
Whew, am I glad I got off the highway.
I must have drifted off to sleep for a little while.
Restless and wanting desperately to get home early, I got back into the saddle around 2:30 a.m. and continued my journey.
The road sounded a lot quieter. Seemingly void of 18 wheelers.
So I felt a little more relaxed and maintained a much more sedate pace for the rest of the journey home.
Apparently, I had been close to the Ohio state line when I pulled off the highway, so I was just a handful of hours away from home.