SSMC Hook-Up

l to r - Bill Vance and my riding partner Doc Gardner

South meets North!

Day 3 breaks sunny, warm, and full of anticipation on our part. We are to hook-up with fellow SSMC riders today for our grand entrance into Norfolk. Old Dominion Chapter member Bill Vance meets us at our hotel in the morning and after breakfast leads us to the rally point in Richmond, Va. Bill is from Culpeper, Va. and knows the back roads very well. Much of Virginia is a very pastoral state with agriculture, horse farms, and large estates doting the countryside. We have a relaxing and DRY ride into Richmond. There we are to meet the group of riders that originated out of the South and enjoy lunch together at 5Guy's Burger & Fries! I also get the opportunity to see a shipmate I had not seen since 1979 and catch up on what the ride and our lives had brought us. Ron Harter and I served aboard the USS Andrew Jackson in the mid-seventies. Sharing an experience like that is a special bond that all submariners understand. Though 30 years separate our last time together, we pick right up where we left off and share our life experiences. Ron's wife Lisa is also a rider and after a delicious gut-bomb with cajun fries we are off as a group to Norfolk! Riding as a MC for the first time with guys and gals from Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee,  and Virginia was quite a thrill! Twelve bikes, two-by-two, made quite an impressive entrance to the USSVI convention at the Oceanside Marriott in Norfolk. Getting the bikes settled, checking in, and moving our gear into the room takes up a good part of the afternoon. Next post I'll write about my convention memories. What a time I was about to have!