At some point talk has to turn into action. The time had come to actually start this wild odyssey. Friday June 9, 2000. The plan is this. Trailer the scooter to Jacksonville make the ride from Jacksonville to Pensacola on Saturday. Then Sunday Pensacola to New Orleans. I have a very gracious friend, Ed Parent, who lives in New Orleans. He quickly agreed to let me store the scooter at his house so I could return to work for a week before continuing without interruption for the remainder of the journey.

I got the Zuma loaded onto my Dad’s trailer and hooked to my Isuzu Rodeo all ready to go. I normally don’t get off work until 4 PM but things at the courthouse got slow around noon and I was able to leave a little early. Mary Jo was also able to get off. So we changed clothes and headed to Jacksonville. A work friend of Mary Jo’s had loaned her some audio tape books, one of which was a narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition. We listened to it and I found it appropriately inspiring prior to this trip. We arrived in Jacksonville around 9:30 PM. As a last minute thought, the night before I made a sign "FLORIDA TO Calif." to mount on the rear of the scooter.

It’s June 10, 2000 6:00 AM when we unload the scooter at Jacksonville Beach. Mile 0 of US 90 is only about 100 yds from the beach. I take a few pictures and scoop up a cup full of sand from the beach. With a little luck I’ll transport the sand cross country and deposit it at the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. After a few last minute checks, Mary Jo leaves and I’m away at 6:15 AM odometer reading. 1100.0.

It doesn’t take long to get lost. 15 Miles West US 90 sorta dead ends into I-95. The sign for US 90 points off to the right but the road dead ends into what seems like residential streets. And of course there are no more signs to give you a clue. I wander around a little, cross over a bridge and finally after about 20 min. stumble across US 90 again.

I continue on to Mcclenny, about 45 west from mile 0. I pull into this convenience store gas station to find the parking lot filled with Harley-Davidson’s with riders milling around. I am greeted at the pump by a couple of the riders. I am sociable and strike up a conversation. "How are you doing? Nice day. Ya’ll going for a ride are you." Yea, 92 of us so far." I said "why don’t you come on and go with me?" "Where are you going?" I calmly replied " San Diego." ... "California?" he exclaimed. " No SHIT!" the other one chimed in. Then they commence to tell there fellow bikers. Before I can pump my 1 gal of gas, I’ve got a crowd of them around to hear the story. A couple are interested in the tracking and Ham Radio. All want to know about this Zuma by Yamaha. I give some more details before I have to press on. As I leave, I’m sent off with cheers, whistles and applause. If I wasn’t motivated before, I definitely am now. What a first fuel stop!!

I stay on US 90 all day crisscrossing I-10 all the way to Pensacola. I arrive in Pensacola some 13 hours later. I have successfully completed 350 miles of this journey. That’s 35 ten mile segments. I get to sleep in my own bed before I head out on Day 2 to New Orleans