Today was "Take Care of Your Motorcycle Day". After 13,000 miles, it was time for some new tires. Around town Orlando, I usually get 10,000 miles out of both, but on the road trip, the back tire was pretty worn, and showing signs of cupping, but the front still looked pretty good with another few thousand miles left. But we still have about 6,000 miles to go, and some will be on really hot pavement, so I went ahead and changed them both just to make sure. When you only have two tires, they tend to be a little more critical than when you have four.
     The shop where I had the tires changed was in Chula Vista, about 20 minutes down the road . So I left Jody back at the hotel with a fully charged cell phone and an agenda to talk to Joan & Gayle, her friends back in Orlando. I was there just before they opened at 9:00 and they took me right in and said it would take a couple of hours. So I sat back with my fully charged cell phone and played Candy Crush (I'm up to level 808), checked Facebook and surfed the net as I waited. It was a big shop, but I don't think they do a lot of Goldwings as the dirt bikes, dual-sport bikes and sport bikes far outnumbered the cruisers. So I think they had a little trouble with something, because it ended up taking them 3 hours. They were all apologetic about the delay, and then delayed me another 15 minutes while they washed the bike. It was worth it though, as the bike was getting really dirty.
     In the meantime, Jody had obviously finished her chit-chat with the girls back home, because the texts about "I'm hungry" and "Are you done yet?" started coming in. Fortunately they were just finishing up and I made it back by 12:30, well before Jody starved to death . After riding mostly 2-up with a load of luggage, I'd almost forgotten how well the Goldwing handled when ridden solo and empty. We ate at the burger joint that is part of the hotel, and the burger was pretty good. Now that both of us and the motorcycle were regenerated, we decided to head back to Balboa Park and visit a few more museums. Of course, we also had to mail back one more box of surplus stuff on the way.
   At Balboa Park, it seemed a lot more crowded than it did on Sunday afternoon. We didn't think much of it until we saw that it was Free Tuesday, where all San Diego residents get access to all the museums for free.   We were glad to see that the locals use the park even more than the tourists. First stop was the Museum of Photographic Art, and frankly we were both a little disappointed. Most of the museum was tied up in a video project, where people from all over the world tape talking about themselves, and they are all projected on a huge wall. It sounds interesting, but after about a dozen stories, we were done . There was a display of Hendrik Kerstens where the photographer was also the model and she did a bunch of head shots of herself in various costumes.
      Next, we headed over to the San Diego History Museum which turned out to be much more interesting than we thought. They had an exhibit called The Art of Dr Seus. It turns out the real Dr Seus lived in nearby La Jolla after WW2 until his death. He also painted as a serious artist, and the museum had some of his artwork, They also had a really interesting 30 minute movie on the creation of Balboa Park. Most of the Balboa park history is tied to an exposition held there in 1915 to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. With the Panama Canal open, San Diego would be the first seaport on the California coast encountered by ships passing through the Panama Canal and they wanted everyone to know it.
     Next we made it over to the Timken Art Museum, right next door to the San Diego Museum of Art. They had a small selection of various artists, but they did have a Rembrandt and there was a Vermeer on loan . AS it was getting close to 4:00 and most of the museums close at 5:00, we hurried over to the Museum of Natural History. We were going to try to go through it quickly, and maybe get to see the Science Center, but the girl at the desk asked if we wanted free tickets to the 4:15 Walking with Dinosaurs 3D movie. So of course we said yes, and this was the last museum. It was actually a pretty good Natural History museum with lots of fossils and interactive skeletons for the kids. They also had a Mayan section that we wanted to see, but it was too late by the time the movie ended. The movie was great, by the way! So we left balboa park with still a few more museums to go, maybe next time!
     On the way back to the hotel, we figured we'd better stop for dinner before it got too late. Rather than do a lot of searching, we had noticed a Cheesecake Factory nearby in our travels, so Skinny Chicken Pasta for Jody, and Shrimp & Sausage Pasta for me. Delicious!
     Tomorrow we make the turn! We officially turn east towards Orlando and the ay back home. We are heading to Yucca Valley, and the Joshua Tree National Park. We expect it will be hot for the next couple of weeks, but we have been complaining about the cold long enough. It might finally be time to break out the shorts.

50.8 miles today
13,039.8 miles total

0.0 gallons today
313.769 gallons total