Main Street on Memorial Day

Being in a river valley the roads here are defined by the path of the Susquehanna and the mountain walls which flank us on the northwest and southeast. When I'm in the mood for a moderate ride my choices are limited by the more or less parallel streets that run northeast to southwest. I spend a lot of time on the ubiquitous Main Street - a lot of Main Streets, in fact, of the kind where my front tire might be rolling over the southernmost point of South Main Street in one town while my rear tire is still on the northern terminus of North Main Street in the next. I'm not complaining. I like the Main Streets I often travel. They offer some small town charm here between the larger cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, though one must be alert for the traffic lights still mounted on poles at the curb in some places.

I've rolled past the colorful Cwikla's Bakery and surrounding store fronts in Avoca many times, but not as slowly as I did today when I managed to take notice of the opportunity to pose the BV for a picture out front. A sucker for a good, fresh loaf of rye, I might have stopped in to sample their wares if they hadn't been closed for the holiday.

Onto the next Main Street, in Moosic where I managed to find this load of plastic pipes that I thought would make a cool shot.

I explored a shopping center in Scranton to which I'd never been before. A stopped train at the far end caught my attention so I had to check it out. The scooter poised as it is beside the curved, graded spur makes me imagine it thinking, "I think I can!" like the little engine that could. I wish the "Rails to Trails" efforts included long stretches where one might open up the throttle of a scooter rather than just walk or bicycle.

I'm not one to wear patriotism on my sleeve most of the time, but I love the American Flag and had had one on the Fly a long time ago. When I outfitted the BV I'd lost track of where the little flag had ended up. I was cruising past a dollar store that happened to be open this morning and figured they'd have some kind of flag that would fit the scooter nicely. I was right!

On the way back to the house I saw a bumper sticker about the troops and veterans that seems to sum up Memorial Day nicely: "If you don't stand behind them, stand in front of them!" A blessed Memorial Day to all!