12 countries in 30 days......and chevron caught fire down the street

Bulgaria

Serbia

Montenegro

Croatia

Italy

Corsica

France

Spain

Portugal

Switzerland

Slovenia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

In about that order....on my BMW F650 that I keep with Luke in Sofia Bulgaria (one of the most expensive airports to fly into....)

And my partners in crime are (you guessed it) total strangers that I found on www.advrider.com except for a few skype conference calls over the past 9 months. I've done this before, ride with complete strangers through much more desolate places in ridiculous temperatures that would bake brownies on the dash of a car in 20 minutes.

So it was with giddy excitement over the past few weeks that I planned, packed and spent money getting ready for the big ride. However my last night was made more exciting by the Chevron oil refinery catching fire in the afternoon. Alarm sirens blared while I panicked about not being packed with the very real possibility of having to evacuate. 

So as I sat at the SFO airport, anxious to see my friend Monique in DC for a night (sleep optional) while I wait for my connecting flight the following day in the afternoon, I had the happy luck to sit next to 2 flight attendents who casually discussed the near air collision by 2 US Airways flights just last week...

My one requirement for my DC layover of 18 hours, The Spy Museum!