Today’s event was Rolling Thunder. This was the 30th anniversary of this demonstration ride that draws attention to the remaining POWs and MIAs. The picture above is of the North Parking Lot of the Pentagon. The South Lot had a similar number of bikes. There were probably 300,000 bikes attending.

We were parked in the lot by 7:30 .am. and were nowhere near the beginning.

The day started out sunny and mild. We climbed to the top of the hill overlooking the lot and took a few pictures.

A piper and drummer provided some entertainment down on the field and the fire department provide a cooling mist spray.

We made friends with a few of the people parked around us. We talked about the bikes and the ride and more about the bikes.

The ride started on time at noon accompanied by a shower.

The rain let up for awhile, but by the time we left the lot at 1:40 p.m., it was raining steadily.

It rained heavily as we made our way around the Mall – down Constitution Avenues and back on Independence – so I wasn’t able to take any pictures. We headed straight out of town on I-66 and the rain got heavier. Bob’s bike wasn’t running right. We got separated when he had to pull over under a bridge. His phone also ran out of battery about this time. He let the bike rest and was able to restart it after a half-hour. It worked fine the rest of the way to our destination for the evening.

After checking into our hotel we went to dinner at a local restaurant that featured home-cooked meals. Our dinners were the perfect end to a long, exciting, and stressful day.