A Pleasant DMV Experience

Although my girlfriend Anna successfully completed her Motorcycle Safety Foundation basic rider course last month, she had few opportunities to take her certificate to the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles, since she has a full-time job. I promised I would accompany her to the DMV to get her motorcycle permit, so today, she took some paid time off, and I scheduled no work.

Since it was sunny and warm, we decided to hop on my Harley and turn what would otherwise be a mundane errand into a pleasant local ride. We started out from Coventry around 10:30 a.m., so there was light traffic as we rode Route 3 to Route 102 through West Greenwich and Exeter; then routes 4, 1 and 138 through North Kingstown; over the Jamestown Bridge; over the Newport Bridge; and to the DMV branch in Middletown on Valley Road.

Until recently, the DMV headquarters was located in Pawtucket. It was notorious for long wait times, often several hours. The headquarters moved to a new building in Cranston, but I suggested that we go to the Middletown branch since it's seldom crowded. My advice proved correct on this day.

We arrived at 11:20 a.m., got ticket number B-438, and then made a beeline for the bathroom, before my bladder exploded. There were only seven numbers ahead of us.

I used the bathroom first, and Anna went next, while I listened to numbers being called on the P.A. system. In the short time she was in the bathroom, four numbers were called. I was worried we might miss our turn, so I knocked on the door and told her to hurry. "I didn't think we'd get out of the bathroom fast enough," Anna said as we sat on a bench and watched an LCD screen with interesting facts (did you know that if you are traveling 65 mph, it takes the length of a football field to stop?).

Soon it was our turn. Anna showed her course certificate and driver's license, and paid a $26.50 fee. In return, the clerk gave her a motorcycle permit, which she must hold for at least 30 days, and then return to the DMV and pay another $26.50 to get her motorcycle license (or, more accurately, an operator's license with a motorcycle endorsement). We were in and out in less than 30 minutes.

We had a few more hours and the weather was perfect, so we decided to ride to Bristol, a scenic town on the bay. There was some heavy traffic on Route 114 in Middletown due to construction, but we soon were moving at a nice, easy pace, with no cars breathing down our neck as we enjoyed views of Narragansett Bay. After going through downtown Bristol, we stopped at a Ricotti's sandwich shop and got lunch to go, bringing it to Colt State Park, where we sat on a bench near a boat launch.

"This is the perfect day, baby," Anna said. "I actually enjoyed going to the DMV."

After lunch, we lingered on the bench (which was dedicated for someone's 90th birthday last summer, according to a plaque that read, "Please rest for a while and enjoy the view") as we soaked in the sunshine. Neither of us wanted the day to end. But we had one more errand to do: renew my plumbing license at the Dept. of Labor & Training in Cranston. We continued through Warren and Barrington before getting on the highway for the ride to Cranston. Even the highway ride was good, since we beat the afternoon rush.

A Remarkable Ride

Neither my girlfriend nor I have taken a ride on my Harley (a/k/a Annabelle) in quite some time. In fact, Annabelle was getting dusty sitting in my garage, although that has as much to do with the fact I've been working with drywall as the length of time its been sitting idle. Anyway, all of us were overdue to hit the road.

Anna suggested that we go for a ride after she got home from work Wednesday, so when she pulled into her parking lot, the bike and I were waiting for her.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked.

"Anywhere you take me, baby," Anna replied.

We endured heavy rush-hour traffic in West Warwick before we got to Route 117 in Coventry, where I could settle into a nice, steady, therapeutic 45 m.p.h. cruise. Then we headed north on Route 102, where we navigated several uneven patches of new pavement; I guess the state couldn't afford to repave the whole road. Next, I went east on Route 6. I briefly pulled over near the Scituate/Johnston town line to ask Anna if she wanted to return home the quick way (go south on Interstate 95), or the long way (go through the east bay towns of Rhode Island (Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Middletown and Newport). She chose the long way.

Since it was after 7 p.m. by this time, the highway ride through Providence was actually pleasant due to relatively light traffic. I enjoyed the sweepers on Route 6 before it joined the 6/10 Connector, and the recently-completed highway project in Providence made getting from Interstate 95 to 195 a breeze.

By the time we made a pit stop at the Dunkin Donuts on Route 114 in Barrington, it was dusk. I had worn my clear goggles, since it was cloudy. Despite the cloud cover, though, we were still treated to a beautiful sunset. As I glanced at my rearview mirror, I saw the setting sun causing the clouds to glow orange. We stopped near the beginning of the East Bay Bike Path to watch the sunset over Bristol Harbor. Time seemed to stand still and worries faded away as we marveled at God's glory reflected in nature.

We continued along Route 114, crossing the Mt. Hope Bridge, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the road was newly repaved. I remembered that there was a KFC coming up, and I suddenly had a craving for one of their chicken pot pies, so we stopped for a late dinner.

Now, there were several things about our visit to the KFC in Middletown, R.I. that were remarkable. In medical terminology, the word "remarkable" is used to describe things that are out of the ordinary. Anna, who is a medical assistant, had told me that just yesterday, and for some reason, I felt compelled to mention that in my blog.

First, although it was 8 p.m., this KFC was nearly as busy as lunchtime - I'm only slightly exaggerating.

Second, they were out of several things, including my chicken pot pie. I settled on chicken strips, but I must have gotten the last ones, since I heard the kid behind the counter tell the customers after me that they would have to wait several minutes for them to cook (or heat up? lol) more strips.

Third, Anna had an even more frustrating time ordering. They had no more chicken breasts, and wanted to substitute ONE wing or ONE drumstick. Anna practically had to argue with them to convince them that two wings or drumsticks is a fair swap for a breast. Too funny.

After leaving KFC, we encountered road construction and rough pavement on Route 114 in Middletown, but it was smooth sailing over the Newport and Jamestown bridges, which I usually don't ride over at night.

Back to medical terminology: Unremarkable means the opposite of remarkable; that is, nothing out of the ordinary or usual. For instance, all the road construction we encountered was (for Rhode Island) unremarkable. And, you could say, the sunset, although stunning, was unremarkable, because God routinely blesses us with beautiful sunsets.

However, a KFC running out of chicken, to me, is quite remarkable.