June 1, 2009

Monday's Entry

There isn't one (although I do have an idea or two that might pan out).

Basically I-10 all of the way into nearly New Orleans.  A couple of pics.

Weather is way way too hot and way way way too humid = It's killin me :-).

Tomorrow should be better with a highly recommended lunch at the Rivershack Tavern in N.O.  And a swamp tour. 

I wonder how much more badly I can be eaten up by all of the bit

June 2, 2009

Engineering

A lesson.

  Well, let's bring everyone up to date. The first thing that all' ya' all's need to know is that both the heat and the humidity have really taken a toll on me on this ride. After being out of the high humidity for as long as I've been it's been tough reconciling all of the moisture in the air to the sweat running down my body, and all I was doing was standing – still. As I mentioned in a missive a day or so ago, and also in my first one, Plans are only as good as their execution. Well plans then are flawed and doomed to failure from the beginning if they can't be changed. I've had to change the last couple of days' plans and my expectations. It happens.

  Things can sound really exciting when you read about them, but sometimes the reality isn't quite the same. Imagine seeing this photo advertising the “Texas Tropics Trail”

  (Ok I recognize it's not properly framed - exposed – etc. but use some imagination here.) I saw this advertrising the ‘trail' and said “Hey There's a Lighthouse!” – errrh uhhhh, eheem. No it isn't. Looks like one but the last thing it is is a lighthouse. Think rice storage elevator. Again, as I mentioned the route seems very special to the merchants, and vendors along it. I'm not so sure it wasn't ‘engineered' that way.

So I was riding along Texas FM 1465 (Farm to Market 1465) or Highway 146 when I see this amazing bridge spanning one of the many many bay's encountered along the Gulf Coast (Guess they figured it was easier to build bridges than to move the highway away from the refineries.

  I again have to apologize for the photography. I was telling Lynda last night that it really is impossible to be the ‘guy in charge' of riding safely, and still pay attention to the sights to be seen, let alone possess enough forethought to properly time and frame a moving photograph -- Anyway what caught my attention here was that the name of the bridge appeared to be none other than the “Fred Harmon” bridge. I was hoping to do some research tonight and get a better photo to share with you but while they are out there they are all copyrighted. So, most all the GL1800 owners out there know the name of Fred Harmon as the man that nearly walks on water where it comes to the 1800's maintenance – he happens to be an engineer – he also lives in Texas – What are the odds??

Truth is that it isn't the Fred Harmon Bridge , but rather the Fred Hartman Bridge . But it sure got my attention as I rode by it. Take a minute and do some googling. You will see an excellent example of an artistic and beautiful bridge.

I was supposed to camp last night at the KOA in Lafayette , La. But decided that the KOA would have to wait till the current set of bug bites becomes at least manageable and a motel would be the better choice. A few minutes later the GPS had plotted me to a Best Western in Luling , La. just off of US-90 and just outside of New Orleans . I arrived and got the final room for what I thought was a pretty high rate – but seems that all of the rooms are that high and most higher in the N.O, area, and they were indeed booked up.

Coming into Luling I was directed off of the I-10 and onto the I-310, which once again crossed the Mississippi River . This time it crossed the river with another sparkling example of beautiful engineering. The Boggs-Doyle Bridge . It's what is called a Cable-Stayed bridge, with a concrete deck. There are very few bridges of this design in existence and the only one (I've learned about) in the US . Talk about engineering. I-310 just before US-90 and Just outside of New Orleans .

Ok - so here is where my real ‘Engineering' theme comes from -- Already I've been over enough new territory and enough new bridges, highways, and scenic byways to appreciate something other than the pure droning of the interstates. Look at the next couple of pictures and see if you can figure out what's going on:

  See those little ¾ “ PVC Pipes sticking up out of the concrete. Every room in the motel had the exact same configuration.

  AHHH – The intent is to capture the condensation and move it off the the concrete and out of harms way. As you can see from the above picture it's not working very well.

None of them – not a one – was doing what it was designed – engineered – to do. Last night when it was really reaaally muggy the entire deck was wet from the air conditioner runoff!

I wonder if who built this motel were the same people that told the fine folks the East New Orleans it was ok to build below the flood plane….

  Anyway -

  I got up this morning thinking that I would it a slow day as my first ‘planned' stop of the day was a lunch stop at the Rivershack Tavern in New Orleans . So I headed back West on US-90 looking for promised (From the front desk lady at the Best Western (Hey it's worked before(like up at the North Rim))) anti-bellum plantations and mansions. Today it didn't lots of little towns, and lots of state parks and what not, but I just didn't have enough information to get to the right places. So, a quick u-turn and I was heading back East. Got on the I-310, and again crossed over the bridge. Soon I was heading East toward Downtown New Orleans . The Rivershack Tavern was featured on Guy Fierie's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Channel, It's located just off of the river (on River Street ) and is a landmark for the locals. I'm a huge fan of Guy's show. He lucked out the day they filmed the episode that featured the Rivershack as the place had made a homemade turtle soup – I din't get quite so lucky, but still had an excellent, and far to big Po- Boy ½ Shrimp and ½ Oyster. Shrimp I liked, the Oysters not quite so much – just cause I'm not much of an Oyster person.

  A Pic or two:

  That was the outside and this is the inside (I didn't take too many pics, I felt and look like a tourist that didn't really fit in although I was certainly made to feel welcome).

  The Restaurant.

  Busy Kitchen.

My Po-Boy with Sweet Potato Frys. That little pinkish dispenser in the upper right – Well that contains ‘Gold' as Guy says. Yum Yum sauce. Excellent with both the sammich and the fry's. Far too much food to eat. Really good though.

As I departed the Rivershack some 16 bucks lighter than I walked in there with the clouds that had been threatening rain all day finally decided that now was the time to cool us all down some. I was putting my helmet on, when I saw a crack of Lightning, and I automatically counted to see how far away the storm was. It was less than a second before an ear splitting crack of thunder boomed. I departed as quickly as I could, But, still got a good soaking as I navigated my way around construction zones and finally back onto I-10.

My next stop for the day was to take the Honey Island Swap Tour.

In a word or two. It didn't work out. This is a prior reservation only tour. Meaning that once they book 10 people they are done for the day. Well, I tried calling them last night and of course could only get an answering machine. I did talk to the lady this morning, and she sounded encouraging, but said they were all booked for the day, but since I was passing by I should stop and see if there had been a cancellation. There wasn't. I was bummed. But then too, the tour started at 2:00 and went for 2 hours. Then I would have still had to make it at least to Mobile in order for me to be ‘on schedule'. That would have been kinda late. Next time I'll plan 2 days in the N.O. area and include things that don't require a reservation, as well as one that does.

  I'm not too worried. There's still Florida – I've heard that's all it is is one big swamp J (Can't say that too loud, son number 3 may well take umbrage with such a statement.

I'll be pretty quiet for the next couple of day's mostly cause I get to get acquainted with new Grandchildren, but also need to be busy with Bike Maintenance, and the Newsletter that I know all of you chapter members SO look forward to.

That's it. I've engineered this discussion as much as I'm willing to. Feel free to polish the edges just don't try and change it's structure! J

June 5th 2009  

  Rain Rain – Go Away.

And as far as I'm concerned you can stay away.

Battleship Park – Mobile, Al. is a pleasant sort of place. It's right on the Gulf. It has the US Alabama tied up, and a Best Western with a restaurant attached to it. Not too bad, all-in-all. Unless, you had been traveling through Texas for the most part of the day and had, as you were cruising down the highway encountered a tree branch. Not just any ordinary tree branch, but one that had been on the road for a while, so all of the bark had been scraped off leaving the creamy colored wood underneath all that was exposed to you vision as your hurtling toward said branch at 75 MPH. Towing a trailer. Hitting said branch and then cursing your luck.

  No harm done. The bike's still running – no flat tires, Music's still playing, no FI lights, Trailer's still attached. Onward!

As the Texas miles stretched into the Lousiana and good New Orleans Cooking world I had to start wondering what happened to that Branch. After my most enjoyable lunch at the Rivershack Tavern in New Orleans I headed East once more. At the next gas stop in Mississippi I checked all of the lights out and found that the trailer lights were no longer working. DAMN. So I got down and looked under the trailer and sure enough, there was that silly branch. It had wedged into the left hand lower light and seemed to be stuck there. So, with a lot of fiddling around I managed to break it free and then proceeded to throw it away – never to bother another motorist of any kind again. I checked the lights again and they still were not working. Enough. I'd look at them when I stopped for the night.

Enter Mobile, Al. and the Battleship Park and the Best Western there. Yes, that's the Alabama!

  The Bestwestern was a fine motel. Had a restaurant. Nice rooms. But, was out in the middle of no-where. So, when I tried to get my Internet connection going I didn't have much luck. Then, while trying a third re-boot of my dell it decided it didn't want to boot at all… Damn again. Time to go look at the trailer lights and see what I could see while waiting for the laptop to boot. I had decided somewhere along the line that the trailer had probably shorted, like it had before, from the inside of it where the wires would sometimes get stretched over a metal bracket an then short to ground. Nope. 5 Fuses Later, and I can't get them running yet, and it's starting to rain. I gave the lights up as a bad investment of my time figuring that I'd be in Florida the next day at our number three son's home and he, as an electrician should be able to ‘figure it out' .

Meanwhile my old Dell had decided that it would give me it's startup screen, but I couldn't get anywhere with it – no email, not MSWord, no Excel – not anything I even remotely needed.

  I went to bed.

I got up the next morning to rain, and lots of it. I kinda like riding in a nice rain, as it cools things down, while spicing up what would be another ordinary ride.

Mobile to Tallahassee was Thunderstorm after Thunderstorm. Lightning striking close enough that I couldn't count to 1 thousand and 1 before a deafening thunderclap sounded. I've been in thunderstorms before, and none of them have been fun. This was no exception. It Finally cleared up around Tallahassee and remained so till I turned South on I-75. I could see very major build up to the south and East – Just where I was Headed. As I proceed the 145 mile South toward Leesburg the sky remained threatening but dry. OK! I'm gonna make it!

HA. As I crossed into the town limits of Leesburg the sky opened up and produced one of the heaviest downpours I've ever been in. Thankfully all of the electronics were by then safely stored. It was a 4 mile ½ hour ride that I'd just as soon not repeat again real soon. No thunder, no lightening, just so much water coming out of the sky I was shocked, there were cars stuck in the middle of intersections that had been flooded etc. The only real option I had was to proceed – carefully – which I did.

So, Rain Rain – Go Away!

I did finally make it to my Hotel.

I walked into the room and the phone was ringing. Son number 3 was asking, “So, what did you think of our Welcome??”. You, like he, can use your imagination J .

It's rained, a lot ever since I got to Florida. Tropical Storm Watches all over the place, and Hurricane Season began 4 days ago.

So, I arrived in Leesburg with three basic issues. One, no computer (no blog, no – or limited – email, no MS Word or Excel, no Newsletter). Two, no trailer lights. Three I was wet in places I didn't know I had places.

I'm going to recommend the Sleep-Inn in Leesburg. These folks were so very accommodating, and, as long as you weren't looking for a 4 star experience you were sure to get at least a 3 star one. As I was checking into the Hotel it was still just pouring outside, and I'm standing in the lobby in full gear dripping all over the place and the desk clerk says “Here's a towel – why don't you dry off a bit!”. Now that was pretty cool, because they still had to get out the mop and wipe up my mess after I left.

  Anyway – enough. Leesburg, Fl. Here's all you need to know LOL.

  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah – That second one still scares me too. Say hi to Levi and Lillie.

So, I kept myself busy while the adults were working during the day by getting new tires on the trailer, asking advice about the lights and generally trying to stay out of the oppressive heat, intense humidity, and nearly continuous rain. All while being very frustrated that I couldn't communicate, nor could I get into Word to work on the newsletter or any kind of blog. Twas a painful two day's.

When I talked to Lynda on Thursday and told her of the Dell's demise we agreed that I really needed a lap top with me on this trip and so we decided to go ahead and send my new Toshiba Laptop out to Fl. So I could continue on. Well, it arrived today, and thankfully it is fully functional. Fed-Ex treated it just fine thanks! And I have to say that once again Lynda came through with flying colors. Thanks Sweetie!

  OK these three pages get us all through Leesburg.

  I was scheduled to ride down to Key West today and then back up here tomorrow. I didn't do that. Instead, at several folk's recommendation I rode all of about 120 miles to Saint Augistine, Fl. The Oldest US City. (I always want to add some kind of adjective to that, but it is what it is – in fact the oldest U.S. City).

  I'll do the ride up here, and the city tomorrow, I'll also try to get us all up to date on where I am and how I got there in tomorrows entry.

  Yeah, That's number 3 working on the Vette.

Yeah, Made me nervous.

But

He made the right diagnosis.

  PS --- Here's a spoiler - - It rained today (Remember those places that got wet that I didn't know I had places?? Well there were places under those places that got wet today), and St. Augistine, which may have been founded in 1565 has only bits and very small pieces of that original settlement still around, as the city was burned to the ground in the early 1700's.

  More later.

June 7th 2009

Interstates, Highways, Roads and Names

I was talking to the boss last night and it was suggested that I make every attempt to bring everyone up and current with my travels. I've been a bit hesitant to do that because for the most part they haven't been terribly exciting. But, here's my stab at it.

Leaving Saint Augustine required making use of several of Florida's secondary highways, but only for short stretches,

One of Saint Augustine's secondary Highways

and eventually I found myself on the dreaded New York, Miami racetrack known to those of us that ‘aren't from around these parts' as I-95. I headed north. Then when 295 became available I headed back West. When I-295 gave out I was saved from having to resort to nosing my way Westward on something other than a 8 lane superhighway by having such a superhighway suddenly appear. I-10. Bless it, as it offered the speediest way out of Florida's temperamental weather – Which had been threatening rain all morning long, once again. I only took one freeway picture and that was of I-295 as it passed over St. John's River (Part of the East Coast's Inland Waterway). Quite Pretty. If any country ever needs to build a causeway and needs help – Florida can do it.

So, the I-10 droned on and on, the weather still threatened, but never actually produced. It remained humid enough that if you were to stop and stand still you would quickly become covered in water and sweat. Not pleasant at all. Eventually I passed Tallahassee and was gazing almost fondly at a non Interstate – it was the Florida 231 (also the Alabama 231). It was my way out of Florida and more temperate and dryer conditions. Northward – ever Northward now. The highway, while a nice 4 lane conveyance, did get routed through several rather large towns with lots of stoplights and lots of traffic. It was still hot, and it was still quite humid. Eventually, after about 380 miles I wound up in Troy, Al. I decided it would be a good place to stop as it was pretty close to todays destination, and it had a nice selection of Motels and restaurants alongside the highway. So Stop I did at the Days – inn. Nice enough place. When I told the desk clerk that I needed a room with a good internet connection he put me in a suite, next to the office for the same price as a single king…. Who Say's that the days-inn folks don't care about their customers??

Alabama 231 is a main connector highway between the northerly interstates of I-85, I-65 and the I-10, consequently it's a very busy trucking highway, with the added consequence of being very heavily patrolled. Should you find yourself on this stretch of American Roadway – don't speed (well I was doning _+ 2 or 3 – but didn't want to push it anymore than that and I was pretty much keeping up with traffic).

The Days-inn is located right next door to a steakhouse – “The Santa Fe”. I took the desk clerks recommendation and headed over there about 7:00. The place was packed. Very popular local place. I put my name on the wait list and was told it would be 10 min or so. Ok. No problem. I sat down, in the waiting area and it was then that I realized where I really was in the whole Geography of things. What caused this sudden realization you might ask…. It was the Huge 55 Gallon Oak barrel sitting in the middle of the wait area full of peanuts. I was in the ‘Heart of Peanut Country'. There were peanuts everywhere! On the floor, on seats, on shelves – I was sure that by the time I was through eating I'd be covered in peanut shells. What was so interesting was the way everyone would take a handful and as they shelled and ate them would critique them! Almost like a wine tasting! Anyway when it was my turn to be seated they took me to a full booth and said “Here ya go”. I had the whole booth all to myself, as well as a whole pail full of peanuts.

“Drink?”.

“Sure – give me one of those Lynchburg Ice Tea's”.

Out came (and I'm not kidding) a 1 quart mason jar full of Ice and the Lyncburg Ice Tea.

Food and service were both very good, and I also would add my recommendation to this place should you ever find yourself in the area. I do wish I'd remembered to bring my camera. But all I have is cell phone images which can't be used here.

This morning dawned clear and as soon as the sun crested the horizon it became hot. The humidity in Troy was better than in central Florida, but was still pretty intense. I got the bike and trailer loaded up as quickly as I could and donning my mesh Jacket and Pants was off. North out of the parking lot for yet another 40 miles of AL-231. I spent most of the day today on the ‘Hero's Highway' and the “Purple Heart Trail'. Both of which names are much nicer than the more commonly known one – you can do your own Google J .

I will say this. I was impressed with the flow of traffic around Montgomery. I realize that today was a Sunday and as such traffic shouldn't have been too bad, but really the way the highways were identified and signed made all the difference to a smooth ride through town. Montgomery happens to house the “First White House of The Confederacy”.

Pennsylvania Avenue has this one beat all to heck and gone. Built in the early/mid 1830's though and still pretty impressive.

A much awaited stop was about an hour away from Montgomery just off the highway on a little secondary called the Heart of Dixie. It's a railroad and railroad museum. It's always those two things but on Sunday, it's closed. This is the Bible Belt after all. I should have known better. I was lucky in that I found an open gas station and when I asked when the Museum opened I got a look that clearly said “Sinner, don't you know it's Sunday?”. Hummm.

A pic or two and I'll chalk this one up to missing an opportunity to experience in Alabama what we have in Fairfield with the “Western Railroad Museum”.

Gotta have one of the “Old” and the “New”:

What little I was able to discern from the public displays is that the area around Calera (where the Museum is) was quite rich in Iron Ore and boasted several mines. This same theme played out later in the day as I proceeded through the Natchez Trace Parkway (but more about that later).

Onward – ever Northward, along the Hero's Highway and ever closer to what felt like ground zero for NASCAR. That would be Birmingham, Al. We all know that the South loves it's cars, and horses as long as they are racing. Have you ever been riding / driving along and suddenly you can almost feel a palpable change in the flow of traffic and the driving habits being exhibited? That would be Birmingham, Al. Maybe it was the Black Lexus that rocketed past me doing at least 90 (only to be slowed waaaayyy down by a truck that decided to pass another truck a short way ahead), or maybe by the very sudden lane changes with minimum signaling. The feeling I got the closer I came to Birmingham was that if I wasn't a NASCAR driver I should not be on the roadway. Incredible! I smelled it before I could see it. I could see it before I got to it, and when I got to it I swear I expected to see rolled over cars and wreckage everywhere. But, somehow, some lucky driver had managed to lock all four tires, leaving clouds of black tire smoke in the air and still continue on their way as though nothing had happened at all.

I stayed in the Slow Lane till I was out of that madness.

Finally the AL-157 exit came into view and my freedom from the cursed Interstate. AL-157 is a very nice 4 lane highway that runs East and West and grants access to the denizens of the North Western part of the state's lake district to the interstate, but also to one of the most scenic rides in all of the South. I'm talking about the Natchez Trace Parkway. This 400 mile long road (literally a “Park” way) is best enjoyed when the 50 MPH speed limit isn't going to be an impediment. It is generally agreed that the Northern part of the ride is a bit better than the southern (of Al-157) is because the Northern is a bit more hilly and curvy. It is. It also has more historical turn outs and places to take some decent shots.

These next pictures are about the road and the ride. Sometimes a rider wants to share what the ride was like and a picture can be worth a lot of words.

Straight and Beautiful Park like Setting Curved and Beautiful Park like Setting

And Finally – for you roadies out there that really want to get up close and personal to the feel, the smell, the grit and the grime of the actual road – here it is:

The ride into “Historic” Franklin, Al. where I'm spending the night tonight was pretty cool too in that Franklin is pretty close to the Parkway, and the road the leads to it from the Parkways is ‘littered' with horse farms --- for example “The Saddlewood”

Yes, I know it's hard to see – that house is sitting on about a bizilliongazillion acres and is well off the road.

I'm riding a motorcycle.

I'm looking for an opening.

That was it.

More fun tomorrow! Laundry awaits.

June 8th  2009

I don't think that any trip to Tennessee would be complete without at least a taste of each one of the subject items -- 2 and 3 can actually be done together. Very nice ride today -- a bit short on miles, but with a tour,  late start, and a time change I'm not unhappy. 
I'm looking forward to tomorrows ride.
Cheers!

Jim

Horses, Booze, and Branch

Even though I got to bed late last night the room was comfortable and I slept pretty good. I wasn't used to fighting with 4 pillows though so occasionally I have to toss one off the foot of the bed. It felt good to have both the body and all of the clothes clean at the same time. Dinner last night consisted of a meal a Shoony's. Shoony's is a chain Restaurant that is very popular in the South, I'm guessing because it is an all you can eat buffet kind of place. Not a big menu, but good southern food and lots of it. Except by the time I got there the buffet was closed and I had to order off the menu. So I ordered the chicken, which was, to the best of my ability to see the exact same chicken that was still on the buffet table – only mine came from the Kitchen. Dunno – Just sayin.

Anyway I got up this morning and the motel had a big full hot breakfast. Eggs, Sausage, fresh biscuits, and homemade gravy. Waffles and cereal, bread, and muffins.

Honey, I tried, really I did. I looked (In Vain) for some Yogurt and a banana and a bagel.

I settled for the eggs, sausage, biscuits, and gravy and 2 glasses of OJ.

Ok I'm now Rested, Clean, and Fed. I must be ready to head out for the days adventure. Nope – Need Gas. Done.

OOPS a wrong turn out of the gas station and Henreitta (the GPS) is going nuts, well by the time she was calmed down I'd spotted a branch of ‘my' bank. Great luck, let me stop and get some cash out without having to pay those annoying transaction fees. Done. It's now 9:00 Am. I'm really late getting out of town. But eventually I did.

First order of business à Every where there were horse ‘farms??' (what else would ya call them?) Beautiful manicured grounds, stunning homes, stunning animals, stables and exercise grounds. In this particular picture I stopped, got my camera out and the horse actually wandered up to the stone fence there and wanted some attention. I couldn't supply needed attention so it turned around and headed off to its other fellows lounging on the grounds. I could really get into this kind of a lifestyle; all it takes is bucks.

I can't believe the property these folks possess. Farming I understand – you know, tilling the field, sewing the seed, praying for water, caring for the seedlings and harvesting. But this kind of ‘farm' is foreign to me.

This morning was one of those mornings where I wished I'd had my co-rider with me as I just couldn't do an effective job of handling the bike in traffic and still pictorially document the event. And a “By the Way” should you travel in Tennessee on some of their state highways, be advised, rarely will you find an adequate apron on the side to pull over – you will HAVE to pull off the pavement onto the dirt if you need to get off the traveled road.

So, farm after farm, or ranch after ranch all along the road all of the way into Shelbyville. This is one of Tennessee 's hidden Gems.

Another thing that holds my interest is Booze. Any when you are in Tennessee you had better only be thinking about the booze that's made in Lynchburg . My oh my, such a small town completely dedicated to the manufacture of a sour mash whiskey. 380 Souls in the town and every one of them happy to admit that they have something to do with the making of Jack Daniels. I spent an hour plus there today and took the whole tour. I have lot's of bits and pieces about the process they use and it's all quite interesting to those of us on the tour, but probably won't make for very good reporting. I'd like to share a couple of pictures with you though and try and give you a flavor of what's going on.

The Entrance to the Visitor Center The thing that makes JD Unique is the Carbon Filtration

  The tour starts with one of the most important aspects why JD is so ‘good' It starts with the handmade carbon. Made from hard Sugar Pine and indeed they to this process several times a week – they make their own Carbon Filtration. And every drop – literally every drop, is run through 10 feet of this carbon to remove any & all ‘funny' taste.

This is the famous limestone cave. This cave produces ALL of the water used in the fermentation process JD goes through. The water is very pure, has no iron or other contaminants in it. It is tested 4 times a day. The distillery is not allowed ‘by law' to add anything to the water, so the resulting product remains the same barrel after barrel.

Our guide took us into the fermentation room and it was two things – Hot and Stinky. Hot because the mash is boiled and stinky because, well the fermentation process is a stinky one. The picture below is of the Fermentation tank – we were allowed to get very close to it and ‘take a nose' as they call it. “It” made my eyes water and nearly took my breath away. That ‘open hopper' deal is where the danger zone is.

And this isn't a bad motto for anything you do – Mr. Jack Daniels coined the phrase and seemed to be a most excellent businessman. He did, however succumb to gangrene caused by a broken toe caused by a fit of anger when he couldn't get his office safe opened. He's said to have kicked it, breaking his toe and suffering the consequences.

The second thing that the JD Company does that insures it's product's quality is that they store the raw, whiskey in white oak barrels in barrel rooms all over the valley – some as much as 7 stories high, 3 barrels to a story.

The distillery employs 86 tasters. They taste every day. They and they alone decide when a barrel is ready for bottling. There is also a master Distiller who is responsible for blending the barrels into the uniquely JD flavor. 86 Whiskey tasters in a Dry County --- Go Figure!

I did leave the Distillery feeling like I'd had a pretty good tour. Now I needed to get back on track for some of the best that Tennessee has to offer. The Cumberland Range and the Great Smokey Mountains . However, Tennessee is a very ‘long' state. It takes a while to get from west to East and a good bit of time to get from North to South also. So I spent the next several hours slogging through farming country, and some “I don't know why this exists at all, yet along ‘here' “ country. I did finally make it into the Cumberland area. Gosh what a welcome sight after the flatness of Texas and Florida , and Mississippi , and Alabama . Still off in the distance, but I can smell it J .

  June 9th 2009

  Well it appears that I confuesd my Spot Tracker today.  And it in turn sent some kinda panic message to Lynda who in turn went into worry mode which caused some telephone activity between a number of people - not to mention my cell phone (which only has very spotty service here).  All I can say is "Opps".  Dunno what I did different,  I thought I did everything the same as I've done every day since departing.  Sorry for the scare.  I'm alive and well, fed and cared for.

And here's today's entry.

Jim

Blue Haze, Crotch Rockets and Cruisers

Appalachia – just the name conjures images in one's mind. Mountains, mountain people, back roads, rivers and lakes a remoteness that defies its proximity to Knoxville . The perpetual humidity, the mountains that trap and hold the heat every day and of course the pollutants we mortals add to the mix all work together to produce the Great Smokey Mountains .

Just East of the Cumberland Gap lies Knoxville, Tn., and just a little East of that is the vacation land of the south – no, it's not Disneyland. It is however the Great Smokey Mountain Region. This area is full of history, beauty and spectacular roads.

Allow me to ask a question, and provide ‘my' answer. Suppose you had only a limited time to spend touring Tennessee . What would you do? My answer is to 1) See the Horse ‘farms' of South Western Tn. 2) See the JD Distillery (Because, how many places do YOU know of that have an entire town committed to the production of a product whose quality is known throughout the world. Plus it was downright interesting.) 3) Ride spectacular roads. 4) See spectacular sites. We did one and two yesterday. Today it's time for three and four.

There is an area just South of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park . The area is generally known as the Tellico Plains. Flatlands for the most part to the south and east and the Smokey Mountains to the North and West. A perfect place to build a dam and resulting lake. Not a bad place either to concentrate on building some of the best motorcycle roads in America . I've read for years all about the area, the Tellico Plains, the Cherola Skyway, Deals Gap and the Tail of the Dragon. Today was the day I was to conquer all of them. Here's today's route. It's a bit hard to understand because there was some doubling back involved.

I departed Kodak, Tn. this morning and proceeded toward Pigeon Forge with the idea of ‘seeing what's there'. Pigeon Forge is the home to Dollywood and a host of other attractions. It's ‘almost' like a Disneyland , but not the same. Traffic is awful. Lots of folks all going to the various venues. I was finally able to turn around and depart the environs and head for the Wears Valley via US-321. This highway starts out slow then does a very quick 1000' elevation change with a lot of switchbacks and slow curves before leveling out into the Wears Valley where numerous river tube rental places were all competing for the tourist buck. The 321 then connected to the US-411 – that's that long straight section on the map. It's only excitement was when it crossed lake. Finally started seeing signs for the Cherohala Skyway via TN-68. A left onto Tn-165 put me on a piece of pavement that so reminded me of riding in California it almost made me homesick. This is a very popular motorcycle and is part of a larger loop that I did today. Remembering that this is ultimately a report about a motorcycle ride, I need to share some of the reasons why this is such a special place.

At the bottom end of the Skyway. Turnouts abound and photo op's at everyone of them.

Beautiful Sweeping curves passing through a lush green tree canopy with a river running right next to it. Really a very nice ride.

All too soon the I was directed to a left hand turn where a sign warned trucks of dangerous road conditions ahead – steep inclines, tight curves and switchbacks. Humm. It was highway 129 (US-129). I don't know where my head was, because it didn't take too long to figure out that what I was riding on was the famous “Tail of the Dragon” or “Deals Gap”. This ride, as indeed the rest of todays ride required far too much attention on my behalf to bike operation to provide any photographs. Suffice it to say that the 312 curves along the 12 mile stretch were enough to get my attention. Once again it would have been a great day to have had my co-rider on the back to be the photographer. Next time.

Here's a couple from Killboy just to give you an idea.

Riding the Dragon has a whole mystique to it. There are yearly deaths attributed to the difficulty of navigating this section of Highway. Crotch rockets have developed a very bad name on the road because of a perceived ‘need for speed', however cruisers and touring bikes have been major offenders too. When one reads of the accidents and deaths on this highway it doesn't take long to realize that a safe ride is plenty thrilling enough. Of course that's just my humble opinion.

The ride out of the Dragon basically put me back in Maryville along US-411. At which point I got to thinking that I'd like to try and make it through the Great Smokey National Park before stopping for the day. So – I plunked into the GPS tomorrows route and said “Take me there”.

It did – along one of the most beautiful roads I've ever been on. It's called the Cades Cove Road , and is part of the National Park. It follows the Smokey's Little River as it meanders through the park. It's a beautiful ride, but, it's also “THE” most popular place for all of the parks visitors to go SO it's slow, Painfully so. Riding a 900 pound bike with a 300 pound trailer pushing you downhill and pulling you back going uphill once again required all of my attention. I had no opportunity to take any photos, and Sadly don't seem to be able to find any of the roadway and river online to ‘borrow'.

As I rode through the park heading toward Cherokee, NC. I thought that maybe I'd stop and take the camera out and shoot a picture or two, but traffic was heavy and the views weren't all that great, and were much of what I saw was still fresh in my mind from when Lyn and I went through in 2006. I finally did relent and take a couple:

I know they look a bit like the Santa Cruz Mountains , and indeed, as one rides through them they feel the same too.

Ok – for the Roadies out there… Take a gander at this one and see if you can figure out where it was taken.

And have to include this final one of the Bike at the top of the world – so to speak.

  June 10th 2009

  Hi folks --

  Well I'm safe.  Looks like what happened yesterday is that I didn't reset the spot tracker correctly after sending out my 'firt of the morning' "I'm OK" message.  It worked fine today  Whew! I'll have to pay more attention to what I do and how I do it from now on :-).

  As I mentioned yesterday -- I thought I'd be heading north today on the Blue Ridge Parkway -- nope -- I forgot that I wanted to see a bunch more in the South before heading North.  Today wound up being the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC .  If I was doing a blog I'd have called it the "Cranky Yankee ".  Here's why.  I remember during the research phase that the Biltmore was an expensive attraction.  What I didn't realize is that the ENTIRE estate is hidden from view -- you can't see squat unless you fork over $50.00 a head for a 'day pass'.  Well,  I was prepared to spend the $50.00 but when they said I needed a tour ticket for another $28.00 and by the way no photography in ANY of the buildings I decided that my money and my time would be better served in villages and townships along my route than to pay so outrageously for such a venue.  I WAS cranky and they knew it before I left the visitor center.  Anyway the rest of the ride into Atlanta was
uneventful until I was just about to Norcross (where I'm really spending the night) when the thunderstorm hit.  Well,  so out of what 18 - 19 days on the road I've only now been soaked to the skin 5 times.  Not bad -- really.

Tomorrow another excellent Diner from the three "D's" and then East -- Ever Eastward to Charleston to see what kind of trouble I can get into there.

Hey It's an adventure.

Jim

June 11th 2009

 Diner's, Drive-in's and Drives

I slept in this morning. Man did that feel good. I knew I had some time as I was heading to the Marietta Diner for breakfast this morning. One of Guy's better finds on his show. I took my time getting ready and getting the bike loaded. Even chatted a bit with the Motel manager about his “Tourist Establishment Rating” that he had posted on the wall. He had a 99 out of a hundred. “You must be happy with that” I said.
“Nope, I'm very upset – What was the one thing?”

“If an inspector couldn't find 1 thing wrong , well, they would never do that.” I said.

He agreed.

I had spent some time last night going through the trailer wiring one more time, as it was only working very intermittently. I found that the light sockets in the car part were of dubious design quality – sharp edges and wires bent sharply over the sharp edges – obvious fraying and shorts. So I decided that during the course of the day I'd be looking for an automotive parts store to do some swapping out. So now I had four things on the agenda for the day – The diner, the auto parts store, the ride itself and getting to Charleston , Sc. 578 route miles away.

I waved goodbye to my newfound buddy Jimmy Carter as I turned out of the parking lot – he didn't wave back – Probably because he was too busy cleaning pigeon poo off of him. Who knows. I don't, and will probably never see him again anyway.

The first order of business – Breakfast. The Marietta Diner has been serving up great meals for over 30 years at the same location. The original ‘Diner Car' is still very much a part of the building. I was impressed with the food and the service. My server was Carol.

“Hi, I'm Carol, and I'll be your server today” said a distinctly NON southern voice – much more Yankee than that.

“Hi Carol, I was told that if I was in the area I had to eat here” I said in an equally NON southern voice.

“Oh? Where are you from?”.

“Ca”.

“Well I'm from Long Island, welcome to Georgia , what can I get you to drink?”

And so it went – best buddies for the 40 minutes I was there. She even went so far as to introduce me to a couple of very nice older ladies sitting in the booth next to me – from Iowa, Cedar Rapids, and the college student sitting in the booth behind me – studying electrical engineering.

Time for a picture or two.

From the outside and inside – I was obviously seated in the newer section – that's ok. I was there for the experience. The breakfast menu was typical, very complete, and not too expensive. I ordered my very favorite breakfast and was very pleased when it was delivered.

That hollandaise sauce was handmade – no packaged mix here. No Canadian Bacon though either – Just good ole ham!

After breakfast I had to spend a few minutes convincing the GPS that I really did want to complete the rest of today's ride. It finally agreed with me and got me headed out on several roads that are called “Parkways” here, but are more like expressways back in California . The parkways were semi high-speed full access roads with limited stoplights, but had plenty of cross traffic, so I had to stay on my toes the whole way. I did find an auto zone right before I turned onto I-20 and the fellow was very helpful with his ideas about checking the grounding and making sure all of the connections were secure on the trailer. I thanked him even though that was pretty much what I was thinking of doing anyway J

I did eventually make it to and across the State Line back into Alabama and one of Alabama 's best kept secrets. Highway 281 The Talladega Scenic Byway. It's a two lane highway that you are able to get to from I-20. It runs through the Cheaha State Park – which houses Alabama 's highest point. I rode the route from the North toward the South and East. This really is a very scenic route to take. I only saw one or two other vehicles the whole way. The roadbed is off and on good to excellent. Sometimes a bit bumpy, always passable, and sometimes downright comfortable. This is a section of a bit bumpy, but still very passable. There were long straight sections that disappeared around a corner, just like this one numerous times. Made for some very fun riding.

Just a perfect ride in the hills of Alabama .

From the top – I think we were about 3000 feet up at the highest.

One of the downsides to the photos of the area is that because of the amount of water in the air the distances become really hazy.

These wildflowers were everywhere along the road. I've seen them all over but can never remember their name. Still, though it's quite beautiful riding down the road with flowers on both sides.

I know they are a little hard to see here, but if you look closely you can see the flowers alongside the road. Also, you can see that once again mother nature has decided to get the whole area wet. This seems to be a real issue with being in these parts of our great US of A.

Now, I only feel right in telling you that if you decide to ride this route you will need to make a choice ahead of time about how you are going to ‘get out'. See, once you have ridden the byway to it's conclusion the highway 281 ends. You can either turn around and go back the way you came (and yes there are roads that will take you back to the I-20 faster than ‘my' route will. Or you can turn left on ‘ Blue Ridge Road '. Rough as a cob, washouts (but still paved??), only a couple of miles long, and obviously not maintained anymore will eventually take you to a county road with the first house you'll see bearing a flag pole with the Union Jack still flying, which in turn will take you through several more county roads before finally landing you onto a state highway – Al-46 to be exact. It's a fun ride, a little long, and kind of remote but well worth it when you run through Wedowee, Al. with your speakers cranked up playing “___________” (I had ‘Get this Honda Running” – you can choose your own title) and get the local response!

Well as promised I did finally make it back onto the I-20 and headed East. I could see off in distance some very large thunderstorms brewing. Now, I have to admit I was at this juncture leaning very heavily on the GPS to tell me what my next move needed to be. I was not very spatially oriented, all I knew was that I was headed East and toward Charleston, Sc. Well I was, via Atlanta again. So when the I-20 got me to Atlanta at about 4:00 local time I gave some thought to maybe spending the night at the same motel as I had last night. NAWH – Go East – East is where you want to be. So I continued East. Soon East became a very wet direction to take. I could still see the thunderstorms moving ahead of me, not toward me but always away – but the rain it was leaving in its wake was pretty intense. I finally pulled off an got gas just East thinking I would ride to Augusta before calling it a day and being about 200 miles from my destination in the morning. Well, I pulled back on the freeway and drove less than ½ mile before all 6 lanes came to a screeching halt. We didn't stay that way, no, we were in the stop and go mode. You all know how much GL1800's love that mode. To make a long, painful story as short as possible – some 4 miles ahead and on the Westbound side a very major accident was caused by the passing thunderstorm. Must have had 15 – 20 cars involved all over the roadway – they had it shutdown. And, in the backup were another half dozen accidents – what a mess. By the time I finally won clear of all the madness it was nearly 5:30 Local, so I stopped. Got a room, made a cocktail, and wrote this. Now I'm done for the day – tomorrow brings South Carolina (and Probably another storm…..)

All together about 320 miles for the day. Should only have about 5 hours into Charleston tomorrow. Might even have to get up early !!

This is country. This is Country Living.

June 12th 2009

  Well -- here I am in beautiful downtown Charleston, SC.   Hot -- Hot- OMG is it HOT.

Rough roads - thunderstorms - rain (surprise!!) - bald tires - geeze I wonder how these people do it.

Cheers!

Jim

I really really love Thunderstorms.  And tonight South Carolina is providing an excellent show.  WOW -- Lightning all over the sky and thunder every second or so.  Not to mention how much water is flowing down the street....
Got a pic or two -- but Ya gotta be here.

I don't think there's anywhere on the west coast that gets weather like this.  Like I said -- Geeze -- I don't know how these people do it.

Jim

Doing the Charleston

Part one

Well, as described in last night's missive I wound up giving up on the ride at 5:30 PM and grabbed a hotel room in the very Eastern part of Atlanta . Still some 300 miles from Charleston . I was beat. Still quite wet and more than ready to call it a day. This morning I got up kind of early and had the bike loaded and ready to go by 8:00. I dropped by the breakfast area and was surprised to find fresh fruit, real bagels, and a selection of Yogurts. So I sat down and had a rather large breakfast, then hopped on the bike and headed east on I-20. The weather was already heating up and within about 20 minutes I was squinting, trying to see clearly through the glare of the sunlight reflecting off the water vapor, and off the blindingly white concrete. By the time I was 90 minutes into the ride I was ready to pull over and have a bottle of water and was pleased to hear Henrietta agree with me so I stopped and got some gas and some water. Looked at the GPS route and it looked like I was heading down another one of those “scenic byways” – cool!

Well, as I was getting ready to make a right out of the gas station I found that I had to wait as a large group of Harley riders passed. I followed – at a nice safe quiet distance. About 9 miles down the road we all had to come to a stop for some roadwork ahead. So, off came the helmets and bandana's and we chatted. They were one of the local HOG riders chapters out for a 3 day ride, riding around the circumference of South Carolina . Humm Pretty Cool if ya ask me. They pretty much all ragged on me for undertaking the ride I'm on solo. I admitted that ‘Yeah, this kind of ride does have its moments.”. And it does. A few minutes later it was helmets on, bikes started and we moved on. I followed them for another mile or two, then I turned off toward the East yet again. I meandered along for the next 30 minutes and finally was directed to take the ramp ahead and ride on I-26 for the next 36 miles. Hummm I had my heavy camera wrapped around my neck for most of the day now, and hadn't snapped a picture yet – that little detour from I-20 to I-26 was not scenic at all, and it was hella hot too.

Today was supposed to be a camping day, and I did eventually make my way to the “Charelston KOA”. They had two campsites available, but were otherwise full. I developed a light case of Gout in my right elbow yesterday and that along with the now 97 degree temperature and the 100% humidity I decided I really needed Air Conditioning instead of the oppressing heat and hot water. A mile or two away was another Days Inn. Rate was reasonable. The promised non smoking room reeks of tobacco but I'm so dog tired I don't really care. I got checked in and it wasn't quite 2:00 – still plenty of time to run the 18 miles into Downtown Charleston and see the sites. But first, I need to find a tire company that can put yet another set of tires on the trailer. Have an appointment for 9:00 Local tomorrow. One tire is quite bald, and one tire still has probably 1500 miles on it – go figure. I'll see if they can give me some insight as to why they are wearing so un-evenly and so quickly.

When I pulled out of the motel Parking lot and headed toward Charleston I checked the temp again – 98 and 100%. I don't think I've ever been so miserable. Sweat was pouring from places I can't mention. But I was ATGATT. I headed into Charleston and wandered around the historic section. I didn't take any pictures there for a couple of reasons – one is that the roads are in horrible repair so rough that I literally had to keep both hands on the handlebars out of fear of being thrown from the bike. The second is the gout is just painful enough to keep me from making quick movements with my right arm – as in raising the camera up and aiming and shooting with the right hand. Also – it was later in the afternoon, and without some ‘help' deciding where to go I was pretty much just using the GPS to take me past the Sites and places. I could have made use of a tour here – and should I ever find myself in Charleston again That's what I'll do.

Eventually I was put on US-17 and was soon crossing the Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge that crosses the Cooper River (Really it's called a river, but man it sure felt like I was crossing the whole of Charleston Bay . This now makes the third bridge of similar design in the last week I'm impressed!

Us-17 got me onto Sullivan's Island and the Fort Sumter National Monument . This is where the Independence War began – here and a lot of other sites all up an down the East Coast. “We” all remember that Fort Sumter played the historic part of the war, but when you visit the site you will quickly realize that the Bay of Charleston was served by two forts at the entrance to the bay -- much like having a Fort Ross in San Francisco and a Fort on the Marin Headlands. Fort Sumner was on the “Marin” side – as in there was no way to get there unless it was via water. And Fort Moultrie was on the other side of the entrance. Today, the only access to the Fort Sumter is via a Charleston Bay Cruise Tour or private boat – so nothing has really changed in 250 years! On the other hand there are some really outstanding views of the Bay protections from the Visitor Center . As in this shot. What you see here is the edge of Fort Moultrie and if you look carefully can see the island that Fort Sumtner stands upon – that speck you see above the isalnd is the US Flag. Note the Palm trees! Believe me, when I say that this hot humid weather would make every European I know want “more” of this new world. Great site. And here's a couple of shots of the Fort and a caption or two.

Once through the 20 + foot base of the fort you would exit via one of these “portico's” into a bluff with the earth built up to support the battlements. The second picture is of one of what was called the “Main Munitions Dump” -- full of Cannon Balls! And, it was on the way from the outside to the inside. Not too sure of that design style, but hey – for the 1800's it's probably spot on!

Look at the size of these Cannons!! Cr@p They are huge and they were flinging 40 Pound Cannon Balls clear across the bay. I'm impressed.

One More:

This fort was finally decomissioned in 1947 after serving from 1776. And while the above batter seems so intensly out of place in a fort that was at ground zero for our bid for independence – it only seems right that it was there to help insure our success in WWII.

Tomorrow – Tires, and the Ashley River and North and West – Get me out of this HEAT!

June 13th 2009

Doing the Charleston

Part two

After a very exciting thunder and lightning storm last night, which I was very pleased to witness from somewhere other than the seat of my Goldwing I sat down to look at today's plan. Just a quick note about the thunderstorm – most folks on distribution to this blog have only witnessed the kind of thunderstorms we get in California . These thunderstorms down here in the South and Midwest are SCARY. Intense weather. The kind of stuff you see on the news where a sudden thunderstorm develops into a Tornado etc. Riding in them isn't fun, and , depending upon the intensity of the storm can become quite dangerous – thus the comment about it being nice to witness one without being on the bike – because last nights storm was way intense with a huge black cloud that covered the horizon and had lightning flashing and thunder booming every second or so. I will be glad to get out of this weather.

Anyway, as I was saying I needed to look at today's plan. There were 4 goals, three of which I hoped were do able. 1) – Get new shoes (tires) for the trailer (Damnit) 2) Ride through Historic Charleston and see the Museum to Military Weaponry 3) and the ride for the day was the Ashley River Ride and 4) Ride the Cherokee Scenic Byway in North Carolina – and then if time allows get the trailer lights working again and get the blog done! J

Well I got one two and three done and that indeed took the most part of the day. This morning dawned a lot cooler than the last three or four have and it made the ride down to the tire shop almost pleasant. I had a 9:00 appointment at “Geralds Tires” in North Charleston . This place was a trip! It was obviously an old gas station that had been converted to a tire shop. The building itself couldn't have been 900 Square feet, with two bays each with a tire changing machine and stacks of tires behind each one. In the front of the building were about 8 parking spots were the cars would pull in and the 5 (FIVE!!) workers would take floor jacks and depending upon what was being done either raise the front or the rear of the vehicle up to get to the tires. Floor Jacks! Who would have thought? I don't think the whole business occupied more than 1800 square feet and was packed from the time I got there till the time I left. A nice thing to note is that you could watch the work being done. Cool! And it only cost me $42.00 this time – not bad at all. But it did take me an hour, so I wasn't on the road till after 10:00.

I headed down the I-26 into downtown Charleston and stopped by the museum. Man I have to say there is something terribly wrong with our country… I realize that in times before digital cameras the Flash was a needed device to take photo's that's not the case so much anymore, but the ‘powers that be' still deny the use of cameras so sadly I wasn't able to document anything. But I bet my good buddy Timmy Dorsey would have found a way to get it documented.

The next thing was to ride the Ashley River Scenic Byway. I discovered it wasn't so scenic as it was historic. While certainly very pretty it's real claim to fame is that it passed in front of the very Historic “ Middleton Place ”. A pre civil war Plantation and gardens that has a truly incredible history. I won't copy the documentation I have, rather let me tell you about my experience there today. I wasn't too sure I was going to try another ‘famous place' tour after the fiasco at the Biltmore, but decided that I'd at least take a quick look at what was being offered here. I got the bike parked – right next to a gift shop which was cool, because you could buy anything and everything that would describe the Plantation for a reasonable price. I didn't buy anything - no where to pack it. I did walk down the path a bit to the ticket booth and said “OK, I have about an hour – what can I see and will it be worth it?”

“You need a general admission and it takes about an hour to do the walking tour of the Gardens and property.”, Said Sandy the gal behind the booth. “You will see everything there is to see except for the interiors of the manor house and the small farm, and you will have to do it with this free guide”.

So I parted with my $23.00 and started walking. What a treasure! The first thing you need to realize is that this plantation is PRE Civil War. It has the OLDEST gardens in the US (laid out in 1746) . It encompasses over 1500 acres. It sits on the Ashley river, and the river was the main mode of transportation. It would take 2 hours to get the 20 miles in to Charleston by the river or 8 hours by land. The manor house that sits on the grounds today was built after the Civil War – seems that “During” the Civil War the original house was destroyed ---- hummmmm Can't imagine why.

Here's some pictures of the Grounds. I suggest we riders do this as a ride sometime. On a recommendation scale of 1 to 10 with the Biltmore Estate being a 1 this is at least an 8 and probably a 9.

The reflecting pond – Kinda looks like the reflecting pond In DC -- and the second picture is of the Manor house from the driveway.

One of the Many Gardens .

Yours truly in front of one of the 100 or more HUGE Live Oaks on the Property. These things are over 300 years old. And the second picture is of the manor house. This house was built after the Civil War.

The Plantation Chapel – I love the pews changing heights – this was at one time called the “Spring House” although with only one room I'm not too sure what kind of “house” it would be. The second picture is of one of the Plantations Rice Paddy's. The Plantation grew Rice, and Cotton and Tobacco, although the Middelton's only grew token crops on this Plantation (They owned some 30 other plantations in the area, and that is where they really made their money. This plantation was their show piece).

Some of the Denizens of the property. Saw Lot 's of herons. Ducks, even a crocodile. Got pics of the Ducks and the Herons, but the crock evaded my camera.

Does the Middleton name sound familiar to any of you? This was without a doubt the wealthiest families in the South before the Civil War. Indeed Henrey Middleton, the original Owner of the property (through a dowry no less), was the President of the First Continental Congress -- Follwed by his son Authur who signed the Declaration of Independence and finally Authur's Grandson who became the Govenor of South Carolina .

I have to say, even with the heat and the humidity I really did enjoy my stay at this National Historic Landmark. I'd have liked to stay longer but feel very lucky to have spent the time I did there.

Leaving the Plantation was difficult – in more ways than one – the exit was NOT clearly marked. Oh well. Once I did get back on the Ashley River Road we meandered quite a bit and eventually wound up back on I-26 headed West. There was quite a bit of traffic and it was kind of like a yo-yo – it would speed up, then slow way down. And it did this for mile after mile. A bit frustrating, but still I was making pretty good time. However, buy the time I got the Cherokee Scenic Byway it was nearing 4:00 and thunderstorms were once again building so I decided to continue on till I found a place to stop. Then I could check to see how far ‘out of the way' I was and if I could pick it up tomorrow. I think I'll back track and ride it in the morning. Hey, I'm still in touring mode, and the plain fact is that you really can't do any kind of serious mileage and still see the sights you want to see – let alone put new shoes on the trailer and feed and water yourself.

I am gradually heading out of the South in into the Mid Atlantic States. In the next day or so I hope to be travelling along the Outer Banks and once again smelling the fresh Salt Air. But meantime, I'd like to leave you with this last picture from today. I believe that whenever I think about the ‘ Lowlands ' of the South this is one thing I'll use to describe it.

Water and lots of it – and trees with Spanish Moss and Green and Cudzu.

Till Next.

Of course everyone that rides the "Dragon" does....

Top row -- titanium Goldwing -- you should recognize it by now...

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/ThumbPage.aspx?e=4798304&g=06&s=475

Jim

June 14th 2009

Well,  today was really pretty much of a bust so I'm not going to go into a full report on it.  Suffice it to say that I backtracked to the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Byway out of Gaffney, SC.  After an hour of searching for said byway I finally found myself on it and proceded to ride the next hour on it.  It was neither scenic,  nor interesting --  lots of bikes on it though -- all seeming to be having  a good time.   I fianlly told the gps to take me to todays destination of Lumberton, Nc .  a scant 100 miles away from the Atlantic and more coastal fun.

Little over 8,000 miles so far -- gotta find a way to change my oil in the next day or so.

Cheers!

Jim

 June 15th 2009

  And tomorrow --  I might tell you about my "Night in Rodanthe "....

Good day today --  long at nearly 400 miles,  but the weather held out good and he humidity was down a lot.  Nice ocean breazes now!

Jim

My “Road to Rodanthe”

Well, I woke a little late this morning, and Lumberton , NC . was socked in pretty good. Looked like the Bay Area when it gets all foggy. I had spent some time last night working on the trailer wiring yet “One More Time” and got it all working so I just made sure everything was still ok before I buttoned everything up and loaded today's route into the GPS. The Plan was to head north and east out of Lumberton toward Morehead City on the coast and then ride across an assumed causeway onto Pea Island and the fabled town of Rodanthe . Well, I made it to Morehead City after passing through Camp Lejune .

By the time I got to Morehead City I realized the error of my ways when I discovered that the transportation between the Mainland and the Island was a ferry that took 4 hours, that ran every 4 hours and I had missed by about 25 minutes. The next one to the island would be at 16:00 arriving at 20:00. Hummmm. Decision time. I asked and was told that “yes, there is a bridge but I'd have to ride up to Cape Hatteras to get it. How long? About 4 hours. Well, riding is better than just sitting, so I plunked in “Take me to Cape Hatteran National Seashore” and Henrietta was most happy to oblige. Didn't take to long for me to become completely directionally disoriented. I passed Cherry Point Naval Air Station -- I didn't realize this section of North Carolina had so much military in it, but guess it does.

I wound up being on so many different US highways and state highways and local roads I couldn't even begin to tell you what the route actually looked like on a map. All I can say is that for the most part it was incredibly boring. Mostly farmlands, but almost the whole time I could just catch a little iodine tang in the air, so I knew I wasn't too far from Salt Water. I did see Cotton and Tobacco both. That's cotton in the picture to the Left. And some young tobacco below and to the right.

It seemed to take forever, but finally I spotted a bridge – this could only mean

one thing – I was about to crosss over a body of water. Well I did, but it wasn't the Ocean, and I wasn't at the Outer Banks yet. Still though it was fun riding over that little arm of the Palmlico Sound. This particular span was over 7 miles long.

All concrete pilings supporting the roadbed. It seemed to go on forever, and that raised section in the middle really impressed me. Oh, yeah. I forgot we have the San Mateo bridge that does the same thing. No, wait a second, this one had a draw bridge in the middle – That's a lot cooler than the San Mateo bridge is. Eventually I did find my way into Nag's Head (what a Name!) and found that the Comfort Inn was right on the ocean. I could have a bay side room for a lot of money, or I could have an ocean side room for even more money. Ok. My logic is this. I've heard of the

Outer Banks for Years. I know that Cape Hatteras is known for its fishing and seafood, not to mention the beaches and resort atmosphere. Therefore, when would I ever be back in this area again? I have one night, and one night only to pick up the flavor of this place. I wanted the ocean flavor, not the bay. And that's what I got. Picture from my 5 th floor balcony overlooking Cape Hatteras . After settling into the room I wanted to continue exploring Pea Island , where Rodanthe is. To get to it I had to cross yet another long causeway and bridge.

To describe this Island . It's about 20 miles long and for the most part is about 1 mile wide. The highway runs right down the center of it. Sand Dunes on one side and Marshland on the other side. Seems a silly place to be so popular, but it really is. Cars and Vans are lined up alongside the road and in the scattered parking lots and sun worshipers are out in droves hiking up the dunes and down to the ocean. (For you observant ones – note the missing speaker grill. Thank Texas for that and a pothole the size of a small car that was the same color as the highway -- Potholes in disguise !) . The speed limit on the island is 55, but for long stretches the best you can do is 45. The little town of Rodanthe is 30 miles from Nag's Head and my hotel. One of the things I've always loved about the East Coast is the way they build some of their homes. The ones both in Nag's head and on the Island were all three stories tall. And an incredible amout of money has gone into the development of the area, as most all of the houses are rentals. Very few locals live along the coast. Probably smart, in that there were a number of signs along the highway indicating how high the water level can become during the hurricane season (oops -- we're in the hurricane season!). Still a very interesting ride onto the Island . I had one final stop to make before heading back to the Hotel. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Very cool! Another very popular place to visit. If you are very very observant you might notice that the Corvette's taillight is ‘dangling' – Damnit. Lost a mounting bolt. Oh well, a little duct tape and a visit to the hardware store tomorrow will fix that problem. Ok, one of me, just because my wife says she misses me…

After effecting the taillight repair I headed back to the hotel and some dinner. I'm not sure what I'm expecting in a Seafood dinner, but I've not quite found it yet. Most of what I've found so far is all tasty, but is pretty generic as to its content and preparation. I asked the front desk – “Where can I walk to eat?”.

“There's only on place, Sam and Ormies – just to the right out of the parking lot about a block away. It's been here forever and has really good food.”

Ok, So Sam and Ormies it is. I head out of the hotel and turn right and sure enough there about a block ahead of me is a grey – blue building with a parking lot bursting with cars.

I always feel guilty about going to these local hangouts and asking for a table for one. But they didn't even bat an eye. Once again a booth that could have sat 6 and they had a line waiting behind me. But the guilt only lasts for a short time as I very soon get caught up in all of the people watching. It didn't take very long at all for a group of fishermen to walk in and start talking, then a new guy starts talking and the conversation becomes more businesslike. The new guy is looking for work. Same no matter where ya are. Schmooze and network. I mistakenly ordered the fried fish platter. OMG There was so much food I knew the instant I looked at it I wouldn't be able to eat it all. Clam Strips and Scallops. I must have had at least a dozen Scallops and at least that many clams. Then there was the Cole Slaw and the Corn Bread and the vegetables. Stuffed isn't the right word. I don't get to eat fried very often and with good reason. Even when it's done right it is very rich for my digestion. Like I say, I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I've not quite found it --- Yet. The search continues.

  Tomorrow I finally heading west again to the Blue Ridge Parkway . I really need some mountains. As much as I've enjoyed my time here in the South it's time to check out what the rest of the USA has to offer. I will be passing within shouting distance of my Paternal Great Grandparents ‘plantation' just outside of Salisbury tomorrow – I might spend a little time and see If I can track it down again. I did once about 30 years ago, but I had an aunt that was still living that helped a lot.

I still have a number of opportunities to find that right seafood dinner – I'll be looking in Chesapeake Bay, Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, St. Johns - and if none of those work then I still have Vancouver (where I do believe that, to this day, I had the best Salmon dinner I've ever had) and Victoria.

Till next!

June 16th 2009

Kill that Devil

  Just a short one today, as I mentioned it was a day of droning once again. Good day for making miles, but terrible for touring J . I got up this AM and was all packed and ready to go by 8:00 – even with the gawkers asking questions about the corvette -- I'm going to do a “No Shit. Really??” piece on this before it's all over.

Our illustrious Mr. Hole sent me an email yesterday asking if, seeing as though I was already on Cape Hatteras , I was going to go see Kitty Hawk . At first I thought it would be too far away – the cape is a pretty fair sized area, but when I researched it late last night I found that the park was only about 9 miles away. So, in addition to stopping by the local Ace Hardware store to pick up a bolt to bolt the tail light back on I was on track to see why all of North Carolinas license Plates have “First in Flight” on them.

The memorial covers a large area, and if you are an airplane buff it's pretty cool, as it has it's own runway – so you can land your plane on the same spot they did. There's also a visitor center and a exhibition hall, various sculptures and points of interest. The memorial is on the actual spot the first flight took place – Kill Devil Hills (there is more than one). At the top of the main hill they have the actual memorial is pretty impressive. The inside (No Pictures HA! What a surprise) was dedicated to the difficulties the brothers had in overcoming the obstacles of flight. The pavilion down below offered more insight into the process the brothers went through. Pretty good stuff here. And, heres the whole hill – Seems such a small accomplishment by today's measurement, but seriously important. The picture doesn't really do it justice either. The hill actually is an ideal spot test the lift and thrust of any airfoil.

On the ground exhibits – built to scale.

Entrance to the Exhibit Hall.

Mock-up of their campsite – I dunno, gotta wonder about the historical accuracy of this display!

I finally made it out of town at 10:00 and rode US-64 for the next 4 hours before finally getting dumped onto the Mother Roads replacement for another 4. I can't tell you how boring these rides can be – but most of you already know that. I'm pretty much all set for a ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway tomorrow. It rained all day today – light misting for the most part till just before I stopped, then, like clockwork, the afternoon thunderstorm had it's way with us. My pants are still wet ------ From the rain folks.

Till next.

June 17th 2009

If Excellent is Equal to a 10

Then today was about a 4.

A storm developed last night around midnight. Thunder loud enough to wake me up. So I slipped on some clothes and took a peek outside. It was raining – hard.

I went back to bed wondering what the morning would bring.

It brought more rain. Ahhh well. “It's only water and I won't melt.” I told myself as I tossed my leg over the seat and carefully backed the bike and trailer out of the parking spot. The GPS told me to turn left out of the parking lot, so I did – then another left and a right a short time later, then a drive 29 miles (on can't remember the name of the highway now) – which I did – in the rain the whole way. The Higway took me up the East side of Grandfather Mountain , at the Southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway . I was finally directed to turn sharply right onto the Parkway. But, before I did I wanted a picture. You can tell it's been raining. What you can't tell is how close to the ground the clouds are. I turned right and soon was cruising toward Roanoak , Va. on the BRP. As you may know the BRP is a parkway maintained by the Government. It follows the ridgeline of the Smokies as they parade their way Northward out of Ashville , NC . The highway rises up to meet the tops of numerous mountains called Gaps, then usually will descend several hundred feet as the ‘ridge' continues on to the next Gap. This is an incredibly beautiful ride when it's clear and visibility is good. Today wasn't one of those days. I'm good with rain, and I'm usually pretty good with fog, but today's mixture of rain, fog, numerous dew points, and lack of visibility made for one of the most challenging days of riding I've done in quite a long time. The weather was never severe – Just very difficult to ride in. The speed on the Parkway is 45 MPH. I was lucky if I was able to do 35. This makes it very difficult to maintain any kind of schedule.

It was only a mile or so after I turned right before I approached the first Gap – It was Grandfather Mountain Gap (go figure!). This is what I could see through my windshield. The low speed coupled with the slight rain served to keep the windshield populated with raindrops that would neither sheet off due to the speed of the bike, nor would they coagulate into larger heavier drops thus flowing up – down – or sideways off the windshield. They just stayed there. Aggravating to say the least. But, I pressed on. I had checked the weather before I left and it looked like Roanoak was clear, so I kept expecting the skies to lighten and clear and all would be right with the world.

A couple of miles later à

As anyone who's ever ridden the BRP when it's clear can attest, the views are outstanding, and the lookout points are all worth stopping at. I pressed on. Northward ever Northward and still no promised clearing, no sunshine, no stunning views or vistas only rain, and fog. I eventually made it to Marburys Mill where they have a working Grist Mill, restrooms, Gift shop and most importantly food! Lyn and I spent quite a bit of time there on our trip in 2006

so I didn't take any pictures of the ‘attractions' this time. For lunch I had the Marbury Mill's famous 2 corn cakes filled with southern style BBQ pulled pork and a diet coke (what the heck do I

need to have a diet coke for?). It was really tasty. Not too expensive and came with a pickle and some coleslaw. I was just starting to chow down when the waitress brought a group of three more riders in who sat at the table next to mine. We started chatting. They were all riding Harleys, were appreciating the comfort and power of the Goldwing, but were happy to be riding their Harleys for the time being. They were impressed when I told them I was right at 9000 miles into a 20,000 plus mile ride and that my wing had just turned 119,000 miles today. I just said that the darn things just keep running as long as you put oil in them and do the regular maintenance. They were riding out of Athens , Ga. and we departed friends.

Northward – and clearing skies? Nope. Again, some of the most challenging riding conditions I've been in (not dangerous like riding in severe weather just challenging – like running off the road cuz ya can't see the edge).

While the riding conditions certainly were not the best there were moments where I was struck by how much there still was to see. While I'm very disappointed that today didn't provide the riding experience Lyn and I had in 2006 it was still an experience I won't forget.

The blooms all fell within about 30 feet of the picture to the left it's a tree, that I swear I couldn't see from where I'd stopped the bike. And the truth is – even wet leaves can be pretty cool when the lights right.

Ok . I'm only 20 miles from Roanoak and it's still cloudy, rainy and there seemingly is no let up for me so I may as well document it as well as I can.

Straight section of highway. I stood on my pegs and took this shot over my windshield.

It did clear up a little bit.

Finally I'm through the Southern section of the Smokies and ready to head into Roanoake and the skies, while remaining overcast at least raised enough to give me a glimpse of the views the road is famous for.

And a little bit of why so many riders will seek this section of Highway out and take a whole day to ride it. Some of the best touring highway anywhere in the United States . Just not today necessarily.

I was supposed to ride into Waynesboro , Va. today, but fell short about 100 miles. I need to keep checking the weather for tomorrow and make a decision about riding the BRP up and beyond or if I need to take a more direct route. I do have to admit this unseasonal, unsettled weather pattern is beginning to wear on me. NORTHWARD!

June 18th 2009

A Crab is a Crab is a…

I decided late last night to forego the Blue Ridge Parkway between Roanoke and Waynesboro and to also drop the added route out to the Colonial Williamsburg area. Instead I thought I'd try some of Virginia 's secondary highways and work my way out onto the Chesapeake Bay area for another stab at a great sea food meal.

The ride out of Roanoke was slow. I was on Virginia-460, and I continued to stay on the 460 for about 70 miles. This was quite an old highway, it passed through the center of a number of towns , thus keeping the pace quite slow. Eventually I connected up with US-26 as I headed more directly North. This wound up being a real keeper of a highway, it was four lanes most of the way – it meandered over the terrain. Always seeking the most level path, and often finding hills in the way that ‘had' to be crossed. The highway is also known as the Seminole Trail. I need to do some research to find out why.

It covers a great deal of area, and is a real keeper. If you find yourself in Virginia looking for a North South route that doesn't include any superslab – consider this one. There were several more bridges and causeways to cross over today also.

As you can kind of see in the picture to the left the clouds were indeed building in the direction I was headed. The only question I had was “Will I make it before or after the rain”. I continued on on route US-301. This route took me into Maryland about 14:00. The weather was getting warmer AND more humid. I could see the thunderstorm brewing and fuming and knew that it was going to win today's race. By 14:30 I was under the awning of an Exon Station chatting with a Harley Trike rider who like me has had just about enough of the spring rains. This thunder bumper was very loud and very active. No hail, but more rain coming down than I've seen so far this trip. I was glad not to be riding in it. About 30 minutes later the rain eased up and we decided that the storm had moved on – time to get moving again. At 16:15 I was crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge . I still had my camera stowed from the thunderstorm so I didn't get a picture of it – If you've never seen it before I'd just like to give a brief description -- It's Long – It's tall – I'ts impressive. If you get the chance to ride across it – DO. It's also a toll bridge - $2.50 for two axels.

Forty five minutes later I arrived in St. Michal's. It's a small bay fishing village, that has turned touristy the last 10 years or so. It's a fun little town to walk around and shop in – However my goal was to find tonight's effort at seafood. And there was only one place in town for that – The Crab Claw Restaurant.

It wasn't overly easy to find, but then St. Michal's is a pretty small place. You can just barely see the sign at the end of this alley way.

I studied the menu and decided that some Crab Chowder sounded good – and it was.

I also wanted to try the never before seen Soft Shelled Crab. Now that was an experience. It was interesting, I asked my server “How does one eat a soft shelled crab?” I got a shrug in response and a “I dunno – I've never eaten one.” Huh?? You live on the bay famous for it's soft shelled crab and you've never had one? How does that happen?

In case you don't know what a soft shell is – it's a young adult crab. Somewhere between 12 and 18 months old. They molt at least twice from the time they are born till they become full fledged adult with a permanent hard shell. Now, after eating not one, but two of them I have to say I'm not so sure why they are considered such a delicacy as there really isn't all that much to them, AND even though the whole thing is edible they still have all the parts that a fully grown crab has that one would normally discard. The ones I had were quite small, not a lot of meat in them, and while very tasty still had more crunch to them than I liked. Not bad mind you – definitely a Chesapeake Bay must do experience which I' very glad to have accomplished. I'm just not sure the hoopla tells the whole story. I'm still considering the Dungeness Crab to be the only “Real” one.

After dinner I took a short stroll out onto the pier and took a couple of shots. There is no denying that the Chesapeake Bay Area is a heck of a destination for the area. Beautiful. Just a couple of final shots for the day then I need to take a few minutes and figure out what I'm doing tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be the Shenandoah National Park – and then some.

Nuff Said.

Something to be said for Bayside living.

Till next.

  June 19th 2009

Oh Shenandoah!

I woke up this morning to cloudy skies in St Michals, Md. I feared the worst and wondered if I might be best served by staying an extra night in the Chesapeake area. I lingered a bit longer in bed than I should have because by the time I got up, after having made my decision that I really needed to press on regardless of the weather I was quite late. “Well, at least I'll miss the Baltimore – Washington DC traffic”, was my thinking.

An hour later and I'm thinking “What was I thinking – There's ALWAYS traffic on the beltway – which is where I allowed the GPS planning to place me, knowing that an Interstate is ALWAYS faster than secondary highways. What a mess. At least it wasn't raining, and the skies had indeed cleared and it was quite comfortable. Traffic sucked it all. Once out of and off of the Beltway and actually on I-95 it wasn't too bad. Still lots of cars, but we moved right along.

So, in the last two days I've been across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge twice, half way around Washington (without visiting it), out of Virginia and Into Maryland, then out of Maryland and into Virginia and on the same secondary highways for the second day also and twice across the Potomac on two separate bridges. I enjoyed the ride.

I was on several new Virginia Highways today. The Constitution, the Stonewall Jackson, and the James Madison. All of which are designated scenic byways. All of which have either a presidential home or a civil war battlefield(s) on it. Seriously if you were a US History buff you could spend weeks here exploring all there is to offer. I elected to just enjoy the roadways.

Eventually I wound up on I-64 heading South into Waynesboro, Va. The further South I got the cloudier the skies became, and by the time I was on the outskirts of Waynesboro it had started to rain again. I was about to blow off the rest of today's ride and instead take refuge in town and take care of laundry (Oh so needed), and get the bike serviced – It's needed too, but not so bad as the other thing….. After being on the road for pretty much a month and riding pretty much every day the body does get to a point where a nice long nap and a no ‘stress' afternoon sounds really good.

I don't know why, but I turned right when I was supposed to and headed up the grade toward the Blue Ridge Parkway once again. The road was pretty wet. It was in fact raining not hard but it wasn't just misting – drizziling either. A few moments later I arrived at the Ranger Kiosk for the Shenandoah National Park where I needed to show my Parks Pass. “So, is it foggy up on top? I rode up the other day from Asheville and it was in the rain and fog the whole way.”

“Nope – heard it was pretty up there. But then who knows, if it stays like this it's likely to be very foggy. But then too, ‘this' wasn't forecast at all.”

In other words – take your own chances.

I rolled the dice and proceeded on what was now officially called “Skyline Drive”, the road remained damp, but the rain had stopped almost immediately. “This might not be too bad after all…..” The very first turn out that I could take revealed this – no real sky because of the overcast, but the mountains ARE Smoky! I was very happy to have made that right hand turn.

The road was a bike riders dream – full of turns, beautiful scenery and wildlife. The speed limit, enforced strongly, was only 35 – thus a very slow ride for the 105 miles of Skyline Drive.

There were sections that were in full sun and then there were sections where the forest grew right up close to the road forming a canopy over it and dappling it with the now very bright sunshine. Today I did see some wildlife. Two deer. three Squirrels (one suicidal), and two Turkeys (man are they the dumbest birds or what). About every ½ mile or so there was a turnout to see the ever changing views of the Smokey's.

I wish I could remember all of the names of the mountains and the ‘hollows' as they are called. This really is a very special place in our country and one that is well worth visiting.

And a final picture of ‘the tunnel'.

My original plan was to ride back into Pennsylvania tonight and spend the night in Haggerstown. I didn't make it. Instead I'm in Front Royal, Va. at the Northern end of the Shenandoah National Park. Nice town. I arrived about 16:30 and found a motel with decent rates and rooms and even wi-fi, no guest laundry though. I spent the next hour and a half two blocks away at the only Laundromat in town getting my clothes washed, if not as clean as I'd like them, and listening to the owner (an ex secret service guy? (so he says)). Tell stories about who he was assigned to and how and where they went. Dunno -- this is Virginia after all – might be true and then too there's an awful lot ‘o' funnin' that goes on here.

I also wanted to take just a moment to say a word about the area. The Front Royal area is in the heart of some of Americas finest Spelunking. The Smokey's offer an incredible opportunity for cave discovery and exploration. There are several commercial cave sites in the area. If you have the time to explore them it would be well worth the effort.

In my continuing effort to reach Canada tomorrow I'm heading North and East again. Into Philadelphia. I'm not to sure how much time I'm going to have to explore and enjoy the sights but hope to be able to at least have a ‘real' cheese steak sammich… Pic's to follow.

  June 20th 2009

Sorry folks - No blog today. I rode from Front Royal all of the way into Philadelphia using freeways and Froggs Toggs (Rain gear to the non riding folk). I didn't even take the camera out.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning the fastest way I can.

I don't want to say to much, but there really is very good reason to avoid the Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York areas, and I'm pretty sure I encoutered everyone of them today, and perhaps learned about a few I didn't know about (or chose to block). I waved at the liberty bell, and Independence Hall. There was just no way I was going to park the bike, stow the electronics, get out of the rain gear, and riding gear and become a tourist for an hour, just to have to put it all back on - in the rain.

Even the locals are complaining about how much water they've had in May and June. We're all hoping for clearing soon.

More tomorrow.

Jim

I 'was' only going to send this to Lynda, but at this last second decided that you'all should hear it too. It's all part of traveling, and for sure part of my adventure ---->

Ok -- So here I am in King Of Prussia, Pa. Nice Best Western - under renovation so pretty good rates. But it's King of Prussia -- there's nothing here unless you want to drive (ride). I don't. There is however a steak house just next door. That'll work. I walked in at 7:00 and was given a booth a moment later. At 7:30 I had yet to see a waiter(ess). I was a little angry -- no, I was a lot angry.

How can any restaurant that's worth staying in business afford to ignore - and I do mean ignore a paying customer for over 30 minutes. None that I know of. So, after I see a couple get seated at 7:30 and have their drinks delievered 2 minutes later I got out of my booth and walked up to the Host and said -- Naaaahhhh you don't need to read it. But your imagination is probably pretty close.

Ok, so it was a screw up on the wait staffs behalf. So when the 'Front End' manager walks up to me to offer a 'free appetizer' I went off on him. Seriously. Not because of the opportunity, but because he'd been mis-informed as to which table was upset and had appologized profusely to the table NEXT to me. And when they explained that it wasn't them that was upset but rather it was me -- he said, "I Saw him sitting there for the longest time." WHAT?? It wasn't like I had a glass of water in front of me or a cocktail after 30 minutes. So I told him he should look for a new line of work - one that didn't actually require that he care about the customers he was supposed too.

I got pretty good service after that. But I do have to admit that in over 50 years of going to restaurants all over the world this was perhaps the most inept I've ever been too.

Who do you fault, and how do you make a difference - that's what I asked myself even as I left a tip for the waiter who thought "I" belonged to someone else....

The food was good.

Jim

June 21st 2009  

The Twins

You'll never guess what I woke up to this morning. No, it wasn't sunshine. Oh, you did guess it – more rain. It was a very light rain, but rain none the less. I keep trying to expedite the loading of the bike, but no matter how I load myself up it still takes three trips from the room to the bike and back again. It's one of the biggest negatives to this kind of trip. I miss the cruises where you pack half your house and then only have to unpack once!

Oh well, this trip is about riding, and roads and seeing the sights. So today I headed North on Pa 202 and eventually onto the Bethlehem Pike – swearing to avoid toll roads at nearly any cost. First area to pass beneath the Wings tires was the heart of the Quakers via Quakertown. Stern looking folks there what with the beards and hard looking eyes. Their smiles were genuine though! The Bethlehem Pike took me past Allentown and Bethlehem both. Both so much quieter than they were during their heyday when American Steel was king. The road wasn't much to brag about though -- felt like frost heaves on every other section and the repairs were equally rough.

In my effort to avoid the toll roads and still make it to Scranton in a timely manner I wound up on US-209 which put me on I-80 of all things which finally put me on I-380 into the Scranton area, but on I-476 or the one and only “Pennsylvania Turnpike” – a toll road. I rode the three miles left of the turnpike before it ended at US-6. As I approached the toll booth I saw a sign that said “Auto Toll - $.65” – so I got out my $.65 and when it was my turn I tossed the change into the automated collector and waited – the gate wouldn't open. Then I saw a message on the automated toll collector that said “Toll $.70” – so I dug in my pocket and took out another $.70 and tossed it in – still no magic the gate remained closed. THEN the same message sign said “Toll $.95” – I took my last 4 quarters out of my pocket and threw them at the silly machine and it FINALLY opened. That was probably the most expensive three miles I've driven on a toll road – ever.

The Grand Republic Highway otherwise known as US-6. US-6 was my destination road today. The entire highway is known for its beauty and in Pennsylvania it crosses both the Poconos and the Allegany's. The downside is that while the rain had pretty much stopped it remained overcast, cool and misty with some fog thrown in for good measure. Still, though the conditions were a bit more challenging than I'd planned on it was great fun meandering along

between towns and villages – some so small I don't know how they got a name to stick, and several large enough to boast McDonalds and Motels (such as the one I'm in tonight – Coudersport, Pa.) . The Amish are prevalent in the area.

The river is the Susquehanna. Very broad – very brown – very muddy – You can tell they've been getting a lot of extra water this year! As you descend out of the

Poconos the highway enters a very fertile valley and Farms and farmland abound. Very purdy for a ride through.

No sooner have you said goodbye to the Poconos the farmland starts to vanish also, and the Allegany's pop up. These two ranges really could be twins. They both offer the same kind of elevation, same kind of forest cover, same kind of weather patterns, but there is something the makes the Allegany's a little more interesting. Can't put a name to it yet, but I'm working on it.

Just a short drive East of where I am tonight you will find one of US-6's little treasures, and one of Pennsylvanias not so well hidden secrets – it's just not advetised all that much either. It's the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. It's 47 miles long – about 1000 feet deep and is bodered by two state parks. While you can see the canyon from the parks and various viewing platforms it has to be hiked to be truly appreciated. I had time for only a brief stop so the hiking will have to wait for another time.

Remember a couple of days ago when I was in Cape Hatteras and I mentioned that I was always impressed with this thing that folks on the East Coast do -- build their houses three stories high? Well here's an example à

That window at the top is a functioning room. Probably a bed room. I remember so very distinctly at the age of 7 when I first visited my aunt and uncle in Harrisburg how impressed I was that the entire street was three stories tall!

This is my second time on US-6. This highway just doesn't disappoint the scenery is gorgeous and the road itself will take you back in time.

The trailer needs tires again – So tomorrow AM I'm on a search, then depending on how successful I am it'll be a ride into New York and the Allegany State Park. Till Next!

June 22nd 2009

Destinations

I've heard from many of you over the last several weeks as I've been plowing through some strange and unusual Southern and Eastern weather. I was usually on my way to somewhere – which of course is the nature of this trip – and in getting to that ‘somewhere' I had to deal with the weather. Being on two wheels is, in and of itself, an adventure. It's a dare, if you will, of my determination to safely negotiate the road and the environment to get me to where I want to be without the protections afforded me when I'm riding on 4 wheels. For the most part the Goldwing is an outstanding motorcycle, it's large enough to be more easily seen than smaller sport bikes; but that certainly doesn't make it invincible to inconsiderate, and even idiot drivers that “Don't see us”. But I do try and use the size, speed, agility and stopping power of the bike to my best advantage.

So, what's the point?

Sometimes the destination for a ‘guy on a bike' is just the road à

I encountered this road on my way over to Bradford, Pa. to hopefully find more tires for the disgruntled Corvette. I have to say I enjoyed riding it. It was a fine destination.

Same road.

The ride into Bradford was uneventful. As I sit here tonight and think about today I have to admit two things. The area around Bradford is really stunning. Beautiful highways, scenic Byways, and nature in abundance. The hometown of the Zippo Lighters and of “Brad Penn” motor oil is however a significant disappointment. Not that I want to be negative or callous, but seriously, to have so much beautifully maintained roadways and scenic wonders around town one would think that the town itself would present its best side too. Not the case. I was afraid I'd either lose my fillings, or at the minimum lose my other speaker grill as I bounced over some of the worst in town roads I've ever been on. I had to cross town several times in my search for tires today. This is not a destination. The long and short of it is that no shop in town had the tires I needed. I did have one shop try and sell me wheel barrow tires! I finally convinced a shop to take the one ‘really bad' wheel off and replace it with my spare. The spare is in great shape and the tire on the other side is still in fair shape, so I'm good to go for at least another 3 or 4 days.

Now, while I've been hard on Bradford's streets let me tell you that the folks there were all outstanding. Every single person I encountered went out of their way to direct me, assist with addresses and phone numbers and suggestions. I even encountered a motorcycle dealership owner from Syracuse, Ny. (Yamaha!) that just had to know every little thing about my trip. I actually think I have him convinced that the corvette is a mechanical refrigerator.

Anyway this message is about destinations. Sometimes it is the road itself. Sometimes it's the family member. Sometimes it's the__________. (You get to fill your own destination in – aren't I kind?). I know some of all ya'alls are planning your summer vacation!

This is Pa-221 heading toward the Allegany dam and Allegany State Park. If ever there was a road built for two up riding this is it. Perfect pavement. Great sweepers. Lots of Wildlife. Very little other traffic. Roadside wildflowers. And Green Mountains. Tell me that this isn't a destination.

When I crossed the border into New York the scenery DIDN'T change. How cool is that! When I was planning this trip I noticed that the Allegany State Park was close to my route so I thought “What the heck – let's at least ride through it.” This is a destination also. But it's not a ride through it destination. It's more of a hike through it destination. Unfortunately my camera batteries died soon after the above picture was taken so I don't have much more to share -- Just these two:

Quaker Lake (I looked but couldn't find even one of them) and a general shot of the Allegany's as I turned into the park. The park itself has LOTS of cabin camping, hiking trails, and streams to follow along. Not so scenic, but still a very nice destination.

Sometimes it's the place. Sometimes it's the people. Sometimes it's the activity. And sometimes it's the road.

  Today it was the road.

June 23rd 2009

Of Chairs and Benches

And Diamonds

Johnson City , Ny . Truly I don't think this city existed 5 years ago. It has sort of ‘sprouted up' around Binghamton which has been around for a long time. Nonetheless I spent last night there in yet another Best Western – who's general manager just happened to be a Goldwing rider. He was duly impressed with the ride I'm on and the ‘rig'. He gave me the ‘managers special rate' which was a buck fifty cheaper than the AAA rate was. Hey I'll take it. The Best Western also happened to be right next door to Kost Tire. They had my trailer tires! I wound up not buying from them mostly because they were trying to screw me. The price they wanted was exactly double per tire than what the real price is. So I passed. I checked the trailer late last night and the tires are fine for at least a couple more days – maybe longer. I know I want to get them changed before heading into Cananda – never know what I'll find up there.

Dinner last night was at a place the Ground Cow Bar and Grill. They had burgers, steaks, salads etc. I ordered some French Onion Soup and a Blackened Chicken pasta dish. The waitress forgot the soup and brought the meal. Found the soup and brought it late. Apologized, then when and spent the next 20 minutes chatting with friends. Shades of Philadelphia . I stayed cool. At least I had my food. Tip was lacking though. There was a difference between Philly and Johnson City . One was a bad and dumb mistake the other was a cavalier attitude about where the next paycheck may be coming from.

Ahh well – I slept good.

While researching this ride I ran across a tidbit that enticed me to add it to my must see list. The Herkimer Diamond Mine. It's a spot that does produce honest to goodness real live diamonds and the public provided the manpower to do the mining. It's been around for years, and has turned into quite a little touristy stop. For $10.00 you get a hammer and a plastic bag. A short walk later and your happily chipping away at the hillside along with about 100 other folks. All hoping that the next bunch of rock to fall off will reveal the next 20 Carat Herkimer Diamond – There have been a few and they are on display in the museum.

So, the Herkimer Diamond Mine was my first order of business this morning. Well, not the ‘first' because ‘first' I had to get there. My GPS dutifully routed me away from any toll roads, and indeed kept me on quiet two lane secondary highways all day – I rode short distances on I-81, and I-86. Both of those interstates are in terrible repair. Each had long sections of road work where they were putting new tarmac down. But still the highway in general was just flat out no fun to ride on. Then blessedly came the end of my interstate riding for the day. I spent the next 6 hours on roads like this à

Looking at scenery like this à

Now that's an old Barn. There were actually quite a few old dilapidated barns along the route today. But my camera and shutter finger weren't as fast as the bike was so I only got a few of them. Eventually we made our way to the mines. I had fun while there. But this really is not so good a solo activity so I didn't spend as much time as my thinking thought I would J

There were people everywhere. I learned a few things and after spending a few minutes ‘mining' myself I understand a lot more. Basically the Herkimer diamonds are rare because of the type of geological site they are in . There is a significant (really that means HUGE) amount of what is called diamond matrix and not so much of what is free diamond. So, what is this diamond matrix you ask? Well, the rock the mine is made of is Shale like. Most of the diamonds in the mine are diamonds that have formed ‘in' the rock, as in ‘part of the rock', and can't be removed. So they are basically worthless. The Diamond Matrix is pretty easy to find. I did. And I left it there. I couldn't see a reason to lug it the rest of the way with me. This would be a really fun stop to make should we ever decide to do a big coast to coast ride sometime.

There is a beautiful KOA Campground just across the highway from the mine. I was sorely tempted to call it a day early and just spend and Idle afternoon around the mine and campground. However, then sense of adventure won out and I decided to proceed onward, or in this case Northward – ever Northward!

Mountains

Although it's a bit hard to see in the pictures I've posted of the Diamond Mine I just want to make sure you know that it is in the mountains. I'm not sure what range, as New York is a very large state with at least the Allegany to the West, the Pocono's to the East, and the Adirondacks to the North. The next place for me to visit was the Adirondack State Park . But first I had to get there. I basically followed Route 29 from the Mine all of the way to the park, and then I picked up Route 30. I followed rivers and streams. Saw a dam or two. And a lake or so. Actually once I got into the park the whole feel to the ride changed from a country, back roads kind of feel to a more woodsy, laid back, mountain kind of feel. There were lakes EVERYWHERE! Pick a direction and you were sure to run into a body of water that was smack dab in the middle of a scenic wonderland. Really incredible. And what surprises me, as a Californian is that it's all developed. There are property owners, homes, towns, villages, etc. through out and yet it still retains a lot of it's natural charm. Route 30 was a scenic byway – the Adirondack Trail. I can't tell you how many times I saw that sign and wanted to stop and take a picture, but as luck would have it I'd be preoccupied with spying out deer, setting up the next curve or listening to Henrietta give me the next set of instructions I need to follow. Here are a couple more shots that I hope help define the days ride.

Yes – that's yours truly – wish you could really see the mountains in the background. And the wildflowers were everywhere alongside the road.

I did say there were lakes –

On Cheese

So I arrived in Malone , Ny several hours from my originally scheduled stop for the night and found a comfortable – although small – room for me at the Super 8 motel. I asked the desk clerk about food.

“Gallagers, is the only place close enough to walk that's any good”.

“Ok – what do they serve?”

“Everything – Steaks, Burgers, Chicken, Salads and Soups.”

Ok – so after getting directions and settling in I made the 3 block walk to the restaurant. It's actually attached to the “Econo Lodge”. No biggey specially if the food is good. So I walked in and was greeted by a “please seat yourself sign”. It was right next to the specials sign. Te Special was (I really wish I could remember this verbatim but I can't) – “Jumbo Shrimp, Cheese Rigatoni, in a creamy Alfredo Sauce with Grilled Medallions of Tenderloin grilled to your liking”. Along with soup and salad. How could I go wrong.??

I wish I had brought the camera. This meal was huge. There is no way I could have ever finished it, although several of the local farmers had come to town and were doing a very fine job of finishing their plates off. The rigatoni was homemade, stuffed with cheese. The Alfredo sauce was homemade, and although it was breaking as I ate it it was very good. But OMG – there must have been about 10,000 calories in the whole meal. I don't know how they do it!! J .

Tomorrow – Vermont, Lake Champlain, and as far East toward the next phase of “who's older; Plymouth Rock or St. Augustine?”

OBTW -- The Chairs and benches referred to the Adirondack furniture that is ever present here. And I know, a picture would have helped - But I'm riding a bike for cryin' out loud.

  Till next!

June 24th 2009

déjà vu'

Being as far North as I was last night has some …. I don't want to use the word advantages, instead let me say differences from say the Pennsylvania area. It stays light longer – and last night it was a lot longer both because I was next to the Canadian Border but was also pretty far East. So, when the sun came streaming through my window at a little after 5:00 this morning I wasn't quite ready to face the day. But it's funny how insistent that sunshine can be and it wasn't too long (after catching another 40Z's or so) that I was up and about. I had the bike loaded and ready to go by 7:30. But I dawdled and didn't actually start till about 8:00.

My first order of business was to find a branch of my bank. I found one using the on-line locator service. It said there was an ATM in Washingtonville and it was located 6.78 miles (as the crow flies from where I was). Great! I plugged in the address on the GPS and headed out. The very first instruction Henrietta gave me was to turn left onto route 3. Ok. I did that. Then next thing she said was “Proceed 36 miles on Route 3”. This I didn't do. If would have proceeded I would have arrived in Washingtonville at 1:15 this afternoon. Instead I made a u-turn and headed back to the motel where I changed routes and plunked in today's. I figured even if I had to pay a bank fee or two along the way it had to be better than spending 5 – 6 hours to wind up less than 7 miles from where you started. And even as convenient as the ATM card is I'm a firm believer in having some cash to back up the effort. Now that Canada is looming closer I figured it was time to refresh the money clip. But I still have a couple of days.

So the right hand turn out of the parking lot followed by another right hand turn put me on US-11. This route is a far Northern Route that connects Vermont with New York . I followed 11 for about 30 miles and suddenly ran this. “Hey! That looks familiar. It was familiar. The story is that when Lyn and I were on our 2006 trip we had spent the night before in Plattsburg , Ny . It's right on the Canadian and US border and very close to Lake Champlain . It's also within 50 miles of her Dad's families origins. In a spot called Thayers Corners. We had to pass this school house on our way to visit her ‘ancestral' home. I really did not realize I was so close to the same spots we had travelled. I knew that I was, however going to once again be visiting Lake Champlain , Ny . And picking up US-2 as it splits the lake in two and carries us into Vermont . This is a beautiful ride and I highly recommend it. In this picture I'm still on US-11, but at the horizon you can almost see the bridge and US-2. The little town of Lake Champlain is very picturesque and boasts marinas, motels, restaurants, and entertainment spots.

Once on the bridge the ride to the other side seems all too fast. As you can see the day was absolutely stunning. Very few clouds and no wind. This was exactly the kind of weather Lyn and I had when we rode across the lake in 2006. It brought back a lot of good memories. That was certainly one of the best vacations she and I have ever taken. This next shot is just my attempt at being a little artsy.

I know – Don't say it. But it actually does look better in full size and proper resolution. It's one of the things that I find frustrating while being both the rider and the photographer. Often what my eye sees has great perspective and lots of depth, but by the time I get the camera into position and the shot taken everything's changed and the shot winds up being different. Oh well.

Now that I've successfully navigated my way out of New York and into Vermont I'd just like to say that of all the Northern States I've been to, this one is ‘the one' that I'd live in if I had to be somewhere on the East Coast. It has everything, and is beautiful to boot! This shot on the right was taken from I-93 (my home for the day). Imagine what the state looks like from the secondary highways and backroads! When Lyn and I were here we rode many of the backroads into and out of the ski and resort areas.

Stunning is a good word to describe the area. Here's one of those ‘perspective pictures' I was just talking about. This camera's wide angle puts the distance at so much distance you don't realize how close it really is… GRRR. I'll keep plugging away at it!

The one thing the last two pictures do show is that as the day wore on and the further South and East I went the more clouds were around. As a matter of fact, that's all of the pictures I took today, because as soon as I crossed the border into New Hampshire the sunshine disappeared and the rain started. It made for less than pleasant riding conditions and, it seems, New Hampshire is one of those states that was ready with lots of road projects that were ready to start – ‘Just give me the money'. I encountered Roadwork along the entire route of I-93 through the state, and the State Police were out in force looking for those double fine opportunities. This is not a state I would choose to live in. Around noon time I needed gas and I was getting hungry so I took an off ramp that promised both food and gas. The gas I found – 3 miles away from the interstate, and low and behold there was one of my bank branches across the street – Serendipity? Yep! The food however was harder to come by. Just on the opposite side of the street from the gas station was a diner. “So how's the diner across the street?” I asked. A frown and a “It wouldn't be my first choice of a place to eat.” Hummm. Ok. “What else is available?” The attendant directed me to a pizza place a block or two away. Pizza ?? Just didn't sound right for lunch on a rainy day. So I departed, and used the GPS Detour function to get me back on course. It did, next to a Quiznos. Good enough.

I know I said last night that I was going to query folks about the oldest town and the Plymouth Rock thing. Well, let me say this. I do believe I'm the first CA2Q'r that's ridden their bike through the new (but way way way over budget) Cross Town Tunnel in Boston . What an experience. One I hope to not repeat again anytime soon. Imagine about 8 lanes of traffic all doing their best to move forward but there was just way too may cars for the available roadway – and the tunnel's new. The last time I drove in Boston was proably in the early 80's. And the last time I was in Boston was in 1989. The city has grown! It took me over an hour to get from the tunnel entrance to where I am right now in Rockland , Ma. Rockland is less than 15 miles from Central Boston . I am pretty close to Plymouth Rock Park, but decided that the weather was going to be better in the morning and that by the time I got there today they'd probably be closed. And there is no way I'm riding my wing BACK through Boston . Besides I'm on my way out to Cape Cod – may as well do some exploring…. I'm diverting. But Salem and the Witches are still in my sights.

The weather report does call for partly cloudy all day tomorrow with a chance of showers in the late evening all up and down the East North East. We'll see.

Till next.

  June 25th 2009

Of Bed Knobs and Broomsticks

And Mane

The Spanish and the English.

So, if Columbus sailed the blue in 1492 and found North America why do so many of us attribute our heritage to the Pilgrims? I know I do. The pilgrims didn't even arrive on the continent until 1620 – that's 128 years AFTER the discovery. Columbus was long dead. The English and the Spanish and the French were squabbling over the Caribbean. And here come the Pilgrims – the first, the ONLY group of Europeans that actually wanted to come here. All of the reset were sent on behalf of their government to man ‘outposts and forts'. This then was the case of St. Augustine. The Spanish king was hot after the famed fountain of youth – so named and described by a certain desperate and creative Ponce De' Leon (back then the family name was important, as was where they were from, thus it was Ponce From the Leon region of Spain (no not Leon France)). Thus the city HAS been the longest OCCUPIED location on the Continental (Lower 48) by a non native population.

Now, as to the English. They actually arrived in the area of Provincetown, Cape Cod, Ma. In November of 1620. They loved the area, but it had no fresh water. And they did indeed need fresh water. So they mounted a couple of search parties – one on land and one on sea. Eventually the Sea party found the real ‘Mainland' and Freshwater – exactly a block south of where they landed. The town of Plymouth can indeed trace its roots to December of 1620. Thus making it the oldest “I wanna be here city” on the continent. Now you also know why Cape Cod holds such fascination for so many folks. I'm told the fishing is just so-so :-! But the sailing is great.

Now that we have all of that settled here's how the ride went. The Boston Area is expensive, and the Best Western in Rockland was no exception so I wanted to make the most of the amenities such as they were. I bugged the front desk looking for information about Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims. Was there a good restaurant close by? What was the weather supposed to be like ? Etc. Etc.

I left Rockland and headed out the cape. Rode for about 30 minutes till I got to Plymouth and then nosed around till I found the park. Interesting area – marketed for tourists, yet does have a lot of historical significance. Not a St. Augustine by any measure. This was much more ummm ‘reverential' than an in your face ‘gimmie your money' tourist attraction. The most telling reason for this is that it wasn't until the late 1700's that “Someone” decided that that big ‘ole rock there in the harbor was “THE” Plymouth Rock. So Historically we can't prove squat about the rock we see today as being ‘the' rock! Doesn't bother me any I'm content in the belief that the pilgrims stepped onto our shores on the rock that we are currently protecting.

Broomsticks

So, a mere 42 years after landing in Plymouth and 30 miles North of where they landed our forefathers decided to accuse some 150 men and women of being witches. This is not one of religions, nor our, shining moments. Many of the accused were actually sent to trial – well 26 were, and without fail were all convicted. Being a witch is a Felony. Big time. They were all either hanged or burned or, in the case of one poor soul was crushed under thrown rocks in

an effort to get him to confess his crimes.

It remains a mystery to me why a persecuted group would turn upon itself in a mere 60 years. Can't we all just learn to get along?

The ride

When I left Plymouth Rock heading for Salem I was determined to watch the traffic closely, and if necessary I was going to divert out of the main I-93 corridor out to the I-493 corridor which would hopefully move faster. Well, we moved along. A whole lot better than yesterday in the rain. So I followed Henrietta and stayed the course. I made it through Boston and was dutifully placed on Ma-1A which nearly shook the fillings out of my teeth. Oh this road SO needs repair. Eventually Salem came into view and the museum – (Guess what No Pictures allowed GRRRRRR). The ride out of Salem continued on route US-1 or US-1A. Painful is the only way to describe the rest of today's ride. The most painful of any that I've been on. Why?

Road Repair:

I chose to ride on Non interstate Non Toll roads. This put me on the only available highway –US-1. The entire route in New England is heavily populated and the road is in terrible condition.

Destinations:

As I left the Ma. Environs and headed into New Hampshire I noticed a lot more traffic. It's because lots of folks from NY, MA, RI, NJ, etc. ALL come up to the coast and want to spend time at ( are you ready??) the Hamptons, the Yorks, The Berkshires. They seem to continue forever between New Hampshire and central Mane. I have hotel recommendations as well as tourist info for anyone that's going to be in the area.

This was very painful. I was not out of second gear for more than a few seconds for several hours. Everyone wants to be here. The coast is very close, but unlike California's PCH this route takes you up the coast, but you can't see the ocean, you can only smell it. If you want to actually visit the ocean then you MUST endure the ungodly traffic, high prices, and hike the distance (it varies) to the beaches. I can see why the hotel / motel ‘resorts' are so popular here -- spend two or three days – do some miniature golfing – and maybe see a beach or two.

So, I've been through the Hamptons (Lower, Greater, Upper), the Yorks (the same) and even the Berkshires. It's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. You can tell when you're officially a Tourist – the sign's all have Gold!!!

Mane:

I believe it was Bob Hole that told me that when I got to Mane it was time to turn another Direction. None the less, I'm trekking through Mane toward Saint John, New Brunswick to eventually get me to Novia Scotia via the Saint John – Digby Ferry. I'm currently in Norway. That's in Mane. I'm a lot further West and nowhere near as far North as I had imagined me to be at this time, but all my planning swears it will only take me 5 or 6 hours to get there tomorrow. HA? We'll see.

So far Mane hasn't been the most impressive of States, and I've been on several back road highways. It's basically flat with some rolling hills. What does astound me is the amount of Traffic. For a state with over 35,000 Square miles (39 th largest) the 1.3 million residents seem to all be on the road all the time. Seriously. I mean 1.3 million is what we have in the East Bay, and it doesn't seem like there's “that” much traffic (except at commute times). Here? It's constant.

I'm going to hold off on my final Mane remarks till I'm through with riding it. But, at the moment it's on about a 4 out of 10 rating.

I'm missing out on my planned “seafood” dinner tonight in Bar Harbor. Obviously because I'm nowhere near Bar Harbor. And the reason for being where I am is because Bar Harbor was not able to accommodate my travel schedule to Nova Scotia. So, I have Saint John, New Brunswick to look forward to tomorrow instead. Wonder if they have lobster…..

Till Next!

Jim

June 26th 2009  

The Border Crossing

As I mentioned last night I was a bit disappointed in how Henrietta had routed me on my quest to get to Saint John. I figured it was because of my desire to avoid toll roads, so this morning I got the bike all packed up and asked Henrietta to “Take me to Saint John NB, and oh by the way it's ok if I have to pay a toll or two”. Sure enough she took me directly to I-95 and what is known in Maine as the Maine Turnpike. I rode for 26 miles and then had to stop and pay $1.65 in tolls. I asked the nice lady toll taker when the next toll was and she said – “There isn't another one. This is the last one.”! Yeay!! So I continued to scoot along at about 70 and Henrietta advised me that my ETA was 2:30PM Eastern. Yeay!!!

The further North I got the better the scenery became. Maine is actually quite rugged once after you get out of all of the civilization in the South. The highway was very well maintained and traffic was light. Once I got to Bangor Henrietta directed me onto US-1. Well, unlike our Pacific Coast Highway, this coastal route still maintained a very safe distance from the actual coast itself. Just like yesterday I once again couldn't see the ocean, but I could smell it. Saint John, NB is East of Bar Harbor and I was still west of Bar Harbor, so I needed to go East and North. Me-12 provided that for me. Beautiful road.

Not to many mountains – yet - but about 30 miles later I crested this hill (second picture) and there was this huge fire watch tower. I could see for miles in all directions and while the mountains weren't huge they were there and they were heavily forested. Interesting area. I'm not too sure if I could live in the hinterlands of Maine – very very quiet. I mean what would I do if I ran out of milk?

This picture gives you some idea of how empty the great Down East (yeah, that's what they call it -- go figure). While I didn't see one I was warned constantly about Moose. Moose crossings and “Pay Attention – there's Moose around here”. Eventually I did arrive in St. Stephen, NB, and had to meet with my nemesis for the day.

“And what is the purpose of your Visit to Canada today?”

“I'm Touring – I'm going to see all of the provinces.”

“How long will you be here?”

Now that I wasn't prepared for so I said – “Dunno, a week or so – maybe 10 days.”

He looked very surprised and said “You're going to see all of the provinces in 10 days?”

Ooppps – “No, I don't have any set schedule other than I need to be back home by the end of July”.

Then came the questions about firearms and tobacco (Firearms are forbidden in Canada, as are radar detectors and you can only have 1 carton of smokes with you – weird laws). All the while he was checking my passport with the list of suspects on his confuser screen. As many of you know, my exact name “James H. Smith” IS on a watch list and has been a problem ever since 911. The ‘H' in my name saves me usually because It's not the ‘H' they're looking for. But because the name popped up I got all the extra questions. He finally handed me my passport back and said “Enjoy your stay”, and I was through! Yeay!!! Now all I had to do was get to Saint John. That little stint in Line cost me about 40 minutes – Oh, wait - did I mention I was also now in another Time Zone? Yep, Atlantic time. So folks I am now officially 4 hours ahead of the West Coast. I'm pooped J . That 4 hours will increase to 5 hours when I arrive in Newfoundland in a couple of days. While US-1 and US-1A provided most of my route up to Canada today the Canadian version was CN-100. I can handle this!

Actually Henrietta can handle it. I was only an hour away from Saint John and was very quickly impressed with how much water was in the area and how much closer to the sea I was. There is a quality to the air also. I swear, as I rode through a smallish town at speed I could actually smell that ‘air freshener' smell that hotels use in their rooms, and sure enough a couple of moments later I passed a motel – then again maybe someone exploded a spray can of that stuff and allowed it to linger… dunno, but there was a difference.

I arrived in Saint John and at first looked for the Best Western that was advertised on a billboard outside of town – no joy – I couldn't find it – even after crossing over a toll bridge twice. So I decided the Econo Lodge would be just fine. It's one or two exits away from the Ferry Terminal Road and offers an view of the bay. Good Enough. As I was checking in I was asking all of my standard questions, things like walking distance restaurants, rush hour traffic info, etc. Well, this Econo Lodge isn't so strategically located – there really isn't anything to eat close by, but the lady said – “You should try the ‘Reversing Falls' restaurant”.

“Reversing Falls???”

To explain, Saint John has some of the highest tides in the world. Because of this, and because of the topography of the bay there is a specific spot where , when the tide is ebbing the flow of the water is so pronounced it forms the illusion of a waterfall going one direction, then, when the tide comes high the same illusion is formed going the opposite direction.

This I had to see. Under the bridge in the picture on the left is where this phenomenon occurs. If you look closely at the picture you can see that there is already plenty of current pulling the water out to sea.

The picture on the left shows the current starting to flow heavily. Unfortunately I was taking pictures from inside the restaurant so they aren't the greatest.

Now, on the right you can see that there is a much more pronounced falls effect. And when the tide comes back in the whole thing goes the other direction. Pretty cool stuff. I think it's really Saint John's one big claim to fame.

I know your all dying to know what Jim had for dinner tonight. Well I could have had Lobster, or Fresh Halibut or even Fresh Atlantic Salmon – but decided to try a fisherman's meal of a “Fish Casserole”. Yum!!! Full of Shrimp, Lobster, white fish, imitation crab (unfortunately), and scallops. Topped with a homemade cheese sauce . It was really good….. But quite filling.

Tomorrow – Ferry ride to Digby, Nova Scotia!

Till Next.

June 27th 2009

Funday Crossing

Ok – it's really the Fundy, but the title is appropros none the less because it was a pretty fun day that entailed some riding some crusing and some schmoozing. And I am now about 40 minutes from Halifax. Yes, I could have kept riding and gotten ‘into town' – but for what purpose? It's late – nearly dark – I'm not planning on touring the city tonight and I'm quite cozy where I am. In the mountains of Nova Scotia, close to the only operating cable ferry still in existence in Canada (??? Dunno about that!).

It rained last night. So I awoke to a wet bike and pooling water everywhere. I decided that I had time to check out the one tire store I'd seen not to far from the motel and see if they happened to have new shoes for the trailer. At first the guy looked at me like I was crazy. Then we double checked the size together – yep they are still 4.80/4/8 – and he checked his inventory. He had 8 of them, but they were $25.00 a piece. Hummm they're $21.00 in the states at an honest dealer. “I'll take 3. 4 if you have a rim I can buy from you.” I wound up with 3. And am committed to finding a spare 8” rim somewhere. I don't want to have to ‘order' tires in some small town wile on this trip. So, the Vette has new tires. We're good to go for at least 2000 miles. It is very interesting seeing how these tire jockeys try to figure out how to get the trailer raised up enough to get the tire off the ground. I've had to caution several of them that “NO, the rails the Vett's tires are riding on are indeed fiberglass and you will break it if you continue to try and jack it there.” Today's guy actually asked “Is this fiberglass re-inforced?” “

Nope – there's a steel frame under there but you have to kind of look for it.” It was nice to get out of the rain, and to be able to actually interact with the mechanic doing the work.

Ok, tires are done and the bill's paid in USD. The exchange rate is so bad that no one even bothers to try and do a conversion any more. But, most Canadian businesses are still more comfortable taking Canadian Currency than American. I just have a heck of a time with the 1 and 2 dollar coins – But I'm already remembering how things work up here! I got gas at OVER $3.00 a gallon. So I paid for it in USD and the attendant gave me a conversion rate plus I asked if I could get a little Canadian Currency too – I gave her another $20.00 and got a converted rate back, and no ‘processing fees'. Ok, I knew that I could at least buy a coke from the machine on the ferry if I needed to . It was progress – small progress but progress none the less. Today being Saturday most all of the banks were closed so I didn't have an opportunity to stop and get enough to tide me over. It's on my list of things to do on Monday. The big deal for me is (listen to me squeak) is that every time I use my ATM card for a foreign transaction my lovely bank feels that it's worth $2.23 (no, not $2.25) to process that conversion for me. Doesn't make any difference if I use a credit card or the ATM. GRRRRRR. Banks L

After the tires and gas (banking) duties I asked Henrietta to take me to the Saint John – Digby Ferry Terminal. She did an excellent job. She kept me off toll roads, off major highways, and took me though some very difficult to navigate hills and rough terrain till we arrived at the port. I checked in, Got my ticket and waited. Actually I was quite early (Lynda would have been proud of me!). So I waited a long time. I had time to take some pictures of the area and of the city, lighthouse, … stuff.

Above is low tide. Serious tide fluctuations in Saint John. If you are on the water you need to know what you are doing! The second one has me at the ‘head of the line'. I was actually the first one on the ferry (and nearly the last one off the ferry) today. The lines don't look to impressive yet, but, like I said I was early.

I don't recall seeing that church during any of my travels yesterday, but when you are ‘down on the bay' that church is a standout structure. I was getting a bit bored and was about to go inside the terminal when I see our ferry finally arriving. Cool!

Things were starting to look up. The lighthouse was actually operating, as the sky's were lowering and the rain would come and go. Then as I was walking around and taking a picture of tow a couple of more motorcycles came into the lot and parked right behind me – a BMW 1200RT and a ST1100. Schmooze time. A couple of guys from Quebec were riding over to Nova Scotia, as they had been doing for the last 20 years. It was their holiday. They of course commented on the Wing and the Vette and asked how long I ‘d been on the road. When I said a month and a little over 12,000 miles they were impressed. But then Mac (I think, Thick accent) say's he took a trip on a Honda 750 when he was younger that took him from Quebec West through all of Canada to Victoria, then South through the whole West Coast and even further South---- as far South as Belize!!! What a ride that must have been.

A couple of minutes later a Harley rider came in. He was from Cambridge, Ma. Smart guy. Knocked my socks off with the stuff he knew. And, to my shame I never asked his name But

then too – he never asked my mine either. We talked a lot about Nova Scotia. He has family here, and comes up at least twice a year to see them and to ride. Very cool guy. He was riding a 1989 Road Glide. The thing looked like it had been through a war or two. The exhaust was a modified Vance and Hines, but it wasn't too loud. He said he refused to spend money on finding stock parts on the bike when, if with his friends help, he could keep it going with what was available! Great pleasure to talk to him. Another minute later and here came yet another Motorcycle. This fellow was from Lake Placid, Ny. And wanted to ride several of the ‘Hidden Gem's of Nova Scotia'. He seemed to know a lot about the area too. I became a sponge.

Before we get to the riding part of today I have to show Lynda how the bike looked all tied down, and a shot or two of the accommodations.

2 The whole front end of the ferry raised up to allow the cars 1 Into the "Maw!:"

and trucks to exit!

As you can see, the deck itself has all kinds of spots where a tie down can be made. It's actually quite easy to secure the bikes. Park them in gear, put them on the center stand, wrap a small bungie cord around the front brake and then attach tie downs to either the engine guards or the frame itself and secure it to the deck. Stunk down there. Old seawater and mud. And it was VERY slippery.

From the deck. The whole prow just ‘lifted up' - Impressive! And, I was very surprised to watch how they docked these things. In today's world they use Bow Thrusters to swing the ship around and to position it perfectly where it needs to be. I can't imagine how difficult this task was before the advent of the bow thruster.

Well, this isn't the most exciting grub on the planet, but it is ferry food. There were no white table cloths, no busboy's, waiters or much in the way of choices. Pizza, cold sandwiches, and burgers kept 6 folks (1/4 of the crew) busy. The rest of the accommodations were very typical of any Ferry. Comfortable seats to

sit and read, or lean your head back and snooze a bit – free internet access – when it worked – a ‘free' movie and a gift shop. I almost opted for a couple of Hot dogs, but they didn't have any chili!

We did finally say good bye to Saint John and headed Eastward and ever Northward! Truly, I can't tell you how beautiful this country is. These little pictures don't help much either. And the folks today. Every one of them were excited to be here – were looking forward to their holiday and their travels around the province.

I did indeed while away the next three hours with some lunch. some reading, some exploration, and I may have even dozed for a minute or two… *Hey, I've only been in this time zone for 18 hours*. But eventually the Captain of the Princess of Arcadia managed to negotiate the Bay of Fundy and get us to the Port of Digby, Ns.

Very pretty arrival.

Yes, the shores got closer and Yes the colors got a lot greener and yes we were all happy to be at the end of this crossing. Don't know if I have the words to describe the ferry experience, but it has certainly been the same in all of my experiences. The excitement of the adventure, the thrill of the wait, and execution of the boarding and the frantic discovery mode (what's where) once on board. Then the doldrums of waiting for the shore to appear again. It's much the same way when taking a big cruise. Only we get to experience the same cycle several times!

We did indeed dock in Digby, Ns. And at 3:45 I was finally able to disembark the ship. I followed the signs to the ‘fastest way into Halifax' via highway 101 and was soon cruising along at 110 Km. Henrietta had other ideas. Remember me saying I'd told her that morning to avoid major highways?? Well she was doing her job, as ever efficiently. Moments after getting on the 101 I was directed to take the next exit to “1”. I did, and I rode for the next 30 miles of bumpy, goaty, villages, and slow moving traffic that the area has to offer. It was all quite pretty, but not uniquely so. And the darn Highway signs all looked like they were referring to the ‘US” highways -- you know, the shield in the background with the number of the highway in the foreground. I didn't take many pictures. Mostly because it was late, and I wasn't sure what I was looking at for the most part. Henrietta did indeed route me into (over) the highest part of the province, and I had fog, and lot's of it. But, here is what I did take.

ß Just outside of the pier at Digby. Looked to me like moorings, but didn't seem to be very substantial. I may never know, as there was no other information provided about them…

Ok – Where did these two houses come from?? Estates for sure. And maybe even a bed and breakfast.

Highway 1 East bound.

Ditto.

I did decide not to ride all of the way into Halifax tonight. It just didn't make sense to me, as I was riding along to ride all of the way into the town centre, face parking and traffic, find a room, and not see the sights. So, I decided to stop in the smallish town of Bridgewater, Ns. Which is about 40 minutes outside of Halifax and has it's own claim to fame which I'll try to discover in the morning. For now, 8 pages is long enough.

Till Next!

June 28th 2009

The Up-East

This will be a very short update. First of all – I only took two pictures today and I'm not going to bother sizing them to include in this update. Today I rode about as far North and East as it is possible to travel on the North American Continent. I'm currently on Cape Breton Island in the town of Sydney . I awoke this morning late that last time change about did me in. But was on the road by 9:00. I was under the impression I would be able to ride from Bridgewater all of the way to Sydney in about 5 hours. It took about an hour longer. It was raining when I left. Then it cleared up a bit shortly before Halifax , then remained cloudy all of the way North. It started raining again – in earnest the last 100 miles, also had wind and fog. All combined to keep my pucker power set on high.

There is a causeway that connects the Cape Breton Island to the Rest of Nova Scotia . The causeway was so foggy I could barely see the car in front of me – Luckily up here the law is that If you have your wipers on then your lights need to be on too. So I was able to follow without too much trouble. The last 60 miles into Sydney were hair raising for other reasons, but mostly because it was raining hard enough to hide the condition of the road till you found out that there was a huge rut that the bike ‘had' to follow or the tar snakes that were after ya not to mention the amount of potholes and bad patch jobs on this quite narrow, twisty coastal road. No, it wasn't a fun ride today. But the Day's Inn is very welcoming and I've managed to track down a bank for some Canadian Cash, a Honda Dealer that will hopefully have a set of tires I can get installed before heading out to Newfoundland tomorrow night. I also finalized my ferry bookings. It's a 12 hour crossing to Argentia , NF and I'll be leaving at night. I arrive about 1 hour out of St. Johns and then get to drive across the Island . I'm told it takes at least 10 hours and in some cases 12. I've checked the weather and the next couple of days look to be pretty good up there. The biggest warning I've had is to watch for the Moose. They are in Abundance, and if I ride at night to be very very careful, as it is not at all unusual to have 15 – 20 encounters with them during a crossing. And at night they are all but impossible to see. YIKES! Well, I won't be riding at night so that helps. And I will be keeping my eyes wide open for at least a photo op.

Finally, what little of the Cape Breton that I was able to see today was really Stunning, So, I'm hoping that by the time I'm beading back South and West again the weather will have cleared enough that I can get some pictures. Bet this place positively ‘shines' when it's sunny! Beautiful Beautiful area – but I have to own up to being a little homesick.

Till Next!

June 30th 2009

The Trouble with Travel

Even as the days of this adventure begin to run together so also do some of the memories. I do believe the last time I updated you was 2 nights ago with a description of my ride into Sydney, Nova Scotia. I converted the three pictures that I took that day and here they are.

The first one is of flowers – they were all over the place – don't know what they are called, but if someone wants to enlarge that picture (Click on It and drag a corner) and fill me in I'd appreciate it. The second is of a good section of Highway 4. The third is of the best section of highway 4 – everything else was full of rain and fog. So, when traveling sometimes even the best of sights are missed because of the weather.

After I was in Sydney for a while and had talked to several folks I realized that Henrietta wasn't necessarily the best of route planners. She brought me into Sydney by a rather circuitous route and over some really cr@ppy roads. If the weather would have co-operated I would have be a lot more to share with you. Basically the Can-125 was the highway I should have taken, most direct, best condition. Another small, but irritating problem with travel is when you get the best advice too late.

As I was waiting for my time to go and board the ferry that would take me to Newfoundland I had about 7 hours to kill. Perfect opportunity to do some sightseeing. But the first order of business was that I needed to get some Canadian Cash – that ate up better than an hour, then I had to ride out to the Honda Powershop, for tires for the bike, then I was free to explore. Well, as mentioned the bank took an hour, and the Honda dealer only had Dunlop D-250's in stock. I told him it was way way way too rainy and treacherous in Nova Scotia for any 900 pound bike to be depending on something as badly engineered as those tires were. He did not push the sale, but rather asked what I'd prefer. I told him that the Bridgestones had served me very well. He said he'd order them for me and have them when I returned from Newfoundland. Ok -- Tires only have to last another 600 miles. They will.

I had cash, but no tires and I was hungry and couldn't even enter the dock area for 3 more hours. So I found fast food. Hey, it was raining, and I didn't feel much like trying find something that wasn't a greasy spoon. I ordered my meal and was happily chowing down when another guy sits down next to me and say's in one of the heaviest Canadian accents I've ever heard. “So, what'cha got in that trailer out there?” I gave him the standard answer and received the standard response. Anyway we got to talking and he also was a rider, and said that I really needed to go to the two main attractions in the area – Louisburg fortress, and the Cape Breton Miners Museum. Cool neither was too far away and easy enough to get to in the fog and rain.

First I went to the Miners Museum. Gotta say this was very well done. The Cape Breton area was famed for it's rich coal fields in the early to mid 1800's. It made a number of men very very rich, and kept the workers in the poor house. A true experience of Company owned housing, Company owned Store, Company owned everything. The Museum documented the working and living conditions and the process of Unionization and finally the demise of the industry in general because of the plentiful supply of coal elsewhere and its ultimate unfriendliness to the environment. There was a walking tour through a live coal mine with a retired miner as the guide. I did not take the tour as the movies and the exhibits they had were quite sufficient for me.

I also found that thanks to the rain I wouldn't need to go to Fort Louisburg, as most of the demonstrations and exhibits were closed. It's another problem with travel – Weather affects everything!

I t was eventually my time to head down to the docks and wait for the boarding call. I arrived at 3:15 for an 8:00 sailing and a 6:30 boarding. Ok. Three hours to kill – I can read my

book, and enjoy a light dinner in the cafeteria and perhaps watch a little television. Everyone else had the same idea. That's ok. The place was plenty big enough. But there were “A Lot” of Canadians travelling – then I discovered that the 1 st of July is Canada Day – Biggest darn holiday in Canada. Oh Boy. I snuck out several times to take a picture or two. I'm very glad that they move all of the bikes to the head of the line, as it does take us a while to get ourselves ready and the bikes all tied down. And then the rest of the Vehicles come on board; It's really amazing how they pack this ship up. I didn't take a picture of it (Lynda would have), but there was this huge semi – tractor trailer pulling an equally huge ‘skip loader' that was on board, and I mean to say looking at it looming over every single other vehicle was pretty impressive.

Before we loaded I stood outside in the rain to get this one picture, because I thought it was about the funniest thing I'd read in days… You won't be able to see it in the picture, but the little ittybitty sign there say's “Passengers walking aboard are reminded that they are not allowed to walk”. I had waited for perhaps 5 minutes (in the rain waiting for the sign to cylcle), when three things happened – my camera shut off, the sign changed and they announced it was time to board. I got the camera turned back on but was only able capture

the remote wide angle image. So, travel can be downright frustrating at times.

Once on board most of the folks that were riding bikes congregated in the bar. I had a couple of Blue Star Beers (brewed in Newfoundland), and enjoyed chatting with folks – mostly they were all from Ontario. They all had accents, almost Irish. Which I came to understand is a very proud heritage of this part of the world. Didn't know that. The two guys were brothers (and very Ontario Irish to boot) and the lady was a friend who rode with them. Very nice folks that were genuinely interested in how the heck my 2004 Goldwing got 122400 miles on it. I did my best to explain it. Sometimes travelling can be fun, rewarding, and enrichining.

A couple of pictures of the departure are in order too. This is always my favorite part of any voyage that includes the sea.

The first is the Dock the second is yours truly (thank you I wasn't ready for a close-up) and the last is of us heading out into Open Sea. One more – is needed, as this was scheduled to be at least a 12 hour crossing and we were departing at 20:00 - I needed to rest my weary bones somewhere.

Say hello to berth 405. I was in a dormitory sleeper. I had a very nice older couple from Ontario also that were in the lower two bunks – and about 50 other folks sharing the rest of the area. I'm not sure when the last time was that I slept so lightly. Sometimes travel can be wearisome.

My downstairs neighbors were early risers. I tried to be polite all night and not snore, or have methane emissions, or any of those other nighttime issues. So I'm pretty sure I didn't wake them. At any rate I was once again wandering the companionways at 6:45 looking for a warm place to sit and watch the sunrise. I was moderately successful – I found a place to sit, but it wasn't warm, and the sun was still obliterated by the cloud cover. I walked by the pursers office and saw that we were now expecting to arrive at 13:00 hours. That's 5 hours later than my plans. Sometimes travel can be downright aggravating. The weather we had traveled through during the course of the night had indeed slowed us down significantly because of the strong headwinds. This meant however that my leisurely ride into Saint Johns for pictures and a fresh batch of screetch had to be dropped an instead have Henrietta get me into Grand Falls-Windsor, NF. As quickly as possible. You see I'm scheduled to board the last and final ferry of this trip on Thursday 07/02/09 at 10:30 Am, And I must be at port no later than 09:00 Am. So I have basically 1.5 days to travel about 700 miles. Now that's not a huge number of miles for you Iron butt'rs, but remember I'm on Tour I'm not supposed to be racing across the Island. Sometimes travel can be downright unfair.

So, Henrietta took me to “Long Northbay Road” – If your ever in the area, know anyone coming to the area, wants to come the area, even has been here. Tell them to never , ever, ever accept a GPS's direction to ride on that road UNLESS you are in a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Worst road I've ever been on, followed only by Can-2. Both of which should be removed from the Garmin Map System completely. I blew my left fork seal recovering from one of the potholes that was seriously big enough to swallow my whole tire. So, when I get back to Sydney on Thursday or Friday I'll need to have that repaired too. Sometimes travel can be enlightening.

That's basically my story for the day – here's a couple more pictures of the arrival and of the countryside. Like I say I'm really disappointed I had to give up the East Coast of Newfoundland, as everyone agrees it has some of the best scenery, and that I don't have the time to go to the Gros Morne Park up North, I understand it also is stunning. I'll try and caption as best I can. On the left – You can actually see the weather we left behind us for what was going to turn out to be a spectacular sunny day in Newfoundland. I was thrilled to see the sunshine again! Sometimes travel can also be surprising!

Above – Settling into the Dock and a pretty decent road next to it.

A little bit of the Trans Canadian Highway, and If you've never seen one of these things in operation it's really impressive. It's a caterpillar with this huge swinging head that moves from side to side and ‘clears brush' Holy cr@p it was cutting down small trees and laying waste to them. Sometimes travel can be downright educational.

I did learn from the last several days. I totally underestimated the amount of time it would take for me to enjoy Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. The folks I've been chatting with have been planning their holiday time for months. Indeed many of them will take two weeks and explore just a small part of what I elected to do in two days. But that was the only real decision I could make. If / when I do come back to the area it will be to spend more time in it so I can appreciate it more. It is certainly deserving of it.

I'm about done with ferrys. Tomorrow – The west coast of Newfoundland.

Till next.