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| Second Quarter 2012 | Louisiana MSTA Newsletter | Page 1 |
Quite busy lately since getting back from 16 day New England trip. Sold two of the bikes, getting caught up with domestic stuff and now trying to complete my New England trip ride report and pack for STAR 2012. Many of the Louisiana Tribe are already on the road, touring California before heading for Avon. Stacie and I leave in two days. In this issue a Hill Country report from Drew, a brief report on the April lunch ride and my report on our 16 day, 4500 mile trip to New England. We hope you enjoy the newsletter!
Don't forget to update your mileage
Later...
Bob
For the last nine years or so, springtime has meant a ride to the Texas Hill Country was part of the change of seasons. 2012 was no exception. With the K bike gassed and loaded I headed west on I-20 at about 4:30 am on April 14. I-20 west to Highway US 59 is not a stimulating motorcycle ride but it does take one to Texas. Arriving in Houston; of course the road was being worked on so I got dumped into the middle of downtown with thousands of others (good thing this was a Saturday and I sort of knew where I was and where I was going.) I found my friend Julie's apartment and got off the bike for a couple days to enjoy some of the things the big city offers such as symphonies, concerts, and very good food.
After several days of "culture" I headed the K bike west out of Houston on Alt Highway 90 to Rosenberg, TX where Highway 36 to Bellville where I turned west on scenic 159 taking me to LaGrange (think of the ZZTop song!) Outside of LaGrange I continued west on the four-lane 71 till I found Farm Road 969 which took me to my Austin destination. I spent two nights in the capital city and explored the state capital, the University of Texas, and also dropped a few dollars at the local BMW shop (well, all of us need at least one more motorcycle related t-shirt, don't we?) Thursday, April 19, it was time to head to my final destination of Ingram, TX. 290 took me west to Fredericksburg for my obligatory German meal. Then it was the well ridden Highway 16 to Kerrville to Highway 39 and the seven mile ride to the Waltonia Lodges where I would be staying.
I should have known things were amiss when there was no one to check me in. It didn't take long however for the owner to show up and I checked into cabin #8. All looked fine until the next morning when I found out I had no toilet seat!!! Well, I guess I better go into to town for breakfast was my immediate thought! So, after breakfast I headed out 39 west through Hunt, TX onto 187 south. About 3 miles north of Vanderpool, I realized all my tire repair stuff was back in cabin #8 with no toilet seat. I decided to take a few pictures and head back to Ingram. This is when I discovered my camera battery was on its' last legs. So, I had two projects to accomplish upon my return (toilet seat and battery!)
I hate going to Wal-Mart. It doesn't matter when or where, I just hate going there. Of course, they had every camera battery except the one I needed. Fortunately, CVS Pharmacy had what I needed and I could take some pictures in this scenic part of the world (and the wildflowers this year were the best they have been in years, according to the locals.) Clouds were on the horizon and I got back to my cabin just in time for a thunderstorm to roll through. Lots of thunder and lightning but not much rain. I was glad to be off the bike though. The impressive display did not last long and not long after it was over I headed west on Highway 27 to Mountain Home, TX. There is not much in Mountain Home that I could tell - not even a red light, but the ride was very enjoyable. After a few stops, it was time to head back to Ingram (where a new toilet seat had been installed!) and relax until the next day.
Saturday morning dawned with a temperature of 42 degrees!!! It did not take long for the Texas sun to warm things up and I was headed west out of Hunt, TX on Farm Road 1340. What a nice ride (and some of these folks got some serious $ !!) I even rode by a polo game in progress! 1340 connected me to 41 which continued west on until I reached Highway 336. This is one of the well-known three sisters, and a road I had not yet travelled. So down the curvy 336 I went till arriving in Leakey for a pit stop.
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A hastiliy planned lunch ride resulted in a decent turnout with Paul Lefort, Kevin Yeats, Dennis Hedrick and Eric and Derek Babcock and myself in attendance. Tony Crowell and daughter Livvy showed up at the meeting place to visit and see us off. We rode out to River Road and looped through the gator Gap before heading through LA22 and on to lunch at Taste of Bavaria in Ponchatoula. The Gator Gap was spoiled by 20 MPH speed limit signs every 100 yards and a LEO parked in the middle. Good food as always at TOB. We got served quickly despite a tour bus arriving the same time as we did. I believe our long time favorite TOB has expaned both their dining area and menu!
We left St. Francisville at 8:10 Thursday morning April 26, a few minutes ahead of schedule. This trip had been in intensive planning stage for a LONG time and we were both ready to go! We headed east out of town on LA 10 and immediately hit the back roads to Wilson and Norwood, LA then Liberty, MS. There turned east on US 84, stopping for breakfast in Brookhaven then on to Monticello and Laurel. Just past the Alabama state line the
Nuvi directed us down some really narrow county roads 
that had me wondering but eventually we came out on some state routes through towns like Toxey, Butler, Linden and eventually Selma then AL 14 for the last leg to Prattville,AL; just this side of Montgomery, our day 1 destination.
It was about 3:30, we were hot and ready to hit the pool but the Rodeway Inn had no pool so we just chilled on the sidewalk outside our room and drank a few brews until it was time for supper. There was an Olive Garden nearby and we enjoyed a good Italian meal, calamari and stuffed mushrooms appetizers, Sicilian Shrimp Scampi for Stacie and Seafood Portofino for me. It's hard to go wrong at Olive Garden.
Day 2 Friday 4/27 282 miles in 6:52
We headed out about 8:15 again on AL 14 through Elmore to Wetumka where we veered north on AL 9. We rode 9 up through Ashland and Lineville then
onto I-20 to make time to the East. We exited 20 at Villa Rica to avoid Atlanta planning to pick up I-575 north without having to deal with Atlanta traffic but the Kennesaw area proved much more suburban than expected and we sat through numerous red lights in the hot sun before we could get back on the open road. Of
the whole trip this days route planning was my worst work. We hate being stuck in traffic in the hot sun! Next a long boring stretch on I-575 to GA 5 then a tiny road called Worley Cross Roads, again wondering if the Nuvi was nuts, before coming good on GA 53. This was decent all the way to Dawsonville, Home of Bill Elliot, then to
Dahlonega. Dahlonega was also much busier than I remembered it but not too bad and then we were on the home stretch to Helen, our Day 2 destination.
We had originally planned to attend the popular North Georgia Classic MSTA event as a stand alone trip. Moving our new England trip up from August to May due to work constraints meant the NGC would be the just the beginning and hanging out and riding with a bunch of great old friends was a great way to begin! A light rain began to fall intermittently as we rolled into town, and we quickly pulled under the covered entrance of the event motel, where old friends were waiting to welcome us and help us unpack.
The Country Inn is a very nice motel and an excellent new venue for the NGC. Matt Thorton, Eric Larsen and Doug Pippen (and probably others) had done a great job planning, organizing and running the event. Doug had prepared ride routes for Saturday including most of the best motorcycle roads in the area. He even provided GPS files and helped with uploading to GPS units for those who had not downloaded them from the MSTA website. One event surprise was a free event T-shirt funded by MSTA supporter Traxxion Dynamics suspension company. Friday night there was a catered barb b q beef dinner at the motel which was excellent.
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editing screen and tried to invert the route. No such function but I stumbled upon "Optimally Reorder Points". What the frack does that mean, I pondered. Don't bother looking in the Nuvi manual - it lucidly explains that Optimally Reorder Points means: "Automatically reorder the points"....doh! I tried it anyway. Guess what? It reversed the route and it worked perfectly from there on out! We soon arrived at Amicola State Park and found our way to the falls and stopped for a few photos before lunch at the restaurant. I don't remember much about the meal except it was over priced. The ride back to Helen was uneventful but pleasant. We all got back together and later, we all got back together, with the addition of Stacie and Chuck's wife Frances, for supper at the Hayloft Pub next door to the Inn. The pub is a fun place with good food. Afterwards we gathered with the other 70 or so NGC attendees at the motel meeting room for door prizes. There was a door prize of some sort for nearly everyone. I won a magnetic telescoping LED flashlight, a must have for every sporttourer.
Day 4 Sunday 4/29 468 miles 8:40
We started out about 7:00 am Sunday morning, this would be our longest day mileage-wise of the trip and a lot of Interstate. But we began on twisty GA 17 to Hiawassee then US 64 to Franklin, NC, US 441 to Dillsboro, and US 23 to Waynesville, all familiar roads and territory from numerous past trips to the area. North of Waynesville we hit I-40 and passed Asheville, NC then I-26 all the way to Johnson City, TN to make some time. Brought back good memories of past STARS!
Next I-81, I-77 briefly through Virginia and into West Virginia and I-64 to Beckly, WV where we finally got off the Interstate on US 19 for an 80 mile stretch, finally covering some new ground. Then it was back on the slab for the final leg to our Day 4 destination, Weston, WV. In retrospect we probably would have done better to go another 20 miles to Clarksburg, as Weston was a disappointment. The Super 8 was that not bad but no pool and it was located in the parking lot of a strip mall. The strip mall had a few restaurants but none of them looked appealing. We actually went inside the Steer Steakhouse next to the motel to have a look. They offered only a buffet and the "steaks" were heaped in a big pile and looked a lot like old shoes. We settled on take out from A Gino's Pizza. Without a doubt the worst pizza we have ever eaten. We would have preferred a Jeno's frozen pizza! After eating we sat out in the parking lot, keeping Connie company, drinking a few beers. While there we had an interesting conversation with Gibby from Ohio. He and a fellow Gold Wing rider from Ontario were en route to a "Wings on the Internet" rally held on the weekend in Vicksburg, MS and riding a lot of twisties on the way. Both had slick looking single wheel trailers hitched to their 'Wings.
Day 5 Monday 4/30 359 7:29
We headed north on I-79 past Clarksburg then exited at Saltwell working our way through the hilly WV backwoods on highway 218, listening for banjo music. Desolate, impoverished little towns every 5 or 10 miles, slow going on steep, curvy but poorly maintained roads. We eventually crossed into PA at
Blacksville but the landscape didn't change much as we made our way back to I-79 at Franklin, PA. It clouded up and began to rain lightly as we neared Pittsburgh. We would not see the sun or blue skies for the next few days. The temperature also dropped and would not climb above 52 for the next week! But our rain proof and heated apparel get us warm and dry (except for my toes which did get cold but not numbingly cold). For this trip Stacie was sporting heated pants and socks from MSTA supporting Vendor Warm and Safe. The Concours 14 keeps my legs plenty warm so heated pants does not seem like a worthwhile investment to me, unfortunately there is no workable/easy way that I know of to power heated socks without the heated pants.
But the weather was not bothering us, other than slowing us down a bit - we were heading into interesting new places and excited about it. Niagara Falls in fact, neither of us had seen it. Interstate 79 due north to Lake Erie then east on I-90 into New York State. I had planned to ride NY 5 along the shore but the rain kept coming and it was better to keep up some speed and avoid stopping. At Buffalo we did exit I-79 onto 5 and saw the waterfront before crossing the Niagara River and arriving at Niagara Falls. We had reservations at the Comfort Inn just steps from Niagara Falls State Park and the observation platform. It was obviously an old motel as are most in the city but had been recently remodeled and was in good shape. The staff was very friendly and helpful and we given a room that could not have been more convenient. First order of business after unpacking was to hike to the liquor and beer stores a few blocks mile away. Walking downtown we noticed many Indian restaurants, out numbering all other restaurants 3 to 1. What's up with that? I asked the desk clerk but she did not have an answer.
With our supplies replenished and the rain abated it was time to see the famous falls. Just across the road from our motel, the park was beautifully landscaped. And the falls themselves did not disappoint.
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After some photo taking on the American side we proceeded to walk across the bridge into Canada planning to gets some shots from the Canadian side. We reached international line midway across the river and to some pics but at that point the rain began again and we hurried back across. Yes, we had to show our passports to get back in the good ole USA. When the rain let up we strolled over to the Seneca Niagara Casino to blow a Franklins in the slot machines before supper. Not a lot to choose from, really, unless we saddled up or liked Indian which we don't. We settled on the Legends Bar and Grill basically in the lobby of the Quality Inn next door. I'd rate it a -2 for atmosphere with decor after McDonalds and lots of noisy, ungoverned children running around but the food and was quite good once we finally got one of the waitresses to wait on us. A cheeseburger for me and a pizza for Stacie.
Day 6 Tuesday 5/1 419 miles 8:45
For our day 6 ride to Burlington Vermont I reversed a route kindly sent to me by Jim Parks, MSTA Benefits Director, and all around good guy. The route follows most of the southern shore of Lake Ontario from the Niagara River to Pulaski, before cutting through rural upstate New York. The ride along the lake was interesting with several quaint little lakeside villages along the way. However for a long stretch we were on Lake Ontario State Parkway which was rather rough for the most part. Most of the rain had moved east but every road we would travel this day was still wet, making for slow going. At Irondequoit Bay we had to make a short detour as the bay outlet bridge was closed, apparently permanently. At that point we followed RT 104 the rest of the way to Pulaski. From here we followed a series of county roads to Adirondack Park. According to Wikipedia "The Adirondack Park is a publicly
protected area in northeast New York. It is the largest park and the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States, and the largest National Historic Landmark." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Park. Here we encountered dense fog and very wet, narrow roads. I would have had to slow to a snails pace but was able to duck in behind a large flatbed with bright tail lights. To make matters worse, there was road construction going on
and despite the crappy weather, dump trucks were dumping dirt on the road shoulder and a scraper was spreading it, making for a treacherous road surface!
We persevered and eventually the fog became less dense and scattered but we never saw the sun a or blue skies all day and dry roads were scarce. In fact for the whole time from Pennsylvania on to Massachusetts on Day 10 we saw little sunshine and temperatures hovered from 45 to 52 degrees. Spring was still a long way off in the North. Adirondack park was heavily wooded and we passed several lakes and numerous recreational areas and facilities, apparently popular fishing areas. As we got deeper into the park the roads were not great but there was hardly any traffic. As we finally exited the park we crossed Lake Champlain and into Vermont.
We soon arrived in Burlington and crossed the Winooski River into Colchester where we stopped for the night at a nice Quality Inn. We ate supper right next door at Juniors Italian Restaurant. Junior's food was outstanding. I had Scallops A La Vodka and Stacie had Chicken Parmesian.
Day 7 WEdnesday 5/2 217 Miles 5:56 No more long days for a while, we were finally in New England and things were closer together. Today we included a tour of Cabot Creamery, a farm family-owned cooperative with the main plant in Cabot, VT.
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Being the frugal travelers that we are we planned our tour around lunch time since the $2 tour concludes in their tasting room where visitors can sample unlimited amounts of 15 different cheeses with crackers plus other dairy products Not included among the sample selection was Cabots Artisan Reserve Clothbound Cheddar, which retails for $25.00 a pound! We both love cheese and Cabot is our favorite! We found the cheese making tour very interesting. We had our friendly and knowledgable tour guide all to ourselves. And we filled up on a variety of delicious cheeses. After the tour we continued our scenic ride through the Green Mountains of Vermont. The Vermont countryside was just as we'd pictured it, very quaint and picturesque. |
Towns were clean and homes well kept. We crossed the Connecticut River at Waterford and into New Hampshire then took a circuitous route through the White Mountains.The rain had stopped but scattered fog occasionally slowed our pace and clouds concealed the mountain peaks. We looped north to Gorham planning to ride the Mt. Washington Auto Road on a suggestion from MSTA member Sam Ulbing. The Auto Road was closed however when we arrived at the gated entrance. We did stop and take pictures of the amazing Mt. Washington Hotel before continuing south to Glen, NH then back west a bit before riding north through Crawford Notch and then south again through Franconia Notch. Great scenery and good roads that by now were fairly dry. Our stop for the night was Lincoln, NH a ski resort town.
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Our motel was located in a resort area a few miles from the town proper and at this particular time of year was essentially shut down. No snow for skiing but still too cold for spring and summer activities. Although the several motels appeared open, Stacie
and I were the only humans in sight except for a couple construction workers. Entering the office of the Econo Lodge we found a note: back in a few minutes. The
manager soon showed up however and we checked into a nice room with a great view after first rejecting an inferior one that smelled like dog. This was not your typical Econo Lodge.
None of the several restaurants within walking distance were open for business. For supper we had to hop on the C14 and make a 3 mile ride to the other side of town (on the Kancamagus Highway) to Gordi's Fish and Steakhouse. I ordered fish and chips, Stacie got a Blue Cheese Filet Mignon and baked potatoe. Stacie was amazed to discover they offered no toppings for the baked potatoe, just butter. She managed to talk the waitress into providing some grated cheese - happily it was Cabot White Cheddar.
day 8 Lobster Day 197 miles. 5:20
Our visit to Maine was considered the highlight of our trip from the very beginning of our planning. One of our top goals of our New England Adventure was to eat a lot of Maine Lobster. It seems both of us have always assumed that we would just love fresh Maine lobster although neither had ever eaten much of it due to the
expense here in the deep south. We both love boiled crawfish and naively thought of lobster as just giant crawfish. Belfast, on the coast of Maine would be only our second two night stay of the trip and we looked forward to dining on some fresh Maine lobster as we set out from Lincoln for the East Coast on the occasionally twisty Kancamagus Highway, through Conway and into Maine on US 302. At Fryeburg we turned off onto Highway 5 and then 117 , passing through Sweden and Norway. At Bear Pond we hooked a right on 219. As we made our way through some small towns we noticed signs advertising "Lobster Rolls".
As it was nearing lunch time Stacie suggested we make our gas stop near such a place. [After 10+ years of sport touring together, it was not until now that I discovered how actively involved Stacie is in our trip progress. She actually stays on top of how much gasoline I have left and how far we have to go. All these years I thought she was just along for the ride!] As we rolled through Manchester we spotted a Citgo with Lobster Roll signs and pulled in. On closer inspection it was not inviting but we spotted the Lighthouse Wine and Seafood just across the parking lot. It was not a restaurant but it had a few picnic tables out back. We parked and went inside. Wow! I am not a wine drinker so I cannot comment on the wine selection but the selection of craft beers was astounding. After a lengthy browse I selected a Captain Swain's Extra Stout, brewed by Cisco Brewers of Massachusetts. Not for lunch but for the top case - no drinking and riding! After pumping the two girls working in the kitchen for detailed information on their many edible offerings we walked out to the tables with a fresh crab roll ($9.99) and a water for Stacie and seafood soup ($4.99) and a locally brewed ginger ale for Ninja Bob. Before we could start eating a gentleman approached us and asked what in the world was a couple from Louisiana doing in his humble home town. I replied that we were just out for a ride looking for something different to eat. The gentleman's name was Gary Crocker and he described himself as a humorist. His card says "Banquet speaker and entertainer for all occasions". He congratulated us on stumbling upon what he said was the best food for 50 miles around. Gary has done a little cross country motorcycle touring in his younger days and we had a real nice chat before he headed inside to buy some wine. After finishing our meal and returning to the bike we found he had left us one of his comedy CDs.
But speaking of meals - this little roadside picnic lunch was some of the best food we enjoyed the whole trip - Stacie says she ranks it at the very top! The crab roll was actually a toasted hoagie bun jammed full of delicious fresh white crab meat. The seafood soup was an incredible bounty of various seafood delicacies in a buttery cream based soup. Scallops, shrimp, crab meat and whole lobster claw meat. An unforgettable lunch!
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We continued east on US 202 and ME 3 through Augusta and Palermo as a light rain began to fall. Instead of a direct route we turned south on 173 then 52 to Camden to head up the coast hoping to spot some lighthouses on the way up to our destination in Belfast, the Oceans Edge Comfort Inn. No lighthouses but a very scenic ride along Penobscot Bay on US 1. We passed numerous spectacular hotels and resorts and in Belfast there were many spectacular old mansions. Our motel was just north of Belfast, across the Passagassawakeag River. That's not typo. The Comfort Inn was quite impressive, perched on a bluff high above the bay. Our room on the 3rd floor had a balcony with an amazing view. At night we could here the tinkling of a bell out on a buoy. We enjoyed a few cocktails and soaked it all in and planned our lobster dinner. We soon discovered that live lobster was not available in many restaurants this early in the year as was the case for the motel restaurant. There was a lobster "pound" a couple miles toward town but that was a bit to far to walk on busy US1. For those unfamiliar with the term (as we were) a pound is technically a lobster holding tank or enclosure with circulating sea water supplied either naturally or piped in to keep the lobsters happy 'til supper. In the old days these were wholesale operations but now most are retail outlets and restaurants.
Half a mile from the Comfort Inn was the newly opened Nautilus and a call confirmed they were serving live lobster and off we hiked on the shoulder of US1. The place was nice and full of people. There were plenty of nice friendly waitresses but ours was not one of them. She was not able to answer any of our questions and we remained confused about the lobster offerings. We ended up ordering what we thought was a lobster dinner for two for $29.00. A great deal we thought since a dinner for one was $19.00. What we actually got was a two lobster dinner for one, so we had to share the two sides and baked potatoe. That was no problem since Stacie did not like either of the sides. (They tasted great me). So did both of the lobster tails! Stacie liked the succulent claw meat but did not care for the somewhat chewy tail meat so I feasted. I finally had to get another waitress to give us our clarified butter for dipping, our waitress had seemingly gone into a coma. There was even more confusion over dessert and then getting our bill but we eventually paid up, leaving a $1 tip, a message that I am sure the zombie waitress did not get. Our lobster experience was not exactly wonderful but we did satisfy our lobster feast goal at an extremely reasonable price.
The next morning the fog had rolled in and it was raining lightly. The fog was not so heavy that I could not scan the bay with my binoculars and watch the fishing boats and cargo ships silently passing while I sipped coffee on the balcony. We had planned a half day ride to Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park on recommendation of our recent local acquaintance Gary Crocker. It was an easy 125 mile loop just up the coast but neither of us was inclined to ride that far in the rain. The forecast called for the chance of rain dropping after noon so we put the ride off. But by noon the rain had not slowed so we donned our rain gear and walked up US1 looking for something light to eat as we had enjoyed a hearty free hot breakfast at the motel. We found Ming's Chinese Restaurant. Another great lunch find! No buffet but a full Chinese menu plus a few American items. We each ordered an appetizer sampler plate - delicious Chinese fare in plentiful portions at a great price!
On the way back to the motel Stacie decided to stop and check out the Maine Coast Welcome Center while I rode into town, in a light rain, to see the sights and take pictures, air up my rear tire which had developed a slow leak and replenish supplies. I got the chores done but the sightseeing was no fun in the rain and not knowing my way around the confusing layout of the town so I only got a few pictures. When I got back to the room, Stacie informed me that we would have company for supper! She had met and made friends with Patty, co-owner of the Maine Coast Welcome Center. Provided her husband Jim could get home in time they would meet us at the Oceans Edge Restaurant on the premises of the Comfort Inn. Living close by they were regulars and rated it highly.They would bring their swimsuits and we'd relax in the hot tub after supper. A couple hours later we met Jim and Patty at the restaurant. After they introduced us to the manager and head waitress we took a seat at a table with a great view of the bay. Both Maine natives, Jim and Patty proceeded to give us a fascinating history of Belfast while we enjoyed some cocktails.
When our food arrived we were not disappointed. Stacie had haddock stuffed with crabmeat and I had the fried clam platter. Both were delicious. I also got an in depth lesson on the various varieties of clam and methods of preparation. After the meal the four of us walked over to the indoor pool and soaked in the hot tub until both Jim and I started to feel like the lobsters must feel and we all headed up to our room for some drinks and more interesting conversation until close to midnight. What fantastic luck to hook up with a native Maine couple devoted to promoting Maine Coast tourism!
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Day 10 298 miles in 7:35
An early start in light rain, backtracking down US 1. The plan was to hug the coast down to Bath with hopes of getting pictures and maybe even tour a lighthouse but I had not had any luck finding any lighthouses in Mapsource just general locations from some tour guides so it would be a line of sight opportunity. I did not want to stray from our route as we had plans to do some sightseeing in Newport, RI and I was not confident we could make our way through Boston without a delay, even though it was a Saturday. The only lighthouse we spotted was from a bridge and it was on an island with no road access. We enjoyed some more nice coastal scenery down to Rockport and Brunswick, then ramped onto I-95 to make some time. At Falmouth we veered onto I-295 to Portland where we exited and rode through the waterfront to have a look. While planning the trip we had read a lot about Portland and had considered a stay but eventually opted to stay in Belfast instead. Back on I-95 South, we were soon back in New Hampshire for a few miles and actually stopped in Seabrook for gas and lunch. We ate at the gas station which had a Dunkin Donuts on the premises and were surprised to discover Dunkin Donuts made great sandwiches.
Now we were ready to tackle Boston. I put my trust in Nuvi to show us the quickest route and Nuvi advised to exit I-95 at Salem so we were back on US1. Traffic was heavy but brisk. Soon we were crossing the Mystic River and then the Charles as the route put us back onto I-95. That's where Nuvi choked. The display locked up, stuck on the entrance ramp. It didn't matter though - Nuvi would have been useless anyway as we had entered THE BIG DIG, 3.5 miles of underground expressway! The expressway took numerous splits and turns forcing me to make several totally uneducated guesses at which way to go as I could make zero sense out of any of the signs. I was sure we was doomed, but I had managed to restart Nuvi by the time we eventually reached daylight and as we emerged into the light and the unit started tracking I was amazed to see we were right on course! Pure luck.
We then stayed on MA 24 all the way to the Rhode Island line, keeping a sharp eye out for massholes. (A term favored by Maine residents to describe Massachusetts drivers) We were now in the tiny Ocean State and the weather was finally dry and no longer cold. We checked into an old, rundown Rodeway Inn
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in Middleton, just north of Newport. I made a call to my Concours forum friend Brian who lived in nearby Coventry. He and wife Andrea agreed to meet us in a few hours for supper. Meanwhile Stacie and I remounted the bike for a tour of the famous Newport mansions. Not really a tour more like a ride by. We saw some truly astounding architecture and affluence.Arriving back at the motel we had a little problem as I tried to open my Givi Maxia 52 liter topcase to retrieve Stacie's purse - the metal part of the key broke out of the plastic handle when I tried to turn it! I could not exert enough force on the bit of exposed stub to unlock the case and all my tools were locked inside! Stacie fortunately had a spare but |
the stub was stuck in the lock. As I mentioned the motel was run down and so there was a two man work crew making improvements. I asked one of the workers if I could borrow a pair of pliers and he said he thought he could find something. After about 10 minutes digging in the trunk of his beat up old car he came up with a massive adjustable wrench. That did the trick, what a relief.
We showered and waited for Brian and Andrea to make the 26 mile ride from Coventry. They arrived right on schedule , along with Kirby, their pet squirrel and Concours forum mascot. After stashing their riding gear in the room we walked half a block to Rheas' Restaurant. Another delightful meal with great service and food and great company as Brian and Andrea gave us their "Southern" New England perspective. Stacie had a fried filet of Sole and I had a 16 oz rib eye. One of the best steaks I have had in a while.
After supper we returned to our room and had some more great conversation as well as an introduction to Kirby. Brian is an engineer and one of the smartest guys I know. He showed us his complex, multi functional sound and communications setup on his Concours and we had a good discussion of long distance two-up sport touring and some laughs about antics on the Concours forum. It was after 11:00 before they suited up and headed home.
Day 11 304 miles 6:28 Escape from New York.
It was time to head home. Our New England adventure was coming to a close but we still had a long way to
go and lots to see. We headed out across Narragansett Bay. Now that I think about it, it was here on the bay bridge that we saw our only lighthouse. We stopped in Mystic, Conn for a McDonalds breakfast before a long stretch on I-95 through New Haven and Bridgeport with occasional glimpses of Long Island Sound. Our destination for
day 11 was Atlantic City. Stacie enjoys gambling and we've been to casinos all over the country and the list would not be complete without Atlantic City and I wanted to visit the famed Board walk. The New York Metropolis was squarely in our way but I figured on a Sunday we could break on through. Once again I put my trust in Nuvi and approaching the megatropolis on I-95 Nuvi directed me to the Hutchinson River Parkway South. Traffic was steady but brisk. We were both in awe as we rode alongside a massive phalanx of 8 or 10 huge identical highrise apartment buildings. Now I fully understood Hendrix's "Up from the Skies". Suddenly the Parkway tangled with Interstates 95, 278, 295 and 678 in a bewildering bowl of concrete spaghetti. Nuvi could not keep up and made a wrong turn... maybe it was me that could not keep up at any rate we found ourselves on the surface of the alien planet, Bruckner Blvd the Bronx to be precise. I swear It was just like the commercial for the new Hard Parts South Bronx reality show! Bumper to Bumper, Sunday and the city was bustling with activity. But Nuvi recovered quickly - turn right on White Plains then ramp onto the Cross Bronx Expressway and I-95. Whew! As we crossed the Harlem River I saw the Washington bridge was locked solid in a traffic jam. Then across the Hudson, upper or lower level?, I tried to figure out where we should be but no clue, apparently it makes no difference. Into Newark, New Jersey.
I-95 spread out into about 12 lanes in one direction. I lost count of how many tolls we stopped and paid. South of Rahway we exited onto the Garden State Parkway then of on US 9 as we needed gas and I needed to regroup. We stopped at the worlds busiest Exxon station. 20 pumps packed closely together, located just feet away from busy, one-way US 9. There was a handful of Exxon uniformed employees herding motorists along apparently trying to avoid bottlenecks. I struggled initially with the smog device on the pump but soon realized I had to retract it with my left and pump with my right - took all my strength but I managed it. We pulled over to the side for a break and to figure out if we were still on course. No way to get back to the NJP but US 9 should get is where we needed to go and it was a lot shorter. Initially traffic was not bad but as we headed toward the beaches it seemed so was everyone else in New Jersey. Here Nuvi shone as she showed me a 2 mile bypass that probably saved 20 traffic lights and as many minutes. Back on the NJP at Double Trouble State Park we were making good time and a little after 1:00 pm we turned onto the Atlantic City Expressway. Arriving at Atlantic City we turned onto Pacific Ave. and a few blocks later the Quality Inn Flamingo. Except for the big Casinos Atlantic city is old and a bit run down, similar to Niagara Falls but worse. We were right next to the board walk and a block from the Tropicana Casino, the first of several skyscrapers along the strip.
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Stacie headed for the slots while I worked on the next days route and reservation, then headed out on the board walk and beach. It was nice, clean and well kept. The board walk was full of people of all nationalities but mostly Asian. Later I met Stacie at the Tropicana and we looked for a place to eat supper. No crab legs (Stacie's favorite) at the Tropicana buffet. We checked out several restaurants in the area but all were either unappealing or way out of our price range. We ended up eating at Hooters adjacent to the Tropicana. More than just a meal, great entertainment watching all the weird people. Stacie had Buffalo wings and I had a cheeseburger. Good food, better than I remember at our local Hooters.
Day 12 413 miles 8:32
I thought long and hard about taking the ferry across Delaware Bay. It would save us 75 miles and would probably be fun. But the 85 minute trip would only save us 15 or 20 minutes and it might be an uncomfortable trip, the early morning forecast was for cool and windy and we had no warm clothes except for the electrics which we'd be unable to use. Plus there was a schedule to keep and a non-refundable prepay was required to guarantee a spot. If we missed the boat we'd be in a real fix. Not to mention the fare was $41.00 for a motorcycle plus passenger! So instead we head west towards the mainland and Wilmington then turned south on DE 1, stopping for fuel and lunch in Middletown. Then US 113 which became US 13 at Pokomoke City just before crossing briefly into Maryland, another first time state I had not even anticipated. But we were soon crossing into Virginia headed for the Chesapeake Bay bridge and tunnel. Ever since leaving Maine we had been paying numerous highway tolls,
mostly $1.00, $1.50 or maybe $2.00. More of a nuisance than an expense. We had our system: I'd pull to a stop and Stacie would pay the toll, usually quite efficiently, and I'd take off when she tapped my shoulder twice, not when the light turned green.. (For safety sake, whenever she gets on the bike, I never take off until I feel the tap, tap). The day before at one of a series of many toll stops there had been a delay. I looked over my shoulder and the toll collector seemed to be sleeping. I felt, or imagined I felt a tap and took off. Now I got four hard taps! I had stopped to far from the booth and Stacie could not reach. Oh, well; they should let motorcycles ride for free anyway.
Virginia made up for the freebie at Chesapeake Bay - $12.00 for the 18 mile bridge and two 1 mile tunnels! But what a bridge and what a view! Nothing but water on either side for miles and miles. The tunnels, anchored from four man-made islands were built at the insistence of the US Navy to run under the two shipping channels used by the Atlantic fleet.
Back on the mainland I missed an exit on I-64 a few miles south of Norfolk and went nearly 14 miles out of our way. 
After backtracking we turned south on VA 168 and then crossed into North Carolina headed for the Outer Banks - Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head - love the names - where our Rodeway Inn was located. We really like the Outer Banks. The somewhat awkwardly constructed Rodeway Inn was located just across the road from the Atlantic beach and Jeanette's Pier, a massive fishing pier that has been there since 1939 (although destroyed by hurricanes and rebuilt a few times over the years.) The current version is beautifully constructed complete with museum, gift shop, restaurant and saltwater aquarium.
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W e had another fine meal at Sam and Omies Bar & Restauarant " an Outer Banks Tradition since 1937" just a block away. Crab legs for Stacie and a Seafood platter for me. The place was packed with locals and the food was excellent.
Day 13 356 miles 6:45
We headed out on US 64/264 about 7:15 am across Roanoke Sound back to the mainland and headed for home. Interesting coastal scenery for the first hour, crossing bays and inlets, then through Greenville, NC on US 264, US 13 again to Fayettville and back on I-95 and into South Carolina. Now west on US378 to Sumter for the night at Quality Inn. We drank some beer out by the pool surrounded by nice landscaping. Supper was at the Chinese buffet across the street. The worst Chinese buffet I have ever eaten.
Day 14 346 8:03
West on 378 to Columbia then I-20 through Augusta, GA, back roads through Sparta to Macon, US 80 to Columbus and across the Chattahoochie to another Quality Inn in Phenix City, AL. Beer by the pool again and supper at A.J.'s Bar and Grill. A Catfish dinner for me, quesadillas for
Stacie. Good bar food in a nice spacious sports bar with pool tables.
Day 15 343 miles 6:38
Our last full day of the trip. West on US 80 to Tuskegee and back to Prattville, our first night's destination. For 40 miles we retraced the same stretch of US 80 we rode on Day 1 but at Selma we continued west on 80 to Meridian, MS where Nuvi helped me find the way around a massive jam on I-20 via some obscure country lanes. We stayed on I-20 to Roosevelt State Park then exited onto 13 to Mendenhall then a stretch on US 49 to
Magee, MS for our last night on the road. We walked a mile to Fernando's Mexican Grill for some good tacos, enchiladas and chili rellenos.
Day 16 161 miles 3:23 Home. We were back in familiar territory and on familiar roads but the ride was not totally uneventful. Despite the ever present Moose WArning signs in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, we saw the only wildlife of the trip in Mississippi. The day before we had seen a large red fox and nearly ran over a turkey. Today just outside of Hazelhurst MS we saw a wolf casually trotting down the highway toward us, then turn and slip into the woods with a glance over his shoulder as I slowed to a crawl in amazement. You just never know what you'll find on the road.
Conclusion
WHAT A TRIP! Our (and my) longest to date, a little over 4500 miles. No mechanical problems other than a slow leak in my rear tire and a broken topcase key. Plenty of rain, fog and cool temperatures but nothing worth fretting about and nothing that came close to damping out spirits! Ride, eat sleep, repeat; soaking in as much of the essence of this great country as we can. That's the new Chappuis style of sport touring. Can't wait for the next trip!
That's all I have time for now, gotta pack for STAR!
Keep riding & smiling
Bob Chappuis, State Director and Editor
