Bee in the Wind

3 Hot Days around New England

2011-07-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

I was toying with other names of this ride, one being "Guardian Angels Do Exist", but decided against that, as that was only a few seconds in the few days. I will get into that story in a bit. And then it could have been named "Jack went on Vacation", as my gps decided to black out on me this week. Having bad luck with electronics! The title I chose has something to do with how plans can change from one minute to the next. This ride was originally supposed to take me to Wisconsin, (I hope to see my photo at the HD museum some day!) but with dangerously high heat out there this week, it became Plan B, then Plan C...D etc. It was not until just 48 hours before I got on my bike did I finalize this trip. The second idea was to meet a bunch of riders in Pennsylvania, but the high heat was coming there too...then it made its way to New England, and the one place where it was promising to be a little bit cooler was north. I had not been in Vermont yet this year, so this was a fine idea to go chasing lower temps.

My friend Bob was also going to ride to PA, so I offered up the alternate idea and he was good to go north. Kick stands up around 8am, and we were off through the lovely back roads of north-central MA, heading towards VT. It was cloudy, looking like it might want to rain, but the clouds held onto their water for the most part as we rode around the north side of the Quabbin Reservoir. The road had been paved in the last year, so it was delightful! I had the directions for the 3 days all written in big letters in my map case so that I could read them easily. I was not overly concerned about getting lost, Bob's gps had my route in it. He was giving me directions from in back. Most of the time it worked, between my hand written directions and his turning on his blinker in plenty of time for me to see. The one time I missed the turn (in both directions no less), getting back to the route took us on a gravel road for a while.

A nice change from the paved road, I always enjoy gravel.

haha :)

My Shame On You Award goes to the town of Conway, MA, a little town in northwest MA. This is a new award, made up just for the occasion, but I can think of a couple of candidates for it, one being Dragonfly Cycle Concepts and the defective stereo deck they sold me with my fairing. This trip was a test ride for a new Kenwood marine stereo, that I had to buy because the last one died. Dragonfly Cycle, in my opinion, should have recalled it as they knew the decks were failing, and stopped selling them almost immediately after I bought mine.

That is just bad business! But I digress...

Anyway, back to Conway, MA... a long descending hill approaches the town center on Rt 116, nearing the bottom is a 20mph speed limit sign giving this indication, but that was all. I don't ride my brakes, preferring to downshift as I approach traffic or situations like this. It makes for smooth riding, most of the time.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a car was suddenly in front of me, entering the road from my right without stopping. The cross road was blind. I pulled hard on my brakes, and instinctively veered to the right, toward the back of the car. My back tire locked up, and my bike went into a full skid, the back tire was swinging out to my left. I was about to smash into that car and told myself to get ready for a crash, but in the next split second, decided I did not want to crash. Released the brakes and somehow rode the bike around the car, with only 2 feet of clearance. Then a swerve to the left to keep from going up the granite curbing and launching into a short wall surrounding a garden. I don't know how I pulled this off, most surely my Guardian Angel was with me. I parked the bike, shook a bit and then got really angry. I mean, really really angry... the car did not stop, for one. And the cross road did not have any sort of stop or yield sign!

NONE.

The town hall just happened to be sitting at that intersection, so I went in there and passionately (putting it mildly) asked them if they knew that this intersection had no stop sign. (of course they know, but they claimed to be unaware) They did however hear my tires skid and were trying to sit the hysterical motorcyclist down on a chair. I wonder just how many skids they hear during a work day? I am still incensed that due to this town's negligence, my life was put into danger, as well as any other drivers coming down that hill. This is the intersection,looking back on it, where the road behind the triangle meets South Deerfield Rd, I came down that hill.
The brick building is the town hall.

No signs at all.

For the rest of the weekend, Bob would occasionally shake his head and say that he was amazed I didn't crash. I think it was on a continuous replay in his mind's eye.

This made for the perfect time to look for a place to break for food. What I soon found was Shelburne Falls and their Flower Bridge. Rather than tearing down an old trolly bridge, they have made it into a gorgeous oasis over the river. This little town is worth finding!

It was time to turn north, to Route 100 in Vermont, one of my favorites. It winds north/south through the whole state through small towns, along rivers and up and down mountains. You don't ride route 100 if you are in a hurry. Not a lot of stop signs, but slow speed limits.

One place we had to stop, was Vermont Country Store in Weston. A good old fashioned place, fun to poke around- clothing, penny candy, jellies, toys, and beauty products from 'the old days'...like perfumes that you cannot find anymore. Vermont Country Store reminds me of what LLBean used to be before it went global.

We stopped in White River Junction for the night, made for a good 300+ mile day of back roads, and the day was made complete with overeating at a Chinese buffet. I set my room AC on super cold and promptly conked out. It was a hot day, well up into the 90s.

One thing that made the heat a little more bearable was my HyperKewl vest. It gets soaked in water and then the evaporation keeps your core quite a bit cooler. I was the height of motorcycle fashion with this sexy number! Especially when you take into account that I always had a wet butt in my jeans.

Day 2 started with a quick jaunt back to Quechee Gorge (kwee-chee). The high heat has the river running pretty low...but still an impressive sight from the bridge!

The road this morning took us by way of the Moosilauke Highway (118), in Warren NH, which has potential for a favorite road if it is ever repaved- I was glad to see the end of it because of the countless cracks and frost heaves that made the bike chatter and bounce. The next turn was onto the famous Kancamagus Highway, running through the White Mountains.

Some beautiful views and I am disappointed to report that I missed the one moose sighting. I was in Motorcycle Nirvana and sailed right past it... Bob tried to make me feel better by saying it was a just little moose, but I was still pouting for a while!

Crossing into Maine and tucked away on a winding back road, this little mom and pop place was a welcome ice cream stop and a resoaking of my vest (and my butt) from their garden hose.

Not much later, I saw a sign for a road stating that is closed in the winter: Route 113, between Stow and Gilead. Past the gate, this section is now my most favorite New England road! It falls into my category of what I describe as 'story book roads,' those kinds of roads that are forested, dappled with sunshine, usually winding along a river. I found a few of them on my travels last summer out west. With no traffic to speak of, it was serene and cool, a much welcomed change from the intense heat blanketing the area- look how narrow it is! It is the kind you wish went on forever.

Back out to the main roads, we decided to change the route a bit, make a bee line (haha) for a motel in Brunswick, unload the bikes, cool off a bit and head back to Boothbay Harbor for dinner. But not before seeing this sign:

Who knew Maine had its own United Nations thing going on? :)

It was a brilliant plan, the air had cooled down quite a lot. A haddock fish fry and peach shortcake were on the menu at the Ebb Tide, one of my favorite places to eat, small, old fashioned and really proud of their business. Fresh and delicious!!

The peach shortcake was to die for. :)

An early morning sit by the ocean at Reid State Park, (I don't need to remind you all about how I love to be here, right?)

It was time to head home, with the temps predicted to go to 99 degrees later, a direct shot was the best plan rather than back roads. But first, a quick stop at my other favorite eatery in Portland Maine for lunch, Becky's Diner. I had a nice spicy scrambled egg and veggie sandwich, Bob had a giant bowl of gorgeous fresh fruit, granola and yogurt. I was envious, but got to have some for my dessert :)

We jumped on the interstate, fought a bit of hot heavy traffic, but made pretty good time. I waved bye to my friend and I arrived home around 4pm with over 800 miles on Dirty Girl's trip meter.

A fall into the swimming pool was the perfect end to a nice trip. :)

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

~kate

A Lovely Trip to Acadia Maine

2011-06-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

I am a member of a motorcycle forum called The New England Riders, an eclectic group of accomplished riders that just love to ride and eat. Of course, this is what bikers live for! The NER often has organized events, that once there, one can ride an assortment of lovely day tours, then gathering for a group dinner with good food and lots of laughter. This trip proved to be just that, a long weekend in Ellsworth, Maine, with roads and views to delight the senses.

Anyone that knows me, knows that this landscape is where I am happiest, it holds a deep sense of the spiritual world for me. I will find a niche in a big rock by the ocean and just sit and be quiet for a while. It is worth a few hundred miles just to do this.

Friday morning, I left home at 5:30am, meeting Mannie for the ride north. Excitement was in the air, for me, a couple of days on the road to the ocean and for Mannie, his brand new to him Goldwing.

This was to be his first trip on it. I swear I could hear his giggling behind me the whole way there.

Great time was made, stopping in Portland, Maine for breakfast at my favorite place, Becky's Diner for my requisite cinnamon raisin french toast and hot coffee. (their website has fun sound effects-click around)

It tasted heavenly after a couple of hours on the road! Mannie had a very handsome omelet, I think he was pleased too. The plates were all but licked clean. :)

As you are riding through Bath, Maine, and you start over the large bridge, be sure to look off to your right and look at the Bath Iron Works. Still a very active ship building yard and impressive to see. As recently as May 2011, a new ship was christened. The next stop was to my most favorite place in the world, Reid State Park in Georgetown, Maine. My grandparents had a sailboat in these waters when I was a little girl, this land and seascape are very dear to me.

Reid is a small park on the ocean, with a famous long sandy beach and a big pile of rocks to climb and sit on. This is where I find my peace. When I see this stairway, I immediately begin to relax...

The tide was out, and the water quiet... it was peaceful and beautiful. The boulders are marbled with quartz crystals, little chunks jutting out of the bigger rocks as one stone erodes faster than the other.

It is most alive in inclement weather, with wild ocean waves crashing on the rocks, but I also find tremendous beauty in the calmness of today. I sat for a while... talked to God, said some prayers for friends and family. Time feels like it stops but before I know it, it is time to roll northbound again.

June in Maine means that the lupines are in bloom...gorgeous spikes of purple, pink and white blossoms crowd along side the roadway for miles and they are absolutely beautiful!

I am hoping to find a patch of them to park Dirty Girl in front of for a photo op. Riding and scanning, riding and scanning, the highway is too busy. It will have to be on a local roadway and I hope they are also in bloom up in Acadia Park, still another hundred miles or so north...

The next stop is Camden. What a sweet little town this is! My first reaction is that I would love to live here. The downtown is built over a river that spills down a double waterfall into the bay. We had a delicious lunch at a deli that sits atop the waterfall, looking out at all the boats in the harbor, the ducks, seagulls and cormorants bobbing around the water. The edge that this seagull is perched on, is the top of the waterfall, shown in the following photo:

The shops are quaint and creative. Being an owner of a gift shop myself, I love to find treasures in other shops in my travels. Christmas shopping has officially begun! ho ho ho!

We arrived in Ellsworth late afternoon, most the other riders were still out. There were only a couple of motorcycles in the lot. I was glad for the chance to have some quiet time in my room and unwind. I love it when the hotel I am staying in makes up the beds in fluffy white linens with lots of pillows! It really makes me feel like I am at luxurious spa... (I also think that camera timers are one of the best inventions ever!)

I spread out with all my comforts of sketch book, summer reading, and ipod. And if I have plan ahead, some sort of junk food like Twizzlers, which regretfully, I forgot on this trip...boohoo.

Not directly related to motorcycling, this is one book I am reading and journaling about. The last chapter is this week's assignment, 'Recovering a Sense of Faith'...perfectly timed with this ride along the coastline that feeds that part of me the most. It was a lovely way to relax from today's ride and be quiet for a little while.

A scrumptious supper was had at Galyn's in Bar Harbor, which looks out over the park and the harbor. It is still early in the season, school has not let out yet, so we all had the comfort of not having to beat lots of crowds through the weekend. For some reason, I liked this boat...

I made notes where I wanted to come back the next day to go shopping. This little town has so many offerings of the retail kind that it is irresistible to someone like me. Bar Harbor did not disappoint! My favorite shop is called Spruce and Gussy, an eclectic shop of home dec, and hand crafted fiber arts. I spent a lot of time in here chatting with the owner- and leaving with a large bag that suddenly made me wonder how I was going to transport it home. It took a little rearranging of bike bags, I was starting to hope that I had a spare bungee cord somewhere, just in case!

Happy Girl, buying lots of stuff :)

Saturday morning dawned beautiful, cool and bright. We had SO lucked out with the weather for this weekend. Ed planned this trip way back in January. The fact that we got such glorious weather was an incredible stroke of luck. Or maybe someone actually was making offerings to the weather gods, I don't know! Ed helped me transfer the route to my gps, as I had somehow overlooked uploading it myself. I thought I had done it, but mid-day Friday, it suddenly occurred to me like a knock on the head that I had not seen 'Acadia' in my ride menu. Sure enough, when we landed, I checked and argggh!!! It was not there. But there is a reason that this riding group is called the NERds. In not too long, I had someone who had the information and the know how to upload it by using the memory sticks. *phew* (thank you Ed, again!)

Acadia park lived up to its famous beauty. It is the second most visited national park in our country.

And to think it is so close to me and at age 51, I am seeing it for the first time. (shame shame) This is a most perfect road for motorcycling! Rolling, twisting one way roads that weave in and out of semi-forested patches to wide open ocean views that take my heart away are the definition of this park. It was still early in the morning, and not a lot of traffic yet as the road looped around the park. Pure delight!!

The road up to Cadillac Mountain at the heart of the park was also sweet as can be. I loved the 'guard rail'... squared off chunks of granite, like little Stonehenge walls.

The elevation is not high, only about 1500 feet. But the mountain is essentially a bald with lovely views of the rugged Maine coastline. Lots of photo ops at the top:

One of the information boards named the little hills at the base of the mountain, one being "The Beehive."

Of course, a photo HAD to be taken. See? I'm pointing it out for you. :)

Somehow at the base of the mountain road, I took a wrong turn, even with the gps trying to get me on track. Remember how I mentioned the one way road...a big loop? Imagine how happy I was to find that we were again riding up this road to the park gate. I started singing 'Charlie on the MTA' , thinking that I might have to circumnavigate the whole park again...pretty, but I had other places to go. But the helpful park ranger let me turn around at the booth and go down an access road to the town. The timing was just right to park the bikes and find those shops I had made mental notes about the night before. And eat again. That other thing that bikers love.

Oh, and yes, I DID get that photo that I was hoping for! It was in Acadia, actually passing it a second time clued me in that I had made a wrong turn.... first, here's two bikes and lupines...

Here's DG all by herself, because she's demanding like that...

And then finally, to complete the series... here's the picture of me taking her picture, haha!

Lunch, shopping, a huge home made ice cream cone at Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium (Irish Mudslide...Bailey's ice cream with brownie bits), watching the boats in the harbor, people watching and feeling the salt air on my face made for a perfect afternoon. I love it when there is no agenda. We lazily watched a 4 masted schooner slowly raise her pink sails...

I made notes that I would like my husband to come up there with me. I think he would really enjoy it too. I don't think he's seen Acadia either. (shame shame...native of New Hampshire!) I was even rewarded with a 'plen aire' painter with his easel set up on the sidewalk..it was delightful!

We got back to the hotel to meet up with the 50 or 60 other riders for a festive night out at the Bangkok Thai restaurant nearby. The owners graciously closed their little place to the public for us. We filled the dining room up and just had a ball!

The food was amazing! So many vegetarian choices for me, it was difficult to pick, but I settled on a spicy sweet and sour veggie plate with deep fried tofu over rice. Check out the garnish, made from a carrot. All the plates had something festive decorating them!

My mouth is watering at the memory of it.... I think it might just be worth a 6 hour ride to go there again!!

(My husband just told me that he is retaking the rider safety course this weekend to refresh his skills and who knows, maybe a bike in the future...Bangkok Thai, here we come!)

Sunday dawned wet and... well, wet. It was not supposed to do this! But of course, it was a guarantee that at some point I would be riding in the rain because I had chosen to leave my full faced helmet at home. (the forecast was THAT beautiful) All us NERds enjoyed a leisurely hotel breakfast, many opting to wait out the rain for a bit. The radar was promising that it was not going to be a total downpour the whole way, so we set out for home after breakfast. It was not actually raining at that moment, so ever hopeful, I decided to only wear my rain pants. Of course, again, this was the guarantee that in not too long, the sky would open up.

(WHEN will I ever learn?) A quick stop so that I could finish gearing up (Dan and Mannie were already set), another one later for fuel, and finally, south of Portland, we pulled into a very nice, very busy rest area. To our delight, we bumped into about a dozen other NERds, and enjoyed a nice hot beverage and snack before the last leg home. This is Ed and Debbie, our lovely trip coordinators extraordinaire.

I finally stopped shivering... it was just one of those days that once I got chilled to my core, warming up was a big challenge. And for those who have the question on the tip of your tongues...no, I did not pack my heated gear, it was June for heaven's sake! hahaha. It is amazing just how much difference it makes to have even the tiniest bit of solar warming!

Even with the ride home in the rain, this weekend was just about as perfect as a riding weekend could possibly be. Beautiful scenery, the ocean, great friends, delicious food, and good riding. It's what makes the heart of a motorcyclist race!

And on behalf of my blog and all my fans that like to read it, I want to thank my good friend, Mannie for his maniacal picture taking skills! His photos have added a lot of depth to this story. thank you thank you!

and of course, here is HIS photo, next to the lupines :)

Thanks for reading!

love, kate

The days surrounding Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

What a week!

About 2200 miles, lots of scenery, lots of friends.

I am back at work today, not sure really what to do first.

I think I am just recuperating for a bit. :)

Saturday May 21, kick stand up at 5:30am. Gave my hubby a hug and a kiss and hit the road. The weather had been rainy all week, and this morning dawned misty but promising, it was worth the risk to not wear rain gear.

My friend, Mannie rode with me for a few hours, destination- the Alexis Diner in Newburg, NY. We had a hearty late breakfast and then I ventured on solo, my destination Frederick, MD to have dinner with another friend.

About to push on solo from Alexis Diner.

The 520 mile ride was uneventful, arriving at the restaurant at 4:20, very pleased to have made it that far and still have daylight. The trick for me is to leave at dawn, as my energy level is best before noon. I think I could do another couple hours IF I had to,

but 10 hours on the bike is about my limit.

I was invited to stay at my friend's home that night. I got to meet a couple of his pets... The orange and black guy is named Harley! My brother had a big python in our house so these little guys were easy.

With only a couple hundred miles on Sunday, it was a welcomed short day. Before leaving, Michael took me to breakfast and to meet a friend of his who has an enviable collection of bikes. His choice for the day was a Honda CB500four, I think a '72. This was my mom's first bike back when I was a teen, so a photo had to taken!

Rolling toward Virginia, my gps, Jack, said 'turn right and board the ferry.' Cool!!! I had no idea I was to do this, it was such a surprise, I almost didn't get my camera out in time before boarding, the ferry master was waving me on as I approached White's Ferry to cross the Potomac River.

I had so much fun, you'd have thought I never cross a river on a ferry before, taking a bunch of tourist type photos. It was a short scoot across the river and into Virginia...

The weather was gorgeous when I left, but approaching the mountains, the skies were threatening to do something. It seems that every time I ride into Roanoke, it rains!! But thankfully, a short lived stint in my rain gear and it was clear riding to my next destination, New Castle Virginia, for a relaxing few days of riding the mountains with friends. How welcome the curvy mountain roads were after so much highway!

Farm after farm, rolling hills, wildflowers and the occasional deer looking at my loud bike from the woods was the order for the day. I love this photo... it makes me think of time's passing in a gentle way:

We rode to a village called Burke's Garden, I don't know if it is a full sized town or not, so village seems to fit better. Take a quick peek at the link, see it from the air and read the paragraph about it. Bikers all love the road called the Tail of the Dragon, and that's fine and good, but there are hundreds of equally spectacular tight twisty roads in these hills, and the road up to Burke's Garden is one of them. If I could have, I would have taken pictures of the switchbacks, but I was too busy. :) Woodsy and dark, it winds tightly and steeply up the mountain,

opening up to a lovely farmland. Everyone's name is painted on arrow shaped sign posts with mileage to their houses. I understand that you cannot buy land up here unless you are related to the family. At the top is a sweet little store, where we stopped for a little bit, had a sandwich on the porch, before turning back down. There is only one way up, one way down.

The days are all rather blurry at this point, so here are a few more photos to show you...

A quaint covered bridge from 1916. I wanted SO much to back my bike into it and take a photo, but the obvious road blocks at each end told me that was a no no. It did look like someone else caved to the desire though and dragged the railroad tie to the side.

This is the little town of New Castle from the top of the mountain. There's a small grocery, a gas station and a Subway... a few other small businesses. People come here for a relaxing summer by Craig Creek, the cabins were just starting to be opened for the season.

A typical, serenely beautiful misty morning from the porch. I love the ocean, it goes straight to my soul, but I can understand how one can lose one's heart to these mountains.

If I spent more time here, the ocean and mountains would have a fight for first dibs on my heart.

One of my favorite stops was at Blue Collar Joe's. Mark pulled into the lot and asked, "you want a donut?" I said, "are they good here?"

His answer was that yes, they are awesome and they make a donut with bacon on it. I laughed and made the very firm statement that if a donut exists with bacon on it, I would eat it. Of course I did not believe him. I have been a vegetarian for 20 years, so this is not something I toy with. We went inside and wouldn't you know... their best selling donut is called the Blueberry Pancake Breakfast. A blueberry donut, maple frosting and smoked bacon crumbled on top. I could not stop giggling. It was an amazing sight to see all these interesting combinations.

Check the link and look at the menu :)

And I will admit, I liked the Blueberry Breakfast Donut... although I liked whatever amazing chocolate one better :) If you are going down I81 in Virginia, north of Roanoke, this unassuming donut shop is well worth the detour!

And here's some coffee to go with those donuts... I take mine with cream and Splenda. A fun tree on the road into New Castle. :)

I liked this picture of my bike... a very Dirty Girl, I might add. Road dust, bugs, rain spots and mud gave her a lot of character this week. I think a chisel will be necessary to get it all off.

Next stop, was back north a little bit, to meet with friends for Rolling Thunder 2011. After a whole bunch of emails, texts, phone calls and messages, we all finally got coordinated in Lynchburg VA. This year was the first time that a bunch of us were finally going to be in one zip code. Big Daddy (Gary) flew in from Houston (left) and stayed with Mickey (right). Two big guys with big hearts! I came to Lynchburg a day early to surprise Big Daddy at the airport, to which he stated that he knew I would be there.
pffft...suuure he did. :)

A hearty grilled supper at Mickey's home with home brew on the back porch was just what the doctor ordered. Oh, I have to say grilled because I have been corrected that when down south if I said a barbecue, it would have meant a certain kind of meat. Apparently we use it as a verb up north, down south it is a noun. And then there's the word supper...I got corrected to say dinner. A lively discussion as to what defines the two words ensued, and as you can imagine, no resolution, so another beer was the answer. :)

The next morning, the 4th in our group arrived from St Louis, Missouri. Ranger rumbled up on Leroy, his Roadstar, ready for a hearty breakfast.

Bodies and bikes fueled up, we were on our way to Springfield VA, a suburb of DC. We had three bikes and a truck/trailer. I was the ride leader, and was just praying that Jack had chosen a good way to get there. All in all, not a bad ride, a turn or two that approached quickly, a jockeying for position with a panel truck that left the truck driver more flustered than I was I think. I could go the rest of my life not riding on I-95 again and it would be too soon. I have yet to see such a cut-throat section of highway as that one was going into DC. Very aggressive driving like none I have ever seen. It was difficult to stay together as a group. Thankfully it was only about 30 miles of it.

We arrived at our hotel, chilled for a bit with a cold beer, met other riders as they came in.

Soon the parking lot, protected by an overpass was filled...

That evening, the hotel shuttle took us to a nearby pub for supper... this poor van, it was stuffed like the clown car at the circus! I don't really know just how many got into it, thankfully it only had to take us a few blocks.

Every square inch had someone jammed into it. We laughed a lot that night!

Saturday, we went to Arlington National Cemetery and The Wall. Last year was my first time at these two sacred places, they were very moving. This year was a little more challenging to overcome the stress of waiting an hour on the highway off ramp to enter.
I bet we all sweat off a few pounds.....

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is emotional and powerful. One young soldier who was talking with some veterans about helping to change the wreath, did not look to be more than 24 years old. On his jacket was a purple heart. It brings tears to my eyes to see just how young the people are that answer their call to serve with all their heart.

It affects everyone in their own way...

We then rolled onward to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial or simply, The Wall. The commons all around the memorial were crowded with motorcycles, also known as Thunder Alley. They allow the bikes to ride up onto the sidewalks and park anywhere there is space. Great thanks should be given to the police department for this luxury! They calmly ride horses all around the area, very calm horses, I have to add.

In my hand was a scrap of paper with a name and a few letters and numbers on it. My friend's uncle was killed in Vietnam and I promised that I would find him. It did not take very long, and thankfully, it was within easy reach to make a rubbing of his name, Amalio Gonzalez.

Big Daddy's cousin's name is also on the wall, Doyle McShan, killed at the age of 21. I could not help but cry with Gary as he told me Doyle's story. His name was up fairly high and we needed the help of a volunteer to make a rubbing of it. They graciously lug step ladders back and forth all day to help those looking for names. Thank-you...

We were all pretty tired at the end of the day, happily hanging out at a local eatery with some old friends. It was an awesome surprise to see Joyce and Jim, an unexpected suprise! They brought with them their beautiful family and grandbabies...

Back at the hotel, the week suddenly caught up with me and I kind of hit my own wall.... I did not feel as though I had the energy to go through another hot crowded day and made the decision to go home rather than ride in Rolling Thunder this year. It was an unpopular decision, but as I rolled homeward on Sunday, I felt it was the right decision. I saw those people that were important to me, experienced the memorials and got the name off The Wall for Mannie.

526 miles home to family hugs. :)

Ranger followed me to my town, to meet my family. DG had very rare company in the garage...Leroy was settled in for the night.

We had a nice little visit, some great home cooked food from my mom. It was wonderful to sit with feet up in the back yard, listening and watching the birds. Monday was iffy, threatening to thunderstorm, so we waited a little bit, then took a little country ride to a beautiful Veteran's memorial cemetery in Winchendon, MA.
Had to stop at Honey Bee Lane!

The memorial cemetery is lovely... the grounds feel much like Arlington, with how the headstones line up.

There is a peaceful monument dedicated to all the armed forces, I love to sit on the grass and listen to the 8 flags softly flying in the wind, their ropes gently tapping against the flagpoles.

I got to thinking that were weren't all too far from one of New England's meccas for bikers...Kimball Farm.
Heavenly, fattening fried foods abound here, big plates of onion rings, fish and chips, and lobster rolls. And of course, ice cream!

I am thankful there was no photo taken when my ice cream fell off the cone into my lap. haha :)
Back in Holliston, I showed Ranger one of the local photo ops.. the Arch Street Bridge, one of the smallest arch bridges anyone will ever see. Too bad for the graffiti, but the photo if fun. A neighborly neighbor came out of her house to take our photo- Mudville is the friendliest village in town!

I was really grateful that Ranger was able to see one of our local memorials, one that is installed twice a year as long as it is necessary. Unfortunately, it is still necessary.

One of our own Vietnam veterans makes posters of all the US and allied troops that have been killed during war, in the time between Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. It is poignant and moves me to tears each year, as I drive by, reading and saying aloud the names of those who have died and noting their ages. Mostly young, but then you see someone in their forties...and think about the high likelihood of young children at home...
I will be happy when these wars are over!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, a great week!

Thanks to all:

my family, my friends, and the military who serve our country.

Thanks for reading,

God Bless,

Kate

Birthdays are a good thing!

2011-05-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

This time of year is always so joyful and hopeful as the daffodils and tulips pop up, the forsythia are bursting with their delighted bright yellow blooms... having been born on May 1st, it makes for a happy backdrop to my birthday each year.

The weather forecast was for sunshine and high sixties, which is my favorite combination for riding.... I get to wear all my gear, feel cozy and safe and have cool air on my face. I love it! I planned a ride through back roads of Connecticut. This state got more than its share of beautiful, twisty quintessential New England roads. My friend Mannie opened his day to ride with me on the 150 mile loop. Gave Dirty Girl a pre-ride check, the air is good in the tires. I am happy because I hate to kneel down under the saddlebags to inflate the back tire. :) All ready to go...

But the first order of the day is church.

This is where I transform from Biker Chick to Choir Girl. I always get a chuckle or two as I robe up... I have no idea why! :)

Mannie arrived and we took off for CT around 11:30

(Mannie's pic was taken from another ride earlier this season)

We happily set sail for CT, getting almost immediate satisfaction with the beautiful day it had turned into...

The one big bummer of the day, was the shock at the gas pumps! Look at the number on the pump, I have to use premium... $18.45 for 4 gallons. $4.59 per gallon...UGH!

It is a good thing that it was my birthday and I was having a good time. Mannie and I wound our way south toward a little town called Moosup and then headed west to Willimantic.

We had the usual missed turns as I was happily looking at the scenery, and one spot where my gps, Jack wanted us to turn down a road that was posted with a 'bridge out, road closed' sign. The road straight ahead was gravel and Jack did not recognize it. I am willing to ride on uneven ground when I have to, but DG and I are not trailblazers, so we turned around and found our way back to the route on another back road. Jack worked very hard to get us back on track. After about 70 gorgeous miles, our bikes rolled into Willimantic CT. An old textile mill town full of history, The American Thread Co gave the town it's nickname, Thread City. Names of businesses through the downtown harken to this heritage.

But the most fascinating tidbit of history centers around these guys... something that made my head nearly spin off trying to get a good look at them:

Giant copper frogs, sitting on top of spools of thread, two sentinels at each end of the bridge. The story of the frogs is rather funny. Back in 1754, the townsfolk heard horrific screams in the middle of the night. Thinking that the native Indian tribe was attacking them, they ran out into the night with loaded muskets. Others dropped to their knees in fervent prayer. There was no one to be found. The sun rose, people went outside and found thousands of dead frogs piled around a drying up pond. The town suddenly had a mascot, one that appears all through the downtown on signs and sculpture.

Mannie and I stopped at the Willimantic Brewery, a micro brew pub located in an old post office. The decor was rustic and welcoming, the food delicious. The fact that motorcycles were aplenty in their parking lot told us that it would probably be a good choice. Bikers know how to eat!

behind those glass door are the brew tanks...

I had a most delicious home made veggie burger,big and flavorful, a delight to most vegetarians. A side of cajun fries and I was happy. Mannie had fish and chips that he gave the thumbs up to. A quick stop at the frog bridge for better photos was in order on the way out of town after lunch....The things bikers do for a photo... I just HAD to lay down on the pavement to get my bike and the frog into the same frame because it was so tall :)

Back on the road, heading north east over more lovely roads, most New England bikers are familiar with route numbers like 664, 198, 197 and 169. The never fail to disappoint. Having ridden across the states, these roads often remind me a bit of Kentucky and Virginia.

The houses of New England though, are something special... these old towns are built around Victorians and Colonials that simply take my breath away. Here is one of my favorites, and you only have one guess as to why I might like it..

I could not have asked for a more perfect ride... thanks to Mannie for following me and snapping a boatload of photos!! That in itself was a great gift :) I got home around 6:30, parted ways with Mannie and sent him on home... he snapped one more as he rode home that I think is lovely...

BUT... this is not the end of the celebration! Monday, my husband Mo and I took the T into the city and spent a leisurely day walking around Cambridge. My birthday wish list had art supplies on it, so a trip to Utrecht was in order. It is the equivalent of a 6 year old in a toy store to take me to an art supply store. New paints, markers, drawing pencils and a couple of oil brushes were put into my bag and I was a happy girl :)

Cambridge has such exquisite architecture. I grew up in this area and I was snapping pictures today as if I was here for the first time...I love the old brick and stone buildings and churches.

The next order of business was lunch...Mo got out his new 4G phone to see what was in the area. Actually, he had this phone out much of the time to see where things were or to find the answer to a question we had... when I turned to look at him, this is what I saw most of the time. He's only had it a week, so he's having a lot of fun seeing what it can do. I can't say that I blame him. :)

Lunch.

We decided on Tommy Doyle's pub. It is right next door to the famous Grendel's Den, which was crowded with patrons. Tommy Doyle's got a 4 star rating and so it sounded great. As we walked up, it looked quirky and welcoming, just my kind of place. How can one not like a burger and beer lunch special for $9.99?

Inside it was cool and dark, the perfect pub atmosphere. We order up our brew, Mo got Guiness and I got a Harpoon special wheat beer on tap. Again, how could I not love this? My beer was color coordinated with my hair... (no bike riding today, so I could indulge)

And for the second time this weekend, I had another home made veggie burger, with a side of sweet potato fries, one of my most favorite treats ever! And I remembered to get a photo of it. This is dedicated to Lloyd, supreme photographer of his food. :)

We stuffed ourselves at lunch and after walking it off a bit, stuffed home made ice cream on top. The day today was again, perfectly presented to me with bright sunny and somewhat cool temps. Mo and I window shopped, and poked through some of Cambridge's multitudes of funky stores, finally dropping exhausted into a seat on the trolley home, in time for pizza and birthday cake. I am not hesitant in sharing what I wished for.. something that I wish for nearly every day, and that is World Peace. Wouldn't that bee lovely?

A happy birthday to me.

It truly was! :)

Thanks for reading!

love, bee

It's been a long winter!

2011-02-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't written anything in a long time... I have been buried in snow. We have had nearly record snow falls this year, the kind that I remember as a little girl. You know the ones, where the snowbanks were tall enough that you could dig a tunnel through them?

If you live in a warm climate, just imagine how much fun that would be for a kid. In those days, I don't think people were concerned about cave-ins, just as we did not wear seat belts. I can also remember riding in the 'Way Back' of our ancient Volkswagen Bus...that itchy carpeted platform over the engine. We would 'hosie' it, or claim it as ours on the way out the door. As one of three kids, there was plenty of room for us in the bus, but someone had to claim it :) Now, when we had that tiny little 1963 Porsche Speedster, that was a different story. Put three kids in the back of that thing, and one poor kid had to sit on the itchy carpeted bump. The same carpet as the bus, I think. Even though riding in that was torturous, if I see an old Porsche today, I absolutely covet it. Is coveting your neighbor's car a sin, I wonder?

Oh, how I digress! Back to the present... Punxatawney Phil promised us an early spring this year. The talk about town now is that he is a story teller, (this is putting it gently) much like the weather reporters. It is Feb 23, and there is the promise of 40 degrees today. How excited we get at the end of the winter, when 40 degrees is a heat wave as opposed to the fall, when I outfit myself like Nanook of the North to take a ride in 40 degree temps for the weekend! I can guarantee that I will see kids in shorts today

I am not taking any monumental rides this summer. The desire is always there, now that the precedent has been set, but I have to temper this desire to wander the countryside all summer. I have a family and a business to consider, says the little angel on my shoulder. But, your time to ride these rides is in a short window says the little devil on the other shoulder. So, I seek compromise with these two brats. So far this year, I have two definite rides planned, the first is Memorial Day weekend to Rolling Thunder again, and the second is to northern Maine with about 50 of my closest friends to ride around Acadia National Park and the rugged coastline that I love so much, about 4 days each.

I won't be a VIP escort at Rolling Thunder this year. It was a tremendously powerful and moving experience for me, but with my super sensitive heart, it is a little too moving. I truly had a challenge to deliver my Gold Star Mom to the end of the ride without crying. Not that crying is bad, I do it all the time...but while piloting a motorcycle, it can be problematic! So this year, I will be joining my friends in Washington DC, we will ride behind the escorts and then pull off to watch the rest of the hundreds of thousands of bikes thunder by. This year will be special, as a few of my dear friends will gather from across the states and be in the same zip code for the first time. I will write about it, you can be sure of that!

The ride to Maine, is going to be a very low key weekend in June. There are tours planned to sight see, but it is open. So if I get there and simply feel like sitting on the rocks by the ocean, then that is what I will do. I will go with no agenda and see what unfolds. I am pretty nearly counting the days to that weekend! Stay tuned...

I do have one more wish list ride and hope to squeeze it in sometime later in the summer. For two years, I have pretty much ridden right past the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. The first time, it was not on the agenda and although I was told we could go, I deferred because I did not want to seem selfish about making other people go where I wanted to go. Last summer, it was because of my crazy tight schedule. I know, I know... self imposed of course! I have no one to blame but myself, but it would have thrown it off by quite a bit to have essentially taken an extra day. Honestly, it was because I was itching to launch solo. I had it on my itinerary to break loose at a certain mile marker on a certain day and it was making the most noise in my head, so I listened. But, after I think the 6th or 7th person has told me that they have seen my photo in the museum, I really need to go! The following photo is what I seek....check out how short my hair is! And a fairly undorned Dirty Girl with her new sparkly paint job- she was black when new. And those pristine white walls... sigh.

When my bike was new, I submitted it to the HOG magazine. Imagine my surprise when I got a note from a rider with a photo attached. "Guess who I found at the new HD Museum?" I am told it it smack in the middle at eye level when you enter the museum. I figured it would have been replaced by now, but as recently as two months ago, I was told it was still there! So, if the stars align, I will buzz out there too.

The most exciting thing going through my little brain right now, as I start to pull out map books and keep GoogleMaps open on my browser, is another big ride for next summer! I have decided that Santa Fe, NM will be the main destination. Years ago, a friend of mine told me that I must see it. That plea has remained with me... and I look forward to telling her that I will be riding my motorcycle there to take in the artistic sacred place. I was thinking I would push on to the coast of California, but so many friends are recommending sights and roads around there, in the states that border New Mexico, that I will probably tour around that vicinity. And after many requests to convert my blog to a book, I am going to see what is involved. There is a lot of information for self publishing out there...so with the help of those who have trod that path before, let's see what happens!

Now... to find a sponsor or two. That would just bee heavenly.

thanks for reading,
peace,
bee

The Season is (unfortunately) Winding Down

2010-10-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

As the weather turns chilly and the trees turn bright, some of the best riding days will appear. The cool air and bright sun, when you can get it, make for the most spectacular rides!

For me, it also means that I am running out of the luxury of taking off for an all day ride. Being a self employed gift shop owner, the 4th quarter keeps me busy as I hope it carries me through the slower months of summer sales, a rather double edged sword that I wield, because I do love the time to ride but lament the slow business of the dog days of summer. As mid-October loomed ahead of me, I decided to take one last jaunt for the weekend. It serves two purposes, one being a fantastic ride, the other purpose is to renew my energies to face the soon to be 7 days a week work schedule until after Christmas. This weekend trip headed to my favorite landscape, the seaside of Maine.

The weekend started on the tail of a NorEaster of the rainy cold variety. Saturday dawned extremely windy and hovering in the low 40s- no rain though, and this was a blessing! I can take cold and windy, but rain would have made it a bear of a day. My plan was to be quick about getting to Boothbay Harbor that day, and settle in my motel room for the night and get warm. Sunday and Monday were promised to be sunny and warmer, so I did not worry so much about sightseeing on Saturday as I set out on the highway north, with my FastPass strapped to my arm. Departure time was 8am.

I realized that I had not eaten breakfast or even had a cup of coffee yet...but I was on the road and told myself that I would stop when I needed to warm up. When I crossed into Maine, the memory of a diner in Portland where my friends and I stopped the year before came back to me. It is Becky's Diner on the water in the old port part of the city. The website is delightful and the food is hearty.

Be prepared for a wait, but it is worth it. I got a seat right away because I was alone and could slide right into a stool at the counter.

Peeling off my multiple layers of clothing, holding them awkwardly in my lap while sitting at the stool, I enjoyed nice hot coffee, light and sweet because I was on a mini-vacation, and raisin bread French toast. I would have taken a photo of it, but the place was so crowded and I was already the topic of many people's interest with my neon colored riding jacket, that I got really shy about taking a photo of my breakfast!

The roads into Maine were in full color,

as were some of the residents- this was in Wiscassett. :)

I did make one more stop on the way to Boothbay Harbor...in the wind that was howling today, the waves at "my" rock at Reid State Park in Georgetown would be putting on a great show for me. I pointed my bike out to the end of the peninsula after going over the bridge at the Bath Iron Works. I love the road going to the park... it is windy and tree lined, then suddenly opening up to a causeway that always makes me smile in a peaceful sort of "I have arrived" way.

I parked Dirty Girl and started walking toward the water, not even removing my gear because of the chill, and taking the left pathway up the stone stairs.

I was alone today...there are generally people here year round, but not today. I was alone on the top of my rock...the wind was so strong that I was afraid of perching the camera on the rocks for a self portrait, lest it fall into the water. I did grab one shot, not terrific, but it shows the kind of day it was. I love this place, it has so much energy and renewal for me. On another kind of day, I would curl up in a nook of a rock and take a nap in the sun.

Today is a short visit though... Boothbay Harbor is still a few miles away and the weather is challenging. I wanted to get there in time enough to enjoy a stroll around town. I have a lot of childhood memories with Boothbay Harbor.

My grandparents kept an antique 36' sloop at the yacht club during my childhood. It was always a big treat when it was my turn to be on the boat with them. We would drive up in their little yellow VW convertible bug, always stopping in Portland for sandwiches made with homemade oatmeal bread, and then I always got to visit my favorite store when we would get to Boothbay, The Smiling Cow. When I was a little girl, this store was the most magical place, I would get to choose some little trinket to bring onto the boat with me. I often chose a simple little wooden doll, with stumpy feet and yarn hair, elastic made it so that the arms and legs would bend. I think they came from Germany. Invariably, my dog would get a hold of it and chew it up when I got home. I wish I had them today!

To my delight, the Smiling Cow is still here...not quite so magical as I look around and see the ceramic lobstermen and lighthouses emblazoned with "Maine." But, it still makes me wax nostalgic and smile when I see it!

I stayed at the MidTown Motel. "A true 1950s experience" it says on their sign.

And yes, it does live up to this promise! No internet, no phone in the room, no coffee, no shampoo, a tiny TV and a small box heater on the wall with a browned strip of paper scotch taped there, typed with a true typewriter warning, "please be aware of items that might be placed in front of the heater." It was clean and cozy, so aside from no internet, I had no complaints.

I checked my gear into the room, which also means that I unceremoniously explode into it, which is attested by anyone who has traveled with me, then went for shopping and supper. Boothbay Harbor is quaint, right off a postcard.

I poked in and out of little stores, finding stocking stuffers for my family and chatting with shop owners. Then I wandered into the Ebb Tide restaurant. Another true 50s experience! The booths are old fashioned pine boards, a chalk board has the daily specials and a sign states 'over 5 million served'. The food was fresh and delicious, I had fried haddock, mashed potatoes, coleslaw and a roll. It was served on a simple diner plate, meaning one of those heavy white diner dishes. Although the Ebb Tide's dishes did have a pretty scalloped edge with a gold color in it, I giggled out loud when it arrived and thought to myself that this should just be called the White Dinner Plate- all my food was white. :)

The next morning dawned with sunshine, not even 40 degrees when I woke up and went in search of coffee. The town coffeeshop was not open on a Sunday morning, which I thought unusual, so the quest continued. I ended up at the Ebb Tide again of all places. I asked for a coffee to go and then noticed on the chalk board: cinnamon rolls. "I'll take one of those too," popped out of my mouth. Walked back to my room and opened the container to a baked confection that if I had seen it first, I would never have ordered it... Oh goodness, it had enough sweet frosting in this thing to cover a whole cake- it was a little embarrassing and I was alone! I ate as much of it as I could, thinking that the day was going to be shot to hell now, starting it with such sweets!

I pushed off at about 9am, and 41 degrees, taking a leisurely ride south toward my next destination, Ogunquit. I made a stop at LLBean in Freeport, to see what kinds of things I might find and need there.My hopes were to find flannel lined jeans, but they did not work out. Wandered through there for a bit, bought a couple of little things and continued south, taking some side roads that I had not been on before. One being through the town of Kennebunkport. This little town is so quaint, small shops and restaurants, full of people shopping on a Sunday morning. Definitely on my list to return to at some point. Ogunquit was not a far ride, I wanted to park my bike for the afternoon and enjoy the town, the shopping and the oceanside.

Meanwhile, I am watching my odometer, as I approach the 50,000 mile mark, my heart starts to beat as I play a little game, wondering where I will be when it flips over to this monumental number! As luck had it, it flipped all the zeros as I pulled into my next hotel.

I thought that was pretty amazing, one of life's simple pleasures. My rest stop for this night is the Meadowmere Resort. I generally do not stay in hotels that end with the word 'resort', thinking that they are out of my affordable range.

But I was encouraged to check them out and joyfully, the Sunday night rate for a king room with a fireplace was within my means. This was going to be the perfect end of season ride for me... ocean side meditating and then an old good book by a fireplace that night. Life is good!

Ogunquit did not disappoint. Again, Maine has delivered a small town center with nice little shops and food. I spent a few hours and then sat out on a big rock by the ocean for a while. The view was lovely, the waves were nice and loud and I was in heaven. I sat out far enough so that all the other people were behind me and I felt wonderfully alone with the sea.

At around 4pm, a shower sent me scurrying back to my bike and back to my room. A supper of cheese and crackers and glass of Bailey's Irish Creme finished off the day. I settled into the peacefulness of the room and the fire and my book. It was lovely!

(gotta love the timers on cameras, it is the only way I get into pictures on solo rides!)

Monday arrived, and it was time to head home. The day was bright as I jumped on the highway... just in that 'zone' that motorcyclists often talk about, thinking about the last couple of days, and the day ahead. I was making one more stop, in Marlboro MA at a trade show for my store. I had to laugh in that sort 'hands in the air' was when I came out of the show 2 hours later to my bike with a very dead battery. (click... click... ugh!) Thankfully, my husband works not too far away and thankfully my friend Gary had gifted a set of motorcycle jumper cables to me for my cross country trip (just in case), AND thankfully this did not happen when I was up in Maine!

Mo came and rescued me, and I rode the bike directly to my mechanic's garage, here in my own town. A pretty easy end to a fabulous weekend away. A new battery now energizes Dirty Girl. Now I feel as though I can face the 4th quarter holiday shopping swell at my store, as I soon will be working 7 days a week until the end of the year. Riding from now til then will be only as I can steal a few hours here and there.

....today, as I write this, it is one of those most spectacular days! I hear motorcycles rumbling by, guessing that they are taking hooky rides. I am envious a bit, but not green with jealousy. I am glad someone is out in it if I have to work!

So there you have it, another adventure albeit a little quiet one to round out a very good year. My next blog entry may just be about washing this sweet bike of mine. It is going to be an epic challenge! She is wicked wicked dirty. Lots of great miles to her that way :)

Thanks for reading!

love, bee

In a Parade!

2010-09-27T04:28:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the lowest mileage rides I have been on, but certainly one of the most fun ones!

Holliston MA throws a town fair each September to celebrate all that goes on and to honor the citizens of the year. The kickoff is a parade to the park where you will find booths with fun, information, and food. A good time is had by all.

This year I decided to put my business into the parade! So I brainstormed as to what could be done with my bike. I doubt you will find anyone that will argue that it ended up being a reflection of the hippie chick flower child that I am :)

Parade lineup was at the elementary school and kickstands up at 9am. I mean, start walking and driving at 9am. :) There were a couple of other bikes at the front, but I had many exclaim that a bike float was a first for them.

It was a pretty well loaded parade for a small town, you just have to love the fire engines, antique cars and farm equipment. We also had the National Lancers, a ceremonial cavalry unit as our Color Guard.

I had my support team with me to toss candy and hand out fliers to the crowds. None of us knew what to expect, so we were all excited! I was a little unsure about just how hot the bike would get at parade speeds, but it was fine.... it was a little less than a mile long, so my bike was hot but not too unhappy when I parked her at the end.

I decided to be really daring and ride without my jacket. Those that know me have teased me, because I think in my five years of riding, I have not ever gone without my riding jacket. I figured that 5mph was a safe enough speed to risk going without the protective gear. Today was all about fashion. :)

My husband was stationed on the parade route, instructed to grab a photo or two and he did a fine job :) I had a couple of requests for videos, but I didn't have enough time to locate a camera. There is always next year!

All in all, a really fun morning! I had great feedback from the event, lots of cheers from women who might have missed my message of shopping locally though, I got the distinct feeling they were cheering for the chick on the bike :)

Back at the shop, all the flowers took on their next job, to fill the flower box in the front of the store. I was off to my next destination for the weekend, a relaxing time by the ocean in Maine. I mistakenly had double booked myself for this day, my husband and I had this cottage on the calendar for a few months, and I had blindly been thinking that Celebrate Holliston was the following weekend. Where is cloning technology when you really need it? :)
So, I sent my husband to Maine to hang with our friends and I promised I would buzz up there as soon as I could. At about 3pm, I jumped on the bike for a quick 110 mile ride. At the fuel stop, I realized that I had not completely undecorated my bike...

Surprisingly, these little flowers stood the test of highway speeds for two hours! I arrived in Maine and took off my footwear... once again realizing that I am often not like everyone else. This vignette really cracked me up! I don't own footwear that even remotely resembles the other ones at the cottage this weekend. :)

I made it in time for cocktails on the porch overlooking a fantastic seascape. It took me about 30 seconds to get into relax mode.

This is the view off the porch, about 30 feet away... I was in heaven! The waves were gently rolling in, speaking in a calm voice as the water splashed on the rocks.

The weather overnight turned windy and cold..the next day dawned with waves that were breaking well up onto the rock wall. I grabbed a gorgeous handmade comforter (that I coveted very much), poured my coffee and went out into the cool morning air.

Later in the morning, we all went to Old Orchard Beach to walk around, it was pretty well closed up for the season. I did see one thing that I just had to try... no, not the Fried Twinkie. I tried one of those delicacies this summer. This time it had to be the Deep Fried Oreo.

If it had been more than a buck, I think I would have been disappointed. But all in all, not a bad little taste treat. Mine was underdone though, with uncooked batter.... another 30 seconds in the fryolator and I bet the Oreo creme middle would have gotten melty. :)

So, I have a deep fried Twinkie (back in July in WV) and an Oreo under my belt (literally). Can't promise that I will try things like fried pickles or other strange things I hear about though, but you never know. It might be my new calling to taste and review them. However, I might not have to have my arm twisted too hard to try a deep friend Milky Way bar. Not sure where I would have to ride to in order to locate one, I think maybe Texas...

We decided to call it a weekend when the weather continued to deteriorate, as we were not really prepared for the cold. My raingear was taken off the bike for the parade and the skies were looking very threatening, reinforced by the choppy waves now pounding on the retaining wall, it was a very different view from the day before. It was gorgeous, my kind of ocean!

So at about 2pm, I layered on all my clothing and headed homeward. The skies were drizzling on me pretty much the whole way, but I did not get wet wet. Toes were pretty chilled when I got home, it took a few hours to completely warm up.

All in all, a great weekend, full of new adventures, all within 100 miles of home. :)

Ride Safely everyone and thanks for checking in!

Bee

Coastal Maine... my favorite landscape

2010-09-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

This ride was supposed to have been last week, but the weather intervened and it was rescheduled. The temps yesterday were probably the most perfect for a motorcyclist...cool enough to be comfortable in gear and warm enough to keep fingers and toes just right.

I met my friend Gar at the Shell station in Berlin MA. For a ride heading north, it is equidistant from both of us and an easy rendezvous point.

I may have to rethink this rendezvous point though... it's bad enough that I am pretty much color coordinated head to toe, but when I start matching the gas stations, well enough already! :)

Kickstands up at 8:30am, the first leg was highway, heading toward the coast. After 45 minutes or so, there is the motorcyclists' obligatory stop...no ride in New England starts without this place:

Refueled, we headed toward Salisbury Beach, to route 1A, the seacoast route north. It was a Monday and still early, so it was a delightful run up this local road, winding by cottages and little business centers, lots of clam shacks and early morning beach goers, which as I looked closely, were mostly surfers today. The waves were active and exciting this day... a huge gift for me!

Salisbury beach is a busy tourist mecca in the summertime, we motored down the retail strip toward the beach and Gar followed the U-turn in the road. He had to pull over though because I stopped following him. I HAD to investigate this outrageously fabulous bike set up...

It was a GoldWing with every bell and whistle and farkle that a bike can hold. PLUS, check out the trailer!

The cutest thing I ever saw...

But then wait a second... owners of the bike came strolling back and I have to say that THIS quite possibly is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Her name is Abby, a rescue who started riding with her new mom and dad last March. Dad says that Abby loves riding as much as they do.

She gave me a couple of sweet kisses, I gave mom, dad and Abby guardian angel coins and we were on our way. Abby's dad said he was going to drill a hole in her coin to hang it on her collar. :)

I have mentioned before how much I love the ocean. It is such a powerful feeling for me to be there... someday maybe I will have a little hermitage by the waves just to sit and listen and be quiet. Meanwhile, I will visit and ride to find the waves and the energy.

We are still poking our way northbound on 1A, heading toward Hampton Beach, another stretch of pretty commercial beach. I think it might be one of the longest stretches of beach in New England. We don't have many wide open beaches. The waves today were very satisfying to watch. We pulled over at one point, where I saw that the waves were breaching the seawall...a thick cement barrier built to protect the houses across the street. I loved riding along and seeing the crashing water up and over the wall and dousing the sidewalk and pedestrians. So Gar pulled into the parking lot and we stopped along the wall.

And the answer is yes... before too long I was rolling with laughter when a wave crashed over the wall. I got wet too, but I had the camera. haha!

There were lots of characters out today! Of course, I mean all the OTHER characters. haha... at this stop on the strip at Hampton, a fellow came up and started talking about my bike. He was asking about the color and model and so forth. I don't think he was really so much interested in those details, I think he wanted the company more. You know the kind... a conversation happens and winds up and you start to walk away and then suddenly you hear a voice behind you. Oops, I didn't realize we were still talking! It was a fun half hour or so with this guy, talking about bikes and the beach and biker bars, of which I do not go to. But, it was colorful, for certain and we were not in a hurry. How can you not love no teeth and an eye patch, talking about motorcycling?

I have no idea what time it was at that point... it was moving slowly along, as we were. The next few miles wound around some of the most beautiful coastline and homes in New England. This stretch is famous for the magnificent mansions that are on one side of the road and the rocks and waves on the other.

I love this photo and the clouds in my mirror :)

This is the other view I generally have when riding with Gar... his red GoldWing with 3 flags flying off the back. The POW flag is curled a bit, on the right. It's kinda cool :)

We are making our way to Nubble Lighthouse.... as I understand, one of the most photographed lighthouses on the eastcoast. How I have never seen it, I don't know. It took a little while to get there, because I kept stopping to sit by the ocean :)

This stop, took me a while, there were some great rocks to climb down on.... I could spend hours here!

I was reluctant to go back to the bike... but finally I did and we were on our way again, up 1A into Rye NH. Then Gar turned down 1B... a small road that I have never been before. It went into the sweetest little town center, so old fashioned and cozy. I would love a home here! Rt 1B eventually wound its way back to 1A, and at one point, crossed a causeway, passing this giant old building on my right. Now looking quite abandoned... I have to find out what it used to be.

The road then took us into Portsmouth, one of the prettiest old towns on the seacoast. It is a great place to go and park, and just walk around for a few hours. There are quirky stores, galleries, lots of food, harbor frontage and history. Worth a trip to see if you have never been there!

We still have not made it to Nubble light, but look in this photo...you can see it off in the distance! Just ignore that giant yellow helmet in the foreground. :)

Finally...we made it to Nubble Lighthouse. I will have to come back to this place, it is so wild and rocky! The lighthouse sits on an isolated little island, the supplies get brought across via a basket on a wire. I am not sure if the lightkeepers go across in this manner also. While we were there, a woman approached me and we ended up chatting for a while... she is a rider also. When I told her that I did my cross country ride this summer and said it was mostly solo, she gave me a big "You Go Girl" hug. We were excitedly talking until her husband dragged her away, saying something about a schedule. Didn't he realize how busy we were? :)

You can see the white basket in this picture...can you imagine traveling across the water in this? It is not far, but still pretty precarious for my tastes!

It was lunch time and my belly was talking now, all the salt air really makes a girl hungry. Our route was pointed at Perkin's Cove, yet another quintessential New England coastal town that I have never seen. Another adorable tiny town perched on the water's edge. Gar and I had lunch at a place that sits right on the water. I had a lobster roll and it was yummy. To think that all these years, I insisted I hated lobster. Oh well, my waistline has probably been the better for it.

Perkin's Cove has a walkway along the coast, called the Marginal Way, which ends in Ogunquit. This teeny lighthouse is at the entrance to the walkway. I had to get a photo here! The start and finish points are fun shopping and eating places, with benches to rest on while on the walkway. We did not walk the Marginal Way yesterday, but I think I will return to it someday to do it. Maybe in the off season so that the ocean is active and there are not many people.

A nice slow ride, gorgeous weather and even prettier scenery makes for a perfect ride.

It was not many miles, not a fast pace, lots of people to chat with, and home for supper... just perfect!

Until next ride...

Bee safe!

By the way,

September 21st, is the United Nations International Day of Peace

Peace to you all

Warrior Thunder Ride

2010-09-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

When you go to the website for the

Wounded Warrior Project,

the first thing you will see is,

"The Greatest Casualty is Being Forgotten"

Pretty powerful words to one as sensitive as I am... so when one of my good customers (shout out to Lyn Briggs) invited me to go on this ride and I found the website to see what it was about, I committed to joining this ride. I checked the schedule at my shop, made sure that the team working today would be okay without me and left early this morning to register. I showed up with my not so pretty fingernails to the ride because I gave the Dirty Girl a quick polish with Lemon Pledge right before I left. I didn't want her to be SO dirty for the ride :)

The mission of the WWP is simple:

.... to honor and empower wounded warriors.

Its purpose:

raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women

help severely injured service members aid and assist each other

provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members

The ride was launched from Paramount Harley Davidson in Framingham MA. When I got there, it was pretty evident where to put my bike :)

The bikes started rumbling in and over the next hour, the staging area filled with what looked to be a good turn out for this first annual benefit ride. We registered and were given a Wounded Warrior Patch and a nifty red white and blue wrist wrap in order to be allowed in to the base for the BBQ.

You can see DG mingling in the crowd...camouflaged if that is at all possible by a yellow sport bike.

At about 11:30, we had the huddle to go over road rules... always a good thing. I raised my hand and asked about red lights and stop signs- did the escort mean that we would not be stopping at all? The answer was yes, the 8 or so motor cops from area towns were there to volunteer their time to make sure our parade was safe and fun.

11:45...Kickstands up! We were going on a 50 mile loop through MetroWest Boston, ending at Natick Labs, the only active military base in MA (I think that is what I heard said).

The Motorcops were giving us a little last minute information...and then we got the 'Start Your Engines' go ahead. My heart always pounds harder when I am in the midst of motorcycles that are all starting at same time. The rumble goes right to my bones and that first sweet smell of exhaust that says motorcycles!

The temps today were on the cool side, which I kind of like. I think many riders were chilly... but as the route progressed, I was glad it was not baking hot today. A large portion of the ride had roads with numerous 'tar snake' repairs... these are downright nasty in the heat of the summer, slippery and dangerous to motorcycle tires. The cool temps today made them a non-issue and I was glad of that.

I absolutely loved having the police escort! It made the ride a bit more exciting for me... I am like a little kid sometimes, I hear a siren and get excited. I suppose that is what is supposed to happen though. :)

The motorcops would rotate through their numbers to zoom ahead and hold traffic at intersections. They would run their lights and sirens when doing this because they were up along side of us. I loved seeing the lights approaching in my mirrors, maybe I am easily entertained, but it did not get old for the whole 50 miles to watch them do this.

I don't know how many bikes participated, I would guess that it was around 100. I was smack in the middle I think. Looking ahead, I could not see the beginning bikes as the line would wind up and around corners on the country roads:

And then looking in my mirrors, the same thing... headlights that went on and on:

It was fascinating to watch the reactions of the motorists that were coming the other way. As the police bikes would ride up through our ranks with their sirens and lights going, some drivers would barely move to the side and keep driving. I thought that odd. Other cars would do what they were supposed to when one sees a police vehicle and pull completely to the side and stop moving. What was funny though was that some of them were unsure about whether they could go forward again. I saw a few cars simply stop and watch the bikes.

The Warrior Thunder Ride felt most thunderous when we were navigating through downtown Hudson... a busy town center, narrow streets and traffic. It was fun because it was making such a statement! Maybe these people will look in the newspaper tomorrow and see why all those motorcycles were parading through their town and make note of the WWP. Many shoppers and store people were standing outside watching us pound through. I waved to a lot of little kids today :)

Right on schedule, at about 50 miles, we pulled into the Natick Army Labs, showed our wristbands to the guards and motored on to the parking lot, the entrance to the base was a motorcyclist's dream and I admit, I hit the throttle a little harder and giggled as I made my way to the parking area.

We parked our bikes and gave a round of applause to the men that made this ride so enjoyable and so safe. I have been on group rides before and the presence and support of police make all the difference in the world for the riders. Many many thanks to these Boys in Blue that volunteered their time today!

We were then entertained by a great band and many riders had a feast at the barbecue. I had a few oatmeal raisin cookies and a hot cup of coffee... sat for a bit and talked with other riders, and people watched, one of my favorite pastimes when in a large group. There were a lot of service people there today, probably most of them. I was one of the people today who showed up to show my respect and thanks.

I met a couple of the people who put this ride on, and you could feel their excitement. One fellow in particular, who was at Paramount, directing the parking. He was in relax mode at the bbq...totally understandable and well deserved! Thank you to Darren (I don't know your last name) for a great day! I hope that this ride was what you envisioned!

As always, thank you for reading my blog...

Peace and Love,

Bee

Odds and Ends

2010-09-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, it was time to go back to school...my daughter Annie is now a sophomore at college and kind of on cruise control at this point. She came home for the summer, and many of her things for her dorm room never got unpacked. Her bedroom looks rather like a storage room...certainly did make it easy to get her back to school!

The last weekend of August was move in time....it was looking to be a beautiful day ahead and so I invited Annie to ride on the back of my bike and we would send Dad in the car with her belongings.

To my delight, she said yes! I don't get much bike time with my daughter, she has a busy social schedule, or one of us is working, or off on a trip for that matter, as Annie is a willing hiker with my Mom.

We left at 8am to take back roads to the college, about 100 miles. This beautiful child, although she does not look like me with her dark eyes and very dark hair, is a natural at riding. I am going to claim this as a boast that she gets that genetically from me, because when I was her age, I was constantly told that it was difficult to tell that I was on the back of someone's bike. For me, being only 5'4" and putting 5'6" Annie on the back of my 800+ pound bike and being able to say that I can hardly tell that she is there is a huge compliment to her riding sense.

The weather was perfect that morning! Just cool enough to be super comfortable in the gear. It was a joyful ride with Annie.

And here she is, my gypsy girl, all moved into her dorm... oh, yes, that bright eclectic sense of style also comes from me in case you are wondering. It falls under, the less that matches, the more fun it is rule of decorating. We are into polka dots at the moment! Even her shirt is spotted. :)

Kisses all around, I blessed my girl and hit the road for home. I tapped a couple of little boxes on Jack's screen and my route to the college was reversed to take me home. It was not quite as pleasant a trip, as the temps crawled up into the 90s and about 30 miles of the ride I had chosen were through a commercial strip after another. Of course, being later in the day, the traffic was congested. It was one of those 'note to self' moments, to fix this part of the ride.

When I got home, I immediately took Jack (my gps, remember?) into the house to edit the back road ride to UNH. I needed to cut out the rt102 stretch between Hudson and Chester NH. I found a potentially sweet route, very zig-zaggy as it wound its way through the smaller towns of NH... and in the end, was the same mileage. I got to test the route the very next day as Annie forgot a couple of VIPs....those Very Important Possessions, our children all have them. :)

One little thing happened on that Sunday at her school, when I got back to my bike, there was a note tucked into my cup holder:

I installed my Kruzer Kaddy just before I left on my trip and felt that there were a couple of inherent design flaws... one solved with some bright yellow duct tape and the other solved by only using a half full bottle of water. When I put a full bottle in, the cup holder would swivel and the bottle fell out. Well... this was not the best thing, was it? But I can adjust in a situation like this, and ride with a half full bottle. And then when I took the bottle out of the holder, the holder itself would often unattach and go rolling on the ground. GRRR. So the duct tape covered the key hole that the post slid into. What I did not realize was that I was missing a part, someone may have opened the box at the store where it was purchased because the grommet was never in it.

So I called Shannon and we had a delightful conversation! I was highly impressed with the fact that she left the note and offered to fix the obvious issue. She and her husband own the company and are very proud of their products. Shannon told me how excited she was to be in NH (from Mississippi) and to have seen their product in use. I know the feeling, it never gets old. She also explained how to take the swivel play out of the mounting so that my bottle stays put. I just have to turn the bolt around.

And THEN, icing on this yummy little cake was that she told me that they are developing a travel coffee mug to fit this particular holder and she will send me one to test for her and give them feed back. Gotta love a small company and its pride in customer service! As always, I will share when good will is sent my way... KRUZER KADDY

Back to riding for one more comment or two... the alternate route up to Annie's university was delicious! It is saved in my favorite routes because you never know when some other little thing needs to be delivered. And in my motorcyclist's brain, a 200 mile round trip is just a scoot down the road :) :)

In the weeks following my ride, I have been at odds with writing about riding locally... the adventures were so amazing on my cross country trip that I was feeling as though these weeks would have been a big let down for me and for my readers. I am getting over that!

A great experience happened this past week... it was SO much fun, revolving around riding, but all via a phone conversation. There is a motorcycle radio show, called Side Stand Up, airing Tuesday evenings 7-9pm eastern time. I was invited to be a guest on the show and I accepted it. How much fun this was!!!

So, two things... I am going to be self promoting here and tell you how you can still listen to my interview...

go here for the page with archived interviews and click on

AUG 31, #282 . My segment is about halfway through, you are invited to listen to the whole show or you can fast forward it to where you want to start.

The second thing is, tune in on Tuesday nights!
SIDE STAND UP RADIO

The show is all about regular people getting out there and doing what they love :)

The link to the show is under the monkey on the left side.

As always, thanks for reading!

love, Bee

Favorite Moments

2010-07-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

It is funny, that while on my 29 day journey, at no point did it feel like it was racing by. In fact, it felt as though time had stopped... I think because I was working so hard each day, I literally felt each hour of it and truly lived it, good and bad. Retrospectively, there are things I could have done differently so that maybe I would not have gotten so sick, but that is simply speculation. I do know that my next trip will have more supplies in my medical kit to help me if this happens again.

I will also pack differently so that my foul weather gear is easier to access...for when I encounter unexpected scenes like this... I was about to get very very wet!

I had the gear inside its own stuff sack, thinking that I would know at the start of the day whether or not I would need it. But this is one of my surprises on the ride and one of my mistakes. There were often drastic differences in temperatures and conditions that would come up quickly. I had my rain gear at the ready, but the cold weather gear was more difficult to access once the bike was loaded. It would have been really difficult to access the gear and repack the bag while out on the road. So... my packing was partially successful. In the saddlebags were items I would not need daily. The cold weather jackets were too large to fit inside, so they were in their own waterproof stuff sack. Next big trip, I will redistribute this stuff so that the jackets are inside the saddlebags. what to put inside the stuff sack, balancing on the top of the bike daily, I am not sure. But I'll figure it out for the next ride.

My customers are coming into my store this week, with the surprised look on their face while exclaiming, "OH, you are back!" A common question I get is, "What was your favorite part?" This question dumfounds me every time.... I have no quick answer and start looking up at the ceiling as I say, "ummmmmm".
Goodness, was I even ON the trip? Is it that difficult to choose one particular moment as the best? This can't be!

So... here they are, some of my favorite moments....

#1. Opening the door to my room at the Silver Surf Motel in Yachats OR, to see the Pacific Ocean through the sliding doors at the end of the room... and then opening the sliders to hear the waves and smell the air. This indeed, might be THE moment of the trip that sticks most in my mind. Not very much bang for the story buck when I am telling someone though. So I will have to think of some of the spectacular moments for that.

#2. Mckenzie Pass, OR. This was where the amazing, jaw dropping lava fields suddenly appeared as I ascended to over 5000 feet.

My head was whipping in all directions to take it all in. This moment was probably the most intense surprise of the whole month! If you are ever near it, I highly recommend driving through. And then take in Sisters OR for some fun and relaxing. It is an adorable town, lots of shops and restaurants.

#3. I have a handful of little moments that at each moment truly was the best thing ever...

That first moment when I felt really really really small, and simply stopped the bike by the side of the road in the Badlands of SD, took a photo and not another car for miles in either direction.

The Grizzly Bear!

The Buttah Lobstah Roll!

Riding into Colville WA, feeling really under the weather, and having my friend Ranger be there with an awesome welcome!

So, there they are, some of my favorite moments, which of course will change as I remember the small but magical times of the rest of the trip. But I have a feeling that the number one moment will most likely remain in the top spot. It is all about the ocean for me, after all!

I pondered all this while I gave my sweet little bike a really good bath this afternoon... she worked hard for me and deserved it...

Now my own wheels are turning for next year's tour...
hmmm...
where to go? :)

Last 3 days.... Can't BEElieve it's over!

2010-07-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

West Virginia dawned dark and stormy. I know it dawned because the clock said it did... but it was really dark! It didn't look like it was going to clear, and in every biker's life a little rain will fall. I have been wet before, I'll be wet again. It was warm and wet, sultry would be a good word for it, so I chose to just wear my mesh gear and not my official rain gear which is like one of those 'As seen on TV sauna suits to lose unsightly inches in minutes' when worn on a hot day.

The rain was heavy, not cold though. My big mistake was in wearing my half helmet to start. The rain was somehow whipping up under the face shield, and making visibility next to nothing between the smoke shield and the water droplets. I rode slowly, using the solid white line on the side of the road to guide me off an exit, where I switched to my bright yellow full face. Much better!

My boots were full of water.. I mean, not just wet, but gooshing sloshing full! I just found out that a strong rain storm while wearing mesh pants serves as a conduit for water to run down my leg and fill my boots. I stopped at a rest area later on and it was funny, every step I walked, I left a little puddle. Kind of like a wet Pigpen from Charlie Brown.

I mentioned in the last entry about the familiar landscape and how good it felt. There is a remarkable difference in how I feel when riding through the huge mountains of the west and the not so huge mountains of the east.

In these mountains, I feel a part of them, not simply a spectator clinging to the side of one. When you first see them on the horizon, you know it is not going to take hours to reach them...they are 'right there'. It is difficult to really articulate it... I felt "OH WOW" when riding the Rockies, but I feel safe and secure in these mountains, with the low hanging puffs of fog..giving that instant recognition to the name "Smoky Mountains."

When I rode over Beartooth Pass in WY, there was a strong thunderstorm above me, and I felt as though I could simply be plucked off the mountain by a bolt of lightning. The stormy day in the Appalachian Range did not give me this sense of insecurity. I got good and wet, but my biggest fear was the fog and rain on my visor.

The weather cleared, my boots dried out for the most part, and I made my way to Waynesboro, Virginia to make my final connection for this journey. A local to New England group of riders was on their own ride through Ohio and Virginia, and invited me to ride the way back north with them. It seemed like the perfect way to cut that stressful intensity that waves over me at the end of a ride. I find that my homing device turns on and I get racing for home. To ride the last few hundred miles with friends would take this edge off.

Connection was made, a nice dinner and conversation at the restaurant across the street. I enjoy the occasional 'real' restaurant meal with other people on this ride, I don't often treat myself to it when alone. I had pecan encrusted trout on a salad, with sweet potato fries... it was delicious :)

The next day dawned brightly and we headed for the morning fuel stop.... I was chuckling to myself as I watched Gary pull into the wrong parking lot, next door to the gas station. I was thinking he will laugh when he realizes that those are vacuum cleaners and not gas pumps. But I was the one who was wrong. Dirty Girl got a big treat as I realized that she was going to get a bath at at self serve car wash! Yay!!
We set out for the Skyline Drive/Shenandoah National park, and I happily used my National Park Pass, it is very satisfying to use it!
The park is not disappointing for beautiful views, the mountains layer out into the horizon, getting more softly colored as they fade out.

The speed limit through the park is torturously slow for a motorcycle, only 35 mph, twisty roads like that at such slow speeds... argh! I don't understand exactly why it is so slow, even 5 mph would add to the enjoyment and ease of riding the park.

The daisies were in bloom along the parkway, one of my favorite flowers, so simple and so happy! I had such an urge to get my bike embedded into the flowers for a photo.

We stopped for more photo ops, and got chatting with a father and daughter who were riding through on the way home to Maryland. As soon as Maryland was mentioned, the subject of how good the crab cakes are in Maryland began. We had ridden a bunch of the Skyline and the lure of crab cakes was strong, I could see wheels turning....being the enabler I am, I said "Let's go for it", and we were off.
Before I knew it, we were on our way in search of crab cakes in Maryland!

There is another form of food that every biker loves. Ice cream.... on the way to crab cakes (which I cannot say without thinking of SpongeBob SquarePants and Crabbie Patties), we stopped for ice cream. Aside from the two little ice cream sandwiches I had at gas stops, I realized that I had not had an ice cream cone on the whole trip. That sealed the decision... we stopped at this bright place, the glowing pink roof called out to us...
We were in line, waiting to order and I saw this sign...

How could we NOT try one? I am happy to report that a deep fried Twinkie is positively delectable. I think they could be dangerously addicting however.

I got to fantasizing about opening an ice cream place in my town, big enough for a bike night of course. :) :)

So, the sweet tooth satiated, it was onward to Crabbie Patties. :) I was hoping that they were not 10 minutes down the road and *phew* thankfully, it took a while to get there, so I had time to work up a hunger again.

I have never had a crab cake. All my life I have an aversion to eating things that look like bugs. Crabs... lobster... crayfish.. clams. I had crab for the first time in Washington, at Patrick's house. It is amazing when I traveled, how hungry I was sometimes. It was at Patrick's that I was recuperating and had not eaten much....there it was, a bowl of Alaskan crab and in the next moment, I was putting a spoonful onto my salad, thinking that it was probably pretty good. I will admit, it was delicious. So, crab cakes did not sound so scary, in fact, they sounded quite yummy. Off Gary and I went to Maryland!

Success was a little bit of work, traffic was heavy, temps were hot...the first attempt was in Bethesda MD. OMG... this city is insanely congested! 3 times around the block to find a place to park for The Crab Shack and we threw in the towel on it to go in search of another eatery. No place was worth this kind of aggravation. But the satisfaction level was high, we found a good place.
The crab cakes were DELISH. :)

Back on track, we found our way to our next stop in PA. We had taken more of a detour than we realized, so it was a bit later than expected, but ok. We rode through crazy commuter traffic to get out of the urbanity of it all. Soon, we were in bucolic Lancaster county,

The farms were right off post cards, and as we got onto the rural road, the Amish horse and buggies were everywhere.
I felt a little self conscious about my loud motorcycle and let off the throttle as I passed the horses. Fixing this issue is the first on my list!

The last hotel of the trip was such a treat! The Fulton Steamboat Inn.... it would have been one of those that I would have not even attempted to look at, assuming that it would be too expensive. But I have learned from this trip that sometimes for a mere $20 difference, you can get personality, service, excitement and a little feeling of being special. That is really what it came down to, the difference between a basic Quality Inn and a resort... only a few dollars. From now on, I will promise myself to at least look at the resorts that look special. Every once in a while, a little pampering is a good thing.

The hotel looks like a steamboat on the outside and the decor I imagine is as if it was the interior of the steamship. Ornate trimmings and gilt were everywhere.

I was just tickled by it all. Ducks waddled all over the grounds outdoors, mamas and babies, walking in lines across the lot, then scattering into the gardens to look for bugs. I adore ducks :)

Like many mornings, the next morning dawned wet. It was my last day of traveling and there were still adventures to be had, so my vote was to take our time and see if the rain lifted. The breakfast was leisurely, the rain lifted, and we got the bikes packed and set off north, the idea of this being my last day had not really sunk in yet, but I was seeing glimpses of it. How monumental it was to load my bike for the last time! I tried not to feel a little melancholy. 29 days on the road!

Right in keeping with my adventures, today had the obligatory road paving. We sat in stop and go traffic on a highway for probably an hour, I think it was still Pennsylvania. Thank goodness for music on the bikes! I am convinced that these colossal highway traffic jams are because drivers do not know how to merge. They ignore ALL the merge signs, racing in the soon to be closed lane right up to the road block and expect to smoothly merge into the travel lane. If all these people just merged while still moving, a mile or two back, the line would never stop. grrr...okay, rant over.

My take on horrible traffic, is that there is usually something really special to step into it's spot in my brain afterward and it is soon forgotten. Today, it was equally wonderful... The Delaware Water Gap. My first reaction to the little woodsy rest area where we stopped for a few minutes was that it was an Appalachian Trail stop. My mom had walked through here! Some of you might know that she has walked the whole AT. I get my sense of adventure from her :)

The Delaware Water Gap was cool, and dark and refreshing... a small road, along a river nearly the whole way, and tree tunneled as well. I smiled over and over on this road.

I love riding these tiny windy roads, with the dappled light coming through the trees. This passage was enough miles to make it wipe the slate clean of the crazy highway just before.

The next fuel stop was cool too... the most adorable gas station, if that is a term that can possibly be used for a gas station. This tiny tiny tiny building was buried under overgrown trees and brush not too long ago, I was told by a smiling old local fellow. He said that the station was reopened, the gas pumps updated, but the building is on the town's historic register and must remain intact. I loved it, a really nice change from all the carbon copy gas stations.

My only request for the ride home was a detour to find the Atlantic so that I could dip my foot into it, and have both oceans in the month. The highway through Connecticut at times is not too far from the water, so the task was not extraordinary one would think. Traffic was nasty, but we found it, in New Haven. I dashed to the water, took off a boot and put my foot into the salt bay.

Not the crashing waves of the open ocean, but it worked in a pinch. :)

There was just one more stop to make... since we were essentially there already, a stop at Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale for lobster rolls. Hmmm... lobster rolls... I was more dubious about trying one of these. I had tried lobster many years ago and remember not liking the texture of it. But 25+ years is a long time! Gary rides all over New England in search of the perfect "lobstah" roll. So, he ordered one hot lobstah roll with butter and one cold lobstah salad roll, cut them both in half and traded halves so that I could try both.

I still was a little unsure, all that chewy lobster... but I took a bite of the butter roll and could not hide the smile. It was yummy, I will admit that I have denied something delicious for a lot of years. I would have even bought a Lenny and Joe's tee shirt if they had a woman's cut, but alas... only men's beefy tees. I don't wear men's tee shirts. :)

Lobstah finished....It was time to go home. Fueled up for the last time on this trip and pointed north. I am truly grateful for the invitation to ride along with Gary on the last leg, it made a huge difference in the transition from my weeks on the road toward home. I know that if I had been riding solo on the last day, I would have been pounding the miles, not taking needed breaks and taking unnecessary risks. Having the up to the last minute adventures made all the difference in the world!

I waved goodbye to Gary at route 16 and rode the last 20 miles in the waning daylight. I pulled into the garage, took one more photo of the trip meter, and then collected hugs from my family who appeared behind me.

I did it... 9343.7 miles in 29 days.

Right at the moment...it feels like a dream.

Please if you will, stay tuned to this blog over the next days...
I will be writing more thoughts, reviews, and thanks to everyone!

And who knows when, more trips!
much love,
Bee

Day 26.... Almost Done

2010-07-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

I rode through 5 states today! I thought the only way I would accomplish that was to stay in New England. But, I started in Missouri, then to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia!

It was promising to be a hot one again, as Ranger and I set out very early in search for a photo before I left St Louis.

The last time I rode through, a few years ago on the way to Eureka Springs Arkansas, I think it was pouring rain. I can't remember seeing the famous arch, so it was a must see this ride through.

(you can see it in the distance I hope)

The traffic into the city was heavy already, but it moved right along. I would not have attempted this without a resident of the area. City streets, even with a gps can be confusing. Soon, Ranger pointed to a beautiful building and told me the name, I think he said Union Square.

Gorgeous stonework on this giant building, I think it is a hotel now. And then as I looked up and around, I could see that many of the buildings had this stately stone work. St Louis is very pretty! I would love to have seen more.

(This is the standard tilted picture taken while riding photo)

In order to get a photo of the bike and the arch, there had to be distance, so we parked and got a couple of cool shots...

..then it was time for me to go.

Ranger rode the highway with me for a bit before peeling off for home. I pointed my bike eastward on 64, locked the throttle and took off. It was nice to have company on the highway for a while...breaks up the monotony of the pounding slab.

(check out my tassel whipping up on the side!)

I have an after market throttle lock on my bike, a part that cost all of $30 including shipping. This nifty little invention allows me to reach the speed I want, push a lever and lock the throttle in place. There is room for adjustments up or down in speed as I go. This is the best $30 I have ever spent on my bike! My right hand has gotten much needed rest on those long long long flat highways. If anyone rides distances, I highly recommend one.

Through a few (okay, a lot) flat corn planted miles, the land started gently rolling up and down in Kentucky, I realized that I was starting to lean my bike a bit :)

(I saw lots of these shiny metal silos... does anyone know what they hold?)

Hills began appearing, with quaint looking farms on them. Toward Lexington, I noticed an estate or two or three and that the horses in the pastures looked very different from the horses in the pastures out west. I am not a horse person, but even I could notice a huge difference, these horses were slender and tall and super shiny. Horses out west were beautiful as well, but they were built more like their workin' cousins. I kind of liked the approachable feel of the western painted horses, hanging out behind the hand hewn fences over the bright white manufactured fencing of the estates I saw this afternoon.

I set my sights on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia as a stop point today. I have gotten much better at starting the day with no set stopping point and finding a motel once I get there. The first time was a bit stressed, but a few weeks later, and I am old hat. haha :)

I stayed on route 64 all day long... and as I got into the eastern part of the state, it started to feel familiar... the hills were more compact, the highway wound its way through. The trees are different here too, pines mixed with deciduous trees, thickly growing on the hills made me think of broccoli tops, dense and dark green and rounded.

It feels good to feel the familiar landscape again. I am looking forward to being home with my family. This trip has been the most wonderful adventure, with all of its ups and downs, laughter and coughing, I am really thankful for the chance to have done it. To have taken a ride of a lifetime, totally lost track of the days has been a gift. I am excited about seeing my husband, daughter and parents again, telling stories and hearing theirs... I wonder how mad my birds are going to be with me? And after a couple of days of reentry, using the time I had off to re-energize my daily life. There are things I want to do creatively... my sewing machine will probably come out of mothballs. I need to see if it still runs, because I feel like creating with fabric again.
Out on the road... and I find my way back to my creative roots.
How these are related, I don't know!

As I entered into Huntington WV, there appeared on my right the most unbelievable industrial complex I have ever seen... I was told that it is a foundry, but it had me stumped when I saw it. It is fantastic looking, like something out of an industrial sci-fi movie. I clicked a whole bunch of pictures as I rode by, camera held high in the air, hoping to capture the wild metallic city.

Tomorrow, I head north through the eastern mountains... much smaller than the western cousins, but none less beautiful. One thing I need to do tonight, is to figure out how to wiggle my way to the eastern seacoast before parking the bike and calling this trip done in 3 days. It occurred to me yesterday, that it would be the perfect finishing touch, to put my feet into the Atlantic Ocean. Coast to coast in 30 days. :)

I'll let you know if I figure it out!

Three more days.... what a journey! It seems like just a few days ago when I was only three days into this ride. But then again...it seems like eons ago! Funny how time works, and how quickly we get fuzzy about it. Or maybe that is just me.

I had a gourmet road food dinner of a stuffed baked potato and salad from Wendy's... simple, cheap...hot, it hit the spot. As you all know, once I park, I don't like to go out again on the bike. So Wendy's, being at the entrance to the motel road, won. I walked there...as the crow flies, it is only about 500 yards. However, this motel is perched WAAAAY at the top of a high hill, it would be a quick, but painful roll down. By the time I got there and back up and around the little switchback driveway, I think I walked almost a mile!
Walking...what's that? :)

Oh and my trip meter passed 8000 miles this afternoon!
Thanks for reading, xo

Day 24 & 25 A Whole Lotta Flat Land...

2010-07-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Bright and early, well, at least early, I packed up the not quite as Dirty Girl for a long couple of days. My saddlebag bracket snapped while on the ride the day before, so I took the opportunity to give her a quick Pledge wipedown while I was zip tying bag on as a quick fix. Two great inventions here.. zip ties and Pledge as a bike polish. No riders should be without a half a dozen spare ties in their saddlebag. And the Pledge makes my bike shine AND smell lemony fresh. :)

I hit the road at 5:15AM, my goal was to get to at least Lincoln Nebraska, 500 miles away. I had been toying with making a detour to Sturgis, but this would add about 200 miles and I decided it was not all that important and so started off into the darkness of the predawn morning. When I approached the highway, Jack was doing his best to send me north to Sturgis. Apparently I had not loaded the correct route. Sometimes, I can simply turn down another road and the gps will recalculate toward the next point in the route. And then there are the other times, when he keeps telling me to turn around and go back. I did not feel like arguing with Jack this morning, so I pulled over and figured out how to make a new route. This is a major accomplishment for me! Learning to control Jack has been a challenge at best. :)

Small success, I headed south from Hot Springs SD toward Nebraska. Like the other predawn ride, I took it easy and this time I am really glad I did, I came around a corner and there was a herd of small deer in the road. I slowed down, and they were not startled by my presence. I said good morning and waited until they cleared. It was really sweet.

It was another gas and go day... I stopped every 100 miles, a quick stretch, refuel and hopped back on. The miles melt away this way, and before I knew it, a few hundred miles were under my belt. I can't say that the scenery was all that exciting though...

Riding a lot of miles on long flat roads gave me a lot of time to think. I got to thinking about when I get back home and how I will process everything that I have seen and experienced.
At first, the idea of making a quilt crossed my mind, and different ways to interpret the trip ran through my head. I will play with colored pencils when I get home and see what kind of design happens. The idea of a quilt that moves through the different landscapes that I have ridden through then morphed into the thought of a series of paintings.

I have a very clear picture of the series, probably small canvases, with an occasional larger one in the line. The series would be hung in the same sequence that I rode. I am really excited about this and cannot wait to start. I will pull out photos of the trip to interpret. As the miles ticked away, this idea then moved to another series of paintings... the same idea, but this time as abstracts. And then I would like to have the two series hung either on opposite walls or one above the other as they relate in the sequence. As I look at landscapes in front of me now, I see them in a new light, to see if there are any inspirations for art. I tend to look at the world in this way to begin with, but it is heightened now.

My goal was at least 500 miles, around Lincoln. Originally, I thought I could go further, but I hit Lincoln right at 3pm, goal achieved. Suddenly, I was very tired and began looking for a motel. Not long, I saw a building off to my right that looked very hotel-ish. Sure enough, an AmericInn. With all my gear on, I went inside to ask the rate for the night. The young man said, $80 plus tax. "okay, let me go get my wallet, I'll be right back" I was told they had a king bed room and that sounded fine, as I melted onto the counter while he processed it. As he handed me my key, he said, "I gave you a room with a jacuzzi in it, enjoy."

Never have I had a hotel room like this!! How decadent!! When I went out for supper, (a family place across the parking lot, very convenient) I looked at the two people working behind the desk and said "This is the best hotel EVER!" They said to me with a knowing smile, "He upgraded you, didn't he?"

It was a super relaxing night, such a gift.. one of those random acts of kindness that make such a difference to someone.

That night were wild thunderstorms and I moved the bike under the overhang (with permission) because of hail predictions.

Today, the goal was St Louis Missouri, and my friend Ranger's home, where I sit now, listening to the happy noises of grandchildren playing. Ranger rode north to St Joseph to meet me on the highway and pound the slab back to StL. I was thankful for the company, as the road was long and flat and hot. We did the gas and go thing until a stop for lunch at a mom and pop restaurant. A simple lunch of sandwiches,

and we were back on our way.

One little side trip, proved to be just the break from the highway that I needed. We rode through Hannibal MO, a historic town because of Mark Twain. The town was very quaint as we rode through it... I suddenly realized I was looking at the Mississippi River again. I had come full circle. Ranger turned up a steep winding road that lead to an overlook...

The original Lover's Leap! The story of the leap was an old one, about two young Indians who were from different tribes, rather than facing getting killed, the young lovers leaped off the rock.

After that, we went down a smaller route that had a detour down a small road. It was such a treat!

I loved this little church...
and then how cool is the photo with Ranger in the mirror?
A tiny road, winding and moving up and down little hills like a roller coaster, the road was lined with wildflowers on both sides.

I was in heaven! This was just the break I needed from all the highway.

We arrived at about 4:30.... 950 miles in the two days. :) :)

Another Meet and Greet... A fews Days of fun

2010-07-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Wow... I have really lost track as to what the date is! My map program is the only way that I can figure out what day it is and where I am supposed to be.
This all took place over the span of Days 21-23.

(this is around Casper WY, on my way to Hot Springs SD)

Last year sometime, I was invited to this meet and greet in Hot Springs SD with some friends I have known online for a few years through motorcycle forums. I arranged my cross country ride to include a few days with these old new friends and was looking forward to the fun and days off from my self driven schedule.

When I got to the Inn By the River, everyone was out riding, so I took a few minutes to get settled and look around. The old buildings were made from local sandstone.

Gary and his family rolled in right behind me. He had his tools out pretty darn fast... and they like to tease ME about my Harley. :) :) In not too long, the thunder rolled in... not from the sky but from all the Road Stars that were arriving. Yes, his nickname is Santa :) We exchanged hellos and hugs and laughter as we all got to know each other. We soon found ourselves across the street at a local pub for dinner, we filled the place up and I think overwhelmed the one waitress and the kitchen, as they were soon out of chicken wings. When walking back to the inn, were graced with a gorgeous rainbow that evening! Kickstands up at 8am the next morning for a tour of Devil's Tower and Deadwood. Keith was in the lead and I was riding shot gun. I think we had a total of 14 bikes, a good turnout! The day had lots of satisfaction in the photo op dept... at every stop, even the gas stops, there were multitudes of cameras suddenly snapping pictures. But we all agree that John gets the top vote for the official photographer of the Road Star All Stars Meet and Greet. Devil's Tower was first... from what I understand this rock formation is still a mystery to science. The gift shop had all the appropriate alien knick knacks. A ride through some beautiful twisting roads and suddenly we all pulled over for the Bridal Falls. I would love to ride this road early in the morning before the traffic starts... After having been solo for so many miles, it felt a little strange at first to be part of such a big pack. But then it was wonderful to simply relax and not be in charge :) We pulled into a quaint crossroads rest stop.... a little shop, where everyone chilled out a bit. I had a good old fashioned ice cream sandwich, a snack that I have decided is the perfect little pick me up on the road. From there, it was to Deadwood! Deadwood SD is another one of those great western towns that has become a tourist mecca. The downtown has the flavor of an old western gold rush town, with character actors playing their parts very seriously. We ate lunch at a saloon where the bar maid was dressed to the nines in her corset and hose. It was awesome. The day was getting on and the swimming pool was calling the big boys, so we headed back to Hot Springs for social hour. There were many threats of my getting thrown in the pool, but I am thankful that no one actually followed through. I think they took pity on me that I was still coughing. The next morning, dawned brightly, however, I did not. I emerged from my room, and told the boys that I was going to take a rest day, sent them off in search of Sturgis and went back to bed. It is amazing how much one can sleep after sleeping a full night!
I was due to leave early the next day, so we all went down the road to a restaurant called Wooly Mammoth's or something similar. They were expecting us, and had a couple of big tables reserved. We had a great time, reviewed the riding of the previous days, did lots of teasing, and laughed a lot between picture taking. For me, it was a great way to close out the time with these folks. It was a wonderful way to spend some easy and fun time in the middle of my tour.

I would be leaving early in the morning, so
got my stuff all packed and early to bed....
because the dawn was right around the corner.
...and Day 24 begins!

Day 20 - Tetons and Yellowstone

2010-07-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

This day was one of the ones that balances out the bad days.... It was raining early in the morning, but the sky looked bright off toward the parks. I waited a bit, enjoying my coffee and then left in a foggy mist. Jackson was so different when it was still sleeping, hardly a soul was out, compared to the high traffic the evening before.

In another couple of hours, it would be bustling again. I wanted to start early into the parks so that I could get a head start on traffic. The horizon ahead of me was peaceful and bright. The Grand Tetons are spectacular, angular and snow covered, as if shooting up toward the sky. So many mountains look as though they have settled in and these look as if they are wanting to reach higher. I entered the park and enjoyed the solitude of the morning, winding through and starting to climb in altitude, the air was cool on my face. In just a few miles, I saw a little traffic jam, indicating that there must be something to look at and the satisfaction was just about as great as seeing the Pacific Ocean. A grizzly bear was not too far off the road, rooting for breakfast. I pulled up behind another motorcycle and watched from about 50 feet away. Grizzly was down below the viewing platform, and we were off to the side. I was happily clicking away photos, letting my bike idle. I figured this would be a situation where leaving it on to idle would be better than the percussive noise to restart it. And I am glad I did... Grizzly started ambling toward me, still down off the road, but clearly walking my way. How exciting!! The ranger came over, telling us that it was too dangerous for us to be by the side of the road now. Grizzly was only 20 feet away! I rode away a very happy tourist. After that, the park had buffalo and elk all out eating breakfast. It was pretty cool, a few of the buffalo were grazing right at the road's edge. I passed a couple of signs stating I was on the Continental Divide... a term that I have heard all my life, but suddenly realized that I didn' t know what it meant. A quick Google search and I now know it is the divide where water either flows toward the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean. As I entered Yellowstone next, planning to ride the grand loop. I was looking forward to Old Faithful. When I planned this trip, I did not realize that Yellowstone was its location. (I know, I know... duh...) The parking area was tremendous... I puttered through the lot, looking to see how close I could get. It's always a dream and a challenge to park the bike in front of some important or beautiful place. I almost got it within sight distance! I was astounded by all the steam vents! They were everywhere, and some constantly puffed big clouds of steam, others sort of 'smoked'. I quoted that because it is not really smoke of course. The good news was, that I arrived just in time for the "any minute" warning for Old Faithful... I had no idea what to expect, so I stood there, camera ready, occasionally clicking a photo. When the geyser did go off, I turned around and asked the poor surprised woman behind me to snap a picture of me. She happily obliged, as most strangers do for me. The sights through the rest of the park were lovely... some wide vistas with buffalo grazing at the edge of the road, and some rocky gorges with the ever present river that I have found next to the roads here in the west. The two national parks finished, it was time to head toward Lander WY. It's funny, I have this picture that once out of a park, the road will simply turn into a flat interstate, as if the mountains and valleys were turned on and off. I had about 150 miles to ride and they were not flat... I have come to the conclusion, actually two, but this one is that Wyoming wins in terms of the varieties of roads and scenery. One can ride wide open plains or tiny little winding tree lined twisties. And everything in between... in one ride, it can be super hot and then later, shivery cold! The other conclusion I have come to is that the Subway chain of restaurants is the most prevalent chain in the US. I see them every day, many times a day. This is purely observation, but I would bet that I am correct. :) The last turn south toward Lander was delightful...the rocks suddenly became that deep red orange that is more associated with the south west. The colors of the landscape in the late afternoon sun were soft and warm, the grasses were a sage green with bright yellow green flowers on them. The whole picture made me think of food... curry to be exact, which I love. The colors spread out before me were all spice colors... just beautiful. The rocks had layers that were pastel stripes, one of them looked lavender in the late sun. I wished I could find a way to park my bike in the middle of one of these fields for a photo. The day had been partly about dodging raindrops. I almost succeeded! About a mile and a half before the motel, the sky darkened and poured....I hid out under the overhang in front of the motel office for a while and then had to resign myself to getting wet... I did find a place to stash DG so that she'd be mostly out of the rain. Got settled in my room and promptly fell asleep. I always thought I would have HOURS at the end of the rides to write my blog, but reality is, that I find that either a nap or just going to bed for the night is what I need. The room had a kitchenette with the most amazing appliance, a stove and a sink all in one. Never have I seen anything like this! It seemed kind of scary to me... I woke later on, and checked DG to make sure I had locked the ignition...when I opened the door I heard whooping and laughter, and banjos! I knew I was really far from home. Peering through the darkness toward the sound, I could see a group of people dancing in the night, it was almost as if spying on a Pagan ritual... in the morning, the truck with the 'just married' decorations told me the reason for the happy night dancing :)

It would be fun to say that this was the wedding truck, but it was not...
I simply loved the contrast against my bike..

This is the Pronghorn Lodge in Lander WY... look at the decor

and the investment in the sculpture (this is only one of them)...

they just don't do this out east!!

Day 18- also known as I Lost a Day in the Badlands and Day 19- Across Idaho

2010-07-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti and the Badlands...

WHAT do they have in common?
So, back to that little bit of foreshadowing of the previous post..

I had been craving a good old fashioned plate of spaghetti and sauce.
I’m not a fancy girl, just marinara, grated cheese and some bread for dipping and I'm a happy camper.
Got checked into my motel in Bend, OR and set out in search of pasta.

There were mostly fast food joints, a couple of Chinese and Mexican eateries, but no Italian. I decided that maybe sort of fast food spaghetti would not be the end of the world, so I stopped into Pizza Hut. A frustrating couple of minutes of go around with a young man who could not think beyond the printed menu, where everything had meat on it. His solution was to offer me ziti with Alfredo sauce. Thanks, but no thanks....this girl wants marinara.

Puttered up the street a bit more, accepting the fact that my wish would probably not be granted tonight, and pulled into a cute place, called Black Bear Diner. I sat in a booth, inhaled 2 tall glasses of ice water and found of all things, spaghetti on the menu! I will have that please.

I went to bed that night, feeling very much as though I had eaten WAY too much…. I had been eating such light meals, this was a lot heavier, so that was my reasoning. Woke up a few hours later in agony! My body was really angry with me, both ends fighting for the toilet. (there is just no other way to put it) Who knew that marinara sauce could be so bad?

I suffered for a few hours, feeling really helpless and shaky, but I had settled a bit and decided to try to move to my next landing spot, 259 miles down the road. At about 9AM, Dirty Girl packed, I somehow got my leg over the bike and started on my way. I figured I could just make frequent stops, and get there slowly and surely.

HAHAHAHAHA

I soon passed a sign that read “Entering Oregon Badlands, no fuel for 100 miles” (by the way, this is the only photo I took this day..lol)

Who knew Oregon had Badlands? Miles upon miles upon miles of flat, scrubby, olive green landscape. I had a full tank, and pushed onward. I was doing ok. About 75 miles into it, there was a rest area, and stopped, thinking it would be a good idea. Ohhhhh…. Bad idea! Once I got off the bike, I realized just how weak and woozy I was. All snugged into my saddle, I was just holding steady, and did not notice the wobbly. Dragged my feet to the restroom, and once out, it was all I could do to find a shady patch of grass and collapse on it. I promptly fell asleep for an hour or so….thinking, ‘this is not good’… but I was still kind of chuckling, because to me, it had to have looked so comical. I had all my gear on still. And my thoughts kept drifting to... "I should have had the ziti with Alfredo sauce"

I pried my eyes open, the sun had moved onto my face. I shifted more into the shade and decided that I needed help. There was no way I was going to make it another 150 miles. It was not even noon… there I am, splayed out in the middle of the grass in the Oregon Badlands, wondering what the heck I was going to do. If I had a tent on my bike, I would have pitched it right there and slept until a state trooper shooed me off. Thankfully, I had a signal on my phone! I sent a message out asking for help, that I needed my room canceled in Mountain Home Idaho, and a new room booked as soon as possible. The answer came back, 30 miles away, the Days Inn would let me check me in early. I wobbled back to my bike, found the motel, thanked the owner profusely for allowing me to check in early. In less than 10 minutes, I was in bed, and fell asleep, not caring that my schedule was now off by a day.

The next 12 hours were fitful sleep… I don’t think I have ever had food poisoning before..UGH. Finally, at about midnight, it lifted, a relief that was so sudden, I nearly danced! I fell asleep heavily for another hour and woke up, deciding to make an early start, to make up the miles.
It was only 200 miles, 3 extra hours, maybe 4 tops.

Oh look...we are on Day 19, back to the land of the living!

I opened the door, and the world was so quiet at 3AM!

There was my bike, right where I had abandoned her, and a giant bug on my doorstep. Eeeeewwww. They don't grow anywhere near this big back in New England. I should have laid a quarter next to it to show the size. UCK.

I got the bike loaded and started off into the darkness of the morning…. A beautiful crescent moon hanging in the sky...impossible for me to photograph by the way.

Riding in predawn hours, I was very cautious, scanning the distance back and forth for wildlife that might dash out in front of my bike. (one of my biggest fears) Jack was showing the road to be straight and wide open, and in the day light, I would have made fast time on it. However, I kept the speeds down, thinking that I needed to not tempt fate here. I was choosing to go as the Tortoise and get there safely.

Riding into the sunrise was lovely! The horizon was turning a deep rich orange, silhouetting the mountains against it. I have heard riders talk of loving to ride at in the solitude of the night, and I can understand why.

Once the sun rose, (slightly blinding) I picked up the pace to the speed limit, and by 9AM, I had made up the time lost from the day before. Finally, I got out of Oregon, the state was seeming to be really huge to me by this time. My stops were only ’gas and go’…. no dilly dallying! The few photos I took, I left the bike running, jumped off and then back on. (look how dirty the windshield is!)

Idaho is much as I expected. Rolling ranch lands, with names like Mountain Home, Bliss, Magic Valley, makes me think that for the people that settled the state, they really must have felt like they had reached a heavenly place.

And then I saw this exit... in the middle of Idaho? It made me giggle....

As the miles clunked away, I planned on a fuel stop at the next exit. The low fuel light was on, I had 130 miles on my tank. And surprise of surprises, there was a ton of paving! The next exit was closed! I could see two gas stations, at the top of the hill... just taunting me. A sign stated, "43 miles until the next fuel." This is going to be interesting I thought... I have always wondered just how many miles will run my tank empty. I was not overly worried, some quick calculations of the basic kind told me that it would cut really close, but I am carrying two fuel cannisters that will buy me about 20 miles. So I should be ok.

In American Falls, Idaho, I fueled up my tank with 4.92 gallons. The tank holds 5 gallons, never have I put so much in! I had 176 miles on the tank, so now I know, at highway speeds when I will run out of fuel. Gonna tuck that in my pocket and save it :)

I finally saw signs for Jackson WY, and the big stony guys looming again in the distance.

I no longer asked if I was going to go through them, I'm an old pro now, I know the answer is yes. AND I know that those ominous clouds looming off to the side will probably get me wet. It's always the way of the motorcyclist! I had Jackson in my sights, it was only 15 minutes more... and the clouds opened up with the biggest fattest most painful raindrops I have ever felt! I kept looking in my mirror because I was convinced that the one that smacked me on my lower lip made it bleed.

Pulled into Jackson, followed Jack's instructions and hmmm... Jack had the wrong address. Around the block a few times, a couple of phone calls to the Pony Express Motel, and I finally arrived. A very very adorable motel, if you ever find yourself in Jackson Hole WY!

The cottonwood trees were shedding their fluff, it was almost like it was snowing, the sky was full of it!

The town itself, I thought was going to be busy, but was in no way prepared for the level of tourist excitement it held! I wished I had a few more days to hang out there. The artwork everywhere was beautiful...

I walked the square, full of galleries, sculptures and shops...

lusted after a far too expensive fringed leather bag with a peace sign on it. :)

I took this pic for my mom... she adores bears. hahahaha!

Ended the day with a bowl of hot soup, then plugged in my ipod fell asleep early. It was a beezy day!

:)

Day 17- Daily Gifts

2010-07-08T01:12:00.001-07:00

There is always a moment when waking, remembering where I am. Today, waking to the sounds of the ocean made me smile....I was still in my dream. :)

Although I was told that there was wifi at this motel, it was such a weak signal that my laptop could not grab it. Normally, I would have been highly annoyed, but it was one of those blessings in disguises. It truly afforded the down time to just bee at the ocean...

I was surprised how bright the water was so early in the morning and how bright it was so late the night before. Actual darkness seems short out here on the coast. I brewed a pot of coffee in my room, it smelled heavenly! The door was open still and I was actually pretty cold when I woke up, but it did not bother me. I put on a fleecy and began to gather my things up for the day.

It was foggy this morning... I mean, pea soup fog. I was riding slowly, amazed at how limited the sight distance was! At one point, I had to stop because my glasses and windshield were all coated with mist, a double hindrance for that important sense. I only had about 25 miles of coastline left to ride, and had planned on some scenic photos, but when the backdrop is thick, there is no sense in it really. I had about 200 miles to ride, to Bend Oregon for a 1pm appt oil change at Cascade Harley Davidson. Jack said I would arrive right on time.

Again, it struck me as to just how beautiful the Oregon coast is! I would probably ride this road as daily exercise if I lived out here! When the road climbs the seaside mountains, it is just so damn fun! I think I giggled a few times before reaching Florence, the official point at which I turned my bike toward home. The ride home will still have adventures, but I will be on the return leg.

My immediate impression about the Oregon landscape as I moved inland, was that it reminded me of thick sculpted emerald green velvet. Everywhere I looked it was plush with deep color... the road, as often in my trip, ran along a river. My impulse was to step up the speed and get into a fast paced rhythm, having gotten quite used to the high speed limits of Montana, but I kept it in check as 55 was the top speed limit here. It was actually difficult not to think, "this is going to take me forever!" Life must move along a little slower in Oregon.

Looking down at my odometer, I could see the 5000 mile mark approaching! How exciting! This falls into the category of one of life's simple pleasures, to watch the tenths of miles tick off and suddenly all the zeros. Of course, I took a photo.

At the moment this happened, I passed by a rustic little store/post office. It had the town name and zip code on the facade... how perfect! I turned around, parked the Dirty Girl in a good photo op position and went inside to ask for assistance. There were snacks on the shelves and then a seating area toward the back, where everyone was socializing. A young woman jumped up, pleased to take my photo. We went back inside, I wrote down my blog address, because I told her that her store would be in it. As we were chatting, I spied a box of Fig Newtons. "oooh Fig Newtons!" We decided that Fig Newtons qualify as breakfast or lunch. And it was one of those handy single serving boxes... you know, the single sleeve of cakes :) It was a good thing I was riding because these go down very easily and the whole sleeve would have disappeared. After a little snack, I was on my way.

After riding through Eugene, Jack told me to bear right onto the Mackenzie Pass/Santiam Pass. I had passed a sign a while back stating that there was no fuel for 50 miles. I had plenty and motored up the scenic byway. The road was again, as many have been, a perfect biker's road. The turns sometimes were very tight, and hairpin as I felt the elevation climb. 2000 feet... 4000 feet... the pines were some of the tallest I have ever seen! I tried to capture them, but like many instances, photos don't do the actual experience justice. I felt itty bitty as I rode down these winding wooded corridors... they felt familiar, as if I had seen them before. Then it dawned on me, that these woods were right out of any fairy tale. I would not have been surprised in the least to have seen Goldilocks skipping off down a path, or Robin Hood and his Merry Men galloping by.

I noticed that the landscape was changing ever so slightly... skeletons of trees, mixed with new ones made me wonder how long ago there had been a forest fire. Suddenly, I rounded a corner, near the crest at 5000 feet, and what was in front of me was so astoundingly unexpected that I lost my rhythm and wobbled the bike... for miles in every direction were black lava fields, frozen in time. I have seen one ages ago, maybe in AZ, but I was immersed in it right now. The road still wound and twisted upward, the rough black rocks high on either side like snowbanks would be in New England. It was amazing.

Off to my right, were the majestic Three Sisters Mountains, snowcapped and brilliantly contrasted against the black landscape, dotted with the grey tree skeletons. I parked the bike, and balanced my camera on a pile of loose lava rocks to take a timed photo.

I had no idea I would be encountering this... I have been teased about over planning this trip, but the only part of this ride that I like to get set into stone is my route and my stop point. After that, I have been open to what is between start and finish. This truly has been one of my trips most surprising gifts.

At the crest of the mountain, was a visitor center, a viewing platform, made totally out of lava stones as bricks. The workers were busily carving sidewalks through the lava field.

It looked like it will eventually be a learning center. The road descended after this and I looked at Jack and my arrival time in Bend Oregon. Before my vacation, I called and booked a 1pm oil change at Cascade Harley Davidson. I was due to arrive at 1:30, not bad to be only a half hour late after riding 5000 miles! I was pretty damned pleased with myself, especially with the few setbacks I had along the way.

They were back logged and I was told it would be a couple of hours wait. So I passed the time by chatting with the sales team, the owner and one pretty cool guy who just finished the Hoka Hey Challenge. A rally/race from Florida to Alaska. This dealership has a big room to hang out in, probably for use of HOG chapter meetings and promotional events. A few tables, big sofas and a giant TV. I walked in there to put my stuff down. There were about a dozen older men occupying the sofas, watching monster trucks on the Speed channel. They looked up as I walked in and then without acknowledgment, went back to talking amongst themselves. I sat for a few minutes, then got up to investigate the bulletin boards, at one point, smiled at one of the men. Again, nothing. So I went in search of friendlier faces, out on the sales floor.

When I was paying my bill, I asked the owner if that was the local HOG group in the break room. He said no, they were travelers, like myself, from AZ. I said, "well, you can tell them if it comes up that they are THE most unfriendly group of bikers I have ever met...why this is, that they think they are too good for a little human contact is beyond me." (yes, I am a social butterfly and love to talk to people in case you have not noticed!)

Well, in about 5 minutes, one of the men suddenly approached me, all friendly and smiling, "where are you traveling from? We are far away from home ourselves, from AZ." I wonder if he saw the amusement in my face, as I quickly answered his question and told him to ride safely. I looked at the service manager and said, "me thinks that someone already got scolded!"

I was on my way, found my hotel not too far down the road and went in search of something I had been craving for a few days... a plate of good ol' fashioned spaghetti. I found it at the Black Bear Diner, a totally tacky overly decorated family place...everything bear. Ate heartily and went back to my room to rest for the night.

I think after the few days prior, this meal was a bit too heavy and I went to bed with a bit of a tummy ache, thinking that I need to pay more attention to getting less heavy meals on the road.

(ooooohhhh the foreshadowing!)

Day 16- Dreams Sometimes Do Come True!

2010-07-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

There is no blog entry for Day 15, as I was told to go to bed by Patrick's wife, Cindy. She did not have to twist my arm, and I was thankful for the port in this storm to recuperate!

Day 16... I call them by the day numbers because I have no idea what the actual day of the week is anymore. I think this is the true measure of being on vacation.

A little shakily, I loaded up the Dirty Girl once again, eager to get on the road. I knew that once I was moving, I would shake that having slept for 24 hours feeling. It was 7:15am, my earliest start since Day 1, so yes... I was eager to roll!

Today was THE day. As I rode away from Mt Ranier, my excitement about seeing the Pacific Ocean was palpable...my heart would beat faster when I thought about it. One thing I did differently about this leg of the trip, was that I did not book a motel ahead of time. I was going to try the Free and Easy way... ride until I felt like stopping and see where I land. I figured there would be plenty of places along the coast and because I had a dream of hearing the waves while I slept, I felt I had to see the motel first. I discovered that I am not very good at this, I spent FAR too much time fussing about where to stop and I am sure I missed out on some good sights.

So anyway... back to ride. In quick time, I started seeing the landscape change to a seascape. The wet areas became marshy and tidal, the trees got scrubby. Soooo excited! I turned south on the coast highway and almost immediately saw a sea stack, a large rock formation looming not far off the beach. I had learned of these years ago and put them on my list to see. This is one of the only places in the world where they exist.

The road along the coast was sublime from a motorcyclist's point of view. Nicely kept, great winding curves and at times tight twists as it would climb a mountain. I was not expecting such mountains along the coast! I had the best of all my favorite situations... the ocean off to my side, peeking in amongst the trees, the road winding along with not too much traffic and the salt air. I could not get much better than this!

And then it did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sign that said, "Soup and Bread". This deserved investigation, so I turned around to find a funky place called the Art Cafe. I had a most delicious and hearty lunch of tomato basil soup, caesar salad and rosemary bread, served in such a way that I squealed with delight...

Onward toward Florence, the official end point for my coastal ride before turning eastward. I had decided that anything south of Newport would be a good place to land and the balance of the coast would be added to tomorrow's ride.

And so began the slowing waaaay down when riding by a motel... hmmmmm......nope. Riding for a few miles and doing it again.... nope. This was not going to be easy. Finally, around a corner, a motel sign popped up and I rode by it, going too fast to safely pull in. Turned around and went in to investigate. It was a simple motel, outside entrances to the rooms, I knew the ocean was on the other side. I asked how much, and it was in the 3 digit range. Dayum, that was more than I wanted to spend! But... it was probably the average for that area so I took the room.

Parked and unloaded, went upstairs and opened the door to the room of my dreams! I was looking at a sliding glass door with a balcony, overlooking the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. It just did not get any better than this :)

In short time, I was walking on the beach in my pjs, barefoot in the sand, picking up little beach rocks....tiny stones, worn smooth, the kind that feel really good when you idly play with them in your fingers.

Soon, I had a pocketful of little stones, one piece of yellow sea glass and a very worn piece of shell with orange stripes on it, my plan is to give one to each person that gave me a special token to travel with. The wind was wildly blowing and my hair was happily obliging. I surrendered control of it, and it felt wonderful! For the past two weeks, it has been tightly braided down my back. I felt completely in my element, in all its unkempt nature.

Sleep that night was magical. That is the best word.... I watched the sun set on the Pacific, while lying in bed, listening to the surf crash on the beach. It was my heaven, and now I felt as though I could turn home, completely satisfied. Those few hours were worth all the shivering and illness that I had been through the days prior.

I got a chuckle as I poked around the room, opened the notebook lying on the desk and saw instructions: "what to do if you feel an earthquake" and "what to do if you hear a tsunami siren".
Thankfully, it was a quiet night :)

Tomorrow I turn my wheels back toward the east.

Day 14- 4th of July

2010-07-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

If I were to ask myself why I am willing to ride such distances, and at times muscle through tough conditions, the answer is because I love it. It is the same reason that my mom is willing to put a 45 pound backpack on her back and hike through the woods for days on end, sometimes in the sun, and others in the pouring rain. The funny thing is, that I hate riding in the car. Three hours and I am done, I want out. But I can spend all day on my bike, whether it is sunny, rainy, or windy... willing to suffer through road construction and traffic jams. I get to my destination, am thrilled and thankful to be out of the saddle and rest, and the next morning, I get back on my bike as if it was Day One. :)

The 4th of July dawned brightly in Winthrop Washington. Patrick and I were headed to his home, south of Seattle via the Cascade Mountains. The weather was okay to start, it never really rained on us, but became chilly and dark, clouds hanging very low on the mountains blocking most scenic vistas.

Although still beautiful, I did not stop for the overlooks, because again, there was not much viewing to do that was different from while I was in motion. The road was gorgeous, a winding river almost always at one side.

There were numerous waterfalls tumbling by the roadside, keeping with the name of the Cascades.Patrick and I rode about 120 miles, stopped for fuel and a cup of coffee (and an out of order restroom). He looked at me and said, "well we can continue on this road, it doesn't look to get any better though, or jump on the slab and head to my house." I am not above knowing when to say 'uncle', and opted for the direct route.

Poor Jack was so confused! I had two more towns as way points on this leg of the trip, and Jack spent the next hour and a half trying to get me to turn around and go back. I have the gps set to give me an arrival time and if we had stayed on course, it would have been about 3pm. Usually, Jack will give up trying to get me to a way point and continue on the route to the next one if it looks like I have gone past it. But this time, he never caught on and failed to switch to the direct route to Patrick's house. The arrival time kept getting later as the route was calculated by my going back to that gas station and picking up. Right up until I pulled into Patrick's driveway, poor Jack was trying to get me to make a U-turn!

Slamming down the highway, the landscape suddenly became urban. What a shock it was to me, having just spent so many days in the wilderness!

Pretty soon we pulled into a neighborhood and landed at Patrick's home. I was greeted by a warm hug from his wife Cindy, and this wonderful face of Mariah.... a delightfully joyful pit bull who's goal in life is to obviously wag her tail and snort in happiness. Her heart shaped head and sweet eyes melt me every time I look at her and get a kiss.

The other 4 legged family member was not very happy when we arrived... a giant wolf mix of a teddy bear, named Farroch, was very upset with the fireworks that were constantly going off in the neighborhood. He spent most of the evening with a very worried look on his face.

Patrick's daughter Heather, a trained chef, was cooking dinner. Heather is gorgeous, funny and full of energy, with long hot pink fingernails, tattoos and piercings. She was a joy to watch while she prepared the meal, and putting her mom, Cindy to work as her sous chef.

We had a most glorious meal, cooked in my honor.... Salmon, lots of veggies, bread and to die for sweet potato pie with amaretto whipped cream. It was amazing in its own right, but after a couple of weeks of road food, it tasted even more glorious!

The unfortunate underlying thread throughout this whole day was that my health was going downhill. I hated to admit it, that my body was going to over rule any riding decisions over the next 24 hours. I went to bed with an obvious fever, had a dose of Theraflu, and fell to sleep with the sights and sounds of fireworks going off right outside my bedroom window. They went on for hours, all shot off by homeowners in the neighborhood. I was sick enough to be able to fall to sleep with the blasts.

I have decided to take Day 15 and stay in bed. I am trying not to be too distressed about this! The decision was really not difficult, but it is not without sadness, as the reason for my whole trip has been to visit Puget Sound and Port Townsend. Anyone who knows me and this area has told me that I would love Port Townsend. It is located north of here and would require a day in itself to visit.... but something has to 'give' in this decision. The desire to ride along the Pacific coastline has won. And so, I am here, trying my hardest to cook this crap out of my lungs and sinuses so that the second half of my trip is stress free. I still am in disbelief that I have gotten sick.... I am one of those people who seemingly never gets sick, but when I do, I do it with gusto. You can only imagine how annoyed I am with myself right now!

My next trip will have more items in my first aid kit, and better decisions made about the daily mileage. Retrospectively, I should have left 3 days earlier to allow for rest, and so now, my trip is suffering because of it.

I am thankful for the warmth and caring of my friends along the way, and those at home who are watching over me. There will be no SPOT to track today, because it will just show me in bed. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A message to Mike Hamlet (currently serving in Iraq) and all of those who are serving and have served our country here and abroad...

My thanks to you for the freedom to be able to travel safely through this beautiful country of ours! Blessings on you all and come home safely, please.

Day 13

2010-07-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

The day dawned much like a few others had, very cloudy.
The weather report was telling me that there would be sunshine in my future, and forever the optomist, I dressed for a warm sunny day.

I woke up to a clean bike, all those years of thinking that the shoemaker's elves were a fantasy, suddenly vanished and I totally believe that they exist now! I arrived in Colville WA with my bike being the dirtiest I have ever seen it. Surprise of all surprises, I had encountered some road paving along the way there and the big sign that stated, "motorcycles use extreme caution" was an understatement. About a quarter mile of deep muddy puddles, I have never ridden anything like that! Forget about trying to navigate around them, there were just too many. Once again, in my head I heard the mantra that has brought me through many a hazard, "hang on and go hang on and go...." It is cases like this that braking will equal failure. I keep wishing for that dirt bike experience, but I never thought it would be with my heavy cruiser. Needless to say, my Dirty Girl was the muddiest I have ever seen her and I was very appreciative of the bath she got.

Ranger also took care of my missing highway peg issue and transferred the passenger pegs to the front. Thank goodness for the gift of a tool kit before I left on my trip! This is the second time it has been used. I will never ride without one after this. :)

This little motel has my favorite continental breakfast so far, not because of the food but because of the atmosphere. How can you NOT love a giant fishtail inches above the toaster?

While getting ready to go, I chatted with the other motel guests.... a couple of little kids who grinned pretty big when I offered a seat on my bike,

and I think this big friendly dog named Harley was grinning too.
Notice my lovely hairdo... and that Harley's is the same color!

One more photo op by the cool sculpture in the center of town, this time from the side that Ranger called "Looking for Bee", and I was on my way to Winthrop WA.

I am still very much under the weather and was looking forward to the little gift of a short riding day and good weather. Only 160 miles to go today, to meet up with Patrick, who lives south of Seattle. He rode up to meet me and ride back to his house. The day is promising to be a beauty!

Route 20 was highly recommended by more than one biker, and I soon understood why. Sweeping twisting roads along a riverbank, the kind that bikers all love... the rhythm of the leans back and forth through the curves becomes like breathing, and with the right pace there is no braking and shifting.... just leaning and breathing.

The landscape along this road is just what I expected from Washington. Tall pines on both sides, that smelled so well, piney.... clean and crisp. The thought went through my head that it is no wonder this smell is chosen for so many cleaners. It is funny what thoughts will shoot through ones head as associations pop up along the way. I have decided on my next tour that I must have some sort of voice activated recorder while I ride because most of the time, the brilliant thoughts are fleeting! I think I will remember all the town names, like Twisp and Tonasket, but most of the time I do not.

The landscape opened up to what I am going to call ranch type land. I was caught off guard by how the color went from the deep forest greens to an over all olive drab color. It was not what I expected for northern Washington!

This landscape was dotted with small ranches and lots of trailer homes, nearly all of them with horse corrals. In the distance, the snowcapped mountains showed up, clear and dark against the light landscape I was riding in. Again, I wondered... "will I be riding through those?" Patrick has informed me that yes we will. I am pretty sure those are the Cascade Mountains. I will dress accordingly today, because they look chilly. I think I need to be done with chilly riding, as I have not been able to get myself over the hump of whatever is brewing in my chest and I get cold easily.

I arrived at the Inn around 3pm and found a shady spot on the grass to relax. Patrick showed up an hour later.

We have been friends online for a few years and it was nice to meet him! We chatted with other bikers as we parked our bikes, got settled in our rooms, and then decided to go downtown. Winthrop is adorable! I don't know if that is an adjective that they would necessarily have chosen, but I like it.

Winthrop looks like an old western town, all the facades have that saloon look to them, the sidewalk is elevated and wooden, with an overhang. I was enjoying all of this, totally sucked into the tourist element of it all!

The highlight of my night, was a little gift shop called Retro Pony.
Occasionally in my life I meet people that in the simplest of terms, click with me. The owner and silver smith, Jenny Tissell is one of those. I so wish I had my camera! We spoke of my trip, about owning a store, about jewelry and a bit about seemingly magical connections. Something had caught my eye in her window and what I left with was completely different.... how could I NOT buy this?

And then right before I was ready to leave, Jenni said to me, "let me see how this bracelet fits your wrist." While we were talking, I had been looking at her silver jewelry and had fondled a little leather bracelet with a silver heart. Jenni gifted this bracelet to me and suddenly I knew what my customers feel like because I will do that with them. I gave Jenni a huge hug and thanked her for the blessing on my trip... Patrick and I left her store and he said "I see you met your sister."
I laughed out loud because this is exactly how I would describe it.

Then Patrick and I had a delicious meal at Three Fingered Jack's Saloon. FINALLY, I went to a saloon!! I was beginning to think that my trip out west would be lacking of this experience. There are just not any saloons at home
We have pubs.

All in all, a great riding day!
Here's to hoping that tomorrow is a beautiful day and that my cold has lifted.

thanks for reading and riding along with me in spirit
xo
Bee

Day 12 - Entering the PacNW

2010-07-03T04:34:00.000-07:00

Today dawned dark and rainy...the only reason I know that it actually dawned was because the clock told me so. I still feel fairly under the weather, wishing that this cold was in my head and not my chest, head colds are easier to live with and ignore.

I had what looked to be a fairly easy ride ahead of me, 282 miles to land in Colville, WA. As it turns out by a huge coincidence, a good friend who has been moving all around the west for contracting jobs was planted exactly in my path at a good place to stop for the night. It would be a welcome respite to socialize for an evening.

As I packed my junk up into the bags, switching out my jackets from my mesh to my foul weather jacket that I call my flak jacket, and my full face helmet, I was trying not to pay attention to that sluggishness that one gets when fighting a cold. I knew that once I got going I would be fine. It was carrying the gear out to the bike and loading it that was the most work. A fellow was having a smoke outside the motel and I asked him to take the photo of the start of my day.

The day was cold, it was not long before I was chilled.... I quickly calculated that I could make this run with only 2 stops for gas and restroom, I usually don't run a whole tank of gas before stopping, but my agenda today did not include sightseeing. I was a bee on a mission!
I had one thing happen though, at the gas stop, I went to put the chaps on my engine guards and noticed that one of my highway pegs was missing. How could I have lost a chunk of metal off my bike and not noticed it?
Ranger will see if we can transfer my passenger pegs forward for the rest of the ride.

So, not many photos today... however, I can easily tell you how the scenery looked. Draw a 3x4" box on a piece of paper, go get your box of crayons and choose the medium gray one. Color the box in.... there you have it. That is exactly what the landscape looked like for miles! Occasionally it would begin to break and tease me, a little glimpse of the sun would come through, but then the road would turn into the mountains again and the rain as well.

The road was actually quite spectacular, on a good day, I could have doubled my ride time on it by stopping at the scenic overlooks. Today, I glanced in the directions of them and nodded in appreciation, even if the view was super cloudy, it was pretty. I left at 8am and was making really good time. Jack keeps track of my arrival time, and he was telling me that I would be pulling in Colville at 2pm and I was thrilled at watching that time approach, getting psyched to stop and rest for a chunk of time and recoup.

But the I crossed the Pacific time line and I lost an hour. I am quite positive that many people probably heard the cry of disbelief as I realized I needed to ride another cold shivery hour. Sooooo bummed!

Arrival in Colville was to this:

Ranger has sweet talked the owner of the transmission place to do it. I was tickled :) The guys all told me that the parade had been canceled because of rain though. I told them that it was the thought that counted.

This motel is a fairly basic motor inn, with each room having a exit to the outdoors. However, the lobby is unlike any I have seen... I think the motel supports the owner's hobby... would you agree?

Colville is a tiny town, we took a walk from one end of the downtown to the other, a simple downtown but with a lot of pride... every lamp post has a laser cut metal sculpture on it. They are fun to see how different each one is. You can see another one in the sign photo.

And then there is this sculpture in the town square. How could I resist not doing the tourist thing and jumping into it for a photo? :)

We ate an early supper at a nice restaurant...and got one more silly photo. The 10 year old boy in me has this desire to drive a backhoe someday. It did not take much prodding for me to climb into this little one for a photo :)

All in all, not a bad day...started off tough but ended on a good easy note
and a long night's sleep.
Just what everyone ordered for me.

Day 11 - Adjustments

2010-07-02T03:59:00.000-07:00

A bright sky was a welcome sight!

The ride from Livingston to Kalispell MT was uneventful, pretty much the slab (as we bikers call it) the whole way. I did have an argument with Jack at one point, for some reason he wanted to take me on a tour of a neighborhood off I90 in Butte. It took me almost 7 miles of riding to get myself straightened out because I was buried in a business district and could not see the highway. It was my fault, when planning the trip, I had inadvertently added a funky waypoint. So, I took the opportunity to stop at Thunderbolt Harley Davidson to say hi and look at their tee shirts.
As I left, the sales dude said to me, "have a great and safe trip, kiddo." It struck me funny because a handful of people call me 'kiddo'... I wonder why that is? :)

In 350 miles, I am amazed at how much the landscape changed... It went from plains, (I finally learned that they are plains and not fields),

to rolling hills.... I loved this field of yellow flowers, it glowed!

to places where the rocks got really interesting looking...piled up high with trees growing out of them,

to rolling hills covered with pine trees on one side of the highway and sparsely planted on the other. This fascinated me, it went on for miles. All I could think was that one side maybe had a forest fire at one point?
On my left....

and on my right, directly across the highway....

And then right around the corner, the hills became mountains, with the road carving through tall stone corridors. The highway speed in Montana is 70-75 mph. It was so much fun to be flying through these curves!

I only made stops for gas and restrooms, except for one photo op of the glacial mountains. These were bound to be my destination for the next leg of the ride!

Got to my hotel, a beautiful new La Quinta with a giant fluffy bed and a millions poofy pillows. It was 4pm and in less than 10 minutes, I was in bed taking a nap and it felt sooo good! I thought I was getting better, but my throat is still very angry with me and I get coughing when I talk. I guess it is a blessing in disguise, that being on a solo ride, I don't talk much and so the coughing is remaining at a minimum for now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Into every road trip a little rain must fall...

After a fitful sleep, I made the decision that I really need to cut Glacier National Park out of my ride. The weather forecast is for rain and then thunderstorms....and I am not up to my game to undertake another day like Beartooth. Sadly, I rewrote my route. The saving grace is that I have a friend not too far from here in WA and will get there and relax for a bit, making for 2 days of a slower pace and hopefully some recuperation.

It's all part of the adventure!

*cough cough*

See you tonight :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late addition:
It is pounding rain this morning...
I enter the day with all my guardian angels gathered around me
and all the well wishes of my family and friends.

Day 10 - Beartooth Pass

2010-07-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

When I went to sleep in Cody, with the gentle sounds of the air conditioner and the sweet horse whinnies, I had no idea what was in store. I woke to the loudest howling gales I have ever heard in my life! Ran to the door and opened it to immediately get a mouthful of sand.... the parking lot was blurry with the clouds of grit flying around. I was seriously afraid for my bike, that it would get blown over. Back inside, put on my motorcycle boots and not bothering to lace them, I went in the gales. My hair was being whipped all around my head and face as I got on and put the bike into neutral to move it. It was difficult...my left boot needs new tread on the bottom, I could hardly grab the kickstand to pull it up, while my right foot was slipping in the gravel with the bike swaying in the wind. I would love to have seen this all on video! Into neutral and I muscled the bike under the overhang in front of my door.

I don't know if this actually would have helped anything or not,
but it made me feel a little better.

I opened the door in the morning with the expectation of some sort of damage from the night, but all was quiet. I did chuckle because it looked like my bike wanted to come inside.

Bike loaded, I headed toward Chief Joseph Highway. Today was going to be the highlight of my trip, I was sure!

I was not disappointed in this road, the views were spectacular, the switchbacks were a ball and I found a place to stop and have a cup of coffee and a warm cinnamon roll. Another rider was there eating breakfast and we struck up a conversation about seeing the country. Don was in the area for a class reunion and took a couple of days to run the roads that are a Mecca for motorcyclists.

With a big smile, I turned onto Beartooth Pass and headed toward Red Lodge MT...49 miles of what was promised to me to be an amazing experience. It was! In the early morning, there was not much traffic as I climbed... feeling the temps quickly falling as I started to pass patches of snow on the ground. Toward the top, there were still areas of snowbanks.

I was quite chilly, but loving the feeling of the cold air being forced into my lungs. Near the peak, you will never guess what I came across.....
*rolls eyes*
.... more paving.
Since I was parked for a while, a photo op presented itself!

Nothing takes the fun out of sweet twisties more than having to follow a pace car at 15 mph. A few miles of this and a lot of dirt roads to ride, and it opened up toward Red Lodge.... a sweet historic town. I puttered the main street, my original plan was to stop here for a few hours and rest. But I am fighting being sick right now and just did not have the energy to do it. So I gassed up and decided to make a run for my stop point, which was in MT, via back through Beartooth.
Jack, (remember, my gps) was telling me that my arrival would be about 4:10. I was planning to get stopped early and sleep this thing off if I could.
So, turned back into Beartooth, and ahead of me the sky was turning ominous...

Holy crap.... I was about to be challenged one more time. These western thunderstorms are scary! I had my mesh pants on, so I only put on my rain jacket. The rain drops were big and hurt, the visibility was instantly down to just a few yards...the next 48 miles were going to be work.

Sitting at the top, freezing my butt off, waiting for the pace car.

I don't mind work though. But add in the icy rain to the mix and I started shivering...the tight turns were taken very slowly, without the sight line to turn, I pretty much took the turns like I had learned to ride the bike last week. Those of you who ride know what I am talking about, pretty darn vertical turns. How depressing! But better safe than sorry, the newly paved roads near the summit had no guardrails and now I was on the outside lane.
Of course the timing for the paving at the top was bad.... of course!! About 20 minutes of sitting in the rain, shivering my butt off, trying to will the thunderstorm to move somewhere else. Did I mention how big the lightning and how loud the thunder are?
FINALLY the pace car showed up and I will admit... I was happy to follow it like a beacon down the curves. As the altitude decreased, the temps rose and there was an occasional break in the clouds. I have never been so happy to feel the sun! What a difference a few miles makes on a thunderstorm, as I reached the end of Beartooth Pass and headed into the north part of Yellowstone, I was warming up. It is difficult at best to steer a bike when the front wheel is wobbling because I was uncontrollably shivering!
Entering Yellowstone, the sun was strong and I warmed up.
And I got a big treat... saw my first buffalo!

With a speed limit of 45 through the park, it was easy riding with one hand on the camera. It is funny how the buffalo and the boulders look identical from a distance. I would get my camera ready for the big one on the right... and find that it was a buffalo shaped rock.
The ride through was quick, I will be back to Yellowstone next week to see the interior of it. Now, I wanted to get to Livingston MT to sleep.
I had about 40 miles ahead of me, and thought I was in for a quick easy ride....but the Goddess of Nature was not done with me yet. I think my name was pulled out of her hat this morning to be picked on. I learned how it feels to ride through the winds that pushed through Cody last night. I was riding along and suddenly was hit with a head wind that cut my speed by 20 mph instantly! Not so bad, I can deal with a headwind...but no, of course there is more. Crosswinds, determined to push my bike off the highway or into the other lane were relentless!
More than once today, my mortality crossed my mind as I pondered how small I am in comparison with the elements of nature. I actually think this is a good lesson for all of us to learn.
By the time I reached my motel last night, my body was wound up so tightly that it hurt to sit up and get off the bike. I did not realize that I had hunkered down behind the fairing so much. I arrived at about 5:30, the weather had added over an hour. Grabbed a sandwich from Subway which was like heaven to me, just across the parking lot...wolfed it down and went to bed, with some slight worry that I just may have to alter my route to be able to sleep in for a day. This would mean taking Glacier Park out of my trip. But if I had to, of course, I would do it....I am not going to ride when ill, not fun and not safe. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, I woke up to feeling much better, like a fever had broken through. Still have a cough, but I will be okay.

Headed toward Glacier National Park and the Going to the Sun Road today, which I will ride tomorrow. Please, if you will, send me sunny skies and easy riding! :) One more view of Beartooth Pass :)

Day 9 - BIG HORN

2010-06-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

I start this blog with a seemingly random thought... I am here in Cody WY at a small motel. I can hear a horse whinnying outside, but every time I look out the window, I don't see it... I suppose it is not an unusual thing for Cody WY to have horse noises outside one's motel room. :)

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I spent last night in the Pines Motel in Newcastle WY. It was one of the cutest motels I have ever stayed at... neat and cozy. I would recommend it!

Today dawned bright and warm. I did not have a long itinerary, only 325 miles, so I had a poky start around 9AM. It was looking to be a hot day. This morning, the rolling hills alongside the highway were lush and green with long grasses. It was beautiful, like watching a calm ocean ripple in the sun. The winds were blowing the blades of grass in the same sort of waves, changing the hues of greens as the wave moved. I was taken in by it because it felt so much like water.

At one point, I looked up and saw the puffy clouds in the sky and then realized that not all the white that I saw were clouds. It dawned on me that I was looking at snow capped mountains! And then the next thought was, "am I going to be riding through that?"

The answer is probably yes, I don't know what these mountains are, but they are in my path!

The road took me up into Big Horn National Forest and what a ride! Beautiful tall rocks on my sides and the road clung to the side of the hills and wound through the openings. I felt like I was in another land, this is unlike anything I have ever experienced...

Apparently the west has decided to repave parts of every road I am riding. And they don't just pave a little section at a time... they pave miles! I have spent some time with flag-men who are standing guard at the ends. I pull up and I usually get, "it's going to be 10 minutes or so". So that means, shutting down the bike and chatting.

Today's ride was more than just repaving one section, up in the Big Horn, a new road was being forged...so the ride was soft dirt. I keep saying I want to ride a dirt bike...I just didn't realize it would be my own bike!

Down the other side of the Big Horn, into the heat again. Temps ran up into the high 90s today as I pulled into Cody WY. I love to ride, but am always thrilled to stop for the day and rest.

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Well, I couldn't stand it, I went outside and walked around a bit....
I found this handsome fella about 20 yards from my room.
I showed him my new boots and he approves. :)

I end the entry tonight with the feeling like I am getting a cold. Yuck.
Time for bed.

Day 8- Flying Solo

2010-06-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

This is the day I have been awaiting... to see how I would do out there by myself. Early this morning, I said bye to my good friend Peter and headed across South Dakota alone.

BUT... not before stopping by The Corn Palace! World famous from what I understand. They reface the building once a year, the team works full time all summer and fall to complete it. You just have to love a mural made of corn cobs!
I90 across SD is the land of billboards! I started seeing ads for Wall Drug. In my opinion, any business that invests in a billboard every 20 yards for 200 miles, deserves a visit, even if it IS 25 miles farther than my exit was. Even if it is a tourist attraction (although the woman at the motel the night before called it a trap). You just have to love a fake western street, (Wall Drug smack in the middle). I forgot to get my free ice water though. If I get near it again, I'll go back and get one, just to say that I did.

As I sit here in the cutest motel room EVER, a small family owned place in Wyoming, I am reviewing the thoughts that ran through my head today...and they ran everywhere! I think the most oft thought was about just how small I really am in this world. If you ever want to be reminded of this, take a solo ride through the Badlands of SD. After passing through the spectacular rock formations, the landscape opened up far and wide.

Miles ahead, behind and side to side. I rode for nearly an hour before a vehicle passed in the other direction. It was a little disconcerting, I will admit. The 'what if something happens' thought teased me a few times. But I squashed it with thoughts of my SPOT tracker letting people know where I am.

After that wide open landscape, I ventured north into Rushmore National Park, riding the Needles Highway. It was so much fun! When I entered the highway, the first thing I encountered was a sign that stated,
"Do not interact with the buffalo! They are dangerous!"
"ooooh....buffalo!" was my reaction. I got out my camera and rode with it in my left hand, at the ready for the herds that I knew I would see. boohoo... no buffalo. I guess I have to go into Custer Part for that. Maybe I will see them another day.

Needles Highway is tons of fun to ride, compact little twisty roads, single lane tunnels cut out of the mountainside and "Pigtail bridges". These are cool wooden bridges that spiral 360 degrees. I was pretty nearly giggling as I rode around them, wishing they were longer. Rushmore was just as I thought it would be, only smaller. From the photos, I expected the faces to be enormous on the mountainside. But the scale of them fits into the landscape without making it tacky.

I was quickly in and out of Rushmore's visitor center. The crowds were not what I wanted to face today. Jumped back on my bike and pointed toward WY...

I am finding, or rather, I know that once I park for the night, I don't like to get back on to go anywhere. I did half heartedly go into a store to see if they had some sort of food for me to bring back for supper, but it was a discount hardware kind of place. So tonight, I had a handful of peanut m&m's for supper, and I am thankful I had them in my trunk!

oh, and this is the party favor I could not resist buying at Wall Drug. The doves did it to me. Anyone that knows me, knows how I feel about doves.
Totally unexpected, which makes them so delicious!!

A great 400+ miles today...so far, just under 3000 miles on the trip meter!!

Thanks for coming along for the ride.
peace, bee