31 May, 2011
Before I get into closing comments, I would like to go back and cover the last few days that I missed blogging on because of time constraints.
I arrived in Danbury Saturday around noon. I had previously talked with Tom Green and arrived at his place and met he and Mary. We sat for awhile, had a beer and chatted about high school days and people we knew. Tom and I left to go up to the Ridgewood Country Club for a sandwich. Had a great lunch and ran into Bill and Kathy Durgy, a couple more friends from childhood days. Later in the day I was able to get hold of Pete Ganio. We were friends through high school and college. In 1962 Pete and I drove to Calif. to spend the summer working in Hollywood. Pete worked for Hoss Cartwright and I was a page boy on the Queen for a day show. We had a great time out there and on the way back traveled up the west coast to Seattle and then back through Yellowstone and Dodge Nebraska. The amazing part about the trip was the travel out. We went out on RT. 66 and we traveled 52 hours non-stop to get from Danbury to Hollywood. It was a great experience. Anyway, I rode over to Pete and Bernie's and went out to dinner with them. Pete had invited Nick Scattolini and Eve Kolinchak, two more high school friends, to join us and we had a night reminiscing. The evening was over all too soon and I had to get back to the hotel and prepare for an early morning departure. Sunday was a beautiful day and I had the perfect route for it. From Danbury I headed out on Rt. 202/6 towards Peekskill and Mahopac NY. I crossed the Bear Mountain bridge and traveled through Bear Mountain State park and on through some beautiful small towns and villages of New Jersey and PA to my stop for the night in Lebanon PA.
I was out early the next morning and on the road to Ephrata and Amish country. When the girls were small I used to take them to a really neat bed & breakfast in Ephrata, The Covered Bridge Inn. As has been noted by many more scholarly than I, nothing ever remains the same. The covered bridge is no longer there. It was replaced by a concrete bridge. Now, there could be no covered bridge inn or they would have to change their name to the "Used To Be the Covered Bridge Inn but no longer". Instead, they just closed up and the place was pretty run down. From Ephrata I pressed on to Lititz and Lancaster. I'm still impressed with all the big Amish farms and took pictures of a gent plowing a large field with a big team of horses. On to Gettysburg. It's extremely hot and humid so traveling the back roads through the woods and along creeks and rivers feels so much cooler. My navigator(GPS) is particularly feisty today. She has taken me on some back roads that turned into single lane roads and at one point dirt for about 1/2 mile. Going through downtown Gettysburg I was about five minutes ahead of their memorial day parade and the streets were lined with spectators. I have my American and Marine Corps flags on the back of the bike and veterans were standing up and saluting. It's such a great feeling seeing all the flags and people gathering to honor the veterans. As I proceeded out through the fields of Gettysburgh there was an errie feeling that at any moment Stonewall Jackson was going to ride up to check out my reason for being there. It's too bad the trees and grass couldn't talk, what stories they could tell. From Gettysburg I pressed on to the Woods Resort in Hedgesville WVA to spend the evening at my sister's home.
I'm done for the night. I'll finish this up and add pictures in the next few days Hope y'all HAD A GREAT MEMORIAL DAY.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, A magnificient riding day
29 May, 2011
Left Danbury today and had a magnificent ride. But first, let me digress and cover the days I missed. Had a great time at Susan's in Tiverton. She even donned my spare helmet and we took a three hour ride around parts of Rhode Island and had a nice seafood lunch. On the 26th I rode pretty much along the coast from Tiverton to Mystic. I spent about an hour just roaming around seeing the harbor and viewing some of the beautiful old homes. I had plans to meet an old college football buddy for lunch so I called Vinny Becker who lives in Madison and we met at a neat place in Middletown called the First and Last Tavern. Had a nice meal and a great couple of hours reminiscing about our college days and what old farts we are now and what other old farts we know are still around. I hated to leave because we were having such a nice time but I had to get on up the road and Vinny had a dinner engagement with his wife and another couple. I stayed the night in Cromwell CT and tried to make plans for the next day. I wanted to visit the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem(story to follow) and travel up to Colebrook to have lunch with George Bodycoat, a childhood friend from Brookfield. From there I was going to drive back to Old Saybrook to touch base with a long time college friend, Henri David and then swing back to Hamden to have dinner with my nephew AJ. Well, you know what haopens to all good plans. Later in the evening after making all those plans, I found that I had lost $1700 in travelers checks. I called American Express and naturally talked to Indian named Alice who has difficulty with the English language. After 20 min. it was decided that mine was a legitimate loss and so the next day I could go to a bank and they would give me another $1700. I called George the next morning and he has Bank of America. Unfortunately American Express doesn't deal with Bank of America. I was passing through Torrington and there was a Soverign Bank which deals with Amer. Express. This was all worked out at 8 AM and I wasn't going to be in Torrington until 11:30 so I figured I'd just walk in, sign the new checks and walk out with a new $1700. WRONG!!!!!!!!
I left Cromwell and drove to the Abbey of Regina Laudis.. The story of why I went there follows....1946 (I was five) there was a group of 12 French Nuns that had come over from France looking for a place to establish a Cloister. One Sunday they came to our little church in Brookfield CT., Saint Josephs on Pocono Road. After the benidection my grandmother invited the nuns up to the farm for dinner. My grandfather, A.J. Brown got the Farmhall H tractor out. It had a hydraulic scoop. He put burlap bags in the scoop, put two nuns in at a time, raised the scoop and took them for a ride around the farm. Before dinner they sang the blessing and you would have thought the house was filled with Angels. They later were given a large plot of land by a rich gentleman of the Episcopal faith who wanted to ensure that this property remained natural and was never developed. My mother took me up there a couple times after they became cloistered and we spoke with the Mother Superior with a screen between us. I though they would be interested in hearing this story and they were. I spent some time looking around and taking pictures and then headed for Torrington and my replacement checks.
Even though the bank had been notified four hours previously by American Express, when I asked they had done nothing so I ended up spending one hour listening to the bank manager talking to American Express because she didn't know how to handle the replacement of checks. I was getting a little hot but I managed to maintain a cool outward demeanor. I finally got the checks and jumped on the bike for a thirty minute ride to Winstead and lunch with George. After lunch and covering everyone we knew as kids, I called Henri David and told him I could be in Old Saybrook in 1 1/2 hrs. It was 88 miles from Colebrook so I hopped on the bike and had the wheels off the ground a couple of times but got there by 1630. It was great seeing Henri after 48 years. I met his lovely wife Liz, we had a couple of beers and discussed classmates but all too soon I had to get back because I was supposed to have dinner with AJ and his family. I called AJ and something had come up so we decided to have breakfast in the morning. I got back to the motel and crashed. AJ came by the motel with Dan and we had anice catch-up. It was a gorgeous day and I only had a short distance to go so Idecided on the back roads. I had forgotten just how beautiful the countryside of Connecticut is. All the things I remembered as a kid came back to me as I rode through small towns like watertown and saw all the American flags flying and greens with bandstands and the beautiful old homes. I'll close here for the evening and catch up with Danbury tomorrow.
Left Danbury today and had a magnificent ride. But first, let me digress and cover the days I missed. Had a great time at Susan's in Tiverton. She even donned my spare helmet and we took a three hour ride around parts of Rhode Island and had a nice seafood lunch. On the 26th I rode pretty much along the coast from Tiverton to Mystic. I spent about an hour just roaming around seeing the harbor and viewing some of the beautiful old homes. I had plans to meet an old college football buddy for lunch so I called Vinny Becker who lives in Madison and we met at a neat place in Middletown called the First and Last Tavern. Had a nice meal and a great couple of hours reminiscing about our college days and what old farts we are now and what other old farts we know are still around. I hated to leave because we were having such a nice time but I had to get on up the road and Vinny had a dinner engagement with his wife and another couple. I stayed the night in Cromwell CT and tried to make plans for the next day. I wanted to visit the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem(story to follow) and travel up to Colebrook to have lunch with George Bodycoat, a childhood friend from Brookfield. From there I was going to drive back to Old Saybrook to touch base with a long time college friend, Henri David and then swing back to Hamden to have dinner with my nephew AJ. Well, you know what haopens to all good plans. Later in the evening after making all those plans, I found that I had lost $1700 in travelers checks. I called American Express and naturally talked to Indian named Alice who has difficulty with the English language. After 20 min. it was decided that mine was a legitimate loss and so the next day I could go to a bank and they would give me another $1700. I called George the next morning and he has Bank of America. Unfortunately American Express doesn't deal with Bank of America. I was passing through Torrington and there was a Soverign Bank which deals with Amer. Express. This was all worked out at 8 AM and I wasn't going to be in Torrington until 11:30 so I figured I'd just walk in, sign the new checks and walk out with a new $1700. WRONG!!!!!!!!
I left Cromwell and drove to the Abbey of Regina Laudis.. The story of why I went there follows....1946 (I was five) there was a group of 12 French Nuns that had come over from France looking for a place to establish a Cloister. One Sunday they came to our little church in Brookfield CT., Saint Josephs on Pocono Road. After the benidection my grandmother invited the nuns up to the farm for dinner. My grandfather, A.J. Brown got the Farmhall H tractor out. It had a hydraulic scoop. He put burlap bags in the scoop, put two nuns in at a time, raised the scoop and took them for a ride around the farm. Before dinner they sang the blessing and you would have thought the house was filled with Angels. They later were given a large plot of land by a rich gentleman of the Episcopal faith who wanted to ensure that this property remained natural and was never developed. My mother took me up there a couple times after they became cloistered and we spoke with the Mother Superior with a screen between us. I though they would be interested in hearing this story and they were. I spent some time looking around and taking pictures and then headed for Torrington and my replacement checks.
Even though the bank had been notified four hours previously by American Express, when I asked they had done nothing so I ended up spending one hour listening to the bank manager talking to American Express because she didn't know how to handle the replacement of checks. I was getting a little hot but I managed to maintain a cool outward demeanor. I finally got the checks and jumped on the bike for a thirty minute ride to Winstead and lunch with George. After lunch and covering everyone we knew as kids, I called Henri David and told him I could be in Old Saybrook in 1 1/2 hrs. It was 88 miles from Colebrook so I hopped on the bike and had the wheels off the ground a couple of times but got there by 1630. It was great seeing Henri after 48 years. I met his lovely wife Liz, we had a couple of beers and discussed classmates but all too soon I had to get back because I was supposed to have dinner with AJ and his family. I called AJ and something had come up so we decided to have breakfast in the morning. I got back to the motel and crashed. AJ came by the motel with Dan and we had anice catch-up. It was a gorgeous day and I only had a short distance to go so Idecided on the back roads. I had forgotten just how beautiful the countryside of Connecticut is. All the things I remembered as a kid came back to me as I rode through small towns like watertown and saw all the American flags flying and greens with bandstands and the beautiful old homes. I'll close here for the evening and catch up with Danbury tomorrow.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Nice ride
27 may, 2011
This will be a short one as I'm about to get on the road. Had a really nice time at Susan's. Rode down the coast from Tiverton RI to Mystic and rode around Mystic seeing the sights and the port. Not a good day for photo's, pretty foggy but thankfullu, warm.
Left Mystic and rode to Middletown CT and had a nice lunch get together with Vinny Becker from college football days. We hadn't seen each other since Christ was a corporal. Today I am off riding the back roads of CT. Will have lunch in Colebrook with George Bodycoat, a childhood buddy.
I'll try to do better tonight.
I'm off into the fog. Some people would say I've been in a fog for many years. POOH to you people.
Toz
This will be a short one as I'm about to get on the road. Had a really nice time at Susan's. Rode down the coast from Tiverton RI to Mystic and rode around Mystic seeing the sights and the port. Not a good day for photo's, pretty foggy but thankfullu, warm.
Left Mystic and rode to Middletown CT and had a nice lunch get together with Vinny Becker from college football days. We hadn't seen each other since Christ was a corporal. Today I am off riding the back roads of CT. Will have lunch in Colebrook with George Bodycoat, a childhood buddy.
I'll try to do better tonight.
I'm off into the fog. Some people would say I've been in a fog for many years. POOH to you people.
Toz
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunshine and warm weather
24 May, 2011
I couldn't believe it. Stepped outside the motel this morning and it was actually warm. Still overcast but no rain and forecast is for clearing. I'm heading from Portsmouth to Tiverton to visit an old and dear friend. The dear friend s not old but she is a dear old friend. My mind is wandering as normal. As I approach Boston it suddenly dawns on me that I have another old and dear friend in Boston and he is both old and dear. So I make a hasty exit and pull into a parking lot where I can call him. He lives in Brookline and he's home and we're going to have lunch. Irv Frankel was one of our aviation maintenance officers in my first Fighter Squadron, VMFA-251 in Beaufort SC. We went in different directions during Vietnam and Irv got out while I stayed in. But we stayed in touch through the years and actually met again four or five years ago at a VMFA-251 reunion in Beaufort. The pictures show Irv and his lovely wife Marci and the two uglies, Irv and Toz. Also, don't know if you have ever seen an Albino Chipmonk but as we were heading out for lunch, Irv pointed him out to me and I got these pictures.
After a great few hours together I pressed on to Tiverton. Susan cooked a great dinner last night, something I had been looking forward to after being on the road so long. Early this morning I cleaned up the bike and we took a three hour ride around Tiverton and local areas. The countryside is so beautiful and it was sunny and bright. We stopped and had a seafood lunch and now I am trying to stay awake but not doing well at it and I fear a nap is coming on.
Monday, May 23, 2011
One Week to Go
23 May, 2011
It's almost getting to be a contest instead of a vacation. Instead of seeing beautiful sights everyday, the last week has been going directly from point A to point B and get into the motel and get warm. Again today I was on the road from 8 AM to 3 PM and it rained from 8:30 until 2:00 with the temp at 43 and winds of twenty knots gusting to 35. People drive by in their cars with a roof, windows and windshield wipers and heat and they look at you as if to say, "What an idiot". I almost believe them sometimes but then I think to myself......"look at those wimps sitting comfortably in their vehicles. They don't get to experience this feeling of being one with nature, smelling the earth around you, feeling nature dump on you and then as a joke put out the sun for just a moment to tempt you into believing all is good and then dump on you again. However, I would do it again in a heart beat only the next time it will be south of the Mason Dixon line.
Aren't the Alpaca cute.
Back in the U. S. of A.
22 May, 2011
Hoorah, no rain forcast for today. I'm off to "BAH HABA" Maine. It's cold in St. John New Brunswick with temp of 41 deg and winds of 25 knots gusting to 40. Oh well, it's not like I'm not used to it after seven straight days. Came across the border at Calais ME with no problem. Was asked a few questions and showed my passport and that was it.
I think the good Lord was welcoming me back to the U.S. The sun came out and the temp climbed up to 52 deg. It was a pleasant and picturesque ride down the coast to Bar Harbor. It's a nice little town but glad I'm here before the tourists. The motel folks say it is a zoo in the summer. Had dinner at the Chart Room, not to be confused with the Annapolis Chart House. Had a table right on the water and a fantastic meal of seafood scampi over linguini which feature lobster, shrimp and scallops with onion and red and green pepper. Fantastic!!!!
Early night tonight, long day tomorrow down to Portsmouth NH.
Good night all.
Grand kids, Grand daddy loves and misses you.
Hoorah, no rain forcast for today. I'm off to "BAH HABA" Maine. It's cold in St. John New Brunswick with temp of 41 deg and winds of 25 knots gusting to 40. Oh well, it's not like I'm not used to it after seven straight days. Came across the border at Calais ME with no problem. Was asked a few questions and showed my passport and that was it.
I think the good Lord was welcoming me back to the U.S. The sun came out and the temp climbed up to 52 deg. It was a pleasant and picturesque ride down the coast to Bar Harbor. It's a nice little town but glad I'm here before the tourists. The motel folks say it is a zoo in the summer. Had dinner at the Chart Room, not to be confused with the Annapolis Chart House. Had a table right on the water and a fantastic meal of seafood scampi over linguini which feature lobster, shrimp and scallops with onion and red and green pepper. Fantastic!!!!
Early night tonight, long day tomorrow down to Portsmouth NH.
Good night all.
Grand kids, Grand daddy loves and misses you.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Digby, Nova Scotia
21 May, 2011
I didn't get to write in the blog yesterday. The internet was real slow and had great difficulty uploading pictures so I thought I'd wait and check out the internet at my next stop which is Saint John, New Brunswick.
I started off yesterday from Yarmouth Nova Scotia. It was overcast as it has been during my entire Canadian stay but it was a little warmer, 53 degrees. I stayed right along the coast and went through some neat little villages. It's amazing that in every village it's the church or churches that stand out. As I neared the town of Digby, where the Ferry departs for a three hour voyage to St John, I saw a sign that said to stop and try Digby Scallops, The best in the world. Being a scallop lover, I decided to test them. I road through town right down to the docks. I had been told by a local to go to the seafood market at the docks because they had a cafe right next to the market and served the freshest seafood. They had a sampler plate where you got two of each, bacon wrapped, broiled and pan fried. The woman said there would be a quiz when I finished. She wanted to know which I liked best. I couldn't tell her because they were all delicious. Then I asked if they had any raw clams. Sure enough they had Cherry Stone clams on the half shell. Took me right back to the clam bar at the Grand Central Station so many years ago and they were just as delicious. Then I spotted something I hadn't had since childhood. They had home made Strawberry Rhubarb pie. I knew I couldn't get out the door without trying some and it turned out to be every bit as good as mom's pie. I drove right out on the wharf and that's where I took the above pictures. It's too bad it was so overcast because the colors were really vibrant.
Look at the bottom left picture. That is one of the docks. It was not low tide. The tide had started coming in but see the dark versus the light. The bay of Fundy is known for having the largest tide differential somewhere around thirty feet from low to ligh tide.
Just as I finished taking the pictures it started to rain so I skidaddled because I still had 130 kilometers to my destination, Truro Nova Scotia.
21 May
Had breakfast, packed up and ready to depart Truro. It is foggy and misting with a temp of 49. Well, 30 miles out and closer to the Bay of Fundy, the temp dropped to 41 deg, with steady rain and winds of 15 knots and gusting. It was downright miserable. It was a long trip around 225 miles. Brother Gus had told me to go down to the shore and see Hopewell Cape. It's another demo of the tide differential. At high tide it looks like a bunch of small islands and at low tide it looks like a bunch of thirty foot tall rocks. You can go down to the beach and walk among them. It's quite a sight but I was going to have to miss it because it was just too cold and miserable. It never stopped raining during the entire trip.
Oh well, I will probably start to be clear and sunny tomorrow as I depart Canada. Even though the weather was terrible I do say thank you and goodbye to some very nice Canadian people.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
All things relative, it was a pretty good day.
!9 May, 2011
Had a really nice stay at the Officers Mess, Canadian Air Force Base, Shearwater, Nova Scotia. Went to Happy Hour. Not the same as when we were Lieutenants. The young officers are afraid to drink because it can ruin their career. Met some nice folks at the bar and we went downstairs for a great dinner and even greater fellowship.
This morning I launched out of Halifax a little after 0800 heading southwest along the coast. With the overcast, everything looks dull. Destination is Yarmouth NS. I decided to take a side trip to Mahone Bay and Lunenburg. If you have ever seen Nova Scotia portrayed in National Geographic or other professional magazines these two towns are always a part of their stories. The church is one of three located in Mahone Bay. The remainder of the pictures are from Lunenburg. My camera, lack of photographic skills and the overcast weather do not help in showing the real beauty of these little villages. The colors are so alive, vibrant and eye catching, I can't do justice to their beauty. I need Sam or Kristen up here with me taking the pictures.
Good night All.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
HALLELUIAH
18 May,2011
Yesterdays ride was sooooo bad I couldn't get excited and write about it. I left Tignish, Prince Edward Island earlyin the morning. The temp was 39 deg., pouring rain and 20 kts of wind. The Canooks say they have had over three weeks steady of this weather and they are really tired of it. I road probably 120 KM's to Charlottetown and it rained all the way. 15 miles past Charlotte the temp jumped from 39 to 50, I was ecstatic, I thought I was in "Hog Heaven". I wanted to jump off the bike and throw on the shorts. Then the downpour started again and I was forced to realize that I was a "fer piece" from "Hog Heaven".
Today I woke up in Pictou Nova Scotia. I looked out the window and saw the roads were dry. It was still overcast and cool,41 deg. but no rain. I packed up and rode down to Sharon's Cafe on Front St. for a good breakfast. Got into discussion with a group of nice locals and ended staying there for ninety minutes learning about this little town of Pictou. Then I got on the bike and rode down Front St and took the above pictures of the harbor. Then I headed south for Halifax and the Canadian Air Force Base at Shearwater. On the way I went through the little town of Brookfield. As some of you know I grew up in a small town in CT called Brookfield so I had to ride around and check out the town. And there was the Brookfield Lumber Yard. As my brothers Howie and Gus will remember, we had a Brookfield Lumber on Route 7. I believe the owners son went to high school with Gus. They lived on Pocono Road just before St. Joseph's church and next to Billy Corbin. I'll be dammed but I can't remember his name although I remember him showing me his wood lathe in the basement. Anyway, it brought back lots of fun memories. Right behind his house was a large pond where we used to ice skate at night with big bonfires lighting up the whole area. I got to Shearwater and had reservations for the Officers Mess made for me by Leftenant Tyrone Grande, a really nice guy. The Officers Mess at Juno Towers is a 14 story bldg. and the rooms are really nice. Had a beer at the bar and tossed a few darts but it was obvious I was a rookie. Great dinner and now I just made my motel reservations in Yarmouth, about 205 miles tomorrow. As I was riding down today I was reflecting on the fact that in the past five days of bad weather I had not seen a single motorcycle on the road. Is it possible they know something I'm not aware of. Can't possibly be. They must just be busy doing other things.
Not a bad day, Good night to all!!!!!
Monday, May 16, 2011
The days keep getting worse
16 May 2011
Just another bad day. Temperature got up to 39 degrees but the weather channel said with the wind chill factor it felt like 29. I won't argue with them. I was having breakfast at the Indian Point B&B with a German couple who own the place. I mentioned that my gloves were not mde for this cold & rainy weather. The husband got up and went into another room. He came back with this heavy duty pair of gloves he says he uses with his snow blower but he now has a tractor with an enclosed cab and a heater so he doesn't need them. I offered to pay him but he said that would make up for accidentially shuting off the internet last night. They really work. So I left Port Elgin heading for Tignish, PEI (Prince Edward Island). Part of the trip includes crossing the Straits of Fundy on the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge. Luckly the day before I had met a gent at a service station who told me the speed limit on the bridge was 80 KM and he said not to go over it because they had cameras all along the bridge and if you were speeding a Royal Canadian Mountie would meet you on the other side and extricate somey money from your pocket. It was a fun trip with 20 to 25 knots of wind blowing from all directions and some really cold and uninviting water just below. Just as I got off the bridge the rain started in earnest so I hunkered down and proceeded at warp speed toward Tignish some 130 KM's away. I keep seeing the same old signs warning of "MOOSE" Now tell me friends, what self respecting moose would leave his quarters to romp around in freezing cold weather. That kind of activity is left to fools and American tourists and I believe they are synonymous. But then the bright side of the day arrives. I rode into Summerside PEI and spotted the Starlight Diner. I walked into a time warp taking me back to the fifties. Check out the pictures, a record selector at every table and a juke box and they all worked. I spent $3 in quarters just to hear all those old songs. Up on the wall was the 45 rpm records, the old coke machine and the Chesterfield ad. I kept looking for Fonzie. The rest of the trip was rain and cold but I am staying at a nice little motel in Tignish called the end of the island motel. The owner said they had 30 minutes of hail this morning. Oh joy, just what a biker needs, hail'
Goodnight all, the cocktail is working.
Another Nasty Day
15 May, 2011
It wasn't much of a day for picture taking or sightseeing. It started drizzling as I was departing Bathurst and within an hour it was steady rain. Luckily there were no downpours but the rain and temp of 46 degrees with lots of wind off the water continued for the 200 miles I rode yesterday. My plan was to stay along the coast the entire way and I did but never wanted to stop and get off the bike to enjoy the sights. Had it been sunny and a little warmer it would have been a beautiful run. I did stop for pictures of one site. I spotted this church as I was passing by and did a U-turn and came back. I thought the Outhouse sitting next to the church added to the picture. So far the roads in New Brunswick have been pretty good. There must have been something going on back where I came from because all the traffic was going the opposite way. Maybe they had heard that "KAMIKAZE TOZZI" was on the highway and they were steering clear. The 18 wheelers don't care that you're there though. Nothing like approaching a large puddle in the road at the same time as one of these big rigs. They always win and at 55 or 60 mph it feels like falling off water ski's.
I must have really P O'ed the weather gods because the weather guessers are saying.........at least three more days of this. I certainly am earning my merit badge for wind and rain driving.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A Bummer Day
14 May 2011
Today was a real bummer. Started off a bummer, continued a bummer but ended OK. I woke up this morning to cold and rain. After breakfast I donned my rainsuit and departed Fort Fairfield Maine for Bathurst New Brunswick Canada, 178 miles or 286 kilometers away. It was wet and 43 degrees but the weatherman promised it would get warmer and stay wet. Later in the day it did climb to 46 degrees but I was so cold by then I didn't really notice. My original plan was again to travel backroads but with the wet and cold all I could envision was a warm motel room. Shortly after departure I arrived at the border crossing. I gave them my passport. They asked if I had guns, I said no. They asked if I had liquor and I said yes. I couple days earlier I stopped in Burlington VT and bought a 1.75 liter bottle of Canadian Club and a 1 liter bottle of sweet vermouth for my evening Manhattan. I was unaware that you could only bring 40 oz into Canada. So this guy and a female come out and start rummaging through the bike and the trailer and opening every piece of luggage. She was about as pleasant as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. So I in my easy going way told her to make sure she put everything back the way she found it. In the meantime the guy is going through my luggage in the trailer so I moved to where I could watch him. He told me to step back in front of the motorcycle but I wasn't about to let him inspect the contents without me watching so I didn't move. He found the liquor and said I would have to pay duty or he would confiscate it. We went round and round about the quantity. He didn't know how many oz's in a 1.75 bottle and so was unsure of how much it would cost. I had already been there for 30 minutes so I told him to keep it all. But I couldn't leave because he had to write up something to explain the confiscation and my righats to appeal. I told him I probably wouldn't fly back up from NC to appeal two bottles of liquor. I was finally cleared to depart and as I left I gave them a genuine gesture of friendliness.
I was surprised, the rain wasn't that bothersome but the cold sure was. I did pass some snow on the side of the road in a couple of places. We're supposed to have two more days of this. Oh joy.
Time to hit the rack and hope for a better day tomorrow.
Today was a real bummer. Started off a bummer, continued a bummer but ended OK. I woke up this morning to cold and rain. After breakfast I donned my rainsuit and departed Fort Fairfield Maine for Bathurst New Brunswick Canada, 178 miles or 286 kilometers away. It was wet and 43 degrees but the weatherman promised it would get warmer and stay wet. Later in the day it did climb to 46 degrees but I was so cold by then I didn't really notice. My original plan was again to travel backroads but with the wet and cold all I could envision was a warm motel room. Shortly after departure I arrived at the border crossing. I gave them my passport. They asked if I had guns, I said no. They asked if I had liquor and I said yes. I couple days earlier I stopped in Burlington VT and bought a 1.75 liter bottle of Canadian Club and a 1 liter bottle of sweet vermouth for my evening Manhattan. I was unaware that you could only bring 40 oz into Canada. So this guy and a female come out and start rummaging through the bike and the trailer and opening every piece of luggage. She was about as pleasant as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. So I in my easy going way told her to make sure she put everything back the way she found it. In the meantime the guy is going through my luggage in the trailer so I moved to where I could watch him. He told me to step back in front of the motorcycle but I wasn't about to let him inspect the contents without me watching so I didn't move. He found the liquor and said I would have to pay duty or he would confiscate it. We went round and round about the quantity. He didn't know how many oz's in a 1.75 bottle and so was unsure of how much it would cost. I had already been there for 30 minutes so I told him to keep it all. But I couldn't leave because he had to write up something to explain the confiscation and my righats to appeal. I told him I probably wouldn't fly back up from NC to appeal two bottles of liquor. I was finally cleared to depart and as I left I gave them a genuine gesture of friendliness.
I was surprised, the rain wasn't that bothersome but the cold sure was. I did pass some snow on the side of the road in a couple of places. We're supposed to have two more days of this. Oh joy.
Time to hit the rack and hope for a better day tomorrow.
Friday, May 13, 2011
MOOSE
Friday the 13th May, 2011
I couldn't write in my Blog last night. The blog guy was performing maintenance and must have been on a long coffee break when I was trying to write and kept telling me he was hurrying but I don't think he really was so I gave up and went to bed.
Drats, it was a bad day. It started as a great day. Katie made breakfast and Davy made Latte's. It was a beautiful sunny day. Liam, Katie's middle boy (3 yrs old) wouldn't let me leave until he got a ride on the motorcycle so I took him for a couple turns around the driveway and we had a photo session. I started off for Lake Winnipesaukee on the back roads as normal. As you have read previously, Vermont doesn't have secondary roads. They have cow paths and potholes which they paint black with yellow lines to humor drivers. But New Hampshire and Maine somehow picked up on this. After the Lake I was going to stop in Sanford Me to have lunch with Bob Therrien who was my roommate at Nichols my freshman year. After four hours of being thoroughly beaten by these poor roads I had to give up. I was afraid things were going to start falling off the bike. As it is, my XM radio has stopped working. So after a nice lunch and a good chat with Bob, I got on the Interstate for the rest of the trip to Waterville.
I have a couple hypotheses about the roads. 1..the politicians have spent or pocketed all the transportation money or 2...if you don't pay your taxes they don't take care of the road in front of your house. You can drive for miles and the roads are good then all of a sudden they are absolutely terrible for thirty miles.. As the day went on today they got better. I think the North of Maine might be more affluent then the South. Kinda like what we see since the Civil War. Enough about roads except one more thing. As you are riding along you see this big yellow sign that says "MOOSE". I saw a lot of them but no Moose so I didn't pay much attention. Well, around 3PM I saw this Moose sign and about 500 yards further around a corner here was this giant Moose coming out of the woods with a little Moose in trail only the little Moose was pretty big, if that gives you some sense on how big the big Moose was. She was not running, rather a slow amble as if she had pushed the pedestrian button on 42nd St and she knew it was her turn to cross. Believe me, I also knew it was her turn and made no move to interfere or hurry her along. Believe you me, the Honda Goldwing has great brakes and I used all of them. The remainder of the trip to Caribou Me. I kept my eyes peeled for any other creatures. I am now in my motel room at the Caribou Inn having a cocktail. What was a good day today has just soured since I checked the weather for the next few days with my entrance into New Brunswick, Canada They are calling for rain tonight and for the next four days which might make for some interesting travel. Maybe I'll have another cocktail.
That's it for today. No pictures. I thought about taking some pictures of the potholes but there were just too many. Saw some great sights today. Hope y'all had a good day
I couldn't write in my Blog last night. The blog guy was performing maintenance and must have been on a long coffee break when I was trying to write and kept telling me he was hurrying but I don't think he really was so I gave up and went to bed.
Drats, it was a bad day. It started as a great day. Katie made breakfast and Davy made Latte's. It was a beautiful sunny day. Liam, Katie's middle boy (3 yrs old) wouldn't let me leave until he got a ride on the motorcycle so I took him for a couple turns around the driveway and we had a photo session. I started off for Lake Winnipesaukee on the back roads as normal. As you have read previously, Vermont doesn't have secondary roads. They have cow paths and potholes which they paint black with yellow lines to humor drivers. But New Hampshire and Maine somehow picked up on this. After the Lake I was going to stop in Sanford Me to have lunch with Bob Therrien who was my roommate at Nichols my freshman year. After four hours of being thoroughly beaten by these poor roads I had to give up. I was afraid things were going to start falling off the bike. As it is, my XM radio has stopped working. So after a nice lunch and a good chat with Bob, I got on the Interstate for the rest of the trip to Waterville.
I have a couple hypotheses about the roads. 1..the politicians have spent or pocketed all the transportation money or 2...if you don't pay your taxes they don't take care of the road in front of your house. You can drive for miles and the roads are good then all of a sudden they are absolutely terrible for thirty miles.. As the day went on today they got better. I think the North of Maine might be more affluent then the South. Kinda like what we see since the Civil War. Enough about roads except one more thing. As you are riding along you see this big yellow sign that says "MOOSE". I saw a lot of them but no Moose so I didn't pay much attention. Well, around 3PM I saw this Moose sign and about 500 yards further around a corner here was this giant Moose coming out of the woods with a little Moose in trail only the little Moose was pretty big, if that gives you some sense on how big the big Moose was. She was not running, rather a slow amble as if she had pushed the pedestrian button on 42nd St and she knew it was her turn to cross. Believe me, I also knew it was her turn and made no move to interfere or hurry her along. Believe you me, the Honda Goldwing has great brakes and I used all of them. The remainder of the trip to Caribou Me. I kept my eyes peeled for any other creatures. I am now in my motel room at the Caribou Inn having a cocktail. What was a good day today has just soured since I checked the weather for the next few days with my entrance into New Brunswick, Canada They are calling for rain tonight and for the next four days which might make for some interesting travel. Maybe I'll have another cocktail.
That's it for today. No pictures. I thought about taking some pictures of the potholes but there were just too many. Saw some great sights today. Hope y'all had a good day
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
A nice day in Vermont
11 May, 2011
I had a fantastic visit with my good buddy and college dorm mate, Gene Cenci and his lovely wife Anne. They treated me like royalty, which I really am.
Before launching on the next leg of my trip I had to get some pictures for posterity.
I left Burlington around 10 AM heading for White River Junction. I stopped in a little town called Middlesex because I smelled charbroiled hamburgers and hot dogs. I came upon Vermont's version of the buffet luncheon.
I want to tell you folks, Vermont is a beautiful state but if you want to visit, plan on touring it by airplane, hovercraft or balloon. Do not, and I reiterate, do not plan to ride on any conveyance that puts wheels under your butt and puts those same wheels on Vermonts secondary roads. Those roads have potholes, chuckholes, ratholes and even a bunch of a__holes, although they are all politicians. 
While on the ride I also got to view some Vermont humor.
I arrived at Katie's around 2:00PM. Katie and Davie live on a mountain top about three feet below where the good Lord stood when he started making the world. They're so high up asphalt won't stick to the ground so it's all dirt roads. Three times during the ascent I drove through the clouds and my instrument qualifications are no longer current. But I did arrive five minutes prior to Katie's arrival. She's got these three kids and groceries and a guest and handles the whole thing with ease. I'm sitting at their bar taking all this in. Owen needs a snack before we go to his baseball practice. Liam has to go to the potty and this is a new experience for him so he wants to let everyone know how well he is doing and Sebastian is taking up Katie's time with his own needs. I'm ready for a nap just watching all this. But now we're off to baseball practice and down through the clouds to the flatlands. Katie watches Owen while I follow Liam around cause he thinks he's Christopher Columbus discovering a new world. I did get a picture of Owen coming home after a great hit.
Had cocktails with Davy and a great meal of salmon, baked and broiled culiflower and broccoli and petit epeautre de Sault (like Italian risotto). And now it's bedtime. Tomorrow I'm off to Maine. After passing by Lake Winnipesaukee I will stop in Sanford Me to have lunch with my roommate freshman year at Nichols college and from there the destination for the day is Waterville ME.
Good night all.
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