Tuesday, 10/20/14............I apologize, I am certainly remiss in my task of keeping this blog updated.  I have a weak kneed, lily livered, lame duck excuse but it's the best I can come up with.  When I got to the hotel and my room, I had every intention of writing about my days activities, no matter how boring.  I first made a Manhattan which I thought would get me in the writers groove.  Instead, it got me in the nap groove from which I did not recover until early this morning.  I told you it was a  weak kneed, lily livered, lame duck excuse.
So to retrace my steps, I left the villages around 8 AM with perfect weather and temps around sixty but rising.  The route included little towns like Citra, Hawthorne, Waldo, Lawtey and Callahan Florida and Folkston, Nahunta, Jessup, and finally Glennville GA.  Now I know, all you world travelers have probably dined and danced in all these little communities but this was a first for me and very interesting.  Now, I am a believer in God and a somewhat religious person but not a real church going soul.  However, as I traveled north through the countryside I had to look up and say..."Thanks ACE(he understands that) for allowing me to experience all this beauty you have placed on this earth for us to enjoy.  I also thanked my grand dad for raising me.  I know he probably thought for the longest time that he had really screwed up but I hope he's up there smiling now.
Well enough of that and back to my original mission....I was passing through this little town of Lawtey and stopped to get gas.  There was an elderly black man gassing up his Cadillac and I stopped him and said..."Sir, if I lived here in Lawtey all my life and wanted to have a good lunch, where would I go".  He smiled and pointed in the direction I was traveling and said..."About a half mile down on the right is R & R Wings and it's the best"  I thanked him and headed to R & R Wings.  Well, "LAWDY, LAWDY, LAWDY the R & R Wings Is Lawtey's secret.  I wanted to put three bags extra in the trailer for later.  My advice to you folks who travel to Florida every fall, forget Interstate 95 and go through Lawtey for some wings.
So that was the highlight of Mondays ride and you already have been informed of my failures later in the day so I will move to today.

Tuesday, 10/21/14....Today was a different day altogether or at least the start of it.  I stayed at the Glennville Inn in Glennville GA.  The room was very nice.  I was told that breakfast was served from 0700 to 0900 in the morning.  I got up at 0600, showered, shaved, packed and loaded up the trailer.  At 0740 I went into the office to have breakfast.  There was no one in the office, there was no coffee, there was no milk for the frosted flakes and no fruit whatsoever.  I shouted....."HEY"...a short while later this Indian guy came down the stairs from his quarters upstairs.  He was dressed for business in his tee shirt, shorts and hair askew.  I told him that breakfast was supposed to be from 7 to 9.  It was now 7:40 and there was no coffee, milk or juice.  He ran upstairs and came back with a 3/4 empty container of milk which he probably stole from his kids.  Breakfast was marginal and will probably be the cause of them not getting a five star review from me.  Throughout this ordeal all I could think about was Cenci and his holiday Inns(He is a college buddy who was in the hotel business).  If I ever went to one of his spots and got this kind of service, I would be jumping up and down on his desk.
So off I went and it was another beautiful day riding the back roads of GA and SC.  I traveled thru Claxton, Statesboro, Sylvania GA and Allendale, Orangeburg, Manning, Tuberville to my overnight destination of Conway SC.  As I passed through Orangeburg SC I was day dreaming when I saw a sign flash by, "Momma's Mountain Cooking.  I did a U turn and stopped.  Might be a toss up between Lawtey's R & R Wings and Momma's Mountain Cooking.  After a meal of fried pork chops, mac & cheese, collards and sweet peas with cornbread and an Arnold Palmer(1/2 sweet tea and 1/2 lemonade) I had a hard time getting back aboard ny bike but I made it and here I am in Conway SC enjoying my Manhattan cocktail and informing you of my travels.
Tomorrow is home.  I can start smelling home and it smells good.  It's been a fun trip but I'm ready to get back and play some golf and see the daughters and grandkids.
Have a good evening, it's been fun.

Art  

Sunday, 10/19/14....I am getting spoiled here at the Seibert's house in the Villages.  This morning I awoke to fresh coffee and Phyllis had this large bowl of fresh fruit and proceeded to make blueberry pancakes and sausage.  What a breakfast.  It's a beautiful day and we are planning to tour around after they get back from church but we have to be back by 1 PM because Bill is a die hard Redskins fan.
I forgot to insert the pictures of my grand kids in Spartanburg SC.

This is the youngest, Elle and in the door you can see Bernie.  He's a year old Golden Retriever and just loves those kids

This is Blythe.  She is five and going to Kindergarten.  She knows she's hot!

This is Hugh.  He is eight and he's really hot.  He is the Junior Golf Champion at the Country Club of Spartanburg and also a great student and baseball player.

This is Dad.  You can see what a proud pop he is and rightfully so.

This is Jack.  He lives in Wilson, about four miles from me.  Jack is 13 going on 14 in Nov.  He is an outstanding student and artist and Boy Scout

 

This is precious Selah.  She is ten going on 11 in Dec, also an excellent student and keeps me supplied with rubber band bracelets.

 

 

This is Bill and Phyllis, great friends and wonderful people.  Bill was the baseball coach at Bowie High in Maryland for 26 years and had a couple of state championship teams.

 

It has been a great pleasure visiting with them for the past three days.  Today we are watching the Redskins and eating wings and this evening we are going to meet another couple formerly from Bowie and have dinner at Giovanni's.  Then it's time to pack up the trailer and get ready to depart tomorrow morning for Glennville GA.  I'm traveling most of the way on U.S. 301 which is supposed to be quite scenic.  I've checked the weather forecasts and it's supposed to be sunny and warm which makes riding much more enjoyable.

 

Well, it's time to get back to the ball game.  Hope whatever y'all are doing today you're having a good time.

 

Saturday 10/18/14..........Breakfast at the Seibert household sure beats the hell out of the breakfasts served at most hotels.  Slept in until 0800, it felt good knowing I didn't have to go out and get on the bike today,  Bill took me out and showed me a good portion of the community.  It is an amazing place.  Beside numerous golf courses, right across the street is a Polo field.  They have professional teams coming in to play.  Each complex has four or five softball fields and again they get these semi pro teams coming in to play tournaments..  Each complex also has a community center with a pool and a myriad of activities to participate in.  On the weekends they have live music and outdoor parties.  According to Bill, you get to the point where you feel bad if you just want to stay home.  We're taking a break to watch a little college football which will probably end up in a nap.  This evening I will take them out to dinner at their favorite watering hole.  More later............

Friday, 10/17/14............Sorry, I didn't get to write last night but I had a long trip from Spartanburg SC to Fitzgerald GA. and the weather was not pleasant.  It started out good in Spartanburg but by the time I got to Anderson SC it had gotten overcast and extremely windy and cold.  It was the longest leg of my trip at 307 miles.  After that ride I got to the hotel, unloaded the trailer and made a cocktail and that was it.  I zonked out until morning.  Today was totally different.  Started out in Fitzgerald and the temp was 47 degrees.  But as I continued south the temp finally got up to 75.  I was a very pleasant ride and I am now at my friends home in the Villages.  We had a couple of cocktails and Phyllis made some outstanding crab cakes with slaw and roasted potato's and an apple tart for desert.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  Bill is going to drive me around the Villages in his golf cart and show me all the sights.  Right now, my day is done and I am going to hit the rack.  Good night all.

Toz

WEDNESDAY, 10/15/2014....Got up this morning and the rain had stopped.  It was chilly, 45 degrees and blustering winds.  I had breakfast at the hotel, loaded up the trailer and was on the road by 0800.  The first ten miles or so was bad with fog but it dissipated rapidly and the sun came out and ith was quite pleasant.  The colors were peaking and the sunshine added to their brilliance.  I stopped a number of times to take pictures but an iPhone photo cannot do justice as compared to what the human eye sees.

 

As I was riding down one spot on the parkway, four doe deer came out onto the side of the highway...I had slowed down to about 20 mph and for the next 1/2 mile or so they ran right along side my motorcycle and finally jumped off and darted into the woods.  It felt like they were playing some kind of game and after awhile got tired of it.  I got off the Parkway and rode over to my brothers place in Mills River.  We had lunch.  By the time we finished it was too late to make a side trip to Brevard so I headed on over to Spartanburg SC where I am spending the night with my youngest daughter Sam, her husband Geoff and three of my grand kids, Hugh, Blythe and Elle.
Tomorrow will be a long day.  It's a 307 mile ride to Fitzgerald GA.  So, with that in mind I will close for tonight and get some sleep.  It was a good day.

 

Tuesday 10/14/2014
Woke up at 0530 this morning(much to early) preparing to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway viewing the beautiful fall colors and riding to Mount Mitchell the highest point in this area at 6 thousand and some odd feet.  From there I was riding to Mills River NC to have lunch with my brother and then a quick trip to Brevard to check it out and then ride to Spartanburg SC and spend the night with Sam, my youngest daughter and her family.  Well, the weather forecast says 100% chance of rain with lightning and thunder and tornado warnings.  I don't like to ride in the rain but I can handle it.  I don't do well with lightning and thunder and possible tornado's.  I made a command decision, probably the best one I have ever made to stay an extra day at the Blowing Rock Holiday Inn and watch the weather thru my window.  As it started to lighten up it was obvious the rain had already started and the winds were howling.  I went out and made some improvements to keep the cover on the motorcycle.  Luckily, there is a restaurant about 100 yards from the hotel that will cover lunch and dinner and is within walking distance.

 

 

This gives you an idea of what it was like outside.  When I walked out into the fog my left foot couldn't see my right one.  I had to tie down the motorcycle cover with bungee cords to hopefully keep it from blowing away in the strong winds.  As I type this I can still hear the rain beating on the sides of the building.  Well, I did take a nap and right now I am enjoying my Manhattan cocktail so all is good relatively speaking.  Hopefully there is a tomorrow and we will try it again.

I did want to mention my very good college buddy Gene Cenci from up in Burlington VT.  He sent me and email and simply stated.....Have bail money, will travel.  Isn't it wonderful to have such great friends.  Buddah Brusman also offered support but his was too colorful to add to this family oriented blog.  But Buddah, keep your comments and suggestions coming.

Good night folks!!!  It's always nice talking to you.

 

Toz

 

Monday, 10/13/14.....0500 came earlier than normal.  I'm retired.  I thought retired people never got up before 0700.  Well I dragged this old body out of the rack, showered, shaved got fed, made the bed, locked the shed, closed all the lids on the bike and trailer and prepared to depart at 0730.

As I left Wilson it was pretty nice.  Temp was mid 60's and I thought I was in for a pretty good day.  It was very interesting on the four lanes.  I've kinda toned down my driving habits, especially on the bike.  The speed limit on 264 is 70 mph so I set the cruise control on 65 and got in the right lane.  Everybody and his brother was whipping by me doing 75 and 80.  Now stop and think about it, 80 gets you an additional 10 miles in one hour.  Is that worth a $250 to $500 ticket.  It means you'll just be a little less late to your job or you might get to the hospital a lot earlier than you expected.  Instead, get your ragged butt out of bed in time to make a leisurely trip to work or wherever you're going.  I had one dizzy broad pass me doing at least 80.  Now, she was in the left lane passing other vehicles and had that cell phone up to the steering wheel and her fingers were going at those keys texting out a message that I could only guess had to be extremely important to risk her life and all those around her.  But I digress from my original effort to tell you about my trip.  After I got past Raleigh I got on the two lane highways which I really enjoy.  I stopped at Angelina's Kitchen in Pittsboro for coffee.  It had started to get colder and I was in a long sleeved shirt and vest.  I had read in the "Our State" magazine that there was a BBQ place in Lexington that was supposed to be really good.  I was going through Lexington so I put the address of the BBQ Center into the GPS and bless her, Bitchin Betty took me right there.  The BBQ was excellent, the ambiance left a little to be desired.  When I came out it had gotten a little colder so I got rid of the vest and got a jacket.  Riding from Lexington to Lenoir there was mist.  It started out as light but got heavier as I rode West.  It never did turn into a drizzle.  From Lenoir to Blowing Rock(19 miles) visibility went to almost zero with heavy fog.  Speed went from 55 down to 25.  When I got to Blowing Rock I actually drove by the Holiday Inn twice before I finally spotted it.  On the way to Blowing Rock Bitchin Betty, my navigator actually took me on an uncalled for excursion before we got back on track.  I've had a serious talk with her and I turned off the power so she'll have no heat tonight.  Hopefully that will get her attention and she'll be more conscientious in performing her duties tomorrow.

I Checked into the Holiday Inn and called my old high school buddy Bobby Eckert who lives in Seven Devils during the warm months and then heads for Fort Lauderdale like on Wednesday.  He picked me up and we went to the Outback for drinks, dinner and a whole lot of catching up.  It was a great time and now I'm back in my room and ready to hit the rack.  It's been a long but good day.  Tomorrow is the Blue Ridge Parkway, lunch with my brother in Mills River NC, a trip thru Brevard and then I'll spend the evening with my youngest daughter Sam, her husband Geoff and three of my grandkids, Hugh, Blythe and Elle.

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Goodnight all, hope I don't get wet tomorrow. 

 

Bobby Eckert and me at dinner.

 

 

 

Sunday October 12...............Dinner with family last night was fun but today is get serious time.  I've got the trailer and the motorcycle packed, portable bar is loaded, all routes are planned and hotel reservations made.  I've been over all my lists of things to do and what to take which seems to expand with every trip I take.  Now if the weather will cooperate it should be a really fun trip but I have packed the rain suit just in case.  On this trip I will be on the Interstate only a total of 48 miles.  The rest is all two lane roads through the little hamlets and townships where you see America in action.  From previous experience I've found that some of the best food is available in the little mom & pop cafe's in these small towns and the people are so friendly and helpful.  That's part of what makes these trips so much fun.  The other part is just being able to see and experience the wonders that God has placed on this earth for us to enjoy.  It's truly amazing.  I've done a lot of overseas travel in the past but nothing beats the sights available in our good ole U.S. of A.
Well enough bloviating, I still have a few things to take care of around the house and get a good nights sleep and then I'll be on the road around 0730 in the morning.

This is OCT. 10 2014 and it's time for a new trip.  It will not be as long or intense as the last 45 day trip but, hopefully it will be fun as well as interesting.  My plan is to spend about two weeks on the road. Prior to departing I will have dinner with my oldest daughter Gina, her husband Tim and two of my five grands, Jack and Selah at Mama's Italian Restaurant.  From Wilson I will head over to Blowing Rock NC on the 13th of Oct.  I checked the Our State Magazine and found a supposedly great BBQ place in Lexington NC  so I will check them out as I pass by.  When I get to Blowing Rock I will have dinner with an old high school buddy, Bobby Eckert who lives part time in Seven Devils NC and part time in Florida.  Then I will ride the Blue Ridge Parkway from Blowing Rock to Asheville and have lunch with my brother in Mills River NC.  From there I want to pass thru Brevard and ride Route Rt 276 as far as I can and end up at my youngest daughters home for the night.  it will be fun spending the night with Sam, her husband Geoff and three grands, Hugh, Blythe and Elle.  The next day I will meander down the back roads of SC and GA and spend the night in Fitzgerald GA.  Then it's on to The Villages in Florida and three days with my old buddy Bill Seibert and his wife Phyllis.  From there it will be back roads back to Wilson but I'm not to sure of the exact route just yet.

As I travel I will continually update this blog with pictures and commentary on my daily activities along with any photo's I might take.

Hope you enjoy, I know I will enjoy the trip.

Toz