9/13 South to Florida and westbound...

I arranged for a new front tire in Newport News, VA before continuing on. 18K miles on it and it was well worn. I had called Saturday when I got to VA to see if I could get squeezed in Monday. The shop said they would get in me in. I got there at 0900 and was out the door and 1010. Can't complain about that! Headed to the store to get some supplies and was finally headed south at noon. Weather was clear and temps warm but very comfortable over all. I had planned heading a bit west first and travel the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountain NP but developments on the home front has resulted in a schedule reset. Kristen and Michael (daughter/pastry chef and her husband/chef) got jobs in Solvang, CA near Santa Barbara. The need to find a place to live, get moved and all the stuff that goes with that necessitated a return a week or so early. So I'll have an excuse for another ride to visit those areas some other time.

I passed thru VA, NC, SC, and made it to Jacksonvilla, FL before calling it a day. I really felt the humidity once in FL. a bit of light rain did not help much either. Next stop, Key West.

9/11 VA

Slept like a rock and woke up to sunny skies finally. Today was an easy day I I only had 4 hrs to go to Newport News to my bother's house. I passed thru the remainder of DE, MD and finally into VA. The traffic was much more tolerable as were the roads. Passing over the Potomac River I could see the Washington Monument in the distance. I arrived around noon, had a nice lunch and caught up on numerous topics from family, work, projects and general chit chat. In general a lazy afternoon The weather was nice and no rain today!

9/9 Southbound

Once again I packed up damp camp gear but that's what trash bags are for! Headed out of camp and took the scenic route along the Maine coast passing thru various small towns along the way. Very scenic with each one providing a different view of the water. Eventually I headed inland to pick up the interstate as my next destination was my brother's in VA. There are not many freeway options other than the dreaded I95. YUCK! First it's a toll road. If that's how they pay for roads somebody is holding out because they are very rough. I passed thru NH again, MA, CT,NY, NJ and DE before calling it a nite. MA gets my vote for the WORST roads so far. Abosolutely bone rattlling with patches on top of patches and very uneven abutments between the roads and overpasses resulting in more sharp jolts. This was by far the most stressful day in 3 weeks. Speed limits are ignored, lane changes are fast and NASCAR style - barely enough space to fit in but they do and back and forth etc etc. I also managed hit NY City at 1700 on a Friday nite. I was dreading the traffic I would encounter. It was slow but not as bad as I expected and the 'Welcome to The Bronx' welcomed me. Fortunately I was on the hiway and not going thru town. Once over the George Washington Bridge you enter NJ and I95 becomes the NJ turnpike. 12 lanes of traffic, 6 in each direction and all full and flying. The speed limit was 65 I was doing 75 and being passed like nobody's business. Again lane changes all around and cutting in and out. I could not do that on a daily basis. I think it was ~120 miles to the border and It cost me $23.50 at the toll booth at the end. What I rip! I get charged for 3 axles with my trailer same as someone towing a boat or travel trailer. What a racket. Those roads should be smooth as glass instead of the horrid mess they are. I continued on thru to DE and called it a nite. I was exhausted after that mess.

9/9 Acadia National Park

Had an easy and scenic ride from the motel to Acadia NP. Took about 90 minutes. The park was quite busy and the visitor center full of visitors. I had expected lighter traffic given school was in session and Labor Day Weekend being the start of the slower session. The park is comprised of a series of several islands. The largest is the primary one visited by most guests. There is a 27 mile loop road around with many view points and exhibits to enjoy. There are vast quantities of pink granite everywhere from centuries old volcanic activities giving a pink hue to the many viewing areas. The highest point is Cadillac Mountain at 1500 ft. It's listed as the highest point in the North East I believe. It provides a 270 degree view from Bar Harbor, numerous islands and finally out to the open ocean. I spent several hours enjoying the many sights. I eventually made my way to the campground and got set up. There is a trail from the camp out the the cliffs above the ocean about 40' below that I enjoyed just watching the waves crash on the rocks below. The rain gods found me once again and a short rain shower passed thru. The 3rd one of the afternoon but all were short. After returning to camp I scared up some dinner and walked thru the campground and another heavier shower passed thru. Seems to be theme the last few days :( and so since it was dark I called it day and read for a bit and nodded off.

9/8 Maine and the 2nd Corner

As I was waking the morning it was calm and quiet. That lasted about 30 minutes and then the rain started. Murphy lives again! It rained about 30 minutes and moved on so at least I was able to pack without it raining on me at the same time. Left about 0715 under cloudy but dry skies. Today's destination is Madawaska, ME which is the 2nd corner. Fog was hugging the tree tops so unfortunately I was unable to see much. the further north I got the thicker the fog and eventually it turned to rain. Light at first but it continues to increase. As long as I was moving the rain floated around me but ol' Murph was just waiting for me. Road construction and a one lane bridge appears. Of course the lite is red so stop and hurry up and wait. It's raining so now am getting wet. My riding gear is supposedly waterproof but I could feel dampness creeping in. The light changes, I'm following a loaded logging truck and a pickup with an empty flatbed trailer. I leave some room and watch them proceed thru. The empty flat bed takes a good bounce which got my attention. the 'road' is loose gravel that is a mucky mess with the rain. I am not looking forward to this crossing! I proceed VERY slowly dog paddling my way. There are so many pot holes I can't get thru without having to drive into them. There were more holes than flat surface!!! I have to slowly creep into a hole, get my balance and gingerly creep out. Of course the trailer has to take a different path with tugs at time too. I was sweating bullets! I look in the mirror to see how many are lined up behind me and there is big ol' yellow school bus! I finally made it across without tipping over but it sure was scary! The rain continues. The next obstacle are the train tracks. They all are diagonal to the road and really jolt the bike hard and with the rain it makes it very shaky. I get to Madawaska and a gas station I can duck under the cover and get my real rain gear out. I they are on the large side to easily fit over my heavy coat and pants and they are white so I look like a big marshmallow going down the road. And, of course as soon I I get them on the rain stops! (not for long tho). This town built a 4-corners park with nice stone monument fountain and sitting area. You can drive your bike right up to the monument for pictures. Then off to the Post Office for the pics at the PO to prove you were there. This is required if following the org's rules. I pick up a few postcards and my shot glass and start heading south and the rain reappears. Hiway 1 runs thru numerous one-horse towns so speed up, slow down and repeat over and over. The rain comes and gos all afternoon but fairly lightly. I got back to Bangor about 11 hours after I left, got a motel and peeled off the rain gear and grabbed some dinner and another day ends. Off to Acadia NP tomorrow..

9/7 NY VT NH ME

The motel I was at was rather shabby to say the least! But it served is purpose. Did not rain all night but as soon as I started packing up the trailer it starts! Murphy lives! I continued east thru the Adirondack mountains via NY3, a twisty road that went thru Lake Placid where the Olympics were held some time ago. Looks like it still used a training facility for various sports. The rain gave up about 2 hours in to the day. It was a very light rain but still annoying. Crossed into Vermont and continued down secondary and alternate state highways. Lots of rolling hills, farms and open spaces. After a few hours of rolling thru the back country I crossed into New Hampshire. More back roads and nice scenery and then interstates for a bit. Crossed thru NH and finally into Maine. Temps warmed up to low 80’s and sunny for the first time in days. Although the previous days were comfortable the sun was hidden by high clouds. Also got a taste of the blasted turnpike toll roads here. What a PITA to have to stop every so often for a $1 toll. I did hit one in NY and I got a ticket when I got on and when I got off I gave the ticket back and the corresponding toll. Much easier than the other way.

My target was Bangor, ME but I stopped about 60 miles early and am holed up at the last KOA on the route. I asked at the info station at the border and not much at this end for camping along my route. I did get info on some further north I can use on my way back down though. I’ve got ~275 miles to go to get to the top of ME and the second corner (or 3rd if you count the center). I should be there my mid day Wednesday.

NY 9/6

Left Niagara falls under cloudy but dry skies and continued that theme all day. From the falls I went east and south to the finger lakes region and zig zaged around the lakes. The area is full of various lake front homes so the main hiway is back a ways making it hard to get a good view of the lakes bit I did get a few good peeks. After a few hours of zigging and zagging around the back country areas I headed off towards the next corner. GPSy Lady kept pestering me to turn left, turn right, turn left, blah blah blah thru various small roads resulting in lots of movement but little distance. My fault as I programmed to use the back roads but it got to be a bit much. So I interrupted her and plotted a new route to Madawaska, ME and off we went. At some point I checked the new route and realized she was routing me back into Canada and over the top of Maine. I did not want to go back to CA again since the border crossings can be a pain when backed up especially on a holiday weekend. So I modified her plans again to go towards Bangor and then north. Easier said than done. Seems Maine has little in the way of hiways of any sort so you have to either go over the top or around the bottom. No crossing up the middle etc so yet another few routes created to get me to my destination. And, since I figured out I was being routed thru Canada I ended up being a bit farther north so had to do a bit of east and south travel to get back on track. So I’ll be traveling thru Vermont and New Hampshire tomorrow. It’s ~750 miles from the hotel I am at to the next corner. So probably Wednesday arrival and then south along the coast a bit