23rd
August
2008
Monday, June 29th, 2008 - My first stop today is Mystic, Connecticut. There is supposed to be a pretty cool maritime museum there, and for anyone who has seen the movie ‘Mystic Pizza’ it was filmed there.
The ride out of New York is as bad as the ride in, but at least the traffic slowly gets less as you get away from the city. Whenever I’m in a big city I wish for the ability to lane split like they can in California. It really makes sense.
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posted in Wanderings |
21st
August
2008
Thursday, June 26th 2008 - New York, NY… It’s called by many names: The city that never sleeps, The Big Apple, Gotham, or The greatest city on earth. And now I get to find out for myself a little about this city. One thing is for certain is that it is crowded… crowded with cars, crowded with buildings, crowded with people.
As I drive closer to the city, the traffic starts to build and build. Soon I’m back to stop and go traffic and my bike is overheating again. There are only a few ways to get onto Manhattan and they are all backed up. I end up choosing the Lincoln tunnel because my GPS is pushing me that direction.
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posted in Wanderings |
15th
August
2008
Tuesday, June 24th 2008 - It’s evening as I just roll into Virginia on my way to Richmond for the night. I had planned on visiting one of the old plantations around this area, but with night settling around me and having reservations about the whole experience of touring the plantation, I decide to not worry about it. Instead I head into Williamsburg to check out the old architecture.
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posted in Wanderings |
12th
August
2008
Monday, June 23rd 2008 - I’m heading towards the Great Smoky Mountains today, and specifically to ride ‘The Tail of the Dragon‘ at Deals Gap. It’s a famous road for motorcyclists because of the 318 curves in 11 miles.
After almost a week without really having any curves to ride, I’m excited to be carving up the roads again.
And to see what all the fuss is about for this particular road.
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posted in Wanderings |
12th
August
2008
Do you want to know how I spent the plurality of my time sleeping on the road during my 38 day trip around the US? It was camping, but not just your average run of the mill - pull into the established campground and pay $15 camping. I called it Ninja camping, but I have also heard terms such as stealth camping and guerrilla camping. Read the rest of this entry »
posted in Wanderings |
11th
August
2008
Saturday, June 21st 2008 - The doldrums have set in as I ride towards Florida. It is hot and humid and I no longer have any particular direction my trip is taking. When I was riding in the west I knew that my destinations were the plentiful and beautiful National Parks, but after New Orleans I don’t have any particular destinations until the Smoky Mountains and Kittyhawk. This is the perils of letting the winds blow you where they may is you don’t know what to expect nor have a place to look forward to. I think I could completely adjust to this wandering travel, but it’s hard to jump straight to it from destination based travel.
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posted in Wanderings |
31st
July
2008
New Orleans has always been on my list of places to see. With visions of Mardi Gras, revelers throwing beads, Jazz bands playing, and the French Quarter I was excited to start the days journey. Heading out of Baton Rogue along the Mississippi just enjoying the sun breaks and views, I heard the first batch of rolling thunder coming my way…
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posted in Wanderings |
29th
July
2008
The features listed sold me on this unit as well as the very reasonable price offered at Costco of only $350, however after almost 2 months of constant companionship with it on my travels around the US, I’ve decided it isn’t the GPS for me. My review is more about what I didn’t like and got frustrated with than the specs, bells and whistles… as these frustrations can kill an otherwise very nice product. This may sound like more of a bitch session than a review, but I often think reviews sugar coat as most products have some great features (as this one does), but when you get so annoyed that you want to return the item I also think others would like to know about it to avoid the same issues.
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posted in Musings |
15th
July
2008
I drove so far in my stupor last night that I’m only an hour from San Antonio this morning where I have a couchsurf arranged. Since I got a motel room, I hang out and write a little then cut my hair before heading out a bit before noon. It’s a short drive and I ride around the city just checking it out.
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posted in Wanderings |
15th
July
2008
Day 15
It’s warm already as I head out the door from Russ’ house. I can tell today is going to be a hot one, and I’m heading to even hotter regions… I keep telling myself that after Death Valley it can’t be all that bad. Well, it was pretty close, and even more concerning was some areas where there wasn’t any people.
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posted in Wanderings |