Traditions, Legends and Milestones

[FJRBandit]

I just returned this evening from my three day adventure out West to pick up the bike I mentioned in my last post. I had planned for that to be a 2 1/2 blast across the Plains and not RR worthy. But it turned out to be three of the kraziest days.... I'll definitely be posting up a report on that madness soon. As for the bike I picked up - let's just say IT IS AWESOME! More to come....

So it's time to get this report wrapped up. On to Day 5 -

Wednesday morning, July 6th came with an early alarm. Jana had to be at the airport for her 7:30 a.m. flight , which meant she had to be on the hotel shuttle bus at 6 a.m. I got up with her and saw her off then got in touch with Bob, who had made it to Baltimore the previous night as well. As I mentioned in the last installment, Bob is a retired CPA and rides a beautiful 2012 Goldwing. He came over to the Arundel Mills hotel where Jana and I had stayed at and we departed from there.

We decided since we were near Annapolis our first stop would be the U.S. Naval Academy. Riding through the streets of Annapolis was interesting. Just imagining the stories these buildings could tell...

Then we arrived here.

What an amazing place! We decided to take the two hour guided tour. It was something like $10. What a treat!

The Plebes had just arrived the week before.

Just think, these guys were once plebes too!

Roger Staubach

And "The Admiral" David Robinson.

I was just so overwhelmed by the history, professionalism, duty and honor this place exudes!

The beauty of the grounds is worth the price of admission alone.

And the finale was a visit to the Chapel.

Built underneath the Chapel is the Crypt, which holds the sarcophagus of none other than John Paul Jones, father of the American Navy.

If you take the tour of the US Naval Academy and you don't come out of there feeling pretty darn proud of all of our uniformed men and women, well something is just wrong with you. God Bless America and God Bless the United States Navy!

Then it was onward. We were headed to Berlin, MD for the evening, on the "Eastern Shore". But first we had to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. What a structure!

It was time for some grub. So what else do you do when on the Chesapeake? You go find crabs, of course. You don't have to look far, that's for sure. We found a great place right on the bay. Harris Crab House. This place ain't no shack! They do it right.

I had the lobster and peppers loaded up in a grilled cheese on Texas Toast. If you are a cheese lover this is your sandwich!

Bob had a fantastic "Tuna-Q" tuna loin, slow BBQ smoked, then pulled like pork shoulder is done, then mixed with Carolina vinegar based BBQ sauce. I have to say, he won, it was fabulous! Too bad I didn't get a pic of his sandwich but you can tell by the satisfied look on his face he was happy with his choice!

It was a warm ride to Berlin.

But when we arrived at my B&B accommodations for the night, Popcorn Chicken met one of his brethren. My host raises chickens for the eggs and was happy to introduce PC to her flock.

It had been a hot day and it was time to cool off. So we headed over to Assateauge Island for a cool swim in the Atlantic.

PC was surprised to see this in the parking lot!

I have to say, although I knew what to expect, I was still surprised....

What a gorgeous place!

PC even agreed!

It was time to go grab some dinner and a cold one. We found a quaint little place that my host had recommended in the little town of Berlin, The Blacksmith Bar and Grill. We had a nice dinner and a cold beer and it was time to hit the hay.

Tomorrow, we'll head back to Assateauge for another quick visit then point it south to the Outer Banks of NC.

 

[FJRBandit]

Day 6 -

I woke up the next morning and went downstairs to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. I noticed the sign above written in chalk on the chalkboard. Those words spoke to me, as I've often found that when confronted with a situation, if you just take a step back and don't over react, more often than not the right answer will present itself. This was a philosophy I could just see my host embracing. She is a young lady, who lives alone, and rents a room in her house through Airbnb. The accommodations were excellent and while she offered the fresh eggs from her chickens out back to me the night before, I told her then the last thing she should expect to find me doing the next morning was scrambling eggs! Anyway, my stay at Krista's was outstanding. Krista's Airbnb house on a quiet street in Berlin, MD.

Bob, meanwhile, had to get a room in downtown Berlin at a neat old hotel. So we met up that morning and rode over the 15 minutes or so to Ocean City, MD for breakfast.

We both had a good night's sleep and were looking forward to a big day, riding down the coast to OBX. But first, I had to have the banana covered french toast. OMG! This is just what the doctor ordered for my queasy tummy. Wow this was some good stuff!

Then we took a quick stroll down the boardwalk.

It was time to head back to Assateauge and see if we could catch the ponies out in the ocean for a swim!

While they weren't swimming today, they were catching some rays!

Obviously, the ponies are show stoppers. Especially when there's a little colt in the mix!

We stopped at the visitor's center on the way out and Popcorn Chicken made a new friend.

Then it was time to head on down the coast. We saw quite a mix of scenery over the next few hours.

I guess they ran out of room in the cemetery.

Wheat fields just a few miles from the shoreline!

And Lady Liberty keeping a watchful eye, I'm not sure what she was watching, but she was there no less.

We stopped in for some more seafood. This place may not look like much, b ut they had it going on!

And it's a long ways to London from here. I'm not sure why that matters, but the sign told us anyways....

Then on to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. 13 miles long, combination bridge and tunnel system. Pretty cool!

So we cross the bay and into Virginia Beach, where it's warming up!

On down the coast, getting closer to OBX.

Crossing the historic Albemarle Canal

On down to the Wright Bros. National Memorial - which closed at 5 pm! and it was now 5:30. Oh well, we'll come back tomorrow.

We head on down to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks, NC. What a cool place!!!!

Finally, to our Airbnb accommodations for the night in Buxton, NC, on Cape Hatteras Island.

Just in time for a cool, refreshing swim!

Then a BIG calzone for dinner!

And tomorrow morning we'll start out here....

Till then - keep polishing those pipes! Which by the way, that saying took on a whole new meaning to me earlier today, but that's a whole different ride report. Let's get this one wrapped up first....

 

[FJRBandit]

Day 7 and 8 - The Final Leg

One of the most iconic lighthouses in all the world, the Cape Hatteras Light Station. Originally built in 1870, the lighthouse was moved to it's current location in 1999 due to erosion that threatened to commit it forever to the seas. Moving the lighthouse while completely intact was quite the engineering undertaking. You can learn more about the move in this Interesting read if that's your thing.

So Bob and I would have loved to stayed in Buxton a couple of more days but we had to move on. Today we planned to ride back up the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to Nags Head, NC and visit the Wright Bros. Memorial. Then, strike it west to Raleigh for the night before going our separate ways and heading to our respective homes.

Bob loading up that good looking Goldwing.

And then we rode a mile or so to the lighthouse.

We were a little early so the museum and visitor's center wasn't open yet.

So we headed north along the dunes of the outer banks. This place is simply beautiful and if you've never been I encourage you to make it a point to visit the OBX region sometime!

So we arrive at the Wright Bros. Memorial and park. What's the first thing I see? The sign of a complete MORON! I mean, the world is full of these ********* but really? How could ANYONE consider parking their vehicle like this??? Seriously, it was there for over an hour, parked just like that.

But we headed inside the visitor's center and enjoyed the sights. This is one really cool place!

As the information sign reads above, the Wright Bros. made made more than 1,000 flights in 1902 in the glider, testing and honing their machine. When they finally built the full size version that was powered, they placed it on a dolly and used this rail as a means of getting up to speed for take off. The bolder in the picture marks the spot that the first flight lifted off the ground.

This picture shows you the scale of the distance the first four flights covered that December day. Note that the first flight only covered 120 feet. Then the second flight covered 175 feet and the third flight's almost made it to 200 feet. Then they must have gotten the hang of it, as the fourth flight covered over 400 feet! It is marked by the marker way off in the distance on the right hand side of the picture.

The I took the long walk up Kill Devil Hill. This is where the Wright Bros. dragged their glider to the top of the hill in 1902 over 1,000 times to practice and hone their gliding and flying skills that were later applied to their powered flying machine.

Among the many dignitaries in attendance for the dedication of the memorial was Amelia Earhart.

Looking back at the flight area from the memorial on top of Kill Devil Hill.

We worked up an appetite so we found a little grill and I found the one spot that had a least some shade!

After lunch we pointed it towards Raleigh.

Haven't seen this evil weed in awhile! I remember back when I was a young kid when we would take the long car ride to visit Aunt Clack and Uncle George in West Virginia we'd always pass tobacco farms and drying barns throughout Tennessee and Kentucky, and even into West Virginia. My guess is you could ride all day these days and never find a single tobacco plant. My how times have changed in a short 40 years.

We made it to Raleigh and picked up a six pack before heading to our accommodations for the night, another Airbnb rental in the historic part of town.

Then we took a stroll through town. Raleigh seemed like a neat place!

Day 8 began with a ride across the street into the historic Oakwood Cemetery.

Where we passed the grave of the late North Carolina Senator, Jesse Helms.

As we rode out of town, the national pride was on display throughout.

Even this guy was in the spirit!

Bob and I split off and he headed for West Virginia and I for Murphy, NC.

It wasn't long and I received a call from my wife. She was having serious trouble with her right eye. I encouraged her to head straight to the eye foundation ER and call me as soon as she received a diagnosis. The more I thought about it the more I realized I needed to scratch my last day and head towards Birmingham. She called later and said that she had a bad scratch on her eye from her contacts and the doctor ordered her to not wear contacts for two weeks, gave her some ointment and told her to go home and get some rest. She didn't know but I was already headed towards the house. Although the day's ride would be 700 miles, I knew that's where I needed to be.

Along the way I passed through some beautiful areas of South Carolina and North Georgia.

I had plenty of time to think. As most of you know, when you are out on the bike, all alone, traveling around this beautiful country of ours you have plenty of time to go through a whole host of things. Well, today of course I was concerned about my wife, but I was also reflecting on the past seven years. Seven years that led to this milestone!

Yep, the Grey Ghost crossed the 100K mark on the way on that day. This bike has taken me to places that I really never before dreamed I would ever visit. I bought this motorcycle from a friend when it was six months old and had 2,700 miles on the odometer. This bike has taken me to 36 states around the US, two Canadian provinces on three occasions, all of the Great Lakes, and points from Key West to Glacier National Park and Buffalo to Big Bend. It's been quite a journey to say the least. I have made many new friends through my travels on this bike and will cherish the many, many memories I've made along the way. I don't have to tell you guys (and ladies) this is one amazing machine! I love the bike so much I just sent it to a friend's shop for a major maintenance and service, including the valve check, front and rear suspension rebuild, coolant flush and all of the fluids and joints either greased or replaced. I hope to get another 100K out of this fine machine.

With that, I'll leave you with one last photo, it took a few takes, dodging traffic and using the camera timer, complicated by the limited light of the evening dusk. Albeit, I finally got an acceptable shot for such a momentous occasion.

P.S. I made it home that day after 700 (unplanned) miles and 14 hours on the road. I'm happy to report that Jana's eye has since healed just fine. However, she tried contacts again this past weekend and her eye gave her trouble again. It looks as though after 35 years of wearing contacts, she is going to have to give them up.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along and commented, "liked" or just enjoyed this ride report. These things take a lot of time to put together and while I enjoy documenting the trip for myself I do enjoy sharing the adventure with you, because many of the places I visit are directly related to the inspiration I get from many of you and your ride reports. It's just my small way of saying thanks to you and trying to give back to the forum that has given me so much. Take care my friends and I hope to see many of you at our meet in Jemsion, Alabama this coming October.

 

[Tiger_993]

Thanks for sharing Bandit!

 

[escapefjrtist]

Well done 'Bandit.

Enjoyed the RR, thanks for taking us along on the adventure!

--G

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Great ride report Bandit!Really liked the pictures!

Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[hppants]

Well that was a fine adventure. A mix of everything. Some wifey time. Some buddy time. Some alone time. Just awesome.

Late October can't get here fast enough, my friend. No sir, indeed!!!

 

[FJRBandit]

You're welcome everyone! Again, thank you all for following along.

And Pants, you are correct sir, late October can't get here fast enough. However, at our age we don't want to start pushing father time do we? Although, I can see the flames rolling up from the campfire now, the glimmer off the bottle of spirits being passed around and for some reason, I can already hear lies being told.... oh, the FJR meets...

see y'all soon!

 

[wheatonFJR]

Great stuff! Thanks for taking the time to put that all together for us...gracias.

Sorry to hear about your wife's eye. My wife would truly hate giving up her contacts and going back to coke-bottle glasses.

 

[Niehart]

Great stuff! Thanks for taking the time to put that all together for us...gracias.

+1

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Good Stuff.

hppants told me about meeting you in the parking lot of the orchard. He was very happy about that.

Congratulations on rolling over 100,000 miles with the FJR. These really are great bikes.