Day 16

We made it! Arrived in Madawaska around 4:30 p.m.

The route Larry chose for us kept us out of Montreal and had us riding in Vermont. As such the first few hours were slow, but the weather was perfect and this afforded us the opportunity to actually see the scenery.

Once we got on the highways the miles went by and the traffic was light for the entire day. The roads themselves are ghastly. Quebec needs to put some funding toward their highways!

The border agent was friendly and helpful. I thought Larry was being grilled as he was at the gate for 5 minutes. No, the border agent just wanted to hear about our motorcycle tour. He also pointed us in the direction of the post office!

We gassed up at Larry's Service Station and continued on to the post office. Finding a parking spot out front was easy because the post office was already closed. While Larry was across the street taking photos PEOPLE STOPPED so they wouldn't block the picture. (Can you imagine that happening on YOUR Main Street?)

Before we were finished at the post office a car rolled in and this lady asked if we were doing the Four Corners....Jean, keeper of the flowers at the Four Corners Park in Madawaska (and I'm thinking a whole lot of other duties as well).

We headed to the park. Wow, quite an impressive undertaking and also a truly lovely place. Jean met us at the park and filled at the certificate (see photo).

Every place we have gone in Madawaska the people have been interested in where we live and what part of the Four Corners we were on and let us know they are pleased we saved the best for last.

We are staying at Martin's Motel. In California this would be called a bed and breakfast. On the outside it looks like a mobile home. On the inside there is a long corridor with rooms on either side. The rooms are cute. The beds are COMFORTABLE. The entire place is clean!

We headed to Dolly's in Frenchville (1 mile) for dinner. A GOOD place to eat. I just had to have a lobster roll. I wasn't disappointed.

After dinner we headed back through town to look for empty quart size oil containers. Larry looked in every trash bin at every gas station in town....and only found one.

As we were leaving the Citgo and red pickup pulls up next to us in the driveway. A fellow Goldwing rider who was born and raised in Madawaska who has yet to do the Four Corners Tour. Had a very enjoyable visit with Don...and he offered his home as a spot to change the oil.

Today is our day of maintenance...the rides are getting the oil changed and the clothes are getting washed. We are hoping to get our maintenance taken care of this morning so that we may do some sightseeing this afternoon.

After today anyone interested in our adventures riding home will need to go to:

http://mainetocalif.blogspot.com/

Things we have learned on this 6,000+ mile ride:

The cooling vests are invaluable.

When it is hot...stop often.

If a motel is listed as "FEMA approved" STAY AWAY. Chances are people from the last disaster are still there.

If you are headed for the end of your day and staying at a budget motel...get something to eat BEFORE you get to the motel. The food available near budget motels is USUALLY crap.

McDonald's sausage McMuffin is a great value meal EXCEPT in Lordsburg, NM.

People are awesome all over the United States.

Stupid drivers are limited by state or international borders.

Being on a motorcycle is the best medicine!

Day 15

Photo with all the grass is a picture of the ground hog at the motel in Harrisburg, PA.

A pleasant 57 degrees when we rode out of Harrisburg...no need for cooling vests today. We actually had to put on some extra clothes for the 1st time in a couple of weeks.

We chose to ride I-83 to I-81 to Hwy 11.

This area is so beautiful.

Met some friendly people. One guy even knew were Madawaska was. Another was the president and founder of the Old Dogs Brotherhood motorcycle group. His website is: http://www.olddogsbrotherhood.com/

Hwy 11 was very slow. Top speed is only 55 and there are many villages and towns to slow down for. It was on this highway that we saw three of the dumbest moves by drivers yet on this trip.

We are staying in Malone, NY - trying to decide just how we want to ride to Madawaska.

Day 14

On the road at close to 7 a.m. - a balmy 75 degrees. What a welcome change.

I-95 was a breeze until we were 40 miles south of Washington D.C. From there until we were north of Washington it was mostly stop and go. We used I-495 to bypass the worst, but today it didn't matter because there was construction and the express lanes were all closed.

The country is really pretty. North Carolina has lots of lilies planted in the median and along side the interstate. So many trees. The poor settlers had their work cut out for them when they were setting up house.

We are in Harrisburg, PA - the motel has a larger grassy area next to a creek. As we were "Skyping" with our friend Wendy Larry saw large furry animals cavorting on the grass. We later found out they are ground hogs. There are also chickens, squirrels and cats all living happily in the grassy area.

Last night's motel was a dump - no other way to put it. I sleep with earplugs, but at 2 a.m. I heard something and checked out the window...some dude was outside smoking. The gap under the door to the room was larger enough for critters to crawl through. This morning I found a HUGE spider crawling up the side of the dirty chair. Ugh! The wasn't dirty, nor did it have an uncomfortable bed, just the entire facility was a dump.

Day 13

Another early start from Daytona Beach on I-95.

Another boring ride on the interstate.

Much prettier than the roads we've been on.

Larry jokingly said to a woman at a fuel stop that our air conditioning wasn't working well....she believed him....so he had to explain about the evaporative vests.

We also had some woman ask where our support vehicle was....she thought we had a trailer to put the bikes in in-between the four corners.

We are staying in Lumberton, North Carolina. The motel is located next to some kind of rehabilitation place and we think there may still be people from hurricane Ike living here.

Tomorrow night we will be in the Gettysburg, PA area. Should be a much prettier ride.

By the way - our rides have new names....Sun Buggies. A nice lady in North Carolina named them.

Photos for Days 10, 11 and 12

Days 10, 11 and 12

Day 10....We left at 6 a.m. and should have left an our earlier to beat the heat. We rode Hwy 27 to Hwy 1.

From Homestead down to Key West is very slow and filled with people, many of whom are doing incredibly stupid things with the vehicles. We arrived at the motel around 2 p.m. It is difficult to describe how awful it was riding in excessive heat at slow speeds. You'll just have to do it yourself.

Our first evening in Key West we took the trike into Old Town and scoped out the area. Also took photos at the Southern Most location. We did ride without ALL our gear, but we wore our helmets.

There are zillions of tourists riding scooters around Key West....scary thought that most have never ridden a bike before and even scarier thought NO helmets.

Day 11....We went to the post office and completed our paperwork for the tour. After the P.O. we headed over the Southern most location again to get a photo of Larry and his bike....and narrowly avoided a parking ticket.

We figured we had traveled this far so we ought to spend some time vacationing. Larry booked us on a snorkel cruise in the morning and a sunset cruise in the evening. In between cruises we stuck around Old Town and ate at Two Friends restaurant...REALLY GOOD FOOD.

Of course there was a cruise ship in port...made the snorkel cruise crowded. It was a good crowd...all from the the Americas or Europe. No pushing, no shoving and no pods of people!

Day 12...Wow, what a difference 8 hours makes to a motorcycle ride. Leaving Key West this morning at 6 a.m. made for a perfect ride to Homestead. It actually cooled off after we got away from Key West.

We rode I-95 north today. I would say we flew through the Miami area. The speed limit is 55 mph and EVERYONE was going 70-75 mph. The people on the "pay" HOV lane were doing at least 90. Aside from being hot and humid the ride was uneventful to Daytona Beach.

We are at the Super 8-Speedway 2 miles from the race track. The sign on the back of the door to the room says the room rate is $449 a night. Glad we are in the off season!

Day 9

Once again we started our day at 6 a.m. - stayed on the interstate for a ways east then headed south on Hwy 44 and then Hwy 27.

Florida is green...and lots of trees. Also lots of people.

Another good day for a ride.

I think anyone who travels to humid areas should do it the way we have...just flying in makes it seems much worse than it is. For us, riding at 90 degrees with humidity doesn't seem bad at all. Much better than 108 and no humidity!

We have a room in the Davenport, Florida area. Another Super 8, but a few steps up from the one we stayed at last night. This motel would be a recommendation. Funny how a NICE room near Disney World is half the cost of the crappy room we had in Riverton, Wyoming this time last year.

While we were in the pool a black bird with a long tail landed on the edge and got a drink - obviously no problem with chlorine. Then the bird started talking along the ledge of the pool and dipping its beak in the water...it was eating the bugs that had fallen in the water. Clever bird.

There are bunches of birds that look like egrets...with light brown on their wings. Kind of like Florida's version of pigeons!

It rained this afternoon after week got here...glad we covered the bikes.

Day 8

Rode to Crestview, Florida.

I-10 from Orange, Texas to I-12 in Louisiana (to avoid New Orleans) back to I-10 for the remainder of the day.

We departed at 6:20 a.m. At least after Texas I-10 has more scenery! Saw two single vehicle crashes.

The people in Louisiana ignored speed limit signs...even when it was 45 mph for construction they kept the pedal to the metal! Apparently they new when the law enforcement began their shifts!

Interstate riding is so boring!

Day 7

We got out of Del Rio at 6 a.m. The sun wasn't even up yet!

By leaving so early Highway 90 was virtually empty. Riding through San Antonio was a breeze. Riding through Houston was almost pleasant. Are they working on the interstate or is it always in a state of construction?

Fairly uneventful ride today. Highway 90 to Interstate 10. We are spending the night at the Super 8 in Orange, TX.

We will get away early tomorrow and hope to make it to Pensacola, Florida by early afternoon.

Day 6

We departed Alamogordo at 6 a.m. - the temperature was already over 70 degrees. We road to Artesia over the mountain via Cloudcroft. The temperature dropped to 52 degrees and didn't get above 70 until we arrived in Artesia.

Highway 82 is a nice mountain ride - the speed limit is 55 for most of the distance. This morning's ride was one of those perfect days that reminds us of WHY we ride motorcycles.

We stopped at the El Rodeo Restaurant in Pecos, Texas - the mention of this place is not a recommendation! There isn't much on the road we were on, so we opted to take the first available eatery. We ordered the taco plate - the daily special. It took quite a while to get the food and then the waitress proceeded to dump Larry's toward his lap. I tipped it back so only one item landed on the table. She apologized and said she'd get him another taco. We NEVER got it while we were in the facility. When we left she came out the car with 3 tacos. Fortunately we found the whole event amusing.

I think we'll wait to get back to Lakeport to have Mexican food.

We rode Hwy 285 to Del Rio, Texas. This is a very nice 2-lane highway with a speed limit of 75 mph. The maximum temperature was 95 with some high clouds. There was very little traffic. We got to experience some "Yee-Ha" curves....that is what we call an unmarked curve that takes you gently to the left with little sight distance and then drops down into a canyon.

The Pecos River bridge crossing was an awesome sight. Made us want to stick around and check it our some more.

Imagine - we rode 5 miles an hour faster than ANY interstate in California on 2-lane roads...in far better condition!

Lots of Border Patrol....and we found 2 that not only smiled, but waved. I'm thinking that the farther south one gets the nicer the border guards are.

By the way, at the checkpoints we are asked the question, "Are you a citizen?" Of course we simply answer, "Yes." Larry & I were talking last evening and we had both had the same thought, "Isn't EVERYONE a citizen of somewhere?" I know, I know, don't over think it!

For what it is worth we are staying at the America's Best Value and it REALLY is a value. Larry gets waffles for breakfast and I got the swimming pool AND all the other stuff I NEED to have!

Day 5

The ride from Tucson to Alamogordo, New Mexico was far more pleasant.

Only around 91 degrees and a little wind.

We are here because we wanted to check on our house....the house I REALLY want to live in, but haven't made it yet!

We are staying at the Satellite Inn...appropriate for this town so close to White Sands! If you ever get here and need an inexpensive, spartan place to stay this is the place. COMFY bed, free wi-fi, some breakfast and HOT water. Just none of the extra stuff - like a hair dryer or a big tv.

There are many other motorcyclists staying here.

Day 4

We scooted down the remainder of I-8 to San Ysidro and mailed off our paperwork.

By the way - anyone else doing this should take note that the lobby of the post office in San Ysidro is subject to crowding on the first of the month. Not sure if people were waiting to get their checks or sending checks.

It really is too bad the marine layer doesn't extend more than 40 miles east! Started to get hot right at the Cleveland National Forest sign and stayed that way throughout the day to the Tucson, AZ area.

Not a very interesting road. Larry saw a road runner....walking swiftly! He also saw some birds that looked like they were playing chicken with the cars and lost...feathers all over the place.

Temps hovered between 104 and 108. We stopped more frequently to refresh ourselves and re-wet our evaporative vests. While the vests are wet it is like air conditioning. We just need to figure our a drip system to keep them wet!

For the first time we both got a little sun burn THROUGH the mesh jackets.

We stayed at the Super 8 in Marana....it is being upgraded. It is NICE....except for the little towels, the uncomfortable bed and the roach on the bathroom floor.

We are headed to Alamogordo today....it's only going to be around 100 so it will be nicer riding.

Days 2 and 3

We rode from Roseburg, Oregon to Sacramento on June 1st. Very uneventful ride until we reached Williams.

Our friends Judy & Fred Middendorf drove from Lakeport just to visit with us at Granzella's in Williams. We had a lovely visit AND they lugged home all our luggage from our Alaska Cruise.

Last night we stayed in Freeport, CA and departed at 6 a.m. for the San Diego area.

Larry's plan worked well as we were able to avoid almost all bad traffic in southern California. A few slow downs, but for the most part above the speed limit all the way - going to speed limit would have been hazardous to our health!

I did wonder how many crashes occur because people are traveling with traffic and suddenly brake because they want to get in an inside lane and there is no room! I think in our area they would get clobbered!

We are staying in National City this evening....

Tomorrow we will "do" San Ysidro and head east....50% complete and still over 4,000 miles to go!

We're Off!

We departed Blaine, WA at 8:15 a.m. - made it as far as Roseburg, Oregon before stopping for the evening.

For some reason 440 miles at 55-60 mph seems so much longer than the same distance at a faster speed.

Uneventful ride...weather was great.