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.