The Long Ride Home

Waiting out yesterdays rain under a bridge

Johnny Cash's Tour Bus

End of the night at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

This morning in Cleveland, it was "kickstands up" at 6 am. It was cool and seemed strange to be putting jackets on. We looked at all of the weather reports and were sure that we were looking at riding in the rain at least part of the day. As it turned out, we rode with a storm behind us, had a few miles of wet roads in Buffalo but made it all of the way dry. We got to Mexico at about 1 and bid our goodbyes to Charlene-O'Canada- as she still had a 3 to 4 hour trip to get home north of Ottawa. She and Skip-the retired lawyer from Michigan were great riding partners on this trip and I hope to have other opportunities to ride with them.

Poeple magnet!!!

One of the best parts of taking these trips and owning a Harley, and the most fun for me, is the people. Almost without fail, any time you stop be it at the hotel, a rest stop, getting gas etc. people always stop to ask about the bike, where I am from, where I am going and lots of times, how they wish they were along fo rthe ride. It was so neat that when we were staging for the CMA parade in Nashville, people came out of the nearby buildings just because we were there and then when we left they stood on the curb and cheered. Stuff like that happens all of the time and it is so neat!
When I set out on this adventure, I really only had last years Rte 66 trip as a point of reference. As it turns out, this was quite different. While each day of rte 66 was filled with numerous stops along each route, this trip found most of it's interest in each city that we visited and long trips in between. Both trips provided fabulous reminders of the beauty of this great country and a thirst to see more of it. The ride along Skyline and the Blue Ridge are unforgettable both for the challenge and for the beauty of it.  From the almost naughty attitude on Bourbon Street to the genteel southern atmosphere of Memphis, Nashville's country playfulness and the rollicking rock in Cleveland, the trip was day after day of "good vibrations". I'm glad I did it, glad that you shared the adventure with me and as always, glad to be home.

Rain and Rock and Roll

No pictures tonight, left the computer on the bike and too lazy to go and get it. I'll make up for it tomorrow.
Our day started early not to avoid the heat this time but rather to out run the rain. In fact, when we got to the higher elevations this morning, we had to stop and put jackets on, a real departure from the heat of the past 2 weeks.
On the way we saw that there was a dealer called Adventure Harley. Since I am always talking about going on adventures, I had to stop and get a shirt. As it turns out, that was probably the difference that caused us to have to ride the last 30 miles in the rain. No harm though except that the bike needed to be washed-again.
There was a nice reception for us at the hotel this afternoon, drinks and snacks and another chance to compare notes on the tour. Tonight was the grand finale though, a private party at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We had the hall all to ourselves for the entire night and were seved all kind of sinful food-ice cream sundaes, cookies, brownies- you get the picture and we were treated to a night of rock music by one of Cleveland's best bands. The venue could not be more appropriate to the tour though as the roots of rock are found in the other genres that we explored, country, blues and jazz. The Rock and Roll museum is absolutely fabulous and is much more than we could have ever seen in just the few hours that we were there. It is 6 floors and covers everything from the early days of American music to the hip hop of today and explains how it all ties together. The featured exhibit was a crinclof the women of rock and roll which we did go completely through. The museum is another treat from this trip that needs to be included in a future adventure.
Tomorrow it's head east and make a mile home after a dealer breakfast that ends this tour.

Travel Day-Charleston, WV

Today was scheduled to be a travel day that takes us from the Country Music theme that Nashville offered to a Rock and Roll party in Cleveland, with a stop over in Charleston West Virginia.

Very dirty motorcycle!

We started out early again as we were promised more 90 plus degree weather this afternoon. We also decided to "take to the hills" instead of traveling on the interstate. Our route took us up into the hill country of Southern Tennessee, into the Daniel Boon National Forest, and through the coal mining areas of  Tennessee and western West Virginia. It was a really nice ride and we achieved our goal of avoiding the worst of the hot weather. The only problem that we had was a rain storm that lasted for about 1/2 hour. It seems that because these roads are constantly travelled by large trucks hauling coal, they have a coating of coal dust on them and when it rained, our bikes and clothing got coated with a thick grey film of coal.  

When we arrived in Charleston this afternoon, the local dealer hosted a really nice party for us and fed us another meal of barbecued pulled pork with all the right fixings.

So, about the dog I mentioned last night, today, we saw the dog riding on the bike with the guys wife. They tell us this dog is a service dog, we have decided that the dog is running the show.

Tomorrow it is off to Cleveland, a trip of around 250 miles and the last stop on the tour.

Now it's time for Patti's Perspective:

I have just a few words on the highs and lows of motorcycle touring;

Exhilarating and Exhausting; all the beautiful bikes, the speed the wind, meeting new people; the heat, the miles, the long hours

Nirvana and Numb; beautiful scenery, smells and adventure; how your face feels after several hours of hot wind pounds against it and how your legs feel after not moving on the back of the bike.

Contented and Cantankerous; After a long day and you've showered and can go to sleep and reflect on the good things; after the 10th time you get off the bike and your legs don't work and you're hot and tired and the guy you've been sitting behind all day is really getting under your skin but then you remember he's got the keys.

That's it for now, just a few reflections. All in all this is a wonderful experience and the ride has been fabulous!  

 

 

Fun times in Nashville

When I last wrote 2 days ago we were getting ready to continue on to Nashville. Well when yesterday finally ended, it was actually 1 am. this morning and I didn't get to writing my daily blog.

Jack Daniels

Yesterday started early again so that we could try and avoid some of the heat. We made it most of the way to Nashville when we decided to take a little side trip trip to Lynchburg Tn. What a good idea that ended up being as the road to Lynchburg was a nice country road with a lot of protection from the sun and some really beautiful views of the Tennessee hill country.  Many of you will remember that the Jack Daniels distillery is there but there is also a Harley dealer that we needed to get our books stamped. Lynchburg is a neat little town with 4 corners around a town square. Today most of it caters to the tourist business that is generated by the distillery so there is more than ample opportunity to buy mugs, t shirts etc. We found a neat little restaurant that advertised "good country cookin" and they really delivered that for our lunch. After lunch, we paid a visit to the distillery and were surprised to find that even though they make the whiskey there they cannot serve it because they are a dry county! Now the one tidbit of information that I found out there and that will be of interest to my family, is that each day Jack Daniels used to take his noon meal at an establishment that was run by the Bobo family!
After we finished with Lynchburg, we headed to Murfreesburg, Tn and another dealer visit. As we came down from the hills and back to the main highway, the temperature became brutal. When we stopped at one light the temp gauge on my bike that measures ambient said it was about 125 degrees on the highway. We got our books stamped at the dealer and headed for Nashville, arriving at rush hour so we had to spend some time tied up in traffic on our way to the hotel.  After a unpacking and a quick shower, it was on to a welcoming party followed by a trip to the Grand Ole Opry for the late show.
I had been to Nashville before and to an Opry show at the Ryman Auditorium but had never been to the "New Opry" theatre. It is a beautiful theatre and we were treated to performances by Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, The Oak Ridge Boys, Darius Rucker Bill Anderson, Jerrod Nieman and Lady Antebellum. It was a great show and we arrived back at the hotel well after midnight.

This morning was for doing laundry and washing the bike before heading out to a dealers breakfast and staging for the CMA Festival Parade. About 300 hundred of the bikes from the tour led the parade down Broadway in downtown Nashville.

Patti and Elvis in Nashville

After the parade, there was another tour party, this time at The Crazy Horse Saloon. It was a really nice lunch with a lot of country music thrown in. Then we had passes to the CMA Block party but we were simply worn out from the heat. We opted instead to set up camp for a quiet afternoon and evening around the pool at the hotel. Seven straight days of 90+ degree temps is wearing everybody down some. In fact as I write this at 9 pm. it is still over 90. As we start to make our way north towards Cleveland, it looks like we will get some relief.

So, this ride has some characters on it as you might imagine. One of them is this guy that walks around with this dog on his shoulder and on the road the dog is always on the bike. We haven't quite figured it out yet, but you can imagine that we are finding a lot of humor in it.

Tomorrow will be basically a travel day with a destination of Charlestown, West Virginia.

Graceland and Dr. King

My first stop this morning was the airport to pick up Patti. She flew in to ride the rest of the trip, her first time to do this.

We went right to Graceland from the airport. Harley did it up nice, getting us an area to park our bikes for free and a discount for the admission. I really did not expect what all is involved with Graceland. There is of course the mansion itself but across the street is like some kind of a strip mall carnival  . We met our friends at the Graceland Harley Davidson Store and boarded a shuttle to get to the mansion. It was neat to go through the gates with the music notes on them that I have seen so many pictures of and then to ride up the long driveway and get out at the front door. Graceland, the mansion and 13 acres, was purchased by Elvis in the late 50's for $100,000. Elvis liked the name so he kept it and the rest is history. Over the years he added garages, stables, a building that houses a  gym and racquet ball  court and garages for his many vehicles.

The mansion itself is a lot smaller that I expected but some of the furnishings lived up to the "gaudy" reputation that you read about, especially in the Jungle Room and the basement.  As you first walk in you see the living room with the famous stained glass and the 12 foot long custom made couch. The dining room, and kitchen are about what you might expect to see in any home that was done in the 70's and then you get to the jungle room and it's Hawaiian theme, pretty wild. The upstairs of the home is private and no tours are allowed there. The back yard has a pool and a smokehouse and still houses several horses on the grounds. There was one building that housed a display of all of the awards that Elvis received as well as all of those skin suits that he wore. After lunch we visited the Elvis Automobile Musem that houses many of his cars and many of the cars that appeared in the movies that he made.



The last stop on the tour is the Memory Garden where Elvis, his parents and a grandmother are buried.

By the time we got done with the tour of Graceland and another dealer visit on the other side of the city it was late afternoon. We went back to the hotel, freshened up and hit the trolly again. This time we headed downtown to the site of the Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The motel and the building across the street where the shot was fired are being restored as a museum and historical site. It is one of those places, like Dealy Plaza in Dallas that tell the story of the history of our country in my lifetime and I always feel a special urge to visit when I can.

Tonight Harley really did the blues part of this tour up right when they hosted a party for us on Beale Street. There was classic Memphis Blues from a really good local group and some of the best barbeque you could ever get. They served ribs, catfish, tamales, coleslaw, new potatoes, chili, peppers, sausage, and a killer apple cobbler.

Another street car ride and we are back at the hotel to rest up for the trip to Nashville tomorrow.

Trace, Tupelo and Blues City

We decided that to avoid some of the heat, we would leave early today so it was kickstands up at 7 and headed west to get onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Natchez, another national parkway runs for 440 miles northeast out of Natchez La. and intersecting at about mile marker 250 with Tupelo Miss. We rode about 80 miles of it today before getting off to pay a visit to the birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo. While we were on the parkway it was really nice and comfortable because of the elevation and canopy but when we got off---HOT!

House that Elvis was born in

The birthplace is made up of the house that Elvis was born in, the Church that he and his parents worshiped in , a 1939 Plymouth that replicated the car that his family moved to Memphis in and a museum. Unfortunately, the museum did not open until 1 and we were there at 10. We did talk to some people that have been there as well as Graceland and they assured us we would see much the same stuff there.

This is the church Elvis and his parents attended. It seems that over the years it was converted to a residence but when it was abandoned the museum bought it and restored it to it's original condition after moving it to the museum. Notice that there is an outhouse to the left. It was locked but we wondered if when you opened the door, there was a sign that says Elvis sat here? (sorry, I couldn't help myself)

   Pretty nice 1939 Plymouth, not the actual one that the family owned.

After we left Tupelo we went to the nearest Harley dealer as Skip had a signal light bulb out and O'Canada broke her sunglasses and needed a new pair. There are 5 Harley stores between Memphis and Nashville and there will be a drawing in Cleveland. If you name is called and you have a stamp from 4 of the 5 dealers, you win $1000, so we want to visit all of them anyway.

From there it was about 25 miles to our hotel but right through the city of Memphis in 101 degree heat. By the time we arrived we were drenched and tired but, a good shower and a nap later we headed to Beale St. for dinner. Now many of you know that I love Barbeque and Blues music so this is my kind of place. We ate at The Blues City Cafe and had some of the best ribs I have ever eaten. After that we walked the length of Beale St and listened in on several really good blues acts. 

On the way to Beale St on the trolley, we passed the Lorraine Motel where Dr Martin Luther King was killed. It is now a museum and we expect to return there tomorrow. We are also going to Graceland and to check out Beale St a little more. My co pilot flies in tomorrow morning. Patti has never been on one of these trips and she plans on riding from here back home over the next 6 days.  

Mississippi HEAT

Ok so even I am not crazy enough to like riding in this heat. It was over 100 when we arrived in Meridian Mississippi this afternoon. Thankfully our ride was a little under 200 miles and we left fairly early.

My first order of business when we got here was to go to the Harley dealer and get a headlight as mine was out. They really did a nice job by having drinks and hot dogs for us as we got to the dealer. Thankfully I was also able to get an early check in at the hotel.

Meridian calls itself the "Birthplace of American Music" and the "Father of Country Music" Jimmie Rodgers was born here. After settling in we went to the Jimmie Rogers Museum in Highland Park. The museum is resembles a big garage that somebody stuffed a lot of memorabilia in. It is nice but rather rough. One of the more interesting things though is there is actually a coal locomotive a passenger car and a caboose on the grounds.

On the same Grounds is an authentic carousel that is on the national Register of Historic sites. It actually is a working Merry Go Round complete with music.

Tonight the local dealer hosted a nice party for us complete with fried catfish, barbeque, live blues/rock music and gallons of the best lemonade.

Tomorrow will check another activity off of my "want to" list as we will travel some of the Natchez Trace on our way to Memphis.

So Long to New Orleans

Our last day here began with a visit to the National WWII museum. This museum is a wonderful treasure trove of artifacts and historical information of all of the aspects of WWII from the social and political conditions that led to the rise of Hitler and Mussolini and the rise of Japanese  imperialism through the end of the war. It was a really great visit but the museum is much too extensive to begin to see it in one visit. There is just too much there, so, I guess I need to come back the New Orleans!

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum but there are a number of aircraft that are on display in the atrium, including a B-24 that we were told was actually flown to New Orleans, the wings were removed and re assembled to place it in the museum.

The rest of the day was dedicated to Tour events beginning with a Party at the local dealer. They served us traditional New Orleans fare-po boys and crawfish pasta. During the party, a couple that is on the ride got married!

As I told you yesterday, there are 318 bikes registered for this trip, it is pretty impressive when they fill up the parking lot at the dealers.

This evening, we got to participate in an old New Orleans tradition, a walking parade down Canal St led by a band, to the wharf where they took a group picture of all of the participants.
The rest of the evening for me has been low key. Everyone else had other plans so I went out and got another bowl of jambalaya, made another visit to Cafe Du Monde for a last bite of beignets, and a walk through Jackson (of the War of 1812!) Square, and a last pass down Bourbon Street, which is really crazy tonight.

Tomorrow morning we will leave at 8 and head north to Meridian Mississippi for the night.

History lesson!

My history got confused last night...... This Jackson was The war of 1812....different Jackson in Civil War history. Thanks for the reminder Carol.

Rest Day in The Crescent City

As much as I like living in the "country", I love being in the city. I had visited New Orleans before but the French Quarter and the riverfront here are always a good visit. I started out the day by doing my "chores". I did my laundry and washed my bike-all before 7-and then set out on a walk along the riverfront and through part of the French Quarter. Now if you have ever been here, you have probably experienced the Quarter at night when it really comes alive. Early in the morning is quite different. You get a good look at the architecture of the grand old buildings and get a feel for their age and deterioration. The nighttime smells of all of the good cajun/creole cooking gives way to a less pleasant after the party odor, especially when the temperatures and the humidity is high. Still quite an interesting experience though.

The Mississippi

After breakfast it was back to the Riverfront to get good look at the Mississippi. As you stand on the banks you get the perspective that the river really is higher than the city, only held back as it winds its way past (in the shape of a crescent) by the man made fortification. You also get a real feel for the force of the river as it flows pretty strong as it passes.

After the Riverfront it was on to another of my favorite places here, St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square.

The Cathedral Sits just off of the square and a short distance from the river. The original church was built there in 1721 and there has been a church there ever since. The current church which is magnificent, was built in the mid 1800's It was dedicated as a minor Basilica by Pope Pius VI and more recently Pope John Paul II celebrated mass there.

Jackson Square

Jackson Square is a monument to Andrew Jackson, General of the Union Army for his liberation of New Orleans during the Civil War. I think that we don't often think of the Civil War being fought as far west as New Orleans. The square is a combination of statues, walkways and gardens that is beautifully maintained. The contrast between the cathedral and square and the rest of The French Quarter is interesting.

Beignets...YUM!

After that visit it was time for lunch and that meant finding a good bowl of jambalaya. I found it in a really nice open air cafe just off of the corner of Jackson Square and boy was it good! After that a stop at Cafe Du Monde for a cafe au lait and an order of beignets. If you have never been here, beignets are a fried dough smothered in confectioners sugar. Decadent and delightful.




The Rock, Rhythm and Blues tour kicked off this afternoon with a riders meeting. There are less riders on this tour than on Rte 66 (318) and the only foreign riders are from Canada and Australia The youngest rider is 30 and the oldest turns 83 tomorrow. There are 18 women riders.
The opening dinner was tonight followed by a really rollicking  jazz concert.

Tomorrow I plan on going to the WWII museum here and there are some R,R&B Tour events as well

Steamy in the Big Easy

Probably no surprise to any of you, but we made New Orleans. There was not a lot to take pictures of on the interstate but here are a few more from the Parkway.

We left the hotel at 9. (The people I'm with get up a little later than me!) The plan was to stop every 2 hours, gas up, lather up with another coat of sun screen and hydrate. When we stopped at 2 it was just under 200 miles to  N.O. so, I decided that I was going to make a mile and be at the same hotel for a couple of days. Can you believe these people actually follow me? Anyway, we got here at 5:30 and had a great dinner in the French Quarter. We have run into a few other people that arrived early and some of them also did Rte 66 last year so it's like a reunion without name tags.

Here are a couple of videos of the Parkway ride---HANG ON!

Last night I got an e-mail from someone that told me that what I am doing was an inspiration to them. I guess that I never thought of it that way, I'm just living the dream and having a ball doing it. So I was thinking about that as I rode today and of all of the people that I know who are affected by cancer. I know caregivers who are the best at what they do and still face having to lose some of their patients. Some of you have lost parents, brothers and sisters and perhaps saddest of all, children to cancer. Some of you are in treatment or just finishing up. Some of the fortunate ones are like me, survivors who have gotten a second or third chance at life. Since Saturday I have had the time of my life, again, so I want to dedicate all of that fun over these past 5 days to all of  it you. Hope you might find some inspiration in it.