Home again

One last picture looking towards North Carolina from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Well, it was another great trip this year. I was able to cover a lot of ground, go to many new places, see some interesting sites, meet some interesting people, and have a number of memorable experiences. The weather was, i a word, hot; sometimes hot and humid, others hot and muggy.  It was so hot in fact that for log stretches, sometimes all day long, I would ride with only my kevlar jeans, a t-shirt and the Wild Turkey bleu jean shirt I bought when I visited the bourbon distillery in Lawrenceburg Kentuky. 

There were many highlights, some of which I've tried to mention along the way.  There's no doubt that the most interesting bits of road were, in no particular order, the Skyline and Blue Ridge Parkways, Deal's Gap (on any serious motorcyclist's bucket list), the Natchez Trace, the road along the Gulf coast from New Orleans to Pensecola, the Outer Banks, and the drive through the Apalachians.

The places I most enjoyed myself at were: the Naional Civil War Museum in  Harrisburg PA; Deal's Gap; Nashville, especially the Grand Ole Opry; Memphis, Graceland of course; July 4th fireworks on the waterfront in New Orleans; meeting up with, and then diving with Jane off Key Largo, and our drive to Key West where we got totally drenched by a tropical downpour that left streets flooded; the fery accross Biloxi Bay with the oil drilling/production platforms on all sides; the beaches and surf at Myrtle Beach and at Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Richmond, especially the excellent Civil War Museum there; and last but not least Gettysburg. 

I can't say it was a wildly successful trip on the dining front, though there were some particularly good meals with Jane in Key Largo, and a few other places that I,ve mentionned in earlier posts.

Here are some of the facts related to this trip:

Days away from home: 37 days
Days actually riding: 28
Different hotel/motel rooms: 28
States visited: 14
Ferries: 3
Scuba dives with Jane: 5
Most kilometers travelled in one day: 462 (June 26 - Deal's Gap North Carolina to Lexington KY)
Litres of gas: 429.8
Kilometres travelled door to door: 9718


My trusty motorcycle behaved beautifully; all it needed was gas, an oil and filter change, and one new front riding light.

I would welcome the chance to do certain stages of this year's trip over again, particularly with Jane in a car, maybe even a convertible. But I'd probably suggest another time of the year when it's not so hot. Like the past two long motorcylcle trips I have taken, this one has allowed me to discover pieces of the North American continent that I had not before had an opportunity to visit. As such it again created many happy memories, some I have shared with you, and others that I shared with Jane in our many on-the-road phone, and at night Skype calls. 

No matter how good the trip was, it was nice to be home again.  The welcoming arms and smile make it so. I am blessed and very lucky!


À la prochaine.