Day-10 / 144 miles

Well we made it home. Day 10 started early for us as last night, I was tired. I was in bed by 9 and asleep by 9:01. We were up, dressed and packed and eating breakfast by 8 this morning. The trip home was uneventful. No rain, not much traffic and no road construction to deal with. It was a good feeling turning onto our street. got everything unpacked. I changed clothes, got me a beer and headed for the pool. Loray changed clothes and headed for her plants and gave them a good watering.
This trip was an awesome trip for us. To me, the best thing about it was being able to spend it with some one you love. It was a dream of mine, from many years ago to be a Long Rider. Now, we are a member of that club. As we did this time last year, now we will wait in anticipation of our ride next year about this time. For the next 4 or 5 years, we have places that we have talked about going and next years ride will either be to Colorado to see some real mountains or to California to ride the Pacific Coast Highway. Loray has been to Colorado before and says that I would really like it there. So not sure which one, but either one will not be a bad ride. There will be things that we will do different next trip, as this one was a leaning thing for us. One thing is that I will not push to make that extra mile. we will do a better job at planning the days ride and keep it at a more enjoyable ride, each day.. try not to plan so many places to see, you just cant get it all in. We missed alot of neat places to see and visit on this ride. Oh well, I guess we will just have to go back and visit some of the places that we didn't get to see.
On this ride, we averaged about 38 to 41 MPG. that's riding 2 up with a lot of luggage. We spent an average of around $87.00 a night on hotels, except the one night in Charleston, where we paid around $190.00 for the night. That guy kinda put the screws to us that night, but we didn't have much of a choice, other than getting back on the bike and riding some more, so we just sucked it up and paid. I think we estimated that we spent some where around $320.00 on gas. We saved about $800.00 from the start of this year to spend on gas and food and we spent a little over that.

 I'm thinking about doing a write up/review on our 2010 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic in case any one out there is thinking about getting one, as to me, the only way you can get a good gauge on a vehicle, is on a road trip. There are some things that Harley could do different to make this a great touring bike, but in some areas, I found it to be lacking and will discuss these later on.

Mark was right about this trip, we had been planning it for a year.  Now we'll start planning our next one.  We started out in Texas of course, then on to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia.  Then we went through West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York.  That's where we turned around after seeing Woodstock and back to Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.  We altered our course after that and went to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  Then we headed home and rode through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and back home to Texas.  That makes 13 states not counting our home state.  We ended up with 3,999 miles traveled.  Because on the first day we didn't take off till 3 in the afternoon and on the last day we got home by 10:30, that would have made our trip 9 days long.  So we averaged about 444 miles a day.  One improvement we could make for next year, would be to spend more time at places we would like to visit, instead of trying to get farther down the road. Planning our next trip is going to be awesome.  I had an awesome time being that close to Mark for those 10 days, we have a great relationship and experienced all of this together.  I have an awesome husband, I love dearly.  Most importantly, we couldn't or wouldn't have had the opportunity if we hadn't invited God in our lives.  I truly believe He put us in each others paths 3 years ago and has steered us in the right direction since.  We don't ride alone, we ride with Him.

We frequented Waffle House on this trip, food is good and you can get in and out quick. 

 More time for riding.

Some of these pics are from yesterday.

Tunnel

You could see the oil line in Mississippi.

I told Mark we could go North here and start all over....NOT.

I was so glad to see that Texas sign.

Getting closer.

Home Sweet Home

I missed my Kylie.

Mark unpacked the bike, grab a beer and hit the pool.

I was right behind him.

Day-9 / 444 miles "Hot one"

Good evening, Today was a very hot day. We left Hell If I Know, Florida. around 8 this morning and rode down the rode a ways before we found a Waffle House for breakfast. At Pensacola, they have a Navel Air Museum and we almost stopped, but decided not too. I think in the back of our minds, we were going to try and make it all the way home today, so no stops for sight seeing. Loray didn't even want to stop in Biloxi, so we just kept on riding. By this time, it was getting very hot so that meant more pit stops. At this point, I don't think we care. Once we got close to New Orleans, we took Hwy 12 around and back on I-10. But that Hwy-12 just about did us in. Its not that long of a loop, but man the traffic was bad. had a couple of traffic jams due to road construction and of course more rain. We noticed that the clouds were forming off in the distant, so we decided to take a pit stop for food and put on our rain jackets, After about 5 miles back on the hwy, the rain started and continued for about 5 or 6 miles. It wasn't too bad, so we just kept going, but once it ended, man did it get hot again, so we made another pit stop and got rid of the jackets. By this time, we knew we were not going to make it home, so Loray started calling the hotels around Lake Charles, but every one she called, was full.
You know, i just love ABS brakes on this bike and I'm sure glad I got the bike with them on as we sure did need them. I will let Loray comment on this.
Anyway after a bunch of pit stops, we finally made it to a little place out side of Lake Charles and started going to all the hotels for a room and we found one. Its a motel 8. No bar or pool, but we did notice a sports bar across the street, so we walked over there and had a couple of beers and boy did that relax me. I really felt drained and tired. At one of the hotel:s, the sign said it was 105 degrees out, after I read that, stick a fork in us, we are done.
 We got to the hotel about 5:45 this evening, and I'm glad we stopped here for the evening.
Well tomorrow, we should be back home. Hopefully we will get an early start and be home by noon or 1.
We don't have many pics to post from today's travel.
 Good night.

Well Hell, our trip is coming to an end.  Now to the brake thing, we were coming over a big ass bridge, don't remember the state we were in.  Isn't that crazy, not remembering what state, I think it was Alabama.  Anyway the traffic started braking, there was a cop car w/lights on in the median and that's what Mark was watching.  But, there was another cop car w/lights on crossing I-10, all lanes.  Holy shit, this moron was creeping across the lanes, by this time everyone (except Mark) is braking in a major way.  So I scream in the intercom, he was able to stop the bike before mating it with a green Camry.  THANK GOD.  I have always felt like He rides with us, I am a true believer.  I think I lost 5 years off my life, so Mark and I are the same age now.  Other the that we had a fabulous day riding, in the hot humid air, on the hot blacktop, why do they make roads with blacktop, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that crap is hot.  Did I ramble just then?  OK I did, it's been a long week.  How Ya'll doin?

Day 8/ 567 Miles ":Second Wind '

Well today was a long day, we woke up at the crack of dawn this morning, well Loray did. It took me a little longer to roll out of the rack but we seem to have gotten a second wind as we were dressed and packed and rolling out of the parking lot around 7 this morning from Charleston, South Carolina with Biloxi as our destination. but we ended up in "Hell If I Know," Florida. I will get to that in a little bit.
Before I get started, I just want to say that I have an awesome Wife. I don't know any body that would have put up with what she had to today.
Now the ride. I knew that today was going to be a long, hot ride and that was true. We made a stop in Savannah, Georgia and bought some gloves and continued on to Florida on I-95. Went around Jacksonville to I-10 and  was just riding along. Not really much to see. By this time the temp. gauge was telling us it was getting close to 100 degrees outside. The humidity wasn't too high, but I guess if I could describe it as Loray would say, it felt like riding in an oven. Now I know your asking your self, why in the heck would you want to be doing this, well, Iwill try and explain that, later on. Any way, as we were getting close to Tallahassee, we noticed that some darker clouds were begining to form in the distant. By this time, we were both OK if it rained some as long as we could still see, it would be OK. We decided if it did rain some, we were not going to put on our rain suites as we needed a little cooling off. Well you guessed it. It did rain and oh did it feel good. It lasted for a couple of miles and then it was gone. When we got to Tallahassee, we decided to eat lunch. That was a good time to pull over as by the time we got to dinner, we were dry, but this would not be the only time this would happen. As we ate, it rained again, but by the time we were thru, it had stopped, but still a few rain clouds, so this time, we elected to put on just our rain jackets. As we got back on I-10, we could see that we were going to get wet again. The further we went, the darker the clouds got. Then it started to rain, but we were doing OK. even the cagers were doing OK, We went about 15 miles like this, just enjoying the ride when  the sky's just opened up. By this time. from the waste down, we were wet. the temp went from 100 to now around 80. It got to a point where I was having a hard time seeing. Loray saw that an exit was coming up so she yelled softly " take this exit mister" and Idid. We found our way to a shell gas station and parked. We were there for about 45 minutes and finally it let up enough that we decided to give it another shot.. By this time, I was thinking that there is just no way we were going to make it to Biloxi, at least not today. So I set our sights on Pensacola. About 30 mile down the road, we had gotten past the rain and needed fuel so we made a pit stop.  We decided that there probably wouldn't be any more rain so we took off the rain jacket and fold and stowed them and took off. We were still wet but knew if we rode far enough, we would get dried. Well, that did happen, except for our back side. As we were riding, we were getting closer to Pensacola and after about 50 more miles, decided to take a butt stop at a rest area.. While resting and looking at the clock, we found out that it was getting kinda late and we should call it a day. It seemed that we were having so much fun and that out butts hurt so much, that we forgot about the time. it was getting close to 7 pm. by this time. So we saddled up and took off for the next exit with a hotel. Our prayers were answered as not but a mile or two, there it was, so we took it and found us a nice room, because we are nice people, well I don't think my wife thinks that about me right now. Well we get the room and unpack, change clothes and went to eat. There's a Ryan's steak house across the street, so that's where we walked too. Well while walking there, in a casual conversation with my lovely wife, which by now might not think to highly of her husband. I asked a simple question, Honey, do you know what town we are in. You want to take a guess as to what she said, She said "Hell if I know" Well I have never seen this town in a map in Florida, ever. But in all my years of living, I knew I better not ask her, where in the hell is that. You know, some times you have to go thru stupid to get to smart and I was not going back to stupid this evening.
 So folks after 12 hours on the bike and 567 miles, we are in Hell If I know, Florida.
 We did not make it to Pensacola. We are about 45 miles east of there.
 Now back to the question of, why in the heck would you want to ride when its that hot and it feels like an oven. I will try and explain it the best way that I can. getting to see this beautiful country on 2 wheels and doing this with a person that you love, is awesome.. I remember back in Junior High school when some body at school had brought a book on motorcycles to school and he let me read it and I think at that moment, I was hooked, then the movie Easy Rider came out and I saw it and was hooked even more, but those dreams didn't come to pass until a year or so later i met a couple of guys that had a bike and for the next 3 or 4 years I was able to ride his bike every now and then. It was a Yamaha 305 I think. Then a few years later my older brother Gary, got a Suzuki and he let me ride it some. So thanks to that book, Jackie, and my brother, I got to experience something that was just an awesome feeling. At some point down the way. Ive always wanted to have a bike of my own and take a bike ride across the country some where. Well, getting the bike didn't happen till I was 50 and this is my second long ride on a bike and  I wouldn't have it any other way. For those that ride, I know you understand. It is a passion that we have.
 Now back to my wife and this trip. I know the last leg of any trip, is the hardest. And I know that bad things can and sometimes go wrong, when on the last part of any trip, you try and push it a little to much. Well a few times on this trip, I have done that, by trying to get that extra few miles in, when I should call it a day. Loray was tired a few miles back and I should have called it but I kept pushing. She is really a trooper and a very understanding wife. So tomorrow, we will just take it easy and not push it and if we don't get home till Sunday, then that's OK.
Well folks, I guess I have rambled on. Hope it wasn't boring. this has been a great trip so far.
We will see you tomorrow night for Day-9.
Loray will probably post a few pics tomorrow. We have a few of the rain
Good night

Oh My Gosh, it was a ride I won't forget too soon.  We started off the day having breakfast at Denny's.  An older gentleman noticed Mark's vest.  It has a Navy patch on it, he was in his 80's and didn't understand how to get online to get his own.  Then one of the waiters noticed another patch that says "Life is Short, Pray Hard", he said he was a minister and thanked Mark for wearing the patch.  Then a couple sitting by us wanted to know everything about the trip, even how to pack.  Then another couple came in and sat near us, they had taken trips too and lived in the mountains.  I think everyone, to some extent are curious about riding, some just don't take the risk and go for it.

Day-7 /482 Miles "HOT"

Howdy, We rode 482 miles today and boy was it hot. The temputure gauge on the bike pegged 100 degrees most of the day, but the good thing is, it wasn't humid, just hot. As you can tell , we didnt stay up north or go east. With our travels on this trip, we have seen a lot of the pretty country side, mountains, hills and a lot of green trees, so we decided to go see a beach. So we set our course for Charleston, South Carolina. That was probably a mistake as now we are a lot further from home, but we wanted to try and get to some kind of a beach and Charleston was it.
 We left Bedford  around 10 this morning and found our way to I-81 and took in south to Hwy-77 to Columbia, South Carolina and from ther we took Hwy-26 on in to Charleston. We were thinking that we would get to see a pretty nice  beach  with a lot of hotels. Well that didn't happen. After we got to Charleston, we ask a native on suggestions and he gave us a place called James Island, Folly Beach. We ended up at this huge Holiday Inn Hotel and im thinking this place is going to be way out of our price range, well we go in and find out, they are all booked up. Now we dont know what to do as this beach is nothing like Galveston. you cant ride down the sea wall and look at everything, but we do find another place within walking distance of the beach, its a whole in the wall place and I'm not even going to tell you what we payed. I liked to have had a heart attack, but it was late and we were tired so we took it. went walking around some and had dinner at a place called Ritas. This beach resort is small and not a lot to it. I would not recomend it.
We didnt take a lot of pics on todays ride as there wasnt much to take a pic of. After coming from the north and seeing the mountains with all those trees, nothing out this way compared to it. We did run into some rain and we had make a pit stop and put our slicker suits on.
 Tomorrow will be a long, hot day in the saddle for us as we will try to get to around Biloxi before we call it a day.
 Todays write up is kinda short, not much happen. We are learning from this experiance so next years trip we will be a little more prepared and not push us as much as we are doing on this trip.
 So, again thanks for stopping by. Loray will post a few pics of todays travel and we will be back again this time tomorrow night, so leave the light on for us.

Mark was right it was a hot one today.  We woke up this morning surrounded by mountains and going to bed tonight on the beach, can't get much better than that.  Tomorrow we are going to hit the jackpot in Biloxi.  This trip is really taking a toll on this old body of mine, so glad I have the rest of the summer to survive.

Does this tell you how steep the grade was?

Made a pit stop in Harleyville.

I want a boat.

Don't do it.

Hotel that was booked up.

Dinner at Ritas.

Day 6 / 294 miles "WOW"

WOW is the first thing that comes to mind.We got another late start as we knew we didint have far to go to get to the BRP.  Last night was laundry night for us, so we were up pretty late. We left the hotel around 10 this morning and headed to Staunton, VA. without breakfast. After about 30 miles we decided to find a place to eat and found a Dennys. Its a good thing to because after we got in and sat down, you guessed it, it started raining. After we finished eating and getting some fuel, we put our slicker suits on. Now my slicker suit is from Harley Davidson and the money I spent on it, it should hold up pretty good in the rain, not so. It does have a few leaks. After we got back on the road we found our exit about and hour and a half down the road. We took Hwy-64 from here to the BRP and once we got on the actuall road, it was just unbelevable the scenery. Up here reminds me of the Hill country and riding the 3 sisters. No its not a sex thing. The 3 sisters are 3 roads in the hill country that are 335,336 and 337. the difference between there and here is the 3 sisters when you ride them, they have a very rapid climb and decend and after a couple of hours, you have a smile from ear to ear. Here on the BRP, the climb is gradual and the decent is the same, but this goes on for miles and miles. I think the BRP is around 400 miles long and it ends some where in North Carolina. It has a lot of places to stop and look out over the valley and to take a lot of pictures. it is just awesome. We rode around 100 miles total up on the mountain top. We found a place to stop and get a burger. After the burger stop we were just riding and stoping when all of a sudden, you guessed it, rain drops. So we found one of them look out points and stopped and put or rain gear back on as we had taken them off when we first got on the BRP. So here we are, 3500 feet up in the mountains and raining, not a hard rain, but a good one. We had discussed earlier about what the plans would be for the rest of the day and we had decided that we would try and make it to Roanoke for our stopping point, but with the rain, those plans changed. About 10 miles down the road was an exit to a litttle town called Bedford, so doing around 25 to 30 miles and hour thats where we headed to. Now up to this point we have seen sunshine and fog. in places the fog was kinda thick as you couldnt really see what was over the ledge when there was a bend in the road, and there was a lot of bends, So being this high up, raining and in some places fog we rode the 10 miles and found our exit and just as we got on Hwy-43, the rain stopped which was a very good thing. Hwy-43 was a pretty neat little road as it was a one laner both ways and it twisted and winded all the way to the bottom into Bedford. That is a pretty neat little town. Rode by a deer feeding on something in some ones front yard. after getting threw the town and no rain, we decided that we will try for Roanoke and spend the night there, but wouldnt you know it, it started to sprinkle and looking at the sky, it didn't look to promising. Just as we saw that, we passed a Days Inn, made a u-turn and stopped here. Just as we got inside it really started raining, so that is were todays journey has ended for us. I didnt put the mileage down as with the rian, it has played havic with the bikes electronics. hopefully tomorow, everything will be dried out and we can get that and put it down tomorrow night, but my guess is we did some where around 300 miles, give or take 50.
Not sure where day 7 will take us and where we will end up at, but we know it will be a little closer to home.
 Today is mine and Lorays 2 year anniversary. Yea i know thats not much to talk about but I really didn't think I would ever be married again as I'm a 2 time loser at this. This time 2 years ago, me and my happy fiance and another couple, who were also engaged, decided to take a road trip to Eurika Springs Arkansas and get married. Now that was a trip, back then. both girls road there own bikes, so the 4 of us on 4 bikes took off for Arkansas to get married. The other couple is Bruce and Rea, so if you see them on our FB page, say hello. So I wanted to wish my lovely wife Loray a Happy Anniversary, and also Bruce and Rea a Happy Anniversary.
 Well folks thats about it for me. this place is just plain awesome and I highly recommend a trip up here. The only thing that I could think of that would be a awesome trip would be to come back here in the fall when all the leaves turn different colors as that would be an artist, dream.
 Oh yea, our friend Wrench had us a ride going the othere way that is supposse to awesome ride too, but we dicided to ride this. So we will have to come back at a later date and ride that route. Sorry Wrench.
Good night

Hey Hey Hey....2 years married...WooHoo.  It has rained all day today, put the rain suits on, take them off, put them on again.  4 states today, sounds like we rode bunches, but PA to VA going thru Maryland and West Virginia takes an hour or so.  The beginning of the parway was foggy, then sunny then rainy then foggy then sunny again.  We have some awesome pictures though.   We're riding and listening to the radio at the same time, and the weather man starts telling us about different counties having thunderstorm warnings with 60 mph winds and tennis ball hail........I'm thinking, where the hell are we?  Is that us?  2 people on 2 wheels on this BFR (big freaking rock)...you get the picture.  Most of the road doesn't, I repeat, does not have railing.....anyway it all worked out.  We had a late breakfast and lunch, so I had cookies for dinner....a diabetics dream. HaHa

It was a little foggy.

Now you see him.

Now you don't!

We had a short photographer.

Helmet hair!

See what I mean about NO RAILS.

Peaks of Otter Resturant, good food.

rain

then sun

deer

CIVILIZATION ...finally