Day 8: Back In Dirty Jersey

Day 8:

8:00 AM 6:00 PM

480 Miles

Comfort Inn (North Carolina): I think Mike has become accustomed to the Hampton Inn style. He wakes me up at 7:00 ready to leave.

Shoney's: We sit down at Shoney's and wait for the waitress, but the place looks dirty. We tell her we're not hungry and get the heck out of there.

Ryan's: We stop at another breakfast place and get the buffet for $9. I leave my last $2 as a tip.

I-95 in Washington: We hit some traffic outside of Washington so we take Rte 1 for a while then get back on I-95. We can see the driving style gets more aggressive as we go north. I have a scary moment when a car gets between the two bikes. I speed up to go around it but just as I bear left to get in front of it, the road bends in the opposite way. Just as I am about to go out of the lane, the bike rights itself and I'm able to maintain.

Sheetz gas station (Maryland): It's amazing how much Sheetz resembles Wawa. This will be the last gas stop before we hit Jersey. Mike gives me the MacBook from his luggage (which has a rain cover) and I put it in my backpack. It's the middle of the day and the backs of my ankles are starting to hurt from the sunburn.

Delaware Bridge: After the bridge, Mike and I part ways. He takes Rte 40 towards Williamstown and I take 295 back to Somerset.

Somerset, NJ: The trip ends where it began. :)

Post Trip thoughts...

Well, after a long and eventful trip I'd like to stop to take a little inventory. You never really know what something is going to be like until you do it yourself and experience it. I can tell you that when people talk about road trips they mostly talk about cruising around and having fun. But the truth is, at times a road trip can be quite grueling, and you may even encounter some misadventures along the way that are not too much fun. The trip we did was long and hard, there is no doubt about it. And to be honest, I don't think I completely knew what I was getting into when I decided to do this trip. But I also don't regret having made it. Sometimes you appreciate things more when you work for them. This trip gave me a chance to get away from everyday life and made thoughts about work melt away from my head, which I needed. And maybe it's me but the sky looks a little bit cooler as the sun sets when you're on an old bridge on a highway in the middle of Georgia. And a dinner at Outback tastes a little bit better after you've driven over 700 miles on a motorcycle. I am a little bit amazed at all the things the happened and all we accomplished in the last week, and I would have to say that I'm a little bit proud of the fact that not everybody could have done what we did. So if you asked me the question...

Would you do it again?

Well, at least not for a very long time. :)

It's been fun doing this blog and keeping it updated. For all that have taken a look,

Thanks for reading!

Day 7: I-95 Until Our Butts Bleed

Day 7:

9:00 AM 12:00 AM

720 Miles

Hampton Inn (Florida): We pack up the bikes for the return trip home. It's going to be a long trip, but our goal is to get 800 miles in today.

South Carolina: We pull over to the side of the road, and Mike realizes he has lost his glasses. We look everywhere for them, but he must have left them on the bike when he was filling up at the last gas station. We go to another gas station to fill up so Mike can call his eye doctor to figure out what he can do. While we are waiting I see two forlorn looking men walk by with bottles in paper sacks. They go into the woods by where we are standing. While Mike is talking on the phone, the men come up to me and try to sell me a pocket knife for ten dollars. I tell them I don't have any cash on me (which is true). A side story that I forgot to include in this is that on Day 4 of the trip I was informed by my bank that one of the vendors that I had ordered something from had their database broken into and my debit card number was one of the ones stolen. They had shut down my debit card so I have no way of getting cash for the rest of the trip. I found this out when my debit card was denied while trying to get gas. Luckily I have a backup credit card which I had been using for the rest of the trip. Anyway, I tell the two hobos that I am not in a position to buy their pocket knife. They proceed to tell me that they are down on their luck and trying to get back to North Carolina, etc. etc. One of them tells me how he can't sleep because of the mosquitos in the area and proceeds to show me all the different bumps on his arms. By this time Mike is off the phone and they try selling him the pocket knife. But Mike tells them he's from Philly and he's not interested. We leave the gas station.

Stuckey's: We stop at Stuckey's to gas up and check out the store. They don't have homemade milkshakes like the one in Virginia. They do however have a Dairy Queen.

South Of the Border: We stop at South of the Border and Mike stocks up on fireworks except for a pack of rockets that can't fit on his bike. I see a Dad taking a picture of his son on the gorilla. I remember getting my picture taken on the gorilla when I was a kid. Maybe 20 years from now that kid will grow up, go on a motorcycle trip with his roommate and see another kid getting his picture taken on the gorilla...

 

Outback Steakhouse (North Carolina): After driving for 640 miles we are tired and hungry. We hit an Outback steakhouse off of I-95. I can barely walk after getting off of the bike. 

It is the most crowded restaurant we've been to on the entire trip. North Carolina seems to be a pretty popular place. The food is delicious. After eating we decide to go for the extra mileage to get to 800.

I-95 (North Carolina): After driving again on I-95, we realize that it's getting dangerous in the dark and we're both pretty tired. We decide to pull over to find a hotel. We pull up to a Marriott but they have no vacancy. In fact none of the hotels have any vacancy in the area so we have to get back onto I-95. We travel to the next town and try a Quality Inn. The cheapest room they have is $94, which is pretty expensive for the quality. We get back on I-95. At the next town we pull up to a Comfort Inn and get a room for $59. It's no Hampton Inn, but it's 12:00 AM. We have driven a total of 720 miles and are halfway home.

Day 6: Under The Sea

Day 6:

No Road Time

0 Miles

Narcosis Dive Shop: We arrive at the dive shop at 6:30 in the morning. It's still dark out and there's no one around. We begin to get scared that we will miss the boat, but eventually the dive instructor shows up. 

On the boat: We board the boat and head out to sea. We have to drive for about 45 minutes to reach water that is deep enough to dive in. The crew consists of the captain, the dive instructor, on other diver, and ourselves. We are asked to turn off all GPS systems to keep the dive spots a secret. 

Dive Spot #1 (Sunken Ship): We go down for the first dive. Visibility is about 30' and the water is 87 degrees. The wreck is pretty interesting, looks like a huge cargo ship. Lot of interesting fish swim by. We're able to stay down for about a half an hour before our air runs out.

Dive Spot #2 (The Reef): The second dive spot we're able to stay down for 40 minutes. We see a lot of cool fish in the reef. The dive instructor has a spear gun and we watch her spear a fish. The fish turns out to be too small to keep so she throws it back. 

 

Hampton Inn: Nap time while we wait for Mike's pictures to develop. I love naps.

Clearwater Beach: We search for an Outback steakhouse that I had found on my phone, but it turns out to be out of business. I guess the internet doesn't work for everything. There is not much open at 10:00 in Clearwater. It takes us a while but finally we find a place called the Crab Shack. We decide to head in for some crabby patties. 

Dairy Queen: Mike tries to get some more ice cream from Dairy Queen but they close early. I guess this is a city that sleeps.

Day 5: A Hard Earned Vacation

Day 5:

No Road Time

0 Miles

Hampton Inn: We grab the complimentary breakfast and are depressed to find that it's raining yet again. A quick check of the weather tells us that it will clear out at about 3:00. We head back to the room for some R and R. While we're waiting Mike makes a few calls and arranges for a dive trip tomorrow morning at 6:30.

Clearwater: At 3:00 the rain goes away, so we head to Clearwater. We're finally in an environment that resembles a vacation.

Shephard's Resort: Mike takes me to a place that he's been to before. There is a live reggae band and tiki bars with "misters" that make fog around the bars. It comes right up to the beach and there is a mixed crowd milling about. The atmosphere is pretty good and we decide to get something to eat there and have a couple of drinks. Mike calls a few friends and has them look at him on the bar's live webcam. 

I order a drink called "Miami Vice". For those who may criticize me for being gay for ordering this drink, I just drove 1000 miles on my motorcycle.

 

Beach: After Shephard's we walk over to the beach to check it out. 

It's not too crowded today, so we try to get rid of our motorcycle tans. A couple hours go by and we venture into the water, which is as warm as a bath.

We kill the rest of the day on the beach.

Dairy Queen: We both try the new Girl Scout Cookie blizzard, which is pretty good. We're both amazed at how big a "small" is and wonder how we could ever finish anything bigger. We talk about how America is getting fat. After the ice cream it's time to call it a night since tomorrow will be an early morning with diving.

Day 4: Improvisation

Day 4:

9:00 AM to 8:00 PM

410 miles

Holiday Inn Express: After a quick breakfast at our favorite hotel, we hit the road again. 

El Cheapo Gas Station (Georgia): We stop to gas up for the 1000th time. I have to buy some sunscreen because the backs of my hands and ankles (the only thing uncovered) are getting burned. Hopefully, a day on the beach in Florida will even it out.

Antique Shop (Florida): We are finally in Florida. We stop at an antique shop that has two levels. What that basically means is that there are two levels full of old crap. I'm not in the market to buy any crap today. 

2nd Antique Shop: Looks like it will rain again. We stop at another antique shop.

Motorcycle Shop: We stop at a motorcycle shop where a guy tries to sell me a CBR 1000 RR even though I tell him I'm from New Jersey and that there's no way I'm going to buy a bike today. Mike tries to get a new visor for his helmet but the person helping him tells him that his helmet is not safe. Mike is not buying a new helmet today so we leave without the visor. 

I-95: We get on the road again, but it starts thunderstorming. We soon pull over at a gas station where we meet someone who has moved here from Long Island. He tells us that he thinks he is moving back. He gives us some recommendations on where to go in Florida. It stops raining and we hit the road again. As soon as we hit the road, it starts raining some more, but we ride through it. 

Jay's House: We finally arrive at Jay's house. We are relieved to finally arrive at our destination.

Inside of Jay's House: Upon entering the house, we realize that there are dead cockroaches all over the floor. Also, it appears that the utilities are off and the house is very hot inside. There is no way we can stay here. We hit the road again and head for Clearwater.

Hampton Inn: We work a deal for two nights, $70 a night. Not too bad. The hotel is pretty nice. It has a laundromat. The first order of business is to wash the soggy clothes in our packs.

Day 3: The Long and Winding Road

Day 3:

7:00 AM to 10:00 PM

495 miles

Holiday Inn Express: Against my better judgement we wake up at 6:00 AM to get a head start. I had to convince Mike to stop and eat the complimentary breakfast. He later admitted it was better then Perkins.

Roanoke Virginia (The Lost Colony): We stopped at the supposed site of Roanoke Virginia. The story goes that in the 1500's, people from England came to colonize America. They began to run out of supplies, so they sent one person back to get some more. Unfortunately all of the ships were being utilized for the war, so he could not return until 3 years later. When he did return, the people were gone and the only signs were the letters CRO carved on a tree and CROATOAN carved on a fence post. No one knows what happened to the people and the actual site of the colony has also been lost. When we got there at 7:30 in the morning, it also appeared to be a ghost town. We wandered around what appeared to be a stage area. I'm not sure if we were actually allowed there.

I also found a realistic looking hut and a plastic fish which helped me imagine what it must have been like as a settler.

There was also a scene from Charlotte's Web on display. I'm not sure how it relates to the lost colony.

Gas Station #148: I can't remember how many times I've filled up. I feel like we're on a tour of America's gas stations. Mike informs me that we'll have to fill up 6 more times before we reach Florida. 

Gas Station #149: We pull over to gas up and it starts to thunderstorm. After waiting for about a half hour, we put on our rain gear and power through it. We ride for about 20 miles and the sky clears. It's amazing how fast your clothes can dry on a motorcycle.

Somewhere on Rte 17: One of Mike's rain covers starts to slip off. I motion for him to pull over and attempt to pull into a driveway. Anticipating Mike not being able to slow down fast enough, I myself do not slow down fast enough and I bump into a curb which sends the bike to the ground. For a minute my ankle was trapped under the bike, but I was able to pull it up and get out of the road. Luckily, the frameslider blocked any damage. We take a 5 minute break and reflect on our thoughts. 

Myrtle Beach: We stop at "The Great Outdoors" sporting goods emporium. I have never seen so much hunting/camping/fishing equipment in all my life. Mike buys some shorts. Then we go to Hooters and I eat 20 hot wings.

South Carolina: Mike and I switch bikes to give my back a rest. Apparently you can't cruise on a Honda Shadow doing 70 in 3rd gear because it will overheat. Luckily the bike has a safety mechanism which turns the engine off when it gets too hot. We pour some bottled water on the engine and let it sit for a few minutes. Mike takes his bike back. 

Southern South Carolina: The sun is really pretty as it's setting and we're driving through the last part of Rte 17. We pull over to reflect a little bit on all the driving we've done. Mike looks for alligators in the marsh below an underpass. While we are resting on a bridge a police officer pulls over and checks us out. He turns out to be very friendly and gives us directions to our next intersection and some recommendations for places to stop and eat. He looks like he is about 23. 

McDonalds: We pull over to get some food and decide that enough is enough for one day. We're disappointed we didn't make Florida, but we don't want to push ourselves too much.

Day 2: The plot thickens

Day 2:

10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

180 miles

Perkins: A little breakfast for some weary travelers before we set out on the road again.

Powell's Farm Market: Mike is obsessed with stopping at places that are well advertised with roadside signs. We stop at Powell's but we're not in the market for buying any fruits or vegetables. Mike does however pick up a coin for his dad at a store called "Ol Stuff". 

It's amazing the way advertising works in the south. They have a kid whose job it is to wave cars into the market with traffic sticks.

Kitty Hawk Harley Davidson: The smell of rain is in the air. Mike dons his raingear onesie. 

Pizzazz Pizza: We get the pizza buffet hoping to hang out there until the storm blows over. It proves to outlast us.

Holiday Inn Express: We get banged for $150 to stay at a Holiday Inn Express. I paid $150, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. 

Hooters: Hooters is closed at 10:00. Kitty Hawk is not a hotbed of nightlife. Mike heads back to the hotel, but I go to another spot for some hotwings. The locals are friendly. I'm always surprised at how generally approachable people from outside of Jersey are.