Arrival in Vermont - Day 3

Day two was a nightmare. Traffic was miserable throughout the DC area and the temperatures were approaching 96 degrees. Slow speeds and hot temperatures. No fun.

After sleeping in until 7:00am, we departed the Embassy Suites in Newark for the short jaunt to I-95. Northward bound, we zipped right through Delaware and crossed the bridge into New Jersey.
While the toll roads are expensive, the limited traffic makes it worth it. We made great time as we traveled up the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. We made Suffern, NY before noon!

The trip up to Albany was uneventful and after we passed through the toll booth we headed for upstate New York and the Adirondack mountains. Our route would take us through the Lake George, Scroon Lake, and the Tupper Lake areas. The scenery was exceptional and nothing like the flatlands of Florida.

While we were viewing the scenic areas of the lakes region, the bears were viewing us!

Speeding would not be an option. Radar traps were the rule and not the exception over the last 200 miles of the Northway.

Services, including fuel are in limited availability between Lake George and Plattsburgh. I knew, or at least hoped, that I could get to the Port Kent ferry dock. There would be plenty of fuel on the Burlngton, VT side.




We passed a number of old barns, farmhouses, and wide open pastures as we rode the final 5 miles to the docks.

This patriotic barn serves as the sentinel over an intersection which seems to come from nowhere.

We patiently waited for the ferry, boarded, and one hour later arrived in Burlington!!! Stage one is complete and we tripped the meter at 1498 miles.

Our first stop, even before heading to the hotel, was for James to visit "Grammy", my mother. He is her only grandson and it the light of her life.




We spent an hour there before checking in for a relaxing night.

Saturday through Monday will be spent visiting Grammy in Burlington, "Aunt" Michelle in Colchester, and Papa (his grandfather) in Barre. Aunt Carmella, Uncle Russell, and Ashley (Tucker) would join Papa as we had a nice lunch in Berlin, NH.

Enroute to Vermont - Day Two

After spending a restful night in Dillon, SC, we ate breakfast, loaded up, and started out for our next destination...Newark, Delaware. This leg is a bit shorter than the last with a total of 479 miles, door to door. The first day was 540 and we made great time. This would be even better!!!

During m morning safety check, I discovered that the left turn signal/running light was out. So was the PIAA lights mounted to the forks. The driving lights are nice but can be put on the back burner for repair once back in Florida. Not so for the turn signal. I will be riding through some of the most highly populated areas of the U.S. I need the "blinker. More on that later.

First thing to come into view as we headed north on I-95... South of the Border. A light show was in full swing at 7:00am. We decided to skip the festivities and took one final glance before we left them behind us. Not much traffic as we entered North Carolina. I had done a search of Honda shops and there was one in Wilson, NC. Arrival time would be slightly after 9:00am. Perfect. In and out and back on the road.

What are the odds that the dealer will not have a standard light bulb. They didn't. The local auto parts store had a 1157 bulb and they were but a half mile away. So much for a quick turnaround but all in all, it would still be quick. Murphy was still at work. First I dropped the screw and it took 15 minutes to find it. The silver color blended perfectly with the pavement. Once I found it old age set in. I could not see well enough to align the holes (Vanity has got to go and I have to bring my glasses). I finally got it in but not tight. Duct tape to the rescue. On our way after an hour. Ughh.

The next couple of stops went without incident. The GPS had routed me through DC. Trying to avoid the traffic at rush hour, I chose to take the longer but somewhat faster 495 East loop. Not the best of calls. Construction on the Virginia side kept traffic to 20mph most of the time (at least to the drawbridge). James got a great long distance view of the Capital and Washington Monument. In fact, about 10 minutes of viewing as we came to a halt! As I approached I-95, the GPS had me getting off 2 miles early to take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (295) to the Harbor Tunnel (I-895) and then to I-95. Cool. About 10 miles shorter. I'll make up for lost time.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I was on 295 for but two minutes when I realized just how bad a mistake I had made. It was 20 miles to the exit for the tunnel. I made it there in 85 minutes. Traffic was backed up and at most 15 mph was top speed.

We finally reached the exit for the tunnel and that went smoothly. Traffic was steady but moving along at a nice pace...in Baltimore that means 70+ through the tunnel. :-) We made our turn on to I-95 and the delay demons were back at it. Construction for the first 10 miles or so and snail's pace was the order of the day.

Finally I was able to distance myself from the traffic and construction and the last 90 miles went by quickly. Goal was to arrive at the hotel at 4:00pm. Oops. 6:30pm was the best that I could do.

Tomorrow we head out on the final part of this first leg of our travels. Destination is Vermont. I'd predict an arrival time but based on today's experience...nah. I'll get there when I get there!!

More to come...

Enroute to Vermont - Day One

With all the planning done, all that was left was waiting for the alarm to wake us up and we'd be on our way! 5:30am was the scheduled departure time but multiple delays (can you say James?) put us back an hour.

The sky was blue with just enough of an overcast to keep the temperatures a comfortable 80 degrees. Our route for this first leg was to Ocala on I-75, then northeast on 301 to Jacksonville for an intercept with I-95 for the remainder of the trip. Destination for the first night was Dillon, SC.

Traffic was light along the entire route and we made excellent time. James was concerned about his ability to ride 540 miles with limited breaks. While he struggled a couple of times, his determination was steadfast. 9.5 hours total time included the 90 minutes spent eating and fueling. Good job James!!!

This leg was not one for sightseeing. The slab is the slab. Nothing caught our eyes as meeting the criteria for being scenic. The result...no pictures so far.

Plan for tomorrow is to stop at South of the Border for a short photo op and then head north. Heading for the DC metroplex, traffic delays are a possibility and we do want to stop for a couple for pictures before we move on to Newark, DE, our destination for leg 2.

More to come...

T - one day and counting

Final preparations are being completed for our 12 day excursion throughout the east. "My bags are packed and I'm ready to go" (hmmm...those would make great lyrics!). The scoot got a physical at the Honda dealership today and was give a clean bill of health and the go-ahead for launch.

Hotel reservations have all been made (was this a mistake?). Fuel stops were identified along the chosen route. This was a good exercise in planning. How I'm going to miss the aux. tank. The weather for the first couple of days looks to be less than inviting with thunderstorms forecast for the route until we get north of D.C. Oh well, that's what I have good gear for. Plenty of tread on the tires and no leg over 500 miles...piece of cake!

While at the dealership, we picked up the rest of James' gear. After our little experience with the truck last month, he too believes in ATGATT. Head to toe in armor. Waterprof to boot. He's ready.

I have to facilitate a class tomorrow. Once that is out of the way, I can pack the bike and do a final check of the weather. Departure is set for 6:00am so that we can avoid some of the oppresive heat that has been lingering around in the east.

Touched base with a few of the MTF regulars. Seems a couple of semi formal RTE's are a possibility. More to come...