Running from the Rain!

Sunday August 3rd


We have to back up a bit...... to last evening. One thing I failed to mention... and also failed to get a picture of.. was the "Ninja Star of Death"!



This is what I called the radar image on the weather channel hanging over southern Maine. It was rotating clockwise and moving slowly north. We were north of it but I was sure it would catch up to us while we slept.

We were all concerned about getting on the road. The bikers needed to stay dry and the drivers going south needed to be on time for a party. So we chugged some coffee and packed up.

We said our goodbyes in front of the motel. Took some pictures. Hugs and kisses and all that.

Heather was kind enough to give us instructions as to where to cross over into Canada. We planned to cross at the Maine town of Calais. There are two places to cross, one known to the locals and the other for tourists and trucks. The lines are way shorter at the local crossing.

For anyone making the crossing at Calais, as you come into town on Route 9 (or North Street) turn left onto South Main. You cant miss it. If you follow signs for the other crossing.. you will wait a lot longer.

All Heather wanted in exchange for this tip was for Ed to take a picture of her and Jimmy.

You'll know why when you look at this one i took from the door of the hotel room.

Thanks Heather, We love you!

(Especially Jimmy)

We grabbed some coffee from the Hotel Lobby and said our final farewells to Heather, Ed, and the girls, and then pointed the Motorbikes northward on 95. Headed for Bangor and praying for no rain.

This is Peters Lucky Rain Suit.

As long as he was wearing it... no rain. It did serve other purposes. Like making him easy to spot in your rear view mirrors and an easy target for jokes. We kept telling people we met that he was looking for work on a fishing boat. Almost got him a job once or twice.

At Bangor we headed off on Route 9.. or the "Airline". The magic of the Internet reveals the reason for its name. "The leg of Route 9 from Bangor to Calais is often referred to as "The Airline" due to its shorter route than the older US 1. (Before the coming of air travel, the term airline often referred to such a shortcut.)

Fog and Mist and some light precipitation but no real rain on the Airline.

I guess the lucky suit was doing its job.

The Crossing

We finally got to the town of Calais after one short argument about which way to turn. I was wrong as usual. We motored up to the border station and waited on a fairly short line.

This picture was taken from the US side of the bridge and shows the fairly small and uncomfortable booth that the customs people sit in.


Here are some pics that were taken while we waited in line to supply correct answers to questions like: Do you have any firearms, explosives, or alcohol with you?




I was tempted to answer... "No, I left all the fun stuff at home." But the young lady that was asking the questions looked kinda mean so I behaved myself and was granted access to the nation of Canada.


Good thing too. I was the first one across, so I stopped and waited for Jimmy to provide correct answers. I had my camera ready because I was sure that he would mistakenly tell the truth about something and get hauled off to jail and I wanted to get it all documented for the big law suit against Canada. Turns out I was the one who got in trouble. Another customs agent came and made me erase all my border crossing shots. I guess he was right, after all, he said, "You might be a terrorist that wants to attack this installation". I just didn't realize that the border crossing from a small Maine town was high on the list of terrorist targets.



So now we were all officially "American Tourists in Canada", and as such we did the logical thing and stopped at the first Visitor Center we saw.




The nice lady gave us lots of Maps and stuff and was very friendly. There was a dish of Dulse on the counter so we brought some out for Jimmy who was thrilled to receive it.

Here are some action shots of the gang heading East on Route 1.

Having skipped breakfast to run ahead of the rain, we were all thinking pretty seriously about lunch. We stopped at a nice roadside place somewhere near St. George Parish. They had nice covered picnic tables and we could eat right near our bikes so we didn't have to worry about the Canadian terrorists stealing our stuff.

The specialty was "Fish and Chips", so that's what we ordered. Here are the obligatory food pictures.

Jimmy at the window.

Fish n' Chips and Jeffie's Dessert.

Which he shared with the whole crew so no one of us had to consume all those calories. It was good though!

We saw this guy with a ventriloquist puppet.

My son Alex is has a real interest in Ventriloquism. This reminded me of how much I was missing him and Donna.

After lunch we headed East again on Route 1.

Through St. John and Moncton and then we see the "Welcome to Nova Scotia" sign and the official NS Visitors center. It was getting a bit late in the day so we stopped to get some more maps and some help finding a place to stay. We met some Harley riders in the parking lot who traveled about 15 minutes ahead of us and got soaked! All the concern about rain proved to be nothing. Pete's lucky rain suit to the rescue!



Inside the Visitors Center we met Becky who got us reservations at the Wandlyn Inn and gave us directions to get there. She also gave us an 800 phone number that we could use to get hotel info and reservations throughout our trip. We found out later that using that number usually gets you premium rates as well. Advice to those that follow: Use the number to find where you want to stay and then make the reservations at the hotel's desk.





The Wandlyn had a nice restaurant, and a jacuzzi.

We argued over which brand of beer to have with dinner. There were several winners.

This was our route on Day Three.

Then we all went to sleep and didn't get up until the next morning when.....

And they're off..... Sorta

Saturday August 2nd .....

Saturday morning was sunny and warm. A perfect day to head for Nova Scotia. This morning was the picture of perfect teamwork with the intrepid riders efficiently packing and loading the bikes for their historic journey into the unknown. Yeah right!


More like stumble out of bed, find the coffee, and then spend quite a bit of time trying to find your stuff. I was up first about six and Peter joined me for some coffee and conversation in the kitchen. I don't know if that was because Peter is an early morning riser kind of guy or I woke him up as I tramped down the stairs. Either way it was nice to spend that time with him. We have known each other all our lives and try to get together now and then, but rarely get to just sit and talk over coffee for an hour. Peter is the best.

We finally get all the bikes loaded and everyone gets ready to move out. Matt insisted that we all ride down to the wharf for a picture. When we returned he had made up these for all of us. Great Guy! Thanks Matt. It was sad not having you with us.

After final farewells we started our trusty steeds and, well, most of us did. Jimmy was fooling around with his pretty driving lights the night before and ran his battery into the ground. He needed a bit of a push start. Jimmy drives a Triumph Rocket Three. It weighs about about 800 pounds. But push start it did, and then we were off.

North of Boston and our first stop.

Peter led us in the general direction of North! We went through the city of Boston. Tunnels and bridges. A little freaky but it was fun. When we were up to speed, our sunny warm day was just perfect, temperature wise. Then Pete called a stop at a Dunkin Donuts parking lot to put on rain gear. He saw the darkening clouds up ahead, and after a short argument about if it would really rain on our parade, we all suited up. Now it was nice and toasty sweaty hot, just the way I like it. :-(

To add to our enjoyment the great state of New Hampshire had arranged a great little weekend get together for motorists of all kinds. It really is a great event. They set up these little houses across the highway, and then you have the privilege of waiting in about a half hour of traffic until you get up to this little house where a representative of the state greets and welcomes you. For this you have the honor and privilege of paying only $1.50. Who would have thought so much fun could be had for so little money. Then it was north again into Maine and a stop at Portland.

We did a quick tour of Portland before deciding to have a late lunch at Becky's Diner. http://www.beckysdiner.com/ Where we fueled up for the afternoon ride. Becky's was a bit crowded but we finally got a seat and ordered up. Becky's is famous for Haddock Chowder.

But the fish sandwiches and other seafood are good too.

We obtained some local knowledge about exactly where to exit the wonderful scenic concrete slab of Route 95 for smaller roads.
We decided to exit at Bangor onto route 8 which for some reason unknown to your humble travellers is called the "Airline".

The rest of today's ride was short and uneventful. We made a stop in Waterville Maine and made a few phone calls to our Cousin Ed and his lovely wife Heather. They were traveling south from Nova Scotia and had reservations at the Econo Lodge for Saturday evening. So that is where we stayed. We killed a few hours getting beer and break fluid while we waited for Ed, Heather and the girls to arrive.

There were some Harley folks from Quebec that checked in ahead of us and had a little party in front of their rooms. We decided that was a pretty good idea and did the same. Then it was off to dinner at a Country Western Bar up the hill from the Econo Lodge.

The decision was made to wear the official Tour T Shirt supplied by Father Jimmy D.

Ed brought a Nova Scotia delicacy south with him and shared it with us. It is called "Dulse" and it is a red alga (Rhodymenia Palmata) that high in vitamins, especially vitamin B, and supplies a lot of fiber and protein. In addition to being so "good" for you, it is very tasty. Jimmy thought it was wonderful and likes it so much, he is thinking about leaving Ohio and moving to Nova Scotia to become a Dulse Farmer.

Here is our Route on Day 2.

Then we all went to sleep and didn't get up until the next morning when.......

The Party .... Part 2

Friday August 1st ... Evening
Well the rest of the night we just hung around and enjoyed each others company. The girls got a bit silly with shaving cream and we all went off to the Kinsale for a beer. Here are some more pics:


Jeff liked Jimmys spikey helmet and his new shirt.



Things got a little out of hand with the shaving cream.






Really out of hand!




Peter at the Kinsale.


Then we all hit the sack and went to sleep and didn't get up until the next mornin.............

The Party! ............Part 1

Friday August 1st Late afternoon
We finally arrived at Pete's House in MA. What a relief! We found Pete and Jimmy at the stove busily cooking something that resembled chicken. It looked like hell but tasted great!


This is Pete and Jimmy at the Stove. Or, rehearsing for a broadway show that caters to alternative lifestyles. I can't figure out which.

My cousin Matt was kind enough to make sure that we had plenty of Sailor Jerry's Navy Rum on Hand. (these guys finished one bottle before we even got there) Sailor Jerrys is a family tradition in the making.



This is Matt and his Fan Club.


Peter threw a little party for Jim who has recently turned the big FIVE OH!


Somewhere along the line one of the greatest birthday inventions of all time was concocted. I do not know whom to credit with this masterpiece, as it was in the works while Jeffy and I were dripping sweat along the blacktop of Route 95 in Connecticut. I sure hope someone rememebers to do this at my next birthday party.




A Donut Soaked for hours in Sailor Jerry Rum!


Father Jim is a practicing Hobbit and so, gives gifts on his birthday instead of receiving them. He outfitted the whole team with custom T shirts for the trip. More stories on the shirts later in the adventure. (Much Later)

Day One

Friday August 1st. The best thing about starting a vacation on a Friday is that most everyone else is still working. I even had to go to Bayonne and pry my cousin Jeff away from work.

Jeff is managing the construction of a bridge tender for the Verrazano Narrow Bridge in NYC. He gave me a tour and everything. I forgot to take pictures but I am telling everyone that security was so tight that the PAPD threatened to take away my camera. This theme will be repeated later on in the adventure.















This is Jeff and his mighty Beemer!

The FJ was loaded up and ready for the trip. I used an overboard bag for clothing and stuffed rain gear and shoes in the panniers. I used the Tank bag for cameras and other stuff I wanted to keep handy. The Nelson Rigg Tank bag was tremendous. It holds a ton of stuff and the magnets keep in in place without safety straps. And they didn't fry my camera like the warning tag said they would.

We headed out around 11 am. It was bright, sunny and a bit warm. Our route took us over the George Washington Bridge to Route 95 North. This highway is famous for lots of traffic. It did not dissapoint us.

The trip to Mass was hot and slow. Arrival at Peters House was about six hours later due to a lunch stop and some water breaks. Oh.. and some phone calls to Matt, Jimmy, and Peter to inform them of our progress. They kept us informed as to thier progress as well. (Drinking at the Kinsale Inn) Tought life eh?

This is our Route on Day One.