The Maritime Tour (Part 6)

Today's ride was rather uneventful. I rode from Fundy National Park to Prince Edward Island National Park. On the way I stopped by Cape Enrage and Hopewell Rocks.

I rode over the Confederation Bridge to get to Prince Edward Island. The bridge is 13km long. It is very pleasant and most of the island is cultivated. I did the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery in New London, PEI. She was the author of the Anne of Green Gables books.


My guidebook was correct that Cavendish is a tourists trap. They actually do have a Ripley's Believe It or Not! Water and amusement parks abound. It was just not what I was looking for. I did get a very nice campsite right on the ocean.



I walked a little on the beach and noticed a strange phenomenon. When the tide went out several (hundreds) of smallish silver fish were left stranded on a small gulley. They were flopping around and could not get back out to sea. Birds, some that appeared to be eagles, were swooping down and having a feast on the hapless fish.

Later in the evening I spoke with some fellow riders I had met in Fundy and even a couple from North Carolina

The Maritime Tour (Part 5)

I quickly had breakfast and packed up to more cursing and profanity from the next door neighbors. They were also hacking up their lungs before their first cigarette of the morning settled the phlegm in their lungs. In about an hour I was at the Canadian border. I was asked several questions, told to park the bike and wait in a little room while the immigration and customs officer “ran a few more checks”. While relatively easy this was my most difficult border crossing. Could my new “concealed carry permit” have had anything to do with it? Don't know. Eventually I was found worthy to enter Canada and I was off! It seems that after entering Canada there is about 50 miles of wasteland until you get to a real town. My first concern was to get some Canadian currency. No problem, I have a GPS. I told the GPS genie to find me an ATM and it took me to Nackawic. Nackawic is home to the largest ax in the world. I have to admit it was pretty big!


From there I rode Trans-Canada 2 to Fundy National Park. The bay of Fundy has the greatest difference in tide heights in the world. I arrived and set up camp and went to the Alma beach to see the tide. Low tide was 4:59 and that is when I was there. I was able to walk in the “watt”. In just a few hours everywhere I was now walking would be about 50 feet underwater.


I got off my “doing it on the cheap” and ate fish and chips with beer at the Tides restaurant overlooking the bay. Well, every once in a while you have to splurge while on vacation! It was a cool night. I took a shower and went to the program that was being presented that evening It was called Winter Wonderland and was supposed to give you a glimpse into the park in the winter time. I arrived early and began talking to the presenter who was from New Zealand. I mentioned that I had two sons, one in San Diego and one in Japan. She told me her son also lives in Japan. He was a JETT , like Niels, and married a Japanese girl and now lives there. I also mentioned I was a teacher and wound up on stage as the narrator for short play on the life span of fish in the Fundy National Park.

The Maritime Tour (Part 4)

Today I rode up Mount Washington. It was a good ride, but not as scary as I was led to believe. We have scarier roads in North Carolina. The views from the top were worth the wait!



After visiting the summit I rode through Gorham into Maine. I was surprised at the number of Confederate Flags I saw flying from houses in Maine. Riding through Maine was uneventful and I wound up at the Green Cove Campground. This was a fishing campground and I thought I was back in the red neck south. I was assigned a tent spot next to a family that could have been from the deepest, darkest Alabama. I mean no offense to any one from Alabama. Every other word was the the F-bomb and I'm not talking just mamma and daddy. The kids were throwing it around like it was a cheap baseball. After a well deserved shower and laundry I drifted off to sleep with the sound of family cursing in the background.

The Maritime Tour (Part 3)

Left Virginia and rode through Maryland into Delaware. Delaware seems to be the strip mall capital of the world. Every town I rode through was one strip mall after another. Saw a little place called Firebase Lloyd in Delaware.


Some kind of Viet Nam Vet's motorcycle club. From there it was on to the Allentown/Bethlehem area of Pennsylvania. It was like one large town. City traffic all day. I did ride into Nazareth, PA. Nazareth is where C. F. Martin guitars are made.


Later the weather turned nasty and I got dumped on near Stroudsburg, PA. I wound up staying in a motel.

The Maritime Tour (Part 2)

The second day of my journey proved to be relatively uneventful. It entailed a long, straight ride on Highway 58 from Meadows of Dan to Norfolk, VA. Boring! The highlight of the day was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. There are actually two tunnels that take you under the Chesapeake Bay which allows large ships to enter the harbor at Norfolk. It was a really cool ride.


The low point of the day was my campsite for the night. I though that there was a National Park Service campground on the island of Chincoteague off the Virginia coast near the Maryland border. Upon arriving on the island, after quite a detour, I found only commercial campgrounds were available. For $35 I got a trashed out campsite at a “family campground”. I also got attitude from the kid running the registration. I don't think they like motorcycles staying here. My rating for Tom's Cove Park, two thumbs down!

The Maritime Tour Begins!

Shades of Alaska! Three years ago I took a took a ride to Alaska and had eighteen straight days of rain. It looked like this trip was going to start off the same way. I woke up to thunderstorms and before I had left home a tree had fallen and taken out the power to our whole neighborhood. Eventually the rain stopped and I left on the Maritime Tour. As do most of my trips this one started with a jaunt on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway was littered with debris and leaves due to the high winds. There was a detour from the Parkway at Laurel Springs and I had to take highway 18 from Laurel Springs, NC. About 15 miles into the detour I came upon another tree down across the road. Every traveler hates to backtrack, but sometimes it is necessary. My map was in my tankbag, but I really don't know why I keep it there. I can't see it without my glasses. I was going to have to depend on my GPS to get me out of this. I knew I needed to get to Highway 58 in Virginia and I knew that Willville Motorcycle Camp was near where I needed to be. Willville was a waypoint in my GPS so off I went. The wind picked up and blew me around the road quite a bit. Rain also began to fall. I finally found Highway 58 in Independence, VA and headed east. It was getting late afternoon and I decided to call it a night and camp at Willville.


That night I got to meet Rocky, the campground raccoon. I had been warned not to leave any food out and I was careful not to. I did not think Rocky would be interested in my sponge I use to wash dishes. I was wrong! Rocky brazenly climbed up on my picnic table and stole my sponge while daring me to do anything about it. I yelled an him and the chase was on! Rocky crossed a stream, dropped the sponge, and looked back at me as if to say “I didn't really want it anyway”. The next morning, when I could see better, I crossed the stream and retrieved my sponge from where Rocky had dropped it. Kurt 1... Rocky 0!

Moonshiner 28

On June 11 I rode the Moonshiner 28 between Deal's Gap, NC and Walhalla, SC. I rode to Kickstand Lodge in Stecoah, NC on June 10 and made that my base camp for the weekend.


First I rode to Deal's Gap. What a circus!! I live in this area and I know that folks come from far away to ride the Dragon at Deal's Gap, but it is probably my least favorite area to ride here. I'll leave the Dragon to the tourists ride the good roads that we local riders try to keep secret.


From Deal's Gap I rode Highway 28 all the way to Walhalla, SC. Highway 28 is an old moonshiner's route to take white lightening down from the hills of Tennessee and North Carolina to waiting customers in South Carolina. It is a very good ride.





After completing the Moonshiner 28 I had lunch in Seneca, SC at a local greasy spoon. The Time Drive In was not bad (as long as you like all your food deep fried!)


After lunch I rode back to Kickstand Lodge to relax and socialize with the other riders. Kickstand Lodge is a very laid back campground with a unique method of operation. You'll just have to visit it for yourself to see. Here is a photo of the stream behind my tent.

Next week I am planning on leaving for a long ride to Canada. The goal is to pick up some New England states that I have not ridden in. I hope to take the ferry to Labrador and Newfoundland. We'll see if it all works out. Things happen on the road!!! I do not plan on being near a lot of wi-fi hotspots so reporting on this blog may have to wait until the trip is over. Check back later and see how it shakes out!

The Diamondback

The summer riding season is in full swing!!

On Saturday, June 4, 2011 I took a day ride to the Diamondback. It seems all curvy roads in North Carolina have to have a reptilian name these days. The Diamondback is actually 226A between Marion and Little Switzerland. Although it is a good ride I found it to be just like other roads in the area. I guess I have become jaded by living in Motorcycle Disney World.

Somewhere on Highway 80

Somewhere along The Diamondback

Next week I plan on riding the Moonshiner 28. The Moonshiner 28 is Highway 28 between Deal's Gap and Walhalla, SC. Look for that report next week.

In two weeks I am planning my next long ride. My goal is L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am not sure how much I will be able to update the blog while on the road. I don't really plan on stay in places that have a lot of Wi-Fi capability. My new cameras are all 14MP and it takes forever to upload photos. What I don't get done on the road I will get done once I'm back home.

ADV Eastern Rendezvous 2011

ADV Eastern Rendezvous 2011

This year's Eastern Rendezvous was again held in Laurel Springs, NC. The weather was perfect for the event, but the nights were a little chilly. I arrived on Thursday and spent the next two days riding around the borders of North Carolina and Virginia and the evenings meeting old friends and new ones as well. The "Party Boss" did a fantastic job of feeding, watering and keeping us entertained. Here are some photos from the event.

ADV Old School Spring Fling 2011

May 13-15 were the dates of the 2011 ADV Old School Spring Fling held this year at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground in Cruso, NC. The weather was a little cool but the rain held off for the most part and a good time was had by all in attendance. I took a little ride on the airhead Saturday and wound up in South Carolina. The rides where I get lost seem to be the best ones.


Along Highway 215 between Lake Logan and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We had a Canadian contingent from New Brunswick and they thought we Southern Boys were a little wimpy because we complained about the "cool" weather. They bought Hawaiian shirts to make us feel even worse!!

Next week is the Eastern Rendezvous in Laurel Spring, NC. Check back next week for a new entry after the RDV!