Ah, vacation! We've been planning this for months! A nice ride up the coast, across the
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, then up to Lewes, Delaware and a
ferry ride across to Cape May. We're planning on spending the week with Linda's sisters and their friends at the
Villa Nova "Resort" hotel in Wildwood Crest. We've done this for the last few years, and we've enjoyed ourselves each time. This time, we're going to try something different -- we're going by motorcycle.
I'm watching the weather closely for signs of a front that's going to bring rain for the whole trip. If that happens, we'll fall back to using the Mustang. But now, with two Honda Goldwings in the family, this should be a great ride.
We started packing on Thursday night, and I found that there's probably as much room between the trunks and saddlebags on both bikes as there is in the Mustang, so we're able to pack more than we thought. Tonight I'll check the bikes, the air in the tires, etc. and get them packed up so we can get an early start in the morning. I know Linda is excited and, to tell you the truth, so am I!
Saturday Morning, 5 AM
It really doesn't seem to matter whether I'm on vacation or not. I still wake up at 5 am.
We had a bunch of rain last night, and Linda and I watched the weather nervously. Even though the various weather sites show the rain moving out of the area, it's hard to believe it when it's still coming down, accompanied by thunder and lightning. We kept our resolve, though. At 8 o'clock we packed the bikes with everything but the computers -- they'll be just about the last thing to go.
The Goldwing is an amazing black hole when it comes to loading your stuff -- we have two top trunks, the very large trike trunk (Linda's), the two saddlebags (mine), even those little stash boxes on either side of the back seats (good for extra gloves and cameras). It looks like we filled to about 90% capacity, but the only thing we may have to lash to a back seat is a cooler. Even the
Keurig coffee maker (single cup model) fit in the trunk!
I walked outside this morning. Cloudy, about 74 degrees. Everything looks damp, but the crickets are out, chirping away. A good sign. Looks like this is going to happen.
I'll let Linda sleep in for a little while. I'll bet she's up early as well -- I know she's as excited as I am to get on the road.
Saturday Afternoon, 3 PM Dateline Virginia Beach
After all the warnings and concerns about the amount of time and effort it would take to get here, we're amazed that we made it to the Red Roof Inn on Northampton Blvd in Virginia Beach in 6½ hours, about an hour longer than it would take by car.
We left the house, and hit I-95 at Highway 327 around 8:30 this morning. While I-95 isn't the best ride around, it wasn't too bad. We had overcast skies and about 76 degree temps when we left. We kept looking at the sky, because it looked like it was going to rain at any time. Weather.com was right, though. The rain was gone.
I was (and am) committed to enforced breaks every 100 miles. That may not seem like a lot in a car, but it's a fair distance on motorcycles, even touring bikes like the Goldwing. The cruise control really takes some of the stress out of the ride, but you still have to be very alert, watching everything and everybody around you, both in front and behind. Having the CB's really helps. "You've got a bogie coming up fast on your left" gives you a little more warning on the crazies that think that 95 is the speed limit. We kept our speed to about 5mph over the whole way.
We shared the CB channel with 3 riders, all of them on older Goldwings for a few miles, just before we pulled off at Dunn, NC. It's just north of Fayetteville, about 115 miles into the trip. Not sure where they were headed, but they were pleasant enough. Even though we weren't too bad on gas, we filled up and grabbed some fruit juice, then got back on the road. Stretching the back and legs really helps, and the next hundred and twenty miles to Emporia, VA flew by. We were at the I-95 / US 58 interchange by noon.
We stopped for lunch at Wendy's, and took a good break before gassing up and heading east on 58 to Norfolk. The Garmin, trying to take us to what it considered the "shortest route," kept trying to get us to turn off on assorted highways. I knew where I wanted to be, so I ignored it, and kept on.
US58 from Emporia to just west of Norfolk is a really nice 4-lane country highway. Speed limit around 60, the occaisonal stop light, but most of them were green for us, and traffic was light. Only when we were on "final approach" to I-64 did the traffic begin to escalate, and the trip become a bit of work.
I should explain that, last year we somehow ended up on I-264, assuming that it was the loop around Norfolk. But nooooo! In Norfolk, the highways are backwards. I-64 is the southern loop, and 264 takes you downtown where you have to squeeze several lanes down to 2 to get through the downtown tunnel. We weren't having any of that this year.
We followed the maze that is I-64 around, and had no trouble getting onto Northampton. We found the Red Roof, and as luck would have it, they had a room for the night, and gave us the AARP discount (shut up -- you'd use it too!).
Nice room, a sports bar across the street for dinner, good coffee in the lobby.
I checked the next part of the trip. We are only 184 miles (about 3½ hours) away from our destination. Awesome!
Sunday Morning, 6:45
Went to "Ike's Sportz Bar" for dinner, right across Northampton Blvd. We walked, but it's wierd crossing this road. It's about 10 lanes across! You're really not sure if there's enough time to get all the way to the other side before the light changes. Felt a little like "Frogger."
The bar isn't very big, but it's a friendly place, and we found a few stools at the bar. We met a retired Navy cook that now works at the Sheraton, which he claims is where celebrities stay when they're in town for concerts and stuff. He's met Carlos Santana, George Clooney, and even cooked a cheeseburger for Bill Cosby. The stories kept getting a little mixed up, but it was fun.
You wouldn't expect a place like this to offer prime rib on the special, but it turned out to be pretty good for $12.95. Not in my "top ten" list of prime ribs, but not bad. At around 8 o'clock, the police set up shop across the street, and when the light was red, walked between the cars with flashlights, checking the drivers. They directed some to pull into the lot for breathalyzers. Didn't last too long, but it seemed a strange way to do it.
It's about 74 degrees here right now and maybe a little fog, but it's supposed to be clear with a high of 85. Should be a great ride today. Most of it on US 13 and 113, through mostly rural areas (aka "boondocks"). We've taken this route before, and I remember the roads as being in good shape, and 4 lanes. We should make good time to the ferry. Can't wait!
Sunday, August 8th – We Made It!
We left Virginia Beach around 8:15 under cloudy skies, a reminder that God has a sense of humor – even though the weather channel was predicting sunny skies, He could make the weather do whatever He wanted. He was only kidding, though. The day turned out to be perfect for the ride.
We headed out Northampton Blvd. towards the bridge, paid the tolls (2 bikes @ $12 each), and headed “out to sea.” The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is actually two separate structures, North and Southbound, each of them two lanes with a narrow shoulder and a few breakdown pull-overs.
It was beautiful: the sun low in the eastern sky, light fog over the water, very little traffic to interfere with the pleasure of the ride. As you ride north, you can see the bridge ahead for miles as it gently curves northeast towards the upper peninsula of Virginia.
Linda was a bit nervous at first, and we kept our speed to the limit as we approached the first tunnel. The northbound side merges to one lane, and you enter the tunnel facing oncoming traffic. We maintained the speed limit (55) and stayed in the center of the lane as Linda built up her confidence. She’s a great rider, and it didn’t take long for her to get used to the feeling of the walls and ceiling rushing past you, the noise of the oncoming cars echoing around you as they pass. When we came up out of the first tunnel, she said, “Let’s pick it up a bit; I feel better now.” We set the cruise at 60 and headed across the middle bridge.
The second tunnel was really cool, as we left the bikes on cruise control, and allowed them to take us through at 60. On the third bridge as we passed the breakdown pullover, we found a highway patrol car tucked neatly in, watching for speeders. Nice hidey-hole! I waved as we passed, and we moved on.
Traffic on Highway 13 was light, and the air was comfortable as the blue skies began to open. This area of Virginia isn’t exactly desolate, but I was surprised at the number of small hotels we passed. It is a fisherman’s paradise, as there are plenty of access points to the bay and the ocean.
We passed through small town after small town. Some of them were just crossroads with a traffic light. The speed limit would go to 55 for a few miles, then slow to 45 for the light, then back up again. We probably had to stop for about half of them.
Making great time, we crossed into Maryland around 9:30, and stopped at the Welcome Center outside of Pocamoke City for our first break. We checked the maps and found we were 85 miles from the ferry in Lewes, Delaware.
The sun was out in all its glory, and we decided to try the cooling bandanas we brought. They’d been soaking in cold water in the cooler, and the gel inside them was nice and cold. Wrapping them around our necks, it helped us stay cooler for the rest of the ride as we headed up Highway 113.
About the only slowdown we hit was within 20 miles of our destination. The road slims down to two lanes, and we were stuck behind a “slowpoke with a boat.” He managed to keep his vehicle at 5 – 10 mph below the speed limit for about 15 miles, with no way to pass him. The line of cars behind us continued to grow. Finally he turned off and we headed for the ferry, arriving at about 11:30
We purchased the round-trip ticket for the ferry ($63 each – ouch!) and were directed to an empty lane with only 15minutes or so before boarding. Motorcycles are put on the boat first, so they can position them near the front. Linda’s trike was placed dead center, just behind the fence at the front. They directed me to pull up, then back up, turning the bike so it was actually perpendicular to the boat – it was going to take the trip sideways!
As it turns out, there is very little motion forward or backward as the ferry travels across the mouth of the Delaware River. But there is a lot of side-to-side motion, so the bike never moved. We went upstairs for a light lunch as we enjoyed the hour and a half trip to Cape May, NJ.
We went back down to the bikes about twenty minutes before we arrived at the other side. You get a better sense of speed from the main deck as you watch the water rush under the bow. I turned on the Garmin and found that we were travelling at a steady 13 mph across the water. It seemed faster.
As we came towards the port on the NJ side, the announcement came to return to your vehicles. The crew suddenly appeared and began to make preparations for landing as we climbed on the bikes. I never actually felt it when the boat stopped at the dock; that’s how skilled the pilot was. As they brought down the ramp, one of the crew looked at the two of us and asked if we were together. She directed Linda to leave first, then for me to follow as they held up the rest of the vehicles. It’s really cool being the first off and leading the crowd out to the street.
Within 10 minutes we were at our hotel and checking in. Two days of perfect riding, over 500 miles with no rain, no drama, no crisis. Bored? Heck no! This was probably the best trip to New Jersey we’ve experienced in a long time – so far!
I won’t blog everything we do on vacation, except that, when we get to the beach, I’ll bring my camera, and y’all can join me in my favorite beach game – “Real . . . or Fake?”
Thursday, August 12th
We've pretty much been hanging with the family -- Linda's sisters Patti, Tracy and Carrie, Tom (Carrie's husband), and the nieces and nephews Nicole, Vicky, Gina (Tracy's), and Kelly, Tommy and Michelle (Carrie's) -- all week. We went to the boardwalk one night, hung out at the pool, napped, drank beer, etc. I've gone down to the beach every morning at dawn to dip my toes in. It's been really cold, especially compared to the warm water off Myrtle Beach! Linda hasn't seen the need to walk all the way to the beach, so she's hanging at the pool.
Yesterday, we gassed up the bikes and headed north on the Garden State Parkway, the toll road that takes you from Cape May in the south of New Jersey, up to the New York State Thruway. We were headed for my godmother's house in Manahawkin, about 65 miles. The GSP down here is two lanes in each direction, and the posted speed is 65. We cruised along for about 20 miles before we hit construction and had to slow to a creeping crawl. The right lane was closed, and we had to merge to the left lane. Normally, you would think that, once the merging had completed, we would start rolling, right? Not in New Jersey! We ended up stopping and going for another mile, until we reached a bridge. There were a bunch of workers (?) standing around as one guy welded a plate in the right lane. Every driver had to stop and check his work; once we passed him, we started rolling again. It reminded me why I'm happy we moved south!
We found Aunt Mary's house with little trouble (thanks to the Garmin), and had a really nice visit. She took us to lunch, to her favorite diner. Unfortunately, they were having power problems, so we ended up at TGIFridays instead.
I found something interesting on the way back. I noticed going up that there was a toll just north of the entrance ramp from the Atlantic City Expressway, but there was no southbound toll. Unusual. On the return ride, we found the other toll, just south of the entrance ramp from (you guessed it) the Atlantic City Expressway. If you're coming on to the GSP from the ACE in either direction, they're gonna get their dollar!
We got back to Wildwood after 4, and went to bed early, tired from the ride. We had rain this morning, and the sun came out around noon. We hit the souvenier shops and found our shot glasses for the collection, as well as a few others for taking back home.
I've been looking for my house keys, and pretty much decided that I'd left them home. After all, I wasn't going to need them. Just to cover my bases, I called the Red Roof Inn at Virginia Beach, and asked about them. They had found them. So we're stopping on the way back through. If the traffic or weather are against us, we'll probably spend the night there. Good place, clean, and nice people.
We've done our "pre-packing," and we're scheduled on the 8:30 ferry in the morning. With a little luck, we'll be through Norfolk before rush hour.
Friday, August 13th
I was up early, anticipating the ride ahead, knowing it was going to be a long day. We have an 8:30 reservation on the Cape May -- Lewes Ferry, and we need to leave at 7:30 to make sure we're there and ready to board on time. I brought the motel's luggage carrier over to load all of our bags, and was amazed at how much we were actually going to pack in the two bikes (there will be a picture on Facebook soon)! Amazingly, everything fit. I used my Dad's old axiom: Dont't pack any air, there's plenty where you're going!
Tracy Patti and Carrie got up to see us off, and get some pictures. I had to be the bad guy and insist on "kicks up at 7:30." Otherwise, we'd have been rushing to the ferry, I had two dollars ready to go for the drawbridge, only to find that the price was now $1.50 each. We got to the ferry and had about 15 minutes to spare. As before, we were first on. They pulled of the New Jersey; I think it was because of the huge travel home that boarded. He had about 4 inches to spare to board the big ship.
The weather was "iffy." The wind was brisk, and the clouds looked heavy with rain. Indeed, there were storms in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, and looked like they were circling us. The ride on the ferry was rough, the waves rocking the ship the entire hour and twenty-five minutes across. We ate a light breakfast on board, and were (almost) the first off at the dock at Lewes, Delaware.
Experience is a great teacher. I knew that I did NOT want to go south on US 1, as it would take us through Ocean City, MD, which would delay us for all the traffic. We wanted to head south on US 113, a nice country ride.
To get to 113, you have to head south on US 1, if only for a while. As we were waiting at a light, I asked a young man if we were heading the right way. He confirmed our route, and gave us landmarks where we should turn. He is a student at USC, and his mother is from New Jersey. Small world! That's about as much as you can learn while you're sitting at a red light!
Once we were pointed in the right direction, the ride was fairly uneventful: we went from 55 to 45 mph more times than I can count as headed towards Pocomoke City, where we would continue south on US 13. We pushed the 100 mile break a little bit (120 miles), and filled up the bikes.
By this time, we were within 30 miles of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT), and soon enough we were on the bridge. We were behind an 18 wheeler that was tall enough that, if he bounced the tralier, it would scrape the tile on the roof. He slowed down to 40 mph, and we had no choice but to follow. We passed him on the next bridge, and set the cruise at 60.
Heading into the second tunnel, there was no oncoming traffic (at first), and no vehicles right in front of me. I got, if you'll parden the pun, "Tunnel Vision." I became fixated on the hole in front of me, and I deactivated the cruise. It was freaky, but with the throttle under my control, I was fine.
We stopped at the Red Roof Inn and picked up my keys. It was barely 2 pm so we pushed on through. I 64 is insane! We managed to navigate our way through, and pushed on through to Emporia. We found a Country Inn, and an adjoining Applebee's. Tomorrow morning we'll jump on I-95. We should have a 4-hour ride, and then we'll be home.
Dateline: Emporia, August 14th
Wow! Yesterday was a harder ride than we thought. We hit the Appleby's about 4:30 and ordered a couple of beers before dinner. We ate well, had a few beers and walked back to the hotel. We were asleep before dark.
We had waffles for breakfast, and were packed and on the road by 8:30. The last 215 miles were busy ones. For most of the morning we were in a moving traffic jam. Both lanes were packed with cars, trucks and campers, but we were moving -- most of the time. Every now and then, for no apparent reason, traffic would suddenly slow to almost a full stop, only to start moving again right away. It kept us on our toes.
We had several times when we were separated by one or more cars or trucks, but the CB's are really worth having for staying in touch with each other. We took the mandatory 100-mile break, then headed out.
In Fayetteville we had a close call. Riding in the left lane, as we were passing an on-ramp, a car in the right lane pulled in between Linda and I where there really wasn't enough room. As Linda backed off and I pulled forward, brake lights began to appear. I tapped my brakes several times, then began to slow down quickly when I heard tires squeal behind me. Apparently this guy wasn't paying attention, and overreacted. Linda hit her brakes and pulled to the left, her rear left wheel hitting the rumble strips on the shoulder. Fortunately the guy behind her was paying attention, and all was fine. I know she was afraid that I was going to be hit, and I was concerned for her safety. Our training, our experience and our reflexes helped to avoid a nasty incident.
We got home about 1 in the afternoon, as tired after 4½ hours as we were the day before after 6. Most of the day we rode under cloudy skies with rain a possibility, but we were spared a soaking. It's good to be home!
We've been taking this route for three years now, and we've traveled back and forth to New Jersey for 30 years. This ride was the best I can remember. We were alert the entire time, and the sights and sounds as we traveled across the countryside were worth the effort. The frequent (every 100 miles) breaks made it a lot easier to ride comfortably.
This is what was packed in the two bikes!
