Thursday, March 10th
After a week of going and doing, we had some down time today while the rains came through and soaked the area. At about 7 this morning during a short break in the rains, I watched one guy spend 30 minutes drying his bike, only to have the rains come back and wet it down again. Doesn't anybody else check the weather?
We did some laundry this morning so we don't have to when we get home. By the time we finished it was clearing up outside, so we ventured out to TGI Fridays for lunch (20% off with our hotel key -- nice). We had intended to go to the Kennedy Space Visitor's Center today, but by the time we got out, we figured we wouldn't have the time. Next year we'll put it earlier on the agenda (another good excuse to come back next year).
We finally decided to take a ride to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. It's about 16 miles down Atlantic Avenue, along the coast. I passed the parking lot (I think I did that last year, too), and went around the bend to find the Lighthouse Landing, a small restaurant at the Ponce Inlet. We could hear acoustic guitar playing, so we parked and headed back to the deck that overlooked the inlet. We had a beer and listened to some great music for a while before heading back to the hotel.
After being here for a week, and staying in a hotel right on the beach, we finally headed down to the ocean. I put my "toes in the water, ass in the sand," so I could at least say I'd done it. The water had to be in the low 60's, and we didn't stay long.
After a full week here, I think we're both looking forward to heading north tomorrow. We've had a really great time, and had some good rides around the area. But tonight I think we'll repack everything so we can get on the road in the morning. Temperature is supposed to be around 47 tomorrow (about 10 degrees warmer then when we left Florence), so it shouldn't be too bad.
I'll post our stops on Facebook for those who may worry about us on the road. If we decide to stop in Savannah, that will be another adventure! Thanks for reading, and I hope it was entertaining.
Wednesday, March 9th
Today is the day that the Cabbagepatch has the Cole Slaw Wrestling, so we decided to head on over. We had to pass the Speedway again, an 8 lane traffic jam at any time of the day. Once we got past I-95 (and after correcting for an error in navigation -- mine) we headed ten miles down Tomoka Farms Road. As we neared our destination, we saw developments with signs like "Quiet Country Living," "A Peaceful Place In The Country." Then we hit Sopotnick's Cabbage Patch Bar, and well over 1,000 motorcycles.
We were met at the crossing by a lovely Indian maiden who was happy to pose for us:
I'm not sure -- can you tell if she enjoyed it?
There was a constant stream of bikes and cars going both ways on the road, and the county Sherrif's department did a fine job of keeping things moving, and getting everyone across.
For the most part, the event is like most at this kind of thing -- a lot of tents with a lot of stuff to buy, from t-shirts to leather goods, and anything motorcycle-related in between. When you first walk in you see the fenced in area. To the right is a mound about 8 feet high, and there were trucks backed up to it, apparently throwing cabbage heads into shredders, making the cole slaw. To the right there was a huge Clydesdale. Stop looking at the twins in the foreground, and you'll see the horse!
We walked around the event, and picked out our souvenir t-shirts before finding a place in front of the cole slaw mound.
The girl in the picture above was selling beer to the people around the field while we waited. Yes, that's body paint, and two shells. I quipped "You know, I've heard that if you pick her up and hold her to your ear, you can hear her scream." Thanks to Ron White for the joke. It got a big laugh.
It was hot in the sun and they kept delaying the event. Finally they brought on the first two girls, and they did a best of three falls.
By the time the second match was started, we were tired of standing there in the crowd. You're so far from the cole slaw, you can get a better view in the tents on the televisions, but it's kind of like regular wrestling -- after a while you've seen enough. We headed to the tents to get something to drink (and to sit down) before heading out.
Cabbagepatch and Cole Slaw Wrestling is something that you need to see -- once.
We decided to head to Main Street to get something to eat, and see the sights. You've gotta love our timing -- we got to the Full Moon in time for the Best Butt Contest, then over to Dirty Harry's for the Wet T-Shirt Contest!
Yes, the girls in the picture above were shining boots -- I actually looked down at mine to see if I needed to have them done!
This girl was posing for tips. I really felt that I needed to help her out. Wouldn't you?
We did get some good food -- Full Moon was offering a Beef Brisket dinner. It was good food (for a change)! Afterwards we walked up Main Street and back, and headed for the hotel. Another good day of riding and seeing the sights.
Tuesday, March 8th
We started Tuesday with a drive on The Loop, a 23 mile ride highlighting the beauty of Florida. It takes you through some beautiful residential areas, along the Halifax River, through the Tomeka State Park, and over the Intercoastal Waterway, winding back to Ormond Beach. The trees overlap the road and the sunshine dapples the road as you cruise through some of the prettiest scenery around.
I think I finally worked out some of the issues around the video camera, but I only got about half of the ride around The Loop. I'll edit out some of it (the full file is over two gig) and post it later.
We stopped at a bridge across the Halifax River to take some pictures.
Later, we headed for Iron Horse Saloon for the afternoon. It's north of Ormond Beach on US 1, and it's a great place to have fun. When we got there, this band was playing (I didn't get their name, sorry). They played older songs with their own style. Like CCR's "Midnight Special" with a Cajun rythym. When they did "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," this girl fiddled better than Charlie Daniels!
Next on stage were a pair of crazy biker celebrities Allen Ross and Hank Rotten Jr. They've been performing at Bike Rallys for 30 years, from Daytona to Sturgis. Songs include "Harley in the Rain," "Alcohall of Fame," "Grandpa Snorts Viagra," and other songs. We laughed through two sets, and bought their albums They are funny, and just plain friendly folk.
This girl was so taken with Ross and Rotten's music, she just had to get up and dance. The guy in the orange shirt dancing with her is just some guy that was inspired to dance with her.
Some other pics from Iron Horse:
OK, one last picture. We thought this guy looked like Floyd Pepper, the guitar player from The Muppets Show!
All in all a beautiful day, a great ride, a lot of fun and music. This is what our trip is all about!
Monday, March 7th
Today it was predicted to be cooler than the weekend -- temps starting out in the 50's, moving up to 70 by 3 o'clock. I think it got a little warmer, but maybe only 75. Still, beautiful weather for riding.
After breakfast, we put on our leathers, and headed north up the A1A to St. Augustine. It's about 50 miles away, and winds it's way through some very pretty seaside towns and marsh lands. I had intended to get video of the ride, but I'm having problems figuring out the video camera. Instead of video, I got two still photos -- one of me turning it on, and one of me turning it off. I've downloaded the instructions, and I'll try again on Tuesday.
The intent of the ride (apart from a beautiful 100 mile ride), was to see how the Bridge of Lions came out. When we were in St. Augustine in 2007, there was a temporary bridge, and they were rebuilding the original that had opened in 1927. There are supposed to be two marble lions that guard the entrance to the drawbridge.
For much of the ride, the Atlantic Ocean is visible to the east, and the colors of the water ranged from deep green to light green. At the midway point in the ride at the Matanzas Inlet, as you cross the bridge, the ocean is to the east, and the Intercoastal Waterway is to the left.
The bridge itself is complete, and it's really beautiful. They merged new technology with the traditional look to stay in character with the town itself. But the lions are missing!
We drove around town for a bit, passing the Flagler College cafeteria, where you can see the original Tiffany glass windows (protected by plexiglass because of their value), the original City Gate (400+ years old) and the Castillo de San Marco fort that has guarded St. Augustine from the beginning. Really, if you've never been here, you should visit. Take the Little Red Train tour through town and learn it's history. It will be worth the trip.
We recrossed the bridge, and went to the Oasis, a small eatery that we visited last time. Good food, and they "welcome bikers" -- it says so on their sign! We sat upstairs and watched the bikes go by while we ate. I asked Jane, our waitress, about the missing lions. She told us that it was in the weekend paper that they would be back in place -- in two weeks! Oh, well -- a good excuse to come back next year.
It was warming up nicely as we took our time returning to Daytona Beach, and we enjoyed the sights along the way. We were surprised at how fast the trip was over, which is a sign of a good ride.
We headed down to International Speedway Boulevard, to the Honda Pavilion (hey, we own Goldwings). The tents were set up right outside the Daytona Speedway.
The Honda Pavilion stands out nicely:
We wandered around some more, bought more souvenirs and enjoyed the afternoon. The ride back up International Speedway Blvd was stop and go all the way to the bridge. We headed back to the room around 4 for naps (seems to be a trend, but after 8 hours riding and walking, we were tired). By the time we got up, we didn't feel like finding someplace to eat. Fortunately, there's an IHOP across from the hotel, so we grabbed a bite and went back.
A great day for a ride (as are most days)!
Sunday, March 6th
We were expecting rain today. That's what all the weather sites had been predicting all week. The maps indicated the front would come through and it would rain on and off all day. Well, one day out of 7 ain't too bad. We planned to stay in, do laundry, and just hang out.
When Linda got up, we headed out for breakfast. We found a small place on Granada, across the bridge on the mainland, and enjoyed a relatively inexpensive but very good meal. We went across the street to the Winn-Dixie to pick up some supplies and found that Ormond Beach has a rule that you can't buy beer on Sunday until noon (we weren't planning on drinking it that early, we just figured we'd stock the fridge). We ended up having to head for the Publix in Daytona Beach to get the beer supplies. We got at most 5 or 6 drops of rain on us, but it looked like it was going to start raining right on schedule.
However, once back in the room, the sun came out, and Weather.com's map showed that the rain had passed. We decided to head to Beach Street and see the sights. If it rained, we'd take cover, and wait it out. Are we glad we did! In no time, the skies cleared and we had a beautiful day. We went from the skies in the picture on the left, to the ones on the right in a few hours.
I found the patch I've been looking for to go on the back of my vest. It just fits, and I think it looks great!
Linda fell in love with a new leather jacket. I'll post a picture of that later. It's really beautiful.
One of the bands was warming up for tonight, performing some really cool R&B. We split a sausage dog as we listened to the music. The sun was warm, the breeze was cool (but not too cool), the music was way cool, and life is good!
There are some distinct differences between the Main Street and the Beeach Street venues. Beach Street's activities center around the Harley-Davidson dealership, while Main Street is a more narrow road with bars and shops on either side. Beach Street has several dealers along the way, with makeshift stands for the vendors.
More pictures from Beach Street
Anybody wondering if I'm having a good time?
Getting the laundry done tonight, and looking forward to heading up to St. Augustine tomorrow along the A1A. I'm gonna see if I can get some video on the ride. Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 5th
Up early (as usual), and at daybreak I headed down to the bikes. We had covered them the night before, but that little rainshower we had the evening before had messed them up a bit. Fortunately I brought the Ice Detailer Spray. This stuff is great for buffing out water marks and other stuff, and leaving the bikes slick enough so that the dirt doesn't stick. I cleaned and shined both bikes, sprayed and cleaned the seats and glass, and made them sparkle.
By the time I was done, Linda was up and we headed for breakfast in the hotel. Really good food, and too much of it! Then we headed south on the A1A towards Main Street, where the bikers cruise up and down while the vendors hawk their wares on either side of the street.
It was early, and many of the vendors were just getting set up, but we parked the trike and started walking. We bought our souveniers -- t-shirts, shot glass and beer glasses -- and enjoyed the 70 + degree weather, the people, and the bikes. We got our patches for our vests early, and Linda added a Shamrock to hers. I couldn't find a Slovenian patch, so I passed.
We made a full swing down and up Main Street, and took a break at Cruisin's, at the beginning of the street, and sat and watched the world go by. Here's our waitress:
From our vantage point, we could see the strange and wonderous sights that make up Bike Week:
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| Yes, they're towing a boat! |
After lunch we headed back to the hotel. On the way out, we could smell the wonderful aroma of barbeque, coming from Hog Heaven. We knew where we would eat dinner! We sat out on the pool deck and had a beer. The pool was probably around 65 degrees, but the sun was warm and the breeze was cool. When the sun went behind the hotel around 4 o'clock we headed back up to the room for naps (that's the great part of vacation -- lots of time for naps!)
We headed back down to Hog Heaven, and had to stand in line for about 15 minutes -- this place is popular! We shared a combo of baby-back ribs and chopped pork, with key lime pie for dessert -- plenty of food for the two of us.
To top off the night, a very dear friend of ours, Tausha White, happened to be in Ormond Beach for the day visiting friends. Tausha had moved to the Tampa Bay area several years ago, and we just don't see much of her anymore. We met her a Julian's, a nice lounge near our hotel and caught up. It was great to see her, and just another amazing coincidence that we seem to have on our adventures.
Sunday is supposed to be rainy, so we may not do much. But who knows what will happen?
Dateline: Daytona, March 4, 5PM
What a great day!
We were on the road by about 8 this morning. It was a very chilly 37 degrees in Florence, and we were dressed for it in layers. Linda remarked that she felt like the kid in Christmas Story in his snowsuit. I couldn't lift my arms over my shoulders! But we were warm.
Once we hit I-95, the miles rolled beneath our wheels as we headed south under overcast skies. It wasn't until we passed by Charleston that we saw the sun, and it was still only 42. But the traffic was light, and we kept going.
We kept to the 100-mile rule, and stopped at a BP station in Walterboro for gas and hot chocolate -- it was so good! Up until then we hadn't seen too many bikes, and even there, most of them were on trailers. I found it funny, because I deliberately wore my "I rode mine to Trailer Week" t-shirt!
Back on the road within 15 minutes or so, and we were passing Savannah in no time. Traffic got heavier, but we were doing about 77 mph. When we crossed the Georgia border, the road widened to 3 lanes, so we had few problems. On the other side of Savannah, we hit a road crew that slowed us down for about 10 minutes. I got to talk to a rider on a Harley as we moved in fits and starts. When we got passed the construction, we fell in line behind the Harley, and I noticed another guy fall in behind Linda. Suddenly we have a group ride as we followed the leader. It was pretty cool, that complete strangers can fall into the appropriate riding patterns (alternating sides of the lanes, two second rule, etc). Even better, the drivers in the cars and trucks thought we were all together, and gave us room. Cool!
After a while, we were on our own again, and still heading south at an amazing pace. The Garmin was telling us that we'd be at the hotel by 2:30. Of course, I knew that would change when we stopped for lunch, but still, we were making great time!
We stopped for gas and lunch at Darien, Georgia (about 90 miles from Jacksonville), and took a longer break. The temperature was beginning to climb and it was about 65 when we headed back out, so we stripped out of some of the shirts and scarves. The sun was shining, the sky was blue with mostly white clouds, and the wind began to pick up as we entered Florida.
Jacksonville was tougher, although we maintained a pretty good clip going through. When you get downtown the highway begins to curve back and forth, at about 70 mph. A lot of fun, except for the 4 lanes of trafiic moving with you. Not scary, but a time for real concentration -- watch the road ahead, watch the cars around you, watch out for each other.
We kept going until we got to the Palatka area, about 50 miles north of Daytona Beach. Quick stop for gas, and back on the road. We came in on US-1 and passed Iron Horse Saloon. It was already jammed with people, the road was coned off, and we can't wait to go back!
The Best Western in Ormond Beach is pretty nice, and accomodating for the bikers. They've cordoned of an area in front of the lobby for bikes, the room has a fridge (it now has beer and milk), we have our Keurig coffee maker for the morning, and all looks good! We have an "Ocean View" room. If you go on the balcony and lean over, you can see the ocean. Linda took this picture:
We went to the grocery store, and got caught in a quick rainshower on the way back. The rain was cold, but it looks like it's already passed. We're trying to figure out what to do for dinner. There's a German restaurant across the street. I think that, after 400 miles, we're going to crash early tonight, so we may just go there, and come back and hit the bed.
Preliminaries -- March 2, 2011
It's been a long winter when it comes to our adventures. While we've done several toy and poker runs, they really weren't enough to post about. Don't get me wrong -- we enjoyed them, and each other's company on the rides. They were just few and far between. I'm so glad Spring is coming!
We've been preparing for the Daytona Adventure since January, and I think we're finally ready. We've made a few upgrades to the bikes:
- We added running lights to the front -- two bright lights that stay on with the low beams. They provide a unique look that makes people stop before they pull out -- definately a good, safe upgrade!
- We added pulsating brake lights -- when you press the brake, the lights flash several times before staying on. People behind tend to stop farther back, so I think they're doing their job.
- For Christmas I got a GoPro video camera that I'll mount on the front of the bike. I'll be posting videos this year.
- The Goldwings have built-in circuitry for CD changers, but that seems so 20th century (OK, no comments about the CB's). However, J&M have come out with an MP3 player that mounts in the trunk and hooks up to the CD connection. You load up an SD memory card with tunes (up to 1,000) and use the built in controls for the CD to play and navigate.
- Most importantly, we had "risers" installed on the handlebars. Linda had complained that on long trips her shoulders would be sore from leaning forward to grasp the handlebars. After discussions with Chris, Quent and Allen at Honda of Sumter, we decided to have the risers installed. They raise the handlebars and pull them back towards you. Now, the arms are at a more comfortable angle, and we're sitting up straight. Should be a much more comfortable ride to Daytona.
We'll take frequent breaks -- every 100 miles, and I'll enforce that rule. Since it's a 400 mile run, that means three stops. We'll get a stretch, something to drink, gas if we need it, and get back on the road. The ride is much easier that way.
We plan on taking a lot less clothes this year -- a couple pairs of jeans, a few shirts. Last year we bought 10 shirts while we were there. We can wear them! And we'll use the laundry facilities at the hotel. More room for souveniers!
Our plans include some side trips:
- Iron Horse Saloon -- we had such a great time last year, we have to go back!
- We'll take a day trip to St. Augustine, up the A1A, see how the Bridge of Lions came out (it was being rebuilt in 2007 when we were there last), have lunch, and head back.
- If the wildfires are under control, we'll head down to Cape Canaveral for a day, and do the tour.
- Wednesday should include a trip to the Cabbage Patch Saloon for the Coleslaw Wrestling.
- Of course, we'll be visiting Beach and Main Streets for the main events.
We'll have a lot of time for other things as well, and we'll take and post lots of pictures. As before, I'll try to post every night before bed, or first thing in the morning if I'm too tired. I hope you like the blog. Comments are welcome!
