Saturday, September 17, 2011

Epilogue-1 Day by Day Travels

This is the first of a series of three posts to record some final information about ALAA-2011. Generally, these posts will record many of the details of the trip, the feelings I had during that time, the impressions that were created, and some of the nuts and bolts of what went on during that time.


This first Epilogue post will list the places where I traveled each day, stayed each night and any unique memories of that place:


DAY 1, May 14-Left home in Kingwood, TX on Sat, May 14th, rode through Houston to Galveston Island, TX. From there, I rode along the Gulf of Mexico to Mustang Island State Park near Corpus Christi, TX. I camped on the beach there and that's where my tent blew away down the beach and over into the dunes!


DAY 2, May 15-Continued down the Gulf of Mexico to the Rio Grande Valley at the US-Mexico border and then rode along the US-Mexican border border to Laredo, TX. Camped at Casa Blanca State Park near Laredo, TX. It would have been a relatively short ride directly West from Corpus Christi to Laredo but I had the border to follow!


DAY 3, May 16-Followed the roads closest to the US-Mexican border to Big Bend National Park. I camped at the Chisos Basin campground at BBNP. The ride on this day was a day of riding through the desert! BBNP is desert mountains-beautiful in a stark way. There IS a whole lotta nothing out there!


DAY 4, May 17-Rode from BBNP to El Paso, TX. I stayed at a Motel 6 because the Motel 6 only cost $10 more than a campground. Got the bike serviced in El Paso and saw a lot of Ft. Bliss military around El Paso. A LOT more desert!

 DAY 5, May 18-Finally left Texas after four days at El Paso, rode across Southern New Mexico, and reached a campground between Douglas and Bisbee, AZ. Met an interesting guy named Wayne and enjoyed seeing Bisbee and Tombstone, AZ.


DAY 6, May 19-Rode from between Douglas and Bisbee, through Tombstone and Tucson to Yuma, AZ. A whole lotta more nothin'! Stayed in a Motel 6 because of the small $ difference in lodging cost. Had an In-and-Out Burger for lunch! :-) BUT lost my sunglasses in Yuma! :-(. What a dumb@#$!)



DAY 7, May 20-Rode from Yuma through San Diego to San Clemente, CA. Finally left the five days of desert and saw some beautiful scenery and TREES! Stayed at San Clemente State Park for my first night in the cereal state (Why the cereal state, you say? Well, it's full of fruits, nuts, and flakes! :-)). Enjoyed the campground because it's right above the beach and was lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.
DAY 8, May 21-Rode from South of LA to North of LA. I met Ron, Harley, and Betty (!) Dixon today and had lunch with them at an In 'n Out Burger on Wilshire Boulevard in LA. Stayed at Malibu Creek State Park, in the hills above Pepperdine Univ, and enjoyed seeing what used to be the Fox Ranch-where the outdoor scenes of MASH were filmed (Okay, I AM a confirmed MASHophile!)


DAY 9, May 22-Rode up the beautiful CA coast on the Pacific Coast Highway-the PCH. Stayed at San Simeon State Park. Rode with Ron, Harley, and Betty to the Hearst Castle where they went on a tour and I found the state park. I ran into two motorcycle tourers from Canada that camped two campsites down from me at Big Bend National Park-quite a coincidence!


DAY 10, May 23-Loafed along the PCH enjoying the magnificent Big Sur scenery. Rode from San Simeon SP to Half Moon Bay SP south of San Francisco. Another campsite right on the ocean! The Big Sur scenery was the most beautiful of the entire trip! Absolutely magnificent scenery!


DAY 11, May 24-Rode from Half Moon Bay to Sonoma Coast SP. Ron, Harley, Betty, and I spent 4-5 hours in San Francisco-Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Cable Cars, and Chinatown-a beautiful city! Enjoyed running into Amy and Aaron Redelsberger, shared a chilidog, and enjoyed their hospitality. It was a rare and totally enjoyable coincidence that we were camping at the same state park on the same day and I chose to stop and grovel at their campsite!


DAY 12, May 25-From near Bodega Bay to Garberville was more of that magnificent CA coast scenery and included Redwoods National Park. Beautiful but WET! For the first time in my life, I rode my bike trough a TREE! Shared a two room suite with Ron, Harley, and Betty.


DAY 13, May 26-More wet from Garberville to a KOA near Bandon, OR. It was my first experience to stay in a KOA Kamping Kabin-stark but better than putting the tent up in the rain. Raining almost all day in Oregon-what a SHOCK!


DAY 14, May 27 -Rode the beautiful Oregon coast from near Bandon to the home of my all-time favorite student. She and her husband were gracious to let me spend two nights in their spare bedroom. Almost every location along the OR coast holds special memories  because we spent a lot of time there during those 10 years we lived in Portland and Gresham.


DAY 15, May 28-Rode from Tualatin, OR (a Portland suburb) to visit our (former) home, but now rental property, in Gresham, OR. We would have loved to be able to sell it when we moved to Kingwood but it's decline in value and the generally poor economic conditions in the Portland area made it practically impossible to sell. I stocked up on grub and rested for the first time in two weeks.


DAY 16, May 29-Rode from Tualatin back to the Oregon Coast, across the 4.5 mile long Megler bridge over the Columia River at Astoria, through Olympic National Park to Cape Flattery, WA. From the Northwest corner of the continental US, I rode along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles, WA-stayed in a motel because of the wet weather and it was so late.


The 4.5 mile long Megler Bridge in Astoria, OR
DAY 17, May 30-Left Port Angeles, WA, took a ferry across Puget Sound from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island, rode across the San Juan Island's, through North Cascades National Park to my first boondocking experience. The snow was about eight feet deep at the height of the pass. Camped behind a LDS church in Republic, WA. Beautiful mountaineous scenery!


DAY 18, May 31-Rode from Republic, across Idaho, to Kalispell, MT. Stayed in a Motel 6 because of the rain and 38 degree temperatures. Not a lot of distance the last couple of days because of the curvey mountain roads!


DAY 19, June 1-From Kalispell, through Glacier National Park, to Malta, MT. Got a taste of boondocking in WA and did it again in a city park in Malta. A sheriff deputy told me it was okay though. From East Glacier, MT, the roads are straight and flat for, oh, about a THOUSAND miles!


DAY 20, June 2-Rode from Malta to Glasgow, MT where I had a new rear tire put on the bike. Rode a lot of miles all the way to Minot, ND because it's just cruising the Great Plains with a strong tailwind. The KOA where I had planned to camp was under 3-4 feet of water so I ended up sharing a campsite with two oil workers in a campground in Minot-more boondocking?


DAY 21, June 3-Rode from Minot, ND headed straight for Duluth on Hiway 2. HOWEVER, Hiway 2 was flooded just East of Minot so I had to drop down to Fargo to get to Duluth. Got as far as Brainerd, MN and almost got carried away by mosquitos. Stayed at Crow Wing State Park on the narrow Mississippi River.


DAY 22, June 4-Rode from Brainerd, through Duluth, to Marion Lake campground at Ottawa National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of MI. Was in this campground for 3-4 hours before and after setting up my tent and saw a TOTAL of one other vehicle in the entire campground! Beautiful lake, beautiful place, VERY quiet, but just a long way from anywhere! This was my first time in the UP-Upper Peninsula of Michigan.


DAY 23, June 5-Rode from Michigan, through Wisconsin again, and camped at a KOA in St. Ignace, MI. This is right on the border of Lakes Michigan and Huron. Saw a sign in the KOA office advertising ferries to Mackinac Island-where the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed. Hum, never thought of going there until now!


DAY 24, June 6-Rode from St. Ignace to a KOA Kampground near Flint, MI after spending a wonderful day exploring Mackinac Island by bicycle and foot. Mackinac Island is unique because motorized vehicles aren't allowed on the island! The whole island looks like a postcard!


Mackinac Island From the Ferry
DAY 25, June 7-A multi state day from Flint, through Detroit (a new front tire in Warren, MI-a suburb of Detroit!), across Toledo and Ohio, and all the way to Erie, PA. Saw huge segments of America's Rust Belt-Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland. Got to spend a few hours with Charlie Strange, a SIFE graduate also known as Back Row Charlie.


DAY 26, June 8-Rode from Erie, PA to Rochester, NY. Planned to go beyond Rochester but the bike-or rather the battery on the Honda, died on me. Had a new battery installed and stayed in a motel in Rochester.


DAY 27, June 9-Left Rochester, spent an enjoyable 3-4 hours at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and got as far as just past Albany/Troy to Grafton, NY near the VT border. Another night of boondocking behind the elementary school in Grafton, NY!


Day 28, June 10-Grafton, NY to Canaan, ME. Stayed in a nice quiet KOA. Bennington, VT is the quintessential New England city! More big mountains ner Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of NH.


Day 29, June 11th-Canaan, ME Eastward downhill to Acadia National Park and then to Portland, ME. Acadia NP is the NE corner of ALAA just like Imperial Beach, CA was the SW corner of the loop and Cape Flattery, WA was the NW corner. The right turn takes me from Eastbound to Southbound toward HOME! Raining cats and dogs, I stayed in a Roach Motel in Portland.


Day 30, June 12th-Portland, ME, through (or under!) Boston, to Pocasset, MA. After riding out on Cape Cod to Provincetown, I pitched my tent in the back of what I thought was an empty industrial facility. I found out at 5:00 AM the next morning that it wasn't empty when people starting arriving for work! I was outta there by 5:30 AM!


Day 31, June 13th-Pocasset, MA to Atlantic City, NJ. This was a LONG, hard day because it was my only five state day! Started in MA, went through Newport, RI, CN, New York City, and spent the night in a $25 motel in Atlantic City, NJ. I had plans to ride out to the East end of Long Island but the New York City traffic and road conditions convinced me to get the heck outta Dodge!


Day 32, June 14th-Atlantic City, NJ to Virginia Beach, VA. Enjoyed the Cape May Ferry to Lewes, DE. This was a four state day. Started in Atlantic City, NJ, went through DE, MD, and got to a KOA in VA near the Oceana Naval Air Station with LOUD jets taking off and landing until 1:00 AM!


Day 33, June 15th-Virginia Beach, VA to Moorhead City, NC. Enjoyed the the Outer Banks of NC and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, spent 3-4 hours at the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC, took two ferry rides, and got to Moorhead City in the dark-opted for a motel. Not a lot of miles but a lot of coastal beauty!


Day 34, June 16th-Moorhead City, NC to a KOA in Charleston, SC. Charleston is nice because it has that old town look it didn't have as much appeal as Savannah.


Day 35, June 17th-Charleston, SC to Savannah, GA. Savannah is worth visiting again! Savannah's strict architectural controls mean that Old Town Savannah keeps the looks from the 1800's. The "Squares" are as charming as I imagined they would be!


Day 36, June 18th-Savannah, GA to Starke, FL. Left the coast at San Augustine, FL and headed West for home! It was far too hot for camping so it was cheap motels the rest of the way home. Hot and humid. Today made the ALAA WAOF or Without All Of Florida! I was just tooooo lonely, tired, hungry and homesick to go up and down the coasts of Florida!


Day 37, June 19th-Starke, FL to Panama City Beach, FL. Beautiful scenery with white sand and turquoise water along the panhandle of FL. An old motel along the beautiful beach!


Day 38, June 20th-Panama City Beach, FL to Mobile, AL and a Motel6. I saw boiled peanuts for sale today! Boiled peanuts? Here is a picture of some of them-YUCK!


Boiled Peanuts? What's Up With THAT?
Day 39, June 21st-Mobile, AL to New Orleans, LA and another Motel 6. Spent 2-3 hours exploring the French Quarter although we've vacationed there 3-4 times and I've visited NO on business 5-6 times.


Day 40, June 22nd-New Orleans to Lafayette, LA. After visiting the Tabasco factory in New Iberia, LA, I spent three hours waiting for the rain to stop, or at least slow down. Another Motel 6 in Lafayette.


Day 41, June 23rd-Lafayette, LA to HOME! Don't feel well and anxious to get home! I feel like I've been "wandering" the U. S. for the last six weeks-rarely knowing where I'm going to sleep at night, never knowing when or where the next meal is coming from and not exactly sure which route I'm going to follow to get to wherever I'm going to go and . . . . . and I'm tired and ready to be HOME with my Bride!