Everything but the kitchen sink

Remember the proverb “For want of a nail”?

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.  For want of a shoe the horse was lost.  For want of a horse the rider was lost.  For want of a rider the battle was lost.  For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.  All for the want of a horsehoe nail.

That is what I felt like over the weekend.  Everything was thrown at me except for the kitchen sink.  And the rain.

The work week last week was Atrocious. Absolutely atrocious.  To the point of questioning myself if it was worth it anymore.  Should I be looking for another job that will give me more time at home, less stress, fewer responsibilities.  I needed to get out, and Oilburner surprised me with the night in Savannah.  I wanted to ride so I could feel the wind in my face.  I wanted to clear the cobwebs.  Oilburner has been having his own issues, and was not physically well enough to ride.  I didn’t want to drive because I knew I would stew in my own head.  So what was the compromise?

He said it was time for me to learn to ride with a passenger.  I have been avoiding that little experience for a very long time.  In the beginning I was able to use the excuse that I was new to riding.  Then it was the excuse that I was afraid to drop the bike and hurt my passenger or my bike.  We won’t debate the order of priority.  Hehe

This time I was out of excuses. If I wanted to ride, I was going to have to suck it up.  And I was ok with that.  It was surprisingly easy to get over that mental hurdle.  However, he then threw in that I should ride his bike.

Please realize that I have ridden his bike a total of 3 times in 2 1/2 years.  For a total of about 35 miles.  The first ride was picking it up from the dealership, for 7 miles.  Mind you they were an exhilarating 7 miles.  It was the first time I had tested the new water cooled engine, and I managed to get that thing from 0-60 in lightning speed.  The second time Oilburner forced me to try it in the mountains to see how I liked the handling.  Don’t get me wrong.  It is a nice bike, but too big and bulky and weighty for me.  The third time was out of absolute necessity when we took a weekend trip and I didn’t have warm enough gear.  The windshield and fairings kept enough wind off to keep me warm until we arrived at the hotel about 15 miles down the road.  (Yes, I had on just about every article of clothing before I gave in to riding his bike.)

Like I said, his bike is nice, just not the bike for me.  It is weighty at 604 lbs wet.  Compared to the GS coming in at 525 lbs wet, it is much heavier, changing the center of gravity. It is wide.  I mean, I know I am wide…but not nearly as much as that bike!  The seating position makes me feel like I am sitting on top of the bike, not feeling integrated with it.  With that seating I’ve had difficulty getting my feet off of the pegs , around the fairings and onto the ground.  It just wasn’t what I would consider a comfortable bike.  Plus I always worried about the cost of all the plastic in the event that I dropped it and scratched it.

Well…it took me another couple seconds to acquiesce and get over that previous sticking point.  He had a point that the windsail they call a windshield and fairings would make for a more comfortable ride.  And help keep the rain off if the 50% predictions came true.  Ok.  Suit up!

I jumped on his bike and took it up the street to get a feel for it.  Forget that the end of the street is a cul-de-sac and I had to execute my first u-turn.  We started the day on the street as I was not riding down our steep driveway with him on the back.  Thank goodness he is a great passenger.  Leaving our neighborhood I opted for the right hand, downhill turn instead of the left hand, uphill start.  Those haven’t been successful for me in the past.  First turn under my belt.  Small curves and stop sign was next.  Huzzah!  Uh oh.  Next stop sign was behind someone that was not in a hurry to get into traffic.  Then I had to cross traffic in a left hand turn on a fairly busy road. Ok.  This isn’t so bad. 

Which way to head out of town?  Freeway would be steady and require fewer stops and balancing and shifting.  But by the fourth stop…I was feeling pretty darn good.  Yep.  The backroads with tons of waiting stoplights was the way.  Again…good passenger led to good experience and there were no problems.  I knew this was the way to go as I was too focused on technique and safety to even think about my bad week.  I wasn’t going to have any time to wallow.  And Oilburner not riding was also the right decision when he informed me that he was getting dizzy and nauseous whenever we stopped.  Yeah…I don’t want him piloting his own bike.

We eventually made it to the interstate and I must admit that I enjoyed that windsail.  Very smooth.  So smooth that when I got tired of a car pacing us I was easily able to out distance it.  I still regret not going 3 more mph and reaching my first ton on the big RT.  Bummer.

Riding was a breeze.  There was nothing to worry about with a passenger.  I even executed additional u-turns for lunch without a second thought!  Getting to Savannah was a breeze.  Still fun to imagine what the other riders were thinking when we passed them and they realized a girl was piloting with the boy riding pillion.  Or did they think Oilburner was just a masculine girl?  HHhhmm…..

Sunday was where it got interesting.  I slipped.  I slipped in the shower and sliced my toe open.  Lots and lots of blood and pain.  Luck would have it that it was my big toe.  On my left foot.  And which toe is used for shifting?  You got it.  All day Sunday had me hissing Ouch into our communicators each time I had to up shift.  Or put my foot on the ground.  It made for an interesting ride home.  I’m just glad the rain staved off for another hour.  We got the bike tucked in, wound cleaned and bound, and were just sitting down when the skies opened up.

Thank you Oilburner for being such a good passenger and teaching me the joys of riding together.  And for trusting me with your bike.

Virginity Lost. Glass Ceilings Shattered.

I’ve now ridden Oilburner’s RT for 300 miles and learned to ride with a pillion.  Minds appropriately blown?  I’ve learned that riding two up isn’t quite as difficult or scary as I had always made it to be in my mind.  I’ve learned the joys of getting a back massage while riding.  I’ve learned how much fun it is to lean back and put my hand on his knee while cruising down the highway.  I’ve partaken of the schadenfreude of passing a couple on a Harley, with his arm candy riding bitch…and me thinking of mine.  I’ve let the little devil inside out when I quickly gunned the throttle and released it so that his helmet knocked into mine.  I’ve had the GREAT laugh of knowing EXACTLY when he turned the passenger heated seat on (14 miles from home) and he couldn’t figure how I knew.

I miss my Big Red bike.  We haven’t ridden since Christmas.  Hopefully I will get to ride it soon.  But the sacrifice is worth it right now.  I’m happy to help Oilburner to get out as well.  It may only be one night, but a ride to Savannah was absolutely necessary.  We may not do much while here, but just the act of getting here was the best.  Remember, it isn’t about the destination, it’s the journey.  The backroads home will be calling our names.

Visitor From Afar...

There is something exciting and frightening about having a visitor that you have never met come to stay. The exciting part is actually getting to "see" someone face to face that you have been talking to through email, Skype, or phone calls for over a year. The frightening part is what are you going to do with this person while they are here and will you actually get along with them.

So Roger of All Things Rogey fame was coming to visit after Christmas. While he gave me months of warning, of course I wait to clean house until the last minutes. Which would have been semi-okay if that cleaning didn't actually cause the swapping of two rooms in the house. Oh well. Oilburner and I got as far as we could in the process and what would be, would be after that. No one ever died, in my house, of a few piles of magazines and a little dust. (My mother's mortification doesn't count...)

Right off the bat, Roger proves his usefulness by catching an earlier flight from L.A. Meaning that I could pick him up at 8 from the airport, instead of 10. Yeehaw. This also meant that we could take him to our favorite Malaysian restaurant for dinner. Too bad that was about the best food we ate for the time he was here.

Nothing was planned for Friday. Anticipating that he might want to sleep a goodly portion of the day. But a much delayed response to a text message (from before Christmas) had us scheduling a meeting with a bike in North Georgia. Roger was dragged along, getting to be the first person to ride this new, odd bike. He was also uniquely introduced to redneck, backwoods Georgia during mud and hunting season. Resulting in the start of many gun control discussions.

With his only nutritional requirement of the entire trip being "BBQ", we took him to a local joint for dinner that has given us mixed feelings. They did nothing to change our opinion of them this time around, unfortunately. The night was salvaged with a trip into downtown Atlanta to a great pub with live music. We had an in since a riding buddy is good friends with the musician. So during breaks we were regaled with stories from a recent Rock Cruise she was on.

Saturday saw us hitting the road for Savannah. One thing Roger has said in the past to me is the intrigue of being able to ride so many miles in a day due to our highways, interstates, and abundant land! Well...he was introduced to this first hand today. We took the longer, more scenic route going through much farmland and a few small cities. This gave him the opportunity to understand the distances the U.S. has to offer, with the wide open spaces. He promptly fell asleep, not enjoying the "boring" roads.

He perked up quickly though when he was given the opportunity to drive the rental car. Yeah, he wasn't gonna turn that one down at all. And he did quite well, negotiating a couple of turns, dealing with stop signs and stop lights.

Savannah is a beautiful city with so many things to see and do. We spent time shopping, looking around the squares at the architecture, taking the tour bus to save our footsies, and plenty of underwhelming food. Meh. Tourist season (for New Years) brought out the mediocre food.

The highlight of the trip was were we stayed. I found a cottage through AirBnB that was spectacular. Laura's Cottage, built in the late 18th Century, was a great backdrop for the trip. An original, authentic cottage, used in quite a few films, and featured on many local ghost tours. I found it interesting that we were staying in a cottage that was older than the inclusion of New Zealand into the fold of the British Empire (in 1840). Hmmm...

Remind Roger to tell you the story of his addition to the ghost tours...

We decided to change our plans and leave New Year's Eve instead of New Year's Day. This allowed us to set some fireworks off with a neighbor to ring in the New Year. Nothing says "Welcome" like blowing up some black powder.

New Year's Day was very wet, with rain all day. It was spent mostly indoors following Roger around the shopping mall. I was good for awhile and shopped a little. I picked some work pants and shirts out for Oilburner. (Don't say I never shop for you!) I had fun watching Roger's jaw drop at the sheer volume of camo gear and guns on display in Bass Pro Shops. He just couldn't get over the guns that could be touched, and that the gun counter was the busiest place in the entire store. After awhile I couldn't take anymore and roosted on benches outside of the stores while he went in and browsed. I swore he ditched me at the Nike store. I couldn't see how he was in there so long! But I wasn't about to go looking for him. He could text me when he was done.

Only one trip had to be made to the car to drop bags off. A second trip would have been in order, but we were so close to completing the loop of the mall. Instead, I offered to take the bags and let him finish the last shop while I waited in the car. Ahh...got lots of reading done. And Roger made up for the empty space and shallow poundage of his suitcase.

The rest of the days were a blur. Roger crossed state lines into Alabama to visit Barber Museum. We went to a local gun range and let him fire a couple handguns. (Take that second amendment, Roger!) Attended our local Shakespeare Tavern, preview night for "The Tempest". He was even allowed to swing a leg over the coveted R1200R bike...letting him ride a motorbike on the "right" side of the road. Poor guy, having to test a new bike on a new side of the road, with new rules for stop signs that are foreign to him, all under threat of death if anything happened to my bike. He performed rather well given the pressures. :)

Throughout all of this we talked, laughed, and drank. We swapped riding stories, riding roads, political views, second amendment rights, sports (woefully lacking on our side), independent wealth, and living a life on a bike. Roger, thank you for visiting and bringing a breath of fresh air, making New Zealand come alive. I hate you now that I have to go back to work, when all I can do is daydream about Lake Taupo, Cape Reinga, Mount Aspiring National Park, living off my bike while traveling across the U.S., heck traveling across the world.

Godspeed in your travels in San Francisco. I don't think it will be difficult for you. Hope to see you on your side of the pond rather soon. :)

 

Long Delay for the Savannah RR

Wow.  I apologize for my laziness.  It's just that the last days of the trip were completely unexciting and uneventful to anyone but me.  Many thoughts went skitting through my head, but not all of it is printable...

As previously commented, the day started overcast and wet.  It wasn't an active rain, just really wet fog.  I managed to make it out of town, but always wondered a little if I was on the right course because "town" never seemed to end.  I passed greasy mechanics shops, littered trailer yards, scummy shopping centers.

It was evident, eventually, that I was away from Savannah, but the route was never particularly interesting.  You have seen the pictures for Fort Morris (the entrance...).  Continuing on my way, I kept to the state route rather then the interstate.  Approaching lunchtime I started keeping an eye out for someplace interesting to eat.  I just can't emphasize enough that there wasn't much attractive.  I would pass an eye-catching eatery, thinking there would be another one just up the road.  But the next city was of questionable habitat and nothing inspiring.

I managed to take a break at a gas station just to snack on something from the saddle bags.  A couple guys drove up or walked past, stared at the bike, then at me, but nothing much else.

I road through some interesting back neighborhoods of Brunswick.  Wish I had taken the time to see the Lovers Oak in the historic district.  Supposed to be a 900 year old oak tree there.  Hindsight and all that.  I didn't feel like navigating the traffic.

Moving away from Brunswick I near a bay and bridge, that would have probably provided a couple good shots.  But the gravel and broken glass prevented me from stopping.  I eventually just jumped on the interstate because the next 60 miles of road swung way inland.  If the rest of the road looked anything like the previous, I didn't think I was going to be missing much.

One of the first things that I noticed off of the freeway was this large red/blue sign up a driveway reading Camden County High School.  If memory serves, but I won't swear on it, the extremely large block letters making up the sign were Camden County in red and High School in blue.  It might be the other way, but doesn't really matter.  The first thought to flit through my head was of the sitcom "My Name is Earl."  If you know the show you will understand my introduction to Camden County, GA.

The clock was moving along toward 3 and I decided the best plan was to get to the park, set up camp then venture forth for food!!  I was most looking forward to that and hoping the rangers would be able to point me to a good spot.

I pull up to the ranger station and begin the normal task of dismounting and disrobing enough to not look like Daft Punk.  The process can take a couple minutes just turning the bike off, getting the gloves off, unlatching and removing the helmet, unplugging the helmet if one was listening to music, unzipping the riding jacket and storing the easily removable electronics.  I am only the second vehicle in the lot, so don't think it will be too crowded.

I walk into the station and notice the two ladies behind the counter and the third in front of the counter just chatting.  I am promptly and courteously seen to, luckily they have my reservation.  But then I am asked if I have an annual park pass.  Yep!  I sure do.  But I don't have it with me.  I'm not sure where you would put it on a motorcycle that it couldn't be easily swiped.  I told her this, but it didn't seem to dawn on her.  She informed me that I would have to pay the park fee if I didn't have it with me.  Hmmm...other state parks merely looked me up in the computer system and verified my status was currently.  I explain this and she just stares at me like I am speaking a foreign language.  I guess that was asking too much of these ladies.  Ok.  I'll pay.  But apparently the price has jumped.  Whatever.  The parks need the money this year and it is only $5.

Get the pay all worked out and she hands me my vehicle pass and park map.  Going into her normal spiel:

Ranger:  "Now you can choose any site that isn't occi-pied"
Me: "Great"
Ranger: "Now let me just explain the road system.  You will enter here and this is one-way."  The park is similar to a smashed figure eight. "You enter the center section and can pick any space along here.  At the end you can go either left or right.  But these are all one-way.  If you don't see a site you want here you will have to go all the way around, back to the center here and go all the way around to the other side."
Me: "Great"
Ranger: " Now I know it don't make much sense to someone on a motorcycle why you have to do all this one way stuff.  But believe you me, if you're drivin' a 50 foot motor home ya'd understand."
Me: "Yes.  I do understand.  I also drive a truck with a 30 foot trailer, and I understand rules of the road."
Ranger: "OK.  Just place this vehicle pass in your car and you can come and go as you please."
Me: Smile is now gone, patience is nearing its end.  I just ask for places to eat.

I make it known that I am interested in someplace the locals like.  But she isn't too helpful in this department either. I do get a map with nearby places and just figure I will decide something later.

I mount back up...gearing the head and hands...again...  I appropriately enter the roadway, in the correct direction.  I ride through the campground trying to determine the best location for me to roost.  The campground is interesting in that one loop of the figure eight is open with pine trees and grass and nothing separating campsites.  The other loop has very private campsites with yuccas and shrubs separating each sight.  I do ride each loop, in the appropriate direction of course and make my way back to some sites I am interested in.  I finally settle on a site across from the bathrooms and promptly disrobe and disassemble my gear.

It was here that I realized I hadn't bothered to actually open up any of my camping equipment before I took off.  In the case of the tent, it hadn't been opened in 3 years!!  And it was now that I realized the fly was extremely sticky and horribly smelly.  It seems the polymer was breaking down.  EEwwww...  I installed the rainfly inside out and hoped it wouldn't rain tonight.  At least that was the worst of the issue.  But the smell was bad enough.

I probably took about an hour to set up and relax.  But by that time I loathed the idea of working my way back into my riding equipment and getting out.  I would only be going 10 miles down the road and having to undress again.  Ugh.  Too much to think about.  The solitude and depression was starting to set in.  Up in Atlanta everyone is excited to talk with the bikers, especially the girls.  Here I was merely stared at, whether I was riding by them or they were walking past my camp.  No amount of acknowledgment or nodding on my part would impart a smile or gleam on their face.  So strange.

So I crawled into the tent and took a nap. I woke a couple hours later still feeling lonely and sorry for myself.  I didn't want to go out.  But I hadn't really eaten anything and knew that was causing this utter apathy.  Luckily I had brought the alcohol stove and a freeze dried dinner.  Things started looking up as I let go and let muscle memory set the stove up.  It had been a long while since I had played with it and I remembered how happy it made me and fun it was.  In case you are interested, I didn't want to make the soda can stove, but opted to pay for the nice titanium one from Vargo Outdoors. Great product and great quality.  I generally choose this stove for light weight adventures over the MSR that I also enjoy.

Instead of watching the water not boil, I started collecting the pine needles around camp and lighting them in the fire pit.  Wow.  That cheered my right up.  It's been awhile since I have let my inner-pyro out. I decided that I would go buy some firewood from the campground host after dinner.

Dinner was cooked and consumed.  Nothing to write home about.  It wasn't quite the wonderful, fresh seafood that I was originally envisioning when I arrived.  Oh well.  My own fault.

I collected my wits and hiked on over to the campground host. It was only 8, but the hosts site was locked up tight...  There were cars and lights, but the doors were closed and I felt a little strange thinking of knocking on the door.  I wandered around a little to see where the firewood was before disturbing anyone.  And that was the next strange part.  There wasn't any firewood.  So it seemed that this place didn't offer firewood for sale.  Hopes dashed.  I made my way back to camp and gathered more pine needles.  I would spend the 5 minutes burn time with chin on palm just staring into the flames.  Despite the time, I was tired of listening to the bickering family two spots away and grabbed my book and light and crawled off to bed.

As you can imagine, I had slept a little too much and was wide awake at 4 AM.  After tossing and turning, I grabbed my headlamp and walked around the campground.  Sidebar: we do have a travel trailer that we do take out camping.  And yes, it isn't anything like tent camping, allowing you to lock yourself inside and away from community and nature.  And we have had discussions on "why go out in nature, then lock yourself away from it."  So I had fun passing judgment on all these so-called campers.  All their heaters were on.  I could hear their fans quietly roaring as I passed.  What appalled me most was the light pollution.  Everywhere, everyone had on some light or another.  Either it was a camper that left their driver side exterior lights on.  (You should know that trailers, motorhomes and fifth wheels all have their entrance doors on the passenger side. So driver side lights are only for set up and accessing storage areas.  I consider it quite rude when these people leave their exterior lights on to annoy their neighbors.) Or people are leaving their patio string lights on.  In one case a site had set up two external flood lamps on polls surrounding their patio...and had left them on!!  One was spotlighting the next camper.  If that had been me I would have enjoyed smashing those!!  Just in case you were wondering, that spotlit camper was not with the spotlight camper.

So that made me contemplate why all these people were coming out to spend time in nature when they all ate indoors, watched TV indoors and played games indoors.  Then they left lights on at night to compensate for that natural darkness to keep the evil of night at bay.  What dimwits our urban society has become.  I was thinking a little differently when I made it over to my sequestered loop and heard something rather large in the underbrush.  I couldn't figure out how it was moving considering how dense the undergrowth was.  Even after clapping and making some noise it continued to come closer to me.  It didn't sound graceful enough to be a deer.  So I hightailed it back to camp and cowered away in my impenetrable tent.

Oh yeah and that apathy extended to the campground.  I had intended to walk some trails and take some pictures and goof off.  It just didn't seem worth it later.  The yuccas prevented any view and the paths never quite made it to to the water.  I did find some fun ugly stuff at the campground.  So here you get to enjoy these sights.

It had been awhile since this soda machine had been properly serviced.  This sticky, black oozing mess was the sugary, rancid goo from punctured cans that must have been there since WWII.  I know.  One stuck in the machine that I was trying to get for dinner.

Along with the rangers, the other campers hadn't learned to read yet.  As evidenced by the fact that there were on EVERY time I went in there and after I had repeatedly turned them off.  And all these people have toilets in their home on wheels!!

 

Nice looking 'shrooms.  The best color was at night.  They appeared washed out in the daytime.

So waking up the next morning to 50 degree temps and overcast skies again wasn't filling me with cheer.  It was supposed to be clear and blue at 60 degrees.  But those darn clouds looked gray and threatening.

No.  I wasn't expecting these temps.  It was supposed to be 10 degrees warmer the entire trip.  I didn't have the clothing for any of this.  Yesterday I had donned most of my clothing just for the ride down here.  And today's temps were even cooler.  I was having my doubts about continuing on after talking with Mr Oilburner the day before and the inability for me to make a reservation at the next campground on the agenda.  They wouldn't do a one night stay...in the middle of winter...on an off week!!  My doubts were confirmed while talking with Mr Oilburner this morning and finding out that freezing rain was expected to hit Atlanta and areas south the in two days.  We don't trust these weather-persons.  Since I lacked good clothing, the tent was annoying, the next campground wasn't reserved and the sleet was coming I just decided to head home.

Once the decision was made it was time to go.  I ate the remaining freeze dried dinner from last night.  I packed up my comfortable home on wheels...my version of home on wheels.  Then I hit the road.  I turned on Mr Tell-Tale so Mr Oilburner could follow my progress on all those long interstates I would be super slabbing it home on.  I didn't want to ride them, but the backroads would add 2+ hours to an 8 hr ride.  If I was going home I was just going to do it.

As I packed, I had the pleasure of encountering the morning camp hosts/caretakers.  They were swabbing out the restrooms, but one older fellow came over and wanted to check out my fire ring.  We made with a couple pleasantries on the weather and his expectation of the park seeing freezing temps next week.  I mentioned that it was cold enough last night, and I wasn't expecting it.  Then he made the insightful comment.  "You were in that tent warn't ya?"  Hmmm...   There is ONLY a motorcycle sitting here.  I don't see a truck.  I don't see a trailer.  I don't even see a trailer behind this motorcycle.  There isn't one other tent in this campground!  Umm...no...I slept in a hole in the ground. Welcome to Camden County.

You might be interested to know that the interstates are benefiting from the stimulus package.  About 40 miles of interstate around Brunswick was a wonderful bobsled shoot of two narrow lanes and concrete side barriers.  I was doing fine until the metal grates worked there way into my lane.  These things were huge, slick, running in my direction and longer then the wheel base of the bike.  I moved into the left lane and planted myself there.  What few people were actually going faster then me could go around on the right!

Ok.  Some statistics.  Ambient air temp of 59 degrees and avg mph at 75 results in a wind chill factor of 51.4F.  It was a long, cold ride home.  Air temp stayed at 59 degrees for the first half of the trip.  I skipped off the freeway before Macon to avoid the nasty traffic of Macon and the crazy drivers of I-75 north.  I jumped on wonderful Hwy 441 N.  And it was a wonderful 4 lane divided highway that no one knows of.  I wish my St. Mary's route had been this attractive.  It was lovely, quiet, lonely and fast.  I thought I was encountering yet another stimulus work area when I was routed onto the southbound lanes.  Then I saw another example of the destruction water can have.  It had undermined the northbound lanes.  And I was happy we had been diverted.  (Disclaimer: I took this picture a month later, driving past in the truck.)

I did encounter rain and temps that dropped to 49F.  (Wind chill of 37F with 49F air temp and 70 mph.)  I took a break at Eatonton to munch on some soy teriyaki jerky that was surprisingly good and a lot sticky.

Oh yeah!  Forgot to mention that at one of my fuel stops before Macon I pulled those little chemical hand warmers out and inserted them down my shirt.  I calculated that I would be off the highway in 30 or so miles and could move them by the time they were really hot.  I miscalculated a little.  Once I veered off the freeway I quickly stopped and removed them from my bra.  I think I had burned the ta-tas a little...  Ouch!  I moved them to my upper arms to combat the wind and all was well.  They had lost much of their potency by the time I arrived in Eatonton.  So it was safe to put them back next to the skin and they were promptly inserted in my gloves to combat the wind on the back of the hands.

I made it home in great time and relatively good condition.  I hadn't encountered any cops along the way.  Good since I wasn't really going 75 mph on those interstates.  I was able to stay away from most of the car clusters and all was well.  The house was dark but the fur babies greeted me warmly.  I warmed up with a shower, that didn't quite do the trick.  So hopped into a steamy bath and took another nap until Mr Oilburner showed up to warm me up with snuggles and food.

Total trip:  777 miles.  I wish I had continued on with the regular schedule...in some respects.  But didn't mind not pushing the envelope with the cold, rain and lack of warm clothing.  No, I wasn't stopping at Walmart to invest in yet more layers that I already had plenty of at home.  Next time?  Ignore the damn weather-idiots and take some warm gear!!  Mysteriosos pack small...

What did I learn?
-warm gear, obviously; be prepared for conditions other then you expect
-always check your gear before embarking on a trip
-always pack a little nourishment for breaks
-caged campers use too much electricity and light
-always go a little faster then traffic  ;-)
-even after 1000 miles my front tire chicken strip is pathetically wide...

Thank you for waiting.  Thank you for reading.  Now get out there and make some of your own memories and let me know about them.  I'm not sure when my next ride will be now that I am working more hours again.  Though it isn't a hardship not going right now with the 18F temps and rain and snow!!

Keep the rubber side down and make some smiles.

Monday Launch - Savannah RR Day2

cont'd from Savannah RR - Nov 23, 2009

The weekend rained as expected. But it didn't put a damper on our activities.  We caught up on our requisite "Midnight" education in the evenings and enjoyed our roasted garlic hummus.  So I had to give a little thought about leaving on Monday morning.  We checked the weather reports and verified the previous forecasts: Monday projected with overcast skies and temps in the low to mid 60's.  Tuesday and Wednesday forecast to be sunny with temps in the high 60's, low 70's (and yes, it was still for my destinations, not current location).

Of course, I was awake early and gathering the gear and making coffee!!  (Helping to wake G up and get her ready for her hectic day.)  I will excuse myself, since I have never owned a coffee maker or coffee grinder, that I really didn't know what I was doing when I started that darn pot of coffee.  I scooped the beans into the grinder to about the level I thought G had, filled the water reservoir and hit go.  It was only upon verification with G that I realized I had probably put a few too many scoops of beans and not enough water into that maker.  So before we "taste tested" the brew we added a couple more cups of water (4 to be exact...oops).  I now know how many scoops to water for two people and shouldn't have a problem next time.

I think I hit the road about 9.  I could look at SPOT but am too lazy.  I really had no clue where I was headed and was going to have to rely on the GPS.  I promptly missed my first turn, but didn't mind too much as some of the neighborhoods are a little sketchy.  I stuck with the straight route through town, only to end up on the other side of the tracks and underneath the freeway.  Not much better then the alternative it seemed.  But there wasn't much traffic.  I was soon purportedly on Hwy 17 heading south, but wasn't terribly impressed with the junk yards and mechanic shops lining the road.  Let's just hope it cleaned up.

I had a light day in front of me with only 120 or so miles.  I just planned on taking it slow and easy.  Maybe stop by a couple of coastal forts.  I had realized late last night that GA State Historic Sites are now on their winter hours, meaning closed on Monday's.  Actually, only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  I decided to continue my plan to the first fort, Fort Morris, just to see what was around.

Well, I wasn't disappointed.  They were closed.  And even though half of the gate was open I was chicken enough to not venture down it.  I took the requisite "shots" in front of the gate and headed towards the coast...1/4 mile away.  :-)

 

 

It is still fall this far south.

So much to see and do in this area.  Alas, all closed on this Monday.

The roads are clear and open.  So quiet and pretty.

The little town of Sunbury, GA is just 300 feet or so down the road.  It looks pretty interesting, but all sand roads.  I'm not willing to mess with sand on my first day, so just head to the dock and take a few more pictures.

 

 

 

 

And I think one of my most favorite historical markers.  Who writes these things??

Just in case you can't read this:

"Sunbury

Home of Many Famous Persons

Many famous persons lived in the town of Sunbury.  Among the was Dr. Lyman Hall, signer of the Declaration of Independence.  It was also the home of Richard Howley and Nathan Brownson, later governers of Georgia; of John Elliot and Alfred Cuthbert, United States Senators; of Major John Jones and Major Lachlan McIntosh.  Button Gwinnett, another signer of the Declaration of Independence, spent much time here as a Justice of St. John's Parish, and Georgia's third signer, George Walton was among those help in Sunbury as a prisoner of the British during the Revolution.

Mariah J. McIntosh, noted authoress and her brother, Commodore James McKay McIntosh, hero of the Mexican War, were born in Sunbury.  The Hon. John E. Ward, first United States Minister to China, and the Hon. William Law, noted Jurist, were also natives of Sunbury."

The state park is a tale in itself...

Savannah Ride - Still a Tourist

More friends, more visiting, more booze and more sightseeing.  We ventured to Bonaventure on Sunday.  It was cold (!) and rainy but we had some time to kill and I hadn't been to Bonaventure yet.  (Yes, we started watching "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" last night.)  I won't say much, just give you a few pictures to enjoy.  It started rainy and we rushed to the car.  I need to go back when I have the tripod and much more time.

Savannah Fun

Mr. SPOT and I decided it was time to get to know each other and take a ride.  The time, money and weather were coming together and allowing me to take a longer distance trip. Mr. Oilburner has been on two weekend/overnighters and I have stayed home and held down the fort. But this time it was my turn. And I was going to enjoy it.

I found myself with a week off from work…that I was not expecting. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mind. But it was very last minute and the week of Thanksgiving. I pulled a few strings, looked at the weather forecast and decided to head south.

My first stop was Savannah, Georgia. My best friend lives there and it was time to spend some quality girls time together. I frantically assembled my camping gear and some clothing Thursday night for a Friday morning departure. Of course, I merely assembled the stuff. Didn’t bother opening anything or trying to pack anything. So the patience was a little lacking on Friday morning as I tried to shove everything in my saddlebags…and it wasn’t fitting.

I knew I was packing a luxury item or two. But I was only going to be gone for 6 days. And only camping for two nights. I needed to bring the “nice” clothes and shoes (as nice as I can get) to go out evenings in Savannah. But they had to be packable enough to squirrel away for the remainder of the trip. I also was insistent that I was going to bring my feather pillow. I had a compression sack from camping that would minimize the size of that thing.

Beyond that I just couldn’t figure out where in the world all of that darn space went from my saddlebags. They were full and I hadn’t even finished the packing!!! Argh. We scoured our kayaking equipment and allocated a cool dry bag that I used to use for my camera. It was the perfect size to take the leftover stuff and was easily Velcro-ed onto the bike. Viola!

Don't get the wrong idea.  I am using ultralight equipment since I also enjoy(-ed) hiking and backpacking; the bulk is there but the weight isn't.

I was emotionally spent after fighting with the equipment. (I know, sounds stupid. But I will get better as I get the hang of this!) So I sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the cooling fan before donning all of that hot equipment.

Forecasts called for a great day riding down to Savannah. Blue skies, bright sun and temps near 70 were welcome! I knew to expect rain on Saturday and Sunday. But I wouldn’t be riding, just roosting. Because the forecasts called for slightly overcast and mid-60’s on Monday and sunny and high-60’s Tuesday and Wednesday. (And yes, these were the forecasts for my destinations…not my current location.)

I took a longer route down to Savannah to avoid the interstates. I have traveled many of the backroads many times and didn’t have a problem with where I would be going. But my weekend experiences have convinced me that the entire infrastructure of this great nation is under construction. I don’t so much mind if the road really needed it. But was a little disheartened when perfectly good road that had been paved within the last 3 years was being ripped up and repaved just because the government stimulus money was in. I managed to hit about 5 different construction zones along the 264 mile route. Luckily some of the other ones were on the other side of the highway.

But let me tell you about Mr. SPOT...maybe he should be renamed to Mr. Tell-Tale.  I left the driveway and turned the tracker on and forgot about it.  I made a quick stop for fuel and called Mr. Oilburner to see how he was taking my departure.  :-)  He liked Mr. Tell-Tale but was frustrated with it's 10 minute update interval.  My fuel stop was 20 minutes away and he had only seen two updates.  ;)  He needed information faster!

OK.  I was ready to hit the road and put some miles under those tires.  My next stop was about 2 hrs down the road to stretch the legs and back.  Of course I needed to call some people and share my accomplishments.  Mr. Oilburner didn't answer.  hmph.  Savannah G did tho.  And the first words out of her mouth?  "I know where you are."  That turned into the first words out of everyone's mouths.

So the tradition became tracking while riding and OK when stopped for fuel or food.  Just so Mr. Oilburner could feel good when the little dots stayed put for a little while.  Since this was the first test of Mr. Tell-Tale I wondered what the map looked like.  Riding through some of the larger towns with traffic and stoplights I wondered if the lower avg speed was noticeable in the track.  (Found out later that it is true.)  Made it down to Savannah without issues.  Enjoyed blowing the doors...err...tires off a couple guys as I speed away after passing a cotton truck. HEHE

I had just pulled into Savannah G's driveway, gotten my gear off and gotten off the bike when the phone rang.  I figured it was Savannah G since she certainly wasn't home.  It was.  :)  She would be leaving work momentarily and home in 5 minutes.  She had been watching the map all day and thought she had the time to beat me home.  Until the dot suddenly blipped on screen that placed me on the east side of I-95, close to home.  No matter, she was home right quick and we started our weekend!

I've since found out that many friends left the map open all day and watched my progress.  I found it hilarious and charming.  Note to self: be sure to turn tracking off if going someplace secret.

We spent time with friends and enjoyed some of the tourist trappings of Savannah.  We needed some tomatoes to try out a new zucchini and ricotta recipe so we went to Polk's Fresh Market.  It's a great little market and I wish they had more space, they had so much fun stuff.

 

 

We also were starving and headed for a BBQ place before we detoured to Polk's.  But they had their own BBQ truck up front that smelled superb.  Wow!  My new favorite BBQ.  Why do they have to be so far away?!?!?

We walked through Forsyth Park and enjoyed the liveliness and scenery.

Testing the physics of a dolly.

Find some interesting things on light poles here. I think the dogs have been leaving some greeting cards.

 

 

Weddings in the middle of the park.

 If you follow "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" you might recognize this.  Sorry for the quality, the big camera was at home.

We popped into the Gryphon Tea Room for the warmth and caffeine.  The ambience is original to the apothecary that used to be here. The stained glass windows and lighting fixtures were eye-catching.  And the orange spice tea with honey was exactly what we needed.

Continuing on we made it to the honey tasting bar Savannah G had told me of.  Wonderful!  So fun to stroll the counter and sample the honey's.  Even enjoyed the apple/honeycomb/cheese stack.  Savannah G enjoyed seconds and the wonderful sticky mess she made. I love how they lined and lit the honey bottles along the perimeter of the room.

 to be continued...