Wolfman Luggage Recognition and Appreciation

I wanted to take a minute and thank Wolfman Luggage for sponsoring our latest ride to Newfoundland by providing us with a new Large Rolie Bag in bright yellow.  We are big Wolfman Luggage fans already having purchased large dry bags and tank bag that you can see in our previous posts.  One of the ways we used the Large Rolie Bag was as an overnight bag when we took the ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Argentia, Newfoundland.  It worked great because we were able to bring the Rolie Bag to our cabin instead of the larger and heavier dry bags.  We also used it for carrying food and trinkets we picked up during our day rides.  Another nice aspect of the Rolie Bag is that it easily strapped onto our dry bags as you can see in the pictures below.  And, all of their luggage is made in the USA.  Please pay particular attention to our talented, stylish and beautiful model below pointing out how the Large Rolie Bag is attached to the large dry bag on The Mighty GS.  #WolfmanLuggage   Facebook    Twitter

July 22, 2017 Orangeburg, SC to Gainesville, FL, 321 miles

Got an early start (6:00 am on the road) and was home at 11:00 am.  Nice, easy ride on interstates, cool and "quiet" morning air with minimal traffic.

Total miles on this trip: 6,180.

July 21, 2017 Virginia to Orangeburg, SC, 321 miles

Brutal heat compounded by traffic jams in 100 degree heat and full sun.  The bike and I came close to overheating so I stopped about every 75 miles to cool off. I have a system of soaking my shirt and a cloth around my neck and regulating the air flow through my jacket.  As long as I'm moving it's bearable.  When I stop, it's not.

I have also downloaded a lot of podcasts and listen to those which helps take my mind off the heat.

This is my last night on the road for this trip. I'm looking forward to getting home after a great trip.

July 20, 2017, 435 miles

Lots of riding and lots of heat.  I am writing this late at night.  I can't remember where I was last night and think I am in western VA tonight.

Today was consistently in mid 90s with full sun and lots of traffic.  Made more stops to cool off and traffic stopped 3 times for construction so it was a long day.  I'm going to take 2 days to get home from here which will get me home Saturday.

The headlight bulb burnt out today. I carry extras so I replaced it in the hotel parking lot tonight.  Also added about a 1/4 of a quart of oil. Tire pressure is good.

July 19, 2017 Portland, Maine to Matamoras, PA, 320 miles

Susie picked up her suitcase from the hotel and packed it with her things she checked on the airplane to take back to Gainesville.  She put her motorcycle riding gear into the now empty dry bag that I will bring back to Florida on The Mighty GS.

We met our friend Margaret from Gainesville who flew to Portland to visit her friend Trisha. We then went back to our hotel called a cab and Susie went to the airport.  I packed up the bike and headed out. Pretty noneventful ride, just hit some traffic and temps hit mid 90s with full sun.

July 18, 2017 East Dorset, Vermont to Portland, Maine, 215 miles

I can't believe we are back in Portland. In some ways it feels like we were just here getting ready to leave on our big adventure.  And on the other hand,  when I think about all we have done and seen in the last 3 weeks it seems like we have been gone 6 months.  We packed a lot of miles and memories into this trip.

Today was a pleasant ride on nice 2 laned roads through Vermont and New Hampshire before getting on the Interstate in Maine. I added 2 maps of today's route below.  The first one is a screen shot of the Spotwalla map using the Spot tracker and the second one is from Google maps daily router option using my phone.  

Lunch was a pleasant surprise.  Susie looked up restaurants while riding on the back seat and found Stubby's Place.  It had 4.5 stars with a lot of positive comments.  When we pulled up to Stubby's we looked at each other and almost decided to turn around and leave - it was borderline.  We decided to stay and went inside.  It was decorated in historic NASCAR period pieces all over the walls. Long story short, the food and service was excellent. I had what was the best corn chowder I have ever had.  Al, Stubby's son, was the only one in the small kitchen.  When we left I hollered at Al that it was the best corn chowder I have ever had; he smiled and said it's not healthy, containing cream, bacon and ham, but it's good. 

We hit a little rain on the way into Portland but drove through it without having to put on our raingear.

Susie flies back to Gainesville tomorrow and I'll start heading south on The Mighty GS.

July 17, 2017 East Dorset, Vermont

A domestic day in East Dorset and Manchester.  We shopped, we ate and we shopped some more. There are a lot of outlet stores in the Manchester area but they are standalone stores spread out over the city.  Not convenient. We visited Orvis and shoe outlets and came away with new shoes for minimal damage. Mission accomplished.

Lunch was at Zoey's Hex Restaurant that had good food but played hard core rock and roll music pretty loudly with interior decorations from your grandmother's house. Strange combination, sort of like the name of the restaurant.

The restaurant also had a very nice garden. Please play "name that caption" for the picture below of me with a very serious expression in the garden. The winner won't get the link to the blog for our next trip.

Tomorrow we're off to Portland.

July 16, 2017 Burlington, Vermont to East Dorset, Vermont 100 miles

A slow start to our travels today because we liked Burlington so much.  We had breakfast at August 1st Bakery and Cafe in the downtown area where we were introduced to Maple Sticky Biscuits made with real Vermont maple syrup, not too shabby way to start the day.

Susie then found the main corporate store for April Cornell in Burlington. She really likes their home and clothing products so that was a must stop for over an hour.  She even got to meet April herself and had their picture taken together.  Susie really enjoyed it and is bringing home some new things to brighten up our house.  I enjoyed sitting on a very comfortable couch directly across from several very happy and tweeting birds in a birdcage.  I needed to offset many negative points I aquired by Susie riding hundreds of miles in cold, wet weather through trees and more trees.  I don't think I'm yet back into positive point territory but today helped a lot.

The ride to East Dorset was beautiful. Softly rolling hills of deep blue-green grass, wooded slopes and the classic black and white cows.  Very picturesque.  We are staying 2 nights at the Wilson House B&B in East Dorset. Then it's off to Portland where Susie will fly back to Gainesville on Wednesday.

July 15, 2017 Quebec City to Burlington, Vermont, 230 miles

We waited for the rain to stop in Quebec City before we packed up and hit the road around 10:00am.  Most of the ride was typical interstate-like road conditions with constant traffic and cloud cover. Once we got around Montreal and left the highway the scenery improved. The corn and soybean fields seemed brighter green than we have seen before.

We had lunch at the Hero Island Resort and Restaurant sitting outside on the shore of Lake Champlain. The lake was calm and there were lots of sail and motor boats on the water.  We are here in Burlington one night and then will spend 2 nights at East Dorset, Vermont. 

July 14, 2017 Quebec City, 20 miles

Our nephew Connor was our tourguide and translator.  He moved here about 4 months ago, fluent in French and pursuing an advanced degree in physics.  He was able to carve out the day to spend with us. It was great to spend time with him, except he wore us out.  We met him at his favorite neighborhood cafe for coffee and crosaints and then we walked what felt like 100 miles through Old Quebec. Lunch was fresh baked bread, tomato-basil spread and smoked salmon from the farmer's market.  The first two pictures are from both sides of the wall that surrounds Old Quebec built in the 1600s.  It's a pretty substantial wall.

Tomorrow we are off to Burlington, Vermont. 

July 13, 2017 Quebec City, Quebec, 0 miles

After a breakfast of crepes we stayed within Quebec City walking throughout the Old Quebec area.  Lots of tourists in this part of town.  The outer part of the old city is still surrounded by a fortress wall (Ramparts) originally built by the French in the 1600s and later reinforced by the British who successfully defended against the American invasion of Canads during the War of 1812.  We walked around portions of the Ramparts that had canon looking down on the river.

Enough of history, back to food.  We started the day by walking through the farmer's market located about 100 yards from our hotel. We saw lots and lots of freshly made goodies including macrons of several flavors we had to sample. Not surprisingly, my favorite was the chocolate mint variety.  I also talked with a member of a native Cadadian tribe who makes leather goods.  I bought a men's bracelet made of antelope antlers.  My Geezer friends will definitely be jealous.

Food Update:  I had my first plate of poutine tonight at dinner. A light meal of french fries, bacon, ground beef, cheese curds all covered in gravy with fried onion rings on top. The waitress said the people in Quebec like eating it with mayonaisse, which I had to try of course.  Kind of reminds me of what I would want to eat when I was hungover and living in Kalamazoo in the winter.  Definitely not a meal for hot summer days in Florida.