to Latham, NY

This morning we were astonished to see this helicopter in the parking lot. Yes, I am having a grand time on the back of the bike but...
I decided to stick with my current mode of transportation.  We started our ride a little after 8 a.m. under cloudy skies.  We decided to forgo rain gear.

It was a hazy morning but, I spied these windmills on the ridge tops.  I think this is a great disguise and might ease the visual fears of opponents to wind farms.  

Note the electric and phone lines that mar the view of the mountains.  I don't remember ever hearing anyone complain about the negative impact they have on the scenery.  Maybe because we all grew up with them.

We criss crossed the Susquehanna River several times.  The water was high and muddy.  They had heavy rain that lead to flooding and school cancellations last week.

We drove by a liquor store and I got this shot.  Glad to know that PA is proud of "Rolling Rock".  I am used to just seeing signs about falling rocks.  As the traffic light changed I realized too late to get a shot that the name of the store was Snakebite Liquors.

We rode for a while behind 4 of these big babies.  I have no idea what they were carrying.

The roads that we have been traveling on since FL have been in terrific shape. In PA they began to be more in need of attention. PA has an interesting approach to sections of roads in need of repair.  They put rumble strips across the road to get your attention and if that is not enough to slow you down,

they put a sign that says "BUMP" with an arrow pointing to the particularly bad spot.

Or depending on the needed repair they might have a sign following the rumble strip that says DIP.

Maybe this approach to road repair is intended to discourage folks from NY to come across the boarder.  OK probably not.

We were on alert for buggies and the only one we saw was in a driveway.

Today I am pleased to say that we didn't need to watch for falling rocks.  It was good to know that they had all fallen.

Oh no.  I was chilly on the bike since the temps were in the 50's and 60's but ICY PAVEMENT.  Ugh.

Yesterday we had the Venice Restaurant sign and today we found a place that is selling "Fresh Florida Cars".  How fresh is fresh?
We have been on the road for 8 days.  Is our motorcycle "fresh" from Florida or is it stale by now?  Such important questions for me to ponder as we roll along.

Allan spotted this bumper sticker while sitting at a traffic light today.  Do you know what a "Dave Show" is?

Maybe it is something that happens at a drive-in.  We have seen two or three of these in our many, many miles traveling.  This one actually looked operational.

Could this be "Mike Mulligans's Steam Shovel"?

We traveled over the rivers, in the valleys and over the ridges. Everything growing is a different shade of spring green.

This sign made me think of Emmi.

The sky got really dark and after lunch we put on our rain pants. They are a challenge to put on and it takes several minutes.  We also for the first time this trip put on our dry socks.

This is probably the first train that we have seen.  It looked like these cars had air slits in them.  We wondered if animals were going for a Saturday ride.

There was one patch of blue sky so I wanted to document it.

There are many reasons that I like motorcycle riding.  One reason is the wonderful aromas that you get to enjoy.  There is no smell that says spring louder than lilacs.

I took this pic when we stopped east of Worcester, N.Y. because Allan decided to put his rain coat on.  I thought it was a pretty good idea so I put mine on also. I forgot to trade camera batteries at lunch so it had drained and I didn't get any pictures of Worcester.

  

Oh yes, the sky at this point shouted "I am going to rain on you!"

We caught up with a shower and were in it for 15 minutes or so. Then we were in sprinkles for a little while.  It was very fortunate that we had our rain gear on.

We have passed many cemeteries over the past week that were being cut and cared for in preparation for Memorial Day. 
And today we saw this sign.

This is for Ev.   I am wondering if this is why you come to Schenectady so frequently?  Is this where you hang out when you come here?  I didn't see any signs for GE. 

Much to my surprise I heard the roar of airplane engines and realized that we were driving by the end of runway for the Albany Airport.  This photo doesn't do the experience justice.  It took off right over our heads.

Today we traveled 218 miles and our current total is 1,989.

Tomorrow our destination is Dover, NH.  We are planning to visit and spend the night there with my cousin Sandra.

to Wilkes-Barre, PA

On the road in Winchester, PA this morning by 8:00 a.m. We had sunshine and clear skies.  Either there was a sign missing, we both missed a sign or we just wanted to take a tour of a really swanky neighborhood.  After that brief tour we located our highway and were off.  (Sure do miss Rhoda the GPS.)

Wait I thought we were headed to Maine not back to Venice, FL. We really did get our directions mixed up.  Amazing to see this as we left Winchester.

Traveling route 522 north out of VA we quickly arrived in West Virginia and found ourselves on the Apple Trail.

I will presume that these are apple trees.

We may not be still in the mountains but this sure isn't FL.  The first named road that we saw in West Virginia was "Snake Eye Lane".  I just can't get away from the snakes.  Maybe tomorrow.

I guess that there must be a "Phlox Lady" traveling here abouts scattering seed.  They appear frequently on roadsides.  I have really enjoyed them.

We are not sure just what would make a bath historic but I guess it happens at the Visitor Center.

We passed a dozen or more factory type places. 

After passing through a brief section of West Virginia it was on to an even smaller slice of Maryland.

Upon our arrival in PA the skies were cloudy and we had warmed up from a starting temp. of about 55 to 72 or so.

We had not expected to experience any "hairpin" turns today but there it was before us and to keep it really interesting there was construction on the turn.

I don't remember that this barn was off kilter but...

We passed lots of large farms.

The clouds seemed to thicken as we continued north.

There are towns scattered along the way too.  

We saw several of these silo cages.  Some were even larger then these.  Most had something like a tube down through the middle of them.  This was the only one that had something in it.  Looks like corn on the cob to me.

There were many cautionary road signs today urging drivers to not drink and drive, etc.  In this section there were these large white dots on the roadway.  The sign cautioned drivers not to tailgate. You were suppose to use the dots to gauge your distance and have at least 2 dots between you and the driver ahead of you.  Can't say that I have ever seen this before.

The sky darkened and we were nearly as far as we had hoped to travel today.  However, sometimes it is hard to find lodging in rural America.  Soon we drove by an old shabby hotel but with the possibility of rain soon we turned back to check it out.  When we got back there Allan noticed it was next to a shabby "Gentleman's Club".  

We turned around again and headed back north.  We located a Motel 6 on Allan's phone and followed the directions where it took us.  We ended up in an Industrial Park. Turns out the Motel 6 was in a different nearby town that we had already passed through.  

So much for that.  It was time to don our rain pants.  While Allan was getting his out of his saddlebag he realize a bolt had come off the saddlebag.  That cinched it we would head toward Wilkes-Barre a larger city that we had planned to avoid to look for lodging and a Harley store. 

The plus side of our checking out these first two possibilities is that we missed the heavy downpour and followed the shower only getting a few sprinkles.  

There was a scary moment when a scrawny PA deer came out in front of us and he and Allan did a bit of a dance for a moment. All is well that ends well.

We lucked out with the exit we took.  It brought us by a couple of hotels and we had our pick.  Allan checked on the location of the Harley Dealership and it was just moments down the road.  He went there and got a new bolt and all is well.

Oh yes, and about that rain.  It came in torrents after he got back from the dealership.  

So he is making the most of it.

We traveled 256 miles today for a total of 1,770.  Wonder what tomorrow will bring...?

to Winchester, VA

We made it through the night and had a great breakfast at Weasie's Kitchen.  Allan shared at breakfast that he dreamed (more like a nightmare) that he was lifted up by bedbugs and carried off in the night...enough said.  We left breakfast at 8:30 with full bellies and two fresh hot biscuits to go along with peanut butter and jelly in the little packets.  They had the best biscuits that I have ever had. 

The Park and Skyline Drive has a toll pass.  For us on the motorcycle it was $10.  The pass is good for a week.

There were deer signs throughout the length of the park, nearly 100 miles. 

Allan spotted this one shortly after we entered the park and I quite surprised myself that I got a shot.  Once again didn't have time for the camera to focus.  I just pushed the shutter hoping for the shot.

These photos speak for themselves.  

We saw several old cars traveling north with us today in the park. Some were at the overlooks as we rode by and several were at the Big Meadow Visitor's Center with us.

Bill this may be older than the one you want but it is a beauty.

This Woodie caught my eye.  My Dad had a Woodie for a while when I was a teenager.  It was not nearly as old as this car.

We watched a nice short video and learned about the creation of Shenandoah National Park including the acquisition of the land from the mountain folks.  This statue is of a Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) worker.  They worked to create Skyline Drive.  
My Dad was a CCC worker in Maine.

I have lots more photos of the remarkable views from both parks and drives.  It is hard each night to make my selections of what to post.

Allan and I didn't know that Mathews Arm was missing but we are pleased to report that we now know where it is.

The Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive closely follow the Appalachian Trail.  At this point the Trail and the Drive cross paths.

We saw a couple of dead snakes on the road today and then we saw this overlook.  I didn't get a shot so Allan pulled over and I shuffled back on my well worn biker boots to get this picture of Rattlesnake Point Overlook.

There is one tunnel on Skyline Drive and this is the entrance traveling north.

We stopped at a picnic area to make and enjoy our biscuit PB and J's.  As we entered we saw this sign.  Wildlife, what wildlife, bears, where...

A little shout out to Maine's L.L. Bean and Harley Davidson.  

I got the water bottle last summer while working in Portland, Oregon.  Without all those years of work I wouldn't have opportunities like this current adventure.  Glad the world of work is behind me and the potential for continued adventures are limitless.

We had cold fresh water with our lunch.  It really hit the spot.

The wildflower of the day.  Any ideas?

All along the Blue Ridge Parkway we saw this sign and thought that maybe we should be more worried about those that are falling.

Today we saw multiple postings of both of these signs on the Skyline Drive.  Happy to report that all rocks that had fallen were on the side of the road and we didn't spot any falling rocks.

Happy to share that I got a picture of a "Hollow" sign.

The skies darkened and we made it to Front Royal, VA then traveled on to Winchester, VA.

It was a bit of a navigators challenge but Allan found the Harley dealership.

I now have a new pair of boots and they have a bit of bling.  Lynn I know you now have boot envy.

Leaving the dealership the skies were dark and threatening to rain. 
On the edge of town we opted to spend the night here.  We came across a sign to a visitor's center and went there for directions to a hotel.  Just as we arrived it started to rain.  We scurried in and waited out the storm.

We have fairly nice accommodations tonight compared with our last two nights lodgings.  There were a couple of bonuses here for us.  They have working coin laundry so we now have clean clothes that should last us all the way north.  (However, if the trip takes more than five more days take a wide birth when you see us.  We aren't planning on doing laundry again while we are on the road.)

Today was very special to us.  This was our second trip on the Skyline Drive.  39 years ago in August we traveled the route south camping while on our honeymoon.  In my wildest dream I would never have imagined that we would have driven it again so may years later and on a motorcycle no less.

Today we rode 144 miles and arrived here at the motel around 3:30.  We have traveled a total thus far of 1,514 miles in seven days.  Going forward we will be traveling on state highways and are planning to avoid Interstate travel.