East Coast Tour - 4/29/09

Well we are 5 days into our trip and so far it's been more of a New England tour.

On our way to Gettysberg, PA, about 15 minutes after we left Fishkill, NY, Shar's neck and shoulder pain was was so intense that we decided to head north towards home.

We rode north through the western part of CT and MA landing at the Paradise Inn...a great little bed and breakfast in Stephentown NY. Actually this is the home of one of our VBF's, Marie.

Monday night started with a couple of Beck's on her deck overlooking the Bershire Hills. We then headed to dinner at a favorite haunt...the Olde Forge restaurant famous for it's chicken wings and extensive beer selection. Marie and Cin ended the evening au natural in the hot tub...surprise, surprise!!!

Marie decided to take the day off. It was great catching and spending time with her. Lunch at the Adirondack Grill followed by Marie's favorite past time - shopping! What were we shopping for? Riding lawn mowers...no purchases today but lots of information. Shar and Cin now know more about riding mowers than they ever wanted to know.

Shar has rested her neck and shoulder and we have decided to resume our journey heading south this morning (minus two large bag of gear we are leaving behind). Going from a high of 92 yesterday to 65 today. Guess we will keep our cold weather gear handy today.

Marie - many thanks again for all the hospitality! It was great to see you!

C&S

P.S. Keep an eye towards the current weather icon as to where we are. We tend update that before the actual blog postings.


Club Cadet or John Deere - SO MANY CHOICES!!!





















Ginger (calico) and Skipper - Buoy and Keeley's sister and brother (Marie's kids)

Departing Windsor, CT

East Coast Tour - April 26, 2009

After bidding adieu to Denise and Darlene, we hit the rode shortly before 10 am on Saturday. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. We spent a good portion of the day exploring some of the suburbs of CT (Avon, Simsbury, Litchfield, Torrington) making our way west, and riding along portions of the Housatonic river before crossing over into NY state.

By now it was mid afternoon, the heat and humidity was rising and it was getting close to cocktail hour. After looking at the map, we set our sights on the town of Carmel. Let's just say the only thing Carmel CA and Carmel NY have in common is the name. After seeing Carmel's finest lodging accomodations (Heidi's Motorlodge) we headed to Fishkill NY and landed at the Hilton Garden Hotel at around 4:30.

We decided to lay low on Sunday for two reasons 1) Shar pinched a muscle in her neck/shoulder and needed to ice it and 2) the forecast was hot and humid with temps in the low 90's.

Spent the day relaxing, reading etc then headed to Newburgh, NY to have dinner on the riverfront (recommended by our friendly Hilton bartender). We stopped at an outside cafe overlooking the river and met Ronnie and her husband Theo, a very entertaining greek couple. He is a professional photographer and they love to travel. They recommended the Cena 2000 Restaurante & Bar for dinner. Excellent choice - Italian fine dining with a great wine selection.

Ended a lovely evening with cab driver bizarro. In the 15 min cab ride, we learned that he started working for the government when he was 11, had his PhD by the time he was 18, owned a very profitable company. Not quite sure why is he driving a cab! We only had 3 times that he nearly ran off the road.

Heading out early tomorrow towards Gettysburg PA.

Cin & Shar

No pirates on this Ship!

Shar & Cin at Ceno 2000 Restaurante & Bar

New friends Ronnie & Theo

East Coast Tour – April 24, 2009

First, thanks for all the emails and comments wishing us a fun and safe trip! Technically this would be Day 2 of our road trip but Day 1 was more like a “dry run” or in golf terms a bad shot that needed a “do over”.

We had all the best intentions and really thought we were ready to leave yesterday…cleaned the house, paid the bills, packed what we thought we needed and most importantly went for a pedicure at Cassandra’s salon.

Thursday morning we were up at the crack of dawn (7:30 a.m.) but it seemed like the odds were stacked against us and we were not meant to depart on that day. As we were completing all the last minute tasks which included loading the packed bags, we made a one major decision to BAG THE CAMPING GEAR which meant repacking all over! Yes your reading this right….I said we decided to BAG THE CAMPING GEAR!

Ok, I’ll pause here for most folks to either stop laughing or finish saying “I told you that camping gear would never be used”! Honestly, after loading each bike with one bag for camping gear and another bag for clothes, we both looked at each other and said either the camping equipment or clothes/HBA’s (Health & Beauty Aids) need to go. For those of you that know us well, it was a no brainer that the camping equipment would be nixed.

By the time we finally left the house it was after noontime. So after traveling less than 10 miles we were hungry and stopped for lunch in Milford, NH. After lunch, we were heading over the mountain towards Peterborough and it was becoming increasingly cold, windy, and rainy (Cindy’s favorite – NOT!). We anticipate riding in each of these conditions throughout our trip but having all three on Day 1 was not a good sign. We were less than 1 hour from home and the extended forecast starting tomorrow was warm and sunny. So long story short, these two candy ass gals retreated to the warmth and comfort of their home, vowing to get an exceptionally early start Friday morning….and we did!

So Take Two – we did actually leave the house by 9:30 a.m. (that is a record for Sharie Lynn). Great ride to Windsor, CT via Rt. 101 to Rt. 202. Arrived at our friends Darlene & Denise’s house to find cold Beck’s in refrig….nothing could be finer! Excellent Chinese food and watching the Red Sox vs. the Yankees on TV capped off the first REAL day of our trip!

That’s all for now…

Cin & Shar



The Eagles Have Landed in Windsor CT!!!

East Coast Tour – April 24, 2009

Well Organized Camping Equipment That was Left Behind!




Clothes and HBA's that Made the Cut!

East Coast Tour – April 22, 2009 (Earth Day)

We will be departing for the East Coast Tour early tomorrow morning…that is early Cindy & Sharon time (10ish). We are heading south to Windsor CT and spending the night with our friends Darlene & Denise. I want to thank Darlene for offering to post updates to the website over the next 30 day for us. The extended forecast looks fantastic. Temperatures will range from 60 to 80 degrees over the next five days with no rain in sight. Thank you Mother Nature!!!

After packing and repacking multiple times, each time eliminating things to reduce the weight on the bikes, we are finally ready! One bag each for camping equipment and one bag for clothes. Our computer finally crashed today so I am at the library posting this update. Pictures of our packs and loaded bikes will be posted tomorrow once we arrive at Darlene & Denise’s house tomorrow night.

Let the adventure begin!

East Coast Tour – April 16, 2009

After weeks of planning, our long awaited extended motorcycle journey is only a week away. As noted above, both Sharon & I are currently unemployed so before we begin the next chapter of our career, we decided to take advantage of having the time off to explore parts of the U.S.A.

The first decision was where to go and for how long. This was largely driven by how long we felt comfortable leaving our two kitties Buoy a.k.a. “Bad News Boo” and Keeley a.k.a “Keeleykins” (pics below). Despite having a terrific kitty sitter (thank you L.C.), these girls are very spoiled (unlike their mothers) and we haven’t been away from them for more than 10 days.

So long story short, we decided to tour the east coast from NH to Savannah, GA for four weeks. Departure date is targeted for 4/22 (Earth Day) assuming Mother Nature cooperates.

Rules of the Road we have agreed upon:

· It’s an adventure – remind ourselves it’s not about the destination, it’s all about the journey.

· Flexibility is key – we have mapped our route but reserve the right to change it…isn’t that a woman’s prerogative???

· Keep our sense of humor – easy to do when all is going right. Slightly more difficult in trying times (extreme cold, torrential rains, no Marriott or Westin in sight – scary thought!)

· Majority of time we’ll avoid interstates, opting for back roads in order to “enjoy the ride”. Taking the path less traveled allows us to get a better flavor for the area, often talking with locals about some of the points of interest, hot spots, or restaurants that we shouldn’t miss.

· We are bringing camping equipment (helps extend the budget) and have agreed to give it shot should all the planets align, it’s not too cold, no rain in sight, mosquitoes aren’t rampant, and lastly the campground has appropriate amenities (hot showers, pool, store that sells Becks etc).

Speaking of camping, some of our closet friends and relatives have been somewhat skeptical about the amount of camping we will actually do. So if you would like to weigh in - answer the poll question regarding the number of nights you think we will camp during our four-week journey.

Seven days and counting…

TTFN

Cin & Shar

Buoy a.k.a "Bad News Boo"

Keeley a.k.a "Keeleykins"