In part 3 of the trip I cruised up to South Carolina staying with Bunkabiker April in Cottageville then on to my long lost cousin Kara I had not seen for 40 years, and after some nights with her in Goose Creek I started heading towards Calgary stopping in Toxaway and Tail of the Dragon before visiting Nashville and a final Tennessee spot in Rutherford. Big thanks to April, Kara and Ronnie, Duane and Ann, and Maurcie and Jim for hosting me. Plus I checked out a few more PDQ 36 Catamarans before buying Dave's from Hudson finalising the contract at his cabin in Tamassee.
Day 19 (600km) Cottageville. A few stops to look at 2 more PDQs before shooting North all the way to South Carolina via Georgia. Warm day with some showers near the end. Unfortunately there was a chance to see a SpaceX launch, but it was pushed to the next day. Damn damn.
Highway 1 to Westland Marina along the coast with some views out to SpaceX launch platforms C2/3R6/7T2/3V8. Then on to Titusville to see "Beach Bum" C2/3R6/7T3V7. I-95 to Georgia state line C2R7T5/6V5/6 then up to Savanah C2R7T4V5. More I-95 to turn to Cottageville C2R6/7T3V4.
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| Big and fast |
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| Launch pad in the distance |
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Surprisingly near Titusville
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PDQ "New Horizons" which actually already had an accepted offer the day making me a little panicky. Likely sold for around $105k USD. That's pretty good fora 1996.
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This was a good boat and had Canadian owners.
I probably would have bought it if it hadn't sold. |
PDQ "Beach Bum" which looked pretty good too and had another Canadian owner. But much pricier and without a dinghy so I sent Dave the owner of "Dame" in Hudson an offer ASAP and he accepted.
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| Nice big davits and a washer / dryer! |
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| Daytona 500! |
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| Buckees |
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| Harley riding lady |
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| Getting close to Jacksonville |
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| Seeing some industry |
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| Big trucks in Florida |
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| Silver alert for dangerous suspect and car |
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| What's burning? |
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| Took a minute to read the sign |
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| Georgia State Line |
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| rules of the hwy |
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| not a planned photo |
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| Short few miles on hwy 16 in to Savanah |
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Tried to have a meal in town
but ended up eating my apple |
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| Nice main street just off the water |
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| Bye Savanah |
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| oh crap...rain? |
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| back on I-95 |
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Oh no...No wonder they don't allow
passenger vehicles at some truck rest stops. |
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Steak and all-u-can eat sub-par
salad bar at Ruby Tuesday's |
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| Powell family plot |
Jamming away with April's good buddy Willie who traded his Washburn guitar that I was playing to April for a Bradley Gullwing car that night.
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| Are we putting you to sleep? |
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| was it a motorbike crash? |
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| April's a pool shark, well it is her table |
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| cozy |
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| She's got it all. |
Day 20-22 (60km) Goose Creek. A quick skip over to my cousin's for a few nights. We had not seen each other in 40 years and I was amazed how well we got on. Thanks to Kara and Ronnie for having me at their place. Saw some cousins from years back and new ones I had never met, as well as a tour of the Charleston area which was really lovely. A good relaxing break.
And I even got to try my first Harley! That was very different from my "Metric" bike as they call Japanese bikes in the USA. I also managed to lose my Vietnamese sunglasses on the short 20 mile ride...
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| Almost took him with me |
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| Wild side! |
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Good bike parking, but those
damn mosquitoes! |
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| Sleepy Hallow type backroads |
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| Beauty road side park I thought was a golf course |
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Arriving in Goose Creek
just before the rain |
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| Southern motorbikes...Road King |
First ever driving a Harley! Interesting, but I'll stick with "Metric" bikes.
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| Ronnie and I trying to understand the other's motorbike |
Day 23 (450km) Lake Toxaway. Big good riding day through Smokey and Blue mountains in South Carolina and North Carolina. Early part of the day I stopped in to sign a contract with Dave for his 1991 PDQ36 sailing catamaran that I checked out near Tampa the week before. So that was great! Then continued on to stay the night with Duane and Ann another Bunkabiker host, thank you so much. Plus a bonus great Mexican lunch near Toxaway, "Casa Amigos."
Interstate 26 to 385 C2/3R7T3V6 then on to the Capitol in Columbia, SC on 385 to Pickens C3R7T3V5/6. Took a bunch of roads that were all very good, Hwy 64, 11, 130 and 107 into North Carolina C6/7R6T2-4V6/7.
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| As loaded as the bike ever got now with tire! |
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| Into Columbia, SC |
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| I-385 |
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| Shot that turn gap! |
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| Very quaint area in this cottage land |
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| Friendly boat owners Dave and Mel |
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Dave took my guitar and bag
to the boat in Florida |
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| hitchhiking bug |
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| another church, no way |
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| Casa Amigos! |
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| All that for under $20 usd |
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| Duane's bikes |
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| Nice brat dinner |
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Super cool to have the camper for the night
So peaceful. |
Day 24 (500km) Nashville. Excited about riding the "Tail of the Dragon" one of the most famous motorbike rides in the US and then arriving in to Music City for a lively night out. Also got to check out another Capitol! Quite the day and I was exhausted by the end of it. Thanks for the riding tips Duane!
Excellent road 281 to 107 C8R6/7T2V7, sweepy and mountainy and over a dam. Hwy 107 to Sylva C4R7T4V7 like Hope, BC area. Hwy 74 to 28 the Apalachin Highway C4/5R7/8T2/3V7/8 awesome. Then Tail of the Dragon US-129 C8R7/8T3/4V6-8. Hwy 72 to 321 lost on side road to Lenoir C5R7T2V7. Then on to I-40 C4R7/8T3V6/7. I-40 C2R7T3-5V6 in to Nashville.
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| Duane and Ann morning send off |
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| A sign bikers want! Danger! |
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| Hwy 281 |
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| This is good |
Lovely little dammed lake
Loving Hwy 281
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| Lenoir |
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| Apalachin Highway |
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| Fontana Dam / Lake |
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| Look at this old pump |
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| Reminded me of BC on my way to Alaska 2008 |
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| Hwy 28 |
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| Anything the Blackberry can't do! |
Tail of the Dragon starting at Deals Gap. Like 300 curves in 11 miles.
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| Rolling in to Deals Gap |
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| Art and History |
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| Find the gap in starters and go |
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| Hit Tennessee almost right away |
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| So Cool |
Midway through more or less
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| Good bye Dragon |
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Caught a hawk on camera
while riding at 120km/hr |
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| Lost in more Sleepy Hallow? |
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| Lots of nice acreages |
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| Looks like fireworks are legal in Tennessee |
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| Back on track in Lenoir |
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| On I-40 closing on Nashville |
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| Near Emory River |
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| A murder?...of crows |
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| Cops holding everyone up |
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| Backed up traffic leaving Nashville |
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| like 20 miles??? |
Nashville looked great once I got in. Stayed across the water from the centre trying to keep costs reasonable. Hotel plus a few food court meals and a few whiskeys still put the whole day with gas around $300 CAD. Definitely seems like a livable city with a Vegas type main tourist street and Capitol Hill.
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| Nice style to Nashville |
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| Cross bridge from hotel then to centre. 20 min |
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Knights Inn had good reviews
Even though hard to find lobby. |
Looking towards the State Capitol.
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| Didn't expect to see this in Nashville |
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| Broadway, not the NYC one |
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| Tennessee Titans stadium |
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| Home of the Predators! |
Eddie Vedder Resto in Nashville?
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| I always forget I'm gluten-free |
Recommended by a local to go to Robert's Western World bar which was good, but I was so exhausted I could only do a few whiskeys.
A good band, definitely not their first night playing together.
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| The fiddler was a stand out |
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| Catching a few sites on the way home |
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| Bail bonds and Pawn shops |
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| Luckily I ran to beat this train. Saved 10min wait |
Day 25 (350km) Rutherford, TN. Temperature controlled by a few smacks of rain especially to start the day on Natchez Trace Parkway which is not an ideal way to start any day even though it was a nice ride. Continued West across Tennessee to the small town of Rutherford for the night with yet another great couple hosting me on Bunkabiker. Thanks Jim and Maurcie!
Natchez Trace Parkway C7R7T2V6 sweeps and no shoulder. I-40 over to Hwy 70 all the way to Huntingdon for lunch C3R6T3V6/7. Finally Hwy 105 to Rutherford C5R6T2V6
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| This parking comes in handy |
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| Near hwy 100 |
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| On to Natchez Trace Parkway |
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| Damn... |
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Mad at myself for so many
reasons |
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| could be a long day |
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| Doing my best to avoid rain |
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| Driving out of rain, Great! |
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| No parking? Where would you |
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| Cops passed this guy |
The video will help understand why the cops should have stopped this guy
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| You got lucky buddy |
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| Small towns America |
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| 8000km on the trip from Playa del Carmen so far |
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| Huntingdon |
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| Tasty BBQ at Pappy's |
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| "BBQ" actually means pulled pork here |
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| Hwy 105, excellent |
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| Bradford.... |
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| This building is "the town" and mayor's office |
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| Bradford |
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| Dangerous candies everywhere |
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| Hen on Nest |
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| Jim and Maurcie the collectors |
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| Awesome signed Bball collection |
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Really nice experience guys
Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the dogs
Chloe, Maggie, Bella, George, Ozzie |
