The Salty Dog

7.13.2007
Friday the 13th.

The Salty Dog
Where does a young mind start to take shape form a personality, dream of far away places, doing things that you can’t do in your own back yard, a longing for a new style?

Well back in the 8th grade my Uncle Bud and Aunt Susan was married in Chicago.
As part of this my cousins came out for two weeks from Cupertino next door to San Jose, you might know it today as Silicon Valley but that was just getting started at that time.

My Aunt Liz my mom’s cuz and her great husband Dan, and my two cousins my age Steve was the same age and Paul was a few years older a freshman in college and didn’t make the trip. Everywhere we went Steve would tell me things like my brother Paul is so strong he could just rip the lock and chain off this door. Steven was so cool and had a great collection of OP or Ocean Pacific clothes, you know surf T-shirts. Well we had a grand time together and when OP finally came to Columbus Indiana about 24 months later I was into that brand. Like any good Hoosier I was Mr. OP T-shirt with someone ripping up the waves or a tropical scene, Levi blue jeans, and a pair of Nike shoes and I was ready to go anywhere.
I wore the OP all through high school and I remember some guy saying why do you wear OP you don’t surf?
A girl behind him piped in and said shut up OP is cool.

Well Spring Break comes in High School and Daytona was a big spot for Indiana folks on Spring Break and let me tell you it still is today.
I saw the Salty Dog t-shirts in the hallways and thought they were pretty cool, the next year when I came down to Daytona with my friend Jon Forster and his German exchange student Martin Veltin I stocked up on Salty Dog shirts to go with the OP.
A couple of older kids at a party started calling me the Salty Dog and they thought it was funny.
But here is a picture of the original Salty Dog in Daytona beach still making a killing selling those t-shirts.

I stopped in last fall and picked one up and purchased a new beach towel. I had to show the kid working there the Salty Dog beach towel I purchased there back in 1985 that has not really faded at all after a billion washings and trips around the world.
As the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy states there is nothing more important than having a good beach towel.

I made it to Daytona Beach

I was here for the Biktoberfest last year before I purchased Grace. I had worked the internet hard to find a cheap room on a week when the whole beach was sold out.

I returned here to my secret spot on the beach, even today the bookit.com, travelocity, & Hotels.com had the average room rates at about $84 -$140 per night for the worst of the little old dives not on the beach.
I proudly was able to score a beach front room that was good enough in my budget range.

Never pay over $40 for a room!
When in doubt dive in the bushes and camp.
Just kidding I have not had to sleep out anywhere I didn’t want to on this venture.
Although so many of those trophy homes along the beach seemed to be empty and there were some empty lots along the beach. As I have learned from the homeless folks on Fort Myers Beach there is always somewhere to sleep no matter where you are on God’s green earth.

St. Augustine the oldest city in the USA.

St. Augustine is another of those great places that you just have to come for a long weekend and check into a little historic 400 year old bed and breakfast and wander through the narrow streets or take a horse drawn carriage tour. The old fort fires it’s cannons every day and was never taken in a battle. Every time the fort at St. Augustine was exchanged between countries it was a deal on paper. If you can shoot your cannon farther than the other ships trying ot run in to your harbor you are for all practical purposes invincible. You just keep shooting out there and make sure you have more than enough food and water to out last the barricade.
As luck would have it at this point in the day the batteries in my camera were gone so I only was able to get a couple more pictures of the day.

The treelined streets of St. Augustine.
Technical note Grace dosen’t really mind cobblestone streets but the beat the driver up.

The Fountain of Youth

When I made it down along the Atlantic past dunes and homes next to the sea, past fishing boats, and a few families fishing off the bridges along the passes and into St. Augustine I had to seek out the famous Fountain of Youth.

Ponce de Leon did come ashore here and now you can stop between 9-5 and for a fee see the natural spring said to be the Fountain of Youth although it’s medical credentials have never been proven. They give you a dixie cup to try the spring water.
To bad & so sad, for me that I was there after 6 pm and the gates were closed.

The James River Ferry

Every now and then a road will throw you a surprise that you could have never anticipated.
I was stoked to see that A1A in Florida just north of Jacksonville had a sign that said A1A James River Ferry.

I pulled on in and had to wait about 15 minutes for the Ferry to come pick us up and take us on a 4 minute ride across the river to the other side. The cost was only $2.50 for a motorcycle.

There was a couple of nice guys that I met and chatted with while we waited and on the boat. One of the fellows was a contractor and lived close by and showed us the ropes.

The tip of the day was to stay by your bike and as the sign said stabilize your bike.
When the boat hits the doc it ping pongs around and I wasn’t sure how Grace would handle it so standing on the left side I kept my foot on top of the kick stand thinking I could hold it down, I pulled in the brake locking the back tire and held on it bounced a little on the shocks but it was fine. They said all kinds of things happen and sometimes if they stall out or hit hard trucks have swung to the side and hit other cars. They said the trick is to put on your parking break.

And my new friends were nice enough to snap a picture of Grace and I enjoying our first boat trip together.

Hwy 17 along the Georgia Coast.

I was up and out of Hilton Head with a quick stop at starbucks.
What if every community and city everywhere stopped the mass roadside commercial signage and adopted a scheme like here in Hilton Head??? The signs for Home Depot to Bonefish grill were about two foot engraved on a larger wood sign that was no more than 4 ft tall and nothing was lit up or neon next to the road.

The SC and Georgia shoreline is rough and wild providing some great habitat for wildlife.
There are only a few barrier islands out there that offer any kind of accesability.

There were some great islands with old money homes that are now expensive gourmet bed and breakfast, the kind of spot where historically John F. Kennedy and Jackie O went on their honeymoon.

I was surprised and had to stop for lunch at one of the most written up and popular little BBQ places on the Atlantic Coast.
The Food Network and Great American Highways as well as many other recommend a stop at the Pink Pig. I found the pulled pork sanwich, the sweet smokey bbq sauce just right, the lowlands fire to hot for me, the best bbq East of Memphis, the veggie based Brunswick stew was very creative, and the cold slaw with fesh dill was amazing.

Picture of the Pink Pig

Hilton Head off shore storm

After praying for God to join me on the trip and be with me. I found the Motel 6 and checked in and cooled off.
After I came back in I found the Weather Channel on TV there was a string of strong thunderstorms lining up along the I-95 cooridor with intense rain, possible hail, and up to 60 mph gusts of wind. This is all happening now big bright red storms on the dopplar on TV. So, I am thinking thank you lord for keeping me safe I would have been right out there riding down the line of storms if I hadn’t stopped.
Maybe if God was going to come down and join me he didn’t want to go through that experience of riding the bike in extreme bad weather, I am glad we just enjoyed the shade in the pool.

From Sea to Shinning Sea.

It was great to be back on the beach with my toes in the sand.
If you didn’t know I am a beach bum at heart.

I was reminded how strong I felt when I reached the Pacific at Pismo beach in California.
I had a good moment of emotion when I saw the Atlantic for the first time again.
What a ride I was really missing my father John E. Henry who passed away November 15, 2005, I would have loved calling him up to share the feeling of pride and accomplishment making it coast to coast on the bike.
I realized that he was with me in spirit and enjoyed to feeling of a small victory.

If you notice just to the right of me in the picture there is a rainbow, the sky went from dark blue to a silky purple/redish color as the sunset, the lightning with the storm was shooting all along the horizon.

The beach at Hilton Head Island SC.

What makes a great ride vs. what makes a great tour.

7.11.2007

Ride vs. Tour

I have finally enough of an opinion to articulate on the topic of riding vs. touring.

There is just an inherent rub in the adventure that leads me to a bit of frustration, exasperated sometimes by fatigue, heat, and having items strapped to my bike that are not locked down.

A great ride is easy to find, just you the bike the every winding road stretches out in front of you. There were times on route 66 when I had nothing to do but ride there was only scenery the time stood still the thoughts came and went the Zen moments that you search for and the time you need to talk with God were just there I was enjoying every minute of the ride.

To do the Great American Highways, you have to do a bit more of the touring. You have to ask yourself what makes a great American highway. Yes there was a time when autos were new and people just drove for fun. Campy roadside signs and attractions were everywhere and some can still be seen on Route 66 or along the highways of Florida.
The fact that there is a big steel blue whale next to an old swimming hole should be celebrated. When you pass a three-story tall pancake house in Mississippi that looks like Aunt Jemima that is a great moment in exploring that highway.

I have intentionally planned on touching some of the Great American Highways on this ride.
Route 66, The Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 50 Americas Loneliest Road, The Great River Road down the Mississippi, Highway 10 the Southern Pacific, The Atlantic Coast, and stepped across the threshold of the Appalachian trail. I found there are also great state scenic byways like highway 12 across Southern Utah maybe the most scenic day of the ride by a long shot. The heritage discovery trail in South Carolina wandering to the sea past the old plantations. But to the point all of these had great old highways that begged me to stop and engage the people, to sample their local food, to stop and spend a bit of time wandering the trails, to see some historic points of interest, to read some road side markers and be amazed at the battles and triumphs of the American pioneer soul.

So it grates on me with a terrible frustration days like yesterday when Charleston calls out to stop and spend some time and it was just a hot day on a motorcycle that was not to be. I headed out on Highway 17 down the coast it was hot as Hades here once I parked in the shade and came back the bike said it was 101 before I got moving into the wind.
I made it down the coast a ways I didn’t find anywhere to eat along the way, anywhere that wasn’t commercial and common.
I did make a stop for some Peach Cider at this roadside shop and that was refreshing.

I rode into Hilton Head Island just about delirious with the heat and hungry.
I was just going to do a loop around and then head on South.
I was in some stop and go traffic and the bike and I were about to combust. I was looking at the Plantation, the Hilton beach resort; the Disney resort and thinking there can’t be a room on this island for less than $400 a night. It is nice here it is a lot like Florida where we have Sanibel Island and Naples places where strip malls have been disguised as little boutiques, the McDonalds have small wood signs and the bright neon signs have been banned by some ordinance.

I was starting to pray for strength and for God to come on down and enjoy this ride with me.
To order my steps and keep me safe as I was starting to feel pretty overheated.
Then a minute later I saw a great sign Motel 6, and they had a pool and a dirt-cheap room for this neighborhood.
I was in the pool with steam coming off me in a few minutes and after a good nap was able to go enjoy the fantastic sunset with an electrical storm out at sea. I checked into a few of the locals favorite places for dinner but found that if you arrive 5 minutes after 9 in this town at the seafood shack they don’t care they are closed. Then I looked in vain for where they sent me Captain Woody’s, in desperation I went to some bar with TV’s all the lights were on and it said Seafood & Steak’s Ok well they closed at 9:30 and I was 4 minutes late so sorry try the Hilton Head dinner down the street they are open all night. Well it turned out to be next to my hotel and I had good old dinner food, you guessed it a Monte Cristo!

Sometimes you just want to ride, sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses.