Friday, August 22, 2014

WWW Tour - I'm Going Home - Day 7

Goin' home, my baby
Goin' home, my baby
Goin' home, to see my baby

Our baby, how good
My baby, be good
I'm goin' home, my baby
Home to see my girl

Alvin Lee ~ Ten Years After - 1966



Last night we had dinner at Romeos Pizza & Sports Pub, having a great individual pizza while we watched the Little League World Series run off. If you are looking for a place to it, I would recommend this place. After dinner I planned my next day route with a fully loaded schedule of Double Down towns. Bill and Walt will not be following me. The plan for the day.

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For breakfast we hit a place called the Egg and I, another place I would recommend. This appears to be a franchise type operation in it's early stages and they would appear to be doing things right from a chain restaurant perspective.

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After breakfast Bill and Walt headed north and I headed a bit north and west to Westbrook ME. I knew I had grabbed a Westbrook in CT, but I did not know if the one in CT ended with an "E" or not. (when I got home I the one in CT was the same, so this was a grab that didn't need to be)

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Off to Biddleford.

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Riding to the next spot came across this abandoned hospital. Built in 1950 and in use until 2005. Supposedly haunted too.

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Just outside of the Biddleford Poll Yacht Club stopped for the view.

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I got the pleasure of riding thru Kennebunkport on a sunny afternoon. Even on Friday this placed was jammed, but by the looks of things these folks don't have to work anymore. Check out the plate in front of me from Florida.

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Heading into Kennebunk you will pass the Wedding Cake House. This is the most photographed house in Maine. Gee I fell right into that one. Built by George W Bourne, a shipbuilder, in 1825. Bourne got the idea for the elaborate ornamentation while touring Europe. He came home and began adding the intricate woodworkings and carvings. It was said of Bourne "The highly skilled carpenter knew no limits to his skill"

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A ride into West Kennebunk.

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The Baptist Church was the target for Kittery Point I used the fire station instead. Pictured is the Baptist Church. A much prettier picture.

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Greenland up next (I have skipped a bunch of DD towns, you can view them in the slideshow)

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While grabbing Northwood I went back to this garage for a picture.

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Found my way into New Hampshire for the East Derry, Derry and Londonderry trifecta.

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From here I headed north again and east for Seabrook. While making my way up 95 there was a bike pulled over under a underpass. I pulled over to see if they were ok. It was an old biker and his lady friend. He looked like he had seen some miles on his bike and in life. So did his lady friend, maybe even a bit more miles. Traffic was heavy and he walked out on the highway to stop traffic to let me get back in. It is these little moments while riding that significantly adds to the adventure.

While Merrimac was not scheduled I knew it was up this way.

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I don't know if Skips hamburgers are the best, but his sign is.

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Last stop was Georgetown for Team Strange Airhead 30 Anniversary tour. This covers the GE in Strange. Gotta spell out the phrase with town names.

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280 miles to get home to MeAsWe open arms. It's good to be home.

Scenes not see by you before CLICK HERE



Thursday, August 21, 2014

WWW Tour - Closer to Home - Day 6

I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home


We set sail at 8:00AM as soon as the ship comes in. Well they told us to be there by 8. I don't think we really set sail until 10AM. We originally were going to ride out of Halifax and ride back thru New Brunswick. Nova Scotia is having some kind of bike event the weekend we are leaving, so Nova Star reduced the price to bikers from what I think originally was $300 to $100, a very enticing price.

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Not sure if THIS is my SHIP coming IN, but it is the one I am getting on.

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Bill making sure the ship is up to the Gifford shipshape standards.

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I have to say the boat is like a mini luxury cruiser. Bars, movies, piano playing and of course duty free shopping.

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Wandering around the outside of the boat. Sure home they are not watching Titanic on a little DVD player.

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We are committed now.

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The captain contemplating a new career.

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Escape route. Not sure up or down.

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Conversing with Bill.

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Ahoy matey landlubbers on deck.

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One more stop and we are home free.

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All of us scooted (pun intended) thru customs and we headed into Scarsborough to stay the Americas Best Value Inn. Nice place and not too pricey. No map since the boat took care of most of the routing.  That couple is from the Netherlands and they came over here on vaca to ride as well. I am sure their method is much better for the heart, but I get around faster. They are taking a bus to Boston and then NY and ride out to the end of Long Island. I didn't have the heart to tell them about NY/NJ drivers, they will find that out soon enough. I made the mistake by asking if the Netherlands was the same as Belgium. I will not forget they are different now.













WWW Tour - Here Comes the Sun - Day 5


Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes



George Harrison ~ The Beatles ~ 1969

So the day starts in the same locations as Day 2 did. We ate 2 doors down last night at ... at ... I forgot the name of the place, but it was a sports bar that had a ton of types of beer on tap. They even offered a sampler, which included 6 small mugs of your selected beers. I opted for one large glass, no thinking involved. For food, I had the Bangers and Mash, a typical British Isle meal of sausage and mashed potatoes. This also came with sauerkraut with bacon in it. Really good.

Morning, almost a repeat of Monday morning. Breakfast at the Snow Queen, however this time Walt gathered up the keys and I think he turned them in. We had to figure out a new route to ride the coast down to Yarmouth for the ferry. Oh the one big change the sun was out in it's full glory.

Maps indicated RT 7 was the easiest.

What a Diamond in the Ruff RT 7 turned out to be. Sweeping and rolling road thru farmland with virtually no traffic. This turned out to be the second best road we were to ride, second only to the Cabot Trail. Put some large views of water and cliffs, it might beat out the CT. We rode this right into Halifax.

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Before we get along of course I picked up a DD.

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As we hit the coast line Rt 7 bends to the right and follows the sea.
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We  came across this rusty bucket not to far after we hit the coast line.

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Even Bill and Walt stopped.

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We got separated again so I did my DD duty

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In MUSQUODOBOIT Harbour I found this old train depot. What a name, not even sure I could begin to pronounce it. (Spelling it was hard enough)

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Right down the road is Chezzwtcook, a double double.

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Having been separated since the rust bucket, I rode to the end of the route, however Bill and Walt stopped just outside of Halifax at an ice cream place. I waited at the cemetery, while they had tea and crumpets About 2 hours later we made contact and they were south of Halifax and said they would wait.

So after taking a few wrong turns in Halifax, avoiding the drivers (they were terrible) and waiting on a freight train I meet up with them in Upper Tantallion.

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From there we rode along the coast on 3, veering off on roads like 329 to keep the bay and Atlantic Ocean in view.

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With the day getting long and the sun getting short, entering into prime deer time, Bill and I headed down RT 103 into Yarmouth. Walt kept along the coast a bit more.

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We had made reservations at the Best Western Mermaid in Yarmouth. Having checked in, Bill and I headed out for dinner to a pub the folks at BW recommended, but they were not serving diner anymore. Across the street was Rudders Seafood Restaurant and Brew Pub. We entered the joint to the live band playing If You Like Pina Coladas, not exactly a biker song but it works. Bill ordered a hamburger and I was a bit more adventurous with the Grilled Orange Salmon Salad. We both opted for the Blonde Rock beer brewed on site.
Now there was this couple sitting over to the right of us. The had the look of wealth even dressed kinda of crappy. She sat on one side of the table and he on the other. She was singing and clapping, moving her shoulders to the rhythm of the music and he looked like he couldn't wait to get out of the place. 
So dinner came and went and then the bill came. I really need to brush up on my multiplication since I way over tipped the waitress, I am sure it made her night. Oh my dinner was a nice portion of grilled salmon on a bed on spinach with walnuts sprinkled about and mandarin oranges lining the edge of the plate. It was actually pretty good.

Back at the Mermaid, Walter some how talked the desk into to giving him a key to our room and he waited patiently for us to come back.

Miles for the day, just over 400 miles. Not alot but a full day for me considering all the stops I had made. So ends our last night in Nova Scotia, but the adventure is not over yet.

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CLICK HERE for the SLIDESHOW (lots of previously unseen acts and gaffs)