ok -here are some photos from the trip that i couldnt post during the trip.........

touring Nashville escorted by Tony's friend Dave

Pedal Bars in Nashville are popular

full size reproduction of Greek Parthenon in  Nashvillle

interior of Opryland hotel

Ginny visited the Bluebird Cafe

visited Graceland in Memphis

Graceland

pose a Graceland

Ginny meets Elvis

pose at Graceland pasture

new orleans ahead

24 mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain

watching the bikes while having lunch on bourbon st.

oyster shooters

mississippi 

french quarter

bourbon st.

i ordered one pancake!

marching band on bourbon st.

street performers

this is my second one.

HELP!

Alligator bits

how cute.

bourbon st.

Jazz cafe

first look at the mississippi

crossing lake pontchartrain

home!!!

due to technical difficulties the current days blog will appear at the top of the report from now on.
now that we are home and i have my computer back i will post more photos that i was unable to.

May 8

up early.   it was 36 degrees!!!    heated jackets on we began the 5 hour ride home.   temps gradually warmed to around 50.  uneventful trip the rest of the way.   went over the veranzano bridge and took belt parkway to southern state.  miserable stop and go traffic well into suffolk county.  but we made it home about 3:30pm.   another successful and enjoyable ride over great roads like skyline drive, blue ridge parkway, and of course the Tail of the Dragon.   the longest bridge over water, 24 miles across lake pontchartrain to new orleans.  riding with the girls from nashville to New orleans, and of course the sights in nashville, memphis, and new orleans.


 May 7

we got up early anticipating we may be able to make it home today. only 10 hours to ride.
40 miles east of Asheville we made it to a town called Nebo.   we found and stopped at a house in Nebo that Tony's daughter Shannon is considering buying.  it was a big house on 12 acres in the woods.    after checking out the house we continued north

everthing was going good, untill we hit shenandoah virginia.  we passed a motorcycle accident on the south side. it wasnt pretty.  i dont think the guy survived.  as we continued i heard on the radio there were 2 more accidents on north 81 ahead of us.  we finally hit the first one  -  a 5 mile backup. lanes closed due to accident.  just as we hit the traffic and stopped it started to rain.  a quick check of the weather radar showed we would be in for  more rain. so the combination of stopped traffic and rain caused us to find a hotel and finish the trip tomorrow in the sunshine. 

May 6

made it to atlanta.  stopped at my sons house.  after a while my grandkids came home. we played witht hem awhile. Dave wasnt going to be done soon, so we said goodbye to the kids and Marylane and headed north to Asheville.   as we arrived there late we got a hotel in town and stayed for the night.   we went to a chinese restaurant in a shopping center for dinner.   after dinner we headed back to the hotel. it was very cold.  face shield was fogged up. as we approached the stop light leaving the shipping center i applied brakes and simultaneously hit a deep pothole as the bike came ot a stop.  but unfortuantely the combination of braking and a pothole i couldnt see, the bike tipped on its side.  i stepped off as it went down.   i checked it out and not a scratch on it thank god.   after we both righted the bike we finished the trip to the hotel.




May 5

Got up this morning to sunny skies.   Breakfast and then get ready to check out and head to the airport  .   At 1030 we headed to Louis Armstrong airport. Girls went through security and we said goodbye.   We returned the car and went back to hotel to get the bikes.  We ended up leaving about noon time. Headed toward Atlanta via mobile Alabama . Weather was low 70s but by the time we stoped the temp had dropped to 53 and we encountered slight rain. We stopped in auburn, had dinner and got hotel room here rather than continue into rain and cold.
We plan to head to Atlanta to visit my son David. We will see if that works because they are very busy tomorrow with multiple soccer games and golf games.

May 4

Again we woke up to rain. We have a 12pm appoint for a swamp tour which I cancelled yesterday due to rain.  The forecast indicated clearing by 12.  We went to breakfast at a nearby diner. Their
Claim to fame is their pancakes.  So I ordered one.  When it came it was the size of a large pizza.

I forced  myself to eat 1/4 of it. It was just too huge.

I went to the post office to mail a check to the hotel girl who paid to ship my computer home. About 11am we all headed west to the swamps. On the way there rain stopped and patches of blue sky were seen.  Thank god.

Boarded the boat at noon and spent the next 1.5 hours touring the swamps looking for alligators.  We saw numerous alligators and even held a yearling.  It was cold to the touch.

For dinner we headed back to New Orleans    Walked around.  Bourbon st was closed to traffic and loaded with people.  Found a nice place called music legends park.  Had some beignets  listened to the band. Fed the sparrows    We moved on and watched some street performers and a parade
Before finding a restaurant for dinner.

Tomorrow the girls fly home and we begin the journey home too.

May 3

 It was raining when we woke up today. And it rained the entire day and all night long. We were stuck in the hotel. Ultimately I rented a car and in the evening we drove into New Orleans again.  We drove to the French quarter. Walk down the street and Tony stopped to get a new tattoo. After that we walked a little further found a restaurant with the band had some dinner. During dinner it rained ferociously.  Drove back to hotel


May 2

Tuesday morning we got up had breakfast and proceeded to begin the trip to New Orleans from Jackson.   The day started out at about 56° but it ended in New Orleans at about 90°

Again we started out on the highway in about half way to New Orleans we switch to a local road which was a relatively pleasant drive through the woods cattle fields and horse farms.  We finally reached the causeway which crossed Lake pontchartrain.  It is 24 miles across the lake. They claim that this bridge is the longest bridge overwater in the world

 After crossing the bridge we found a hotel unpacked settled in and then headed to bourbon street to check out New Orleans    Quite interesting old part of NO.  Streets smelled withthe remains of last nights drinking.  We had lunch overlooking Bourbon Street walked around the town for a little while listening to some music and ultimately got back on the bikes headed back to the hotel

As of right now I don't know what we will do for dinner.  stay tuned.    i'll try to put a few pictures from today and yesterday if I can do it was only an iPhone and camera

 .

May 1

When we got up we caught a shuttle from the hotel to Graceland and after waiting on multiple lines require a second shuttle from the Graceland entrance to the Graceland property nearby.

When we arrived at the front of the Graceland house we're gonna wait it online before were able to enter the front door of the house.  Finally entered the front door and observed the relatively garage decorations and furniture from the early 60s late 50s

  We toured the living room dining room kitchen and for room and exited the house proceeded to the trophy room which includes documents.   Following that we toured the racquetball court that he had built in doors or the bar. They had his racquetball on display along with his balls.   Naturally I took a picture of his racket and balls.

After passing the pasture with the horses were grazing we toured by the gravesites Elvis and his father and mother and other relatives.

All in all it was interesting to R and we now boarded the shuttle back to the parking staging area to again bought a shuttle back to the hotel

Back at the hotel we loaded the bikes are prepared for the ride from Memphis down to the mid Mississippi. Jackson was out target.


The weather was beautiful and so halfway to Jackson we exited the highway and took back roads to the Natches trace Trail.

That trail is actually a two Lane paved fork way in which no trucks are allowed we traveled for about 100 miles and rally passed a vehicle in front of us behind us

It turned out to be a nice peaceful ride through the woods on nicely paved road direction and out of traffic.  After traveling about 200 miles arrived in Jackson Mississippi got a hotel and prepared for dinner.

Patty and I walked about half a mile to a nearby Olive Garden for dinner. We were stuffed by the time we were done there and  the walk back to hotel was slow.  Tony and Ginny on the other hand road to a nearby country kitchen restaurant. There they sampled the local cuisine waiting online with the local folk



April 30..

We were watching the weather channel all night and observed a severe storm stretching from New Orleans to St. Louis and heading eastward.   So we left Nashville at 8:30 AM and proceeded to head to Memphis .  It was a three hour ride in about one hour left we hit severe rain. So we stopped at a gas station and went to the local McDonald's to wait out the storm.  After waiting about an hour the storm passed us and we continued on our route without encountering any additional rain .

 We arrived at the Graceland hotel and after settling in our room Pat asked me where my computer was. Oh shit was my comment. It appears I left the computer in the Nashville hotel safe.  After calling the hotel I decided to have the computer shipped home. As a result the blogs and photographs will be relatively limited for the rest of the trip.
 We will have dinner here at the Graceland hotel tonight, tomorrow we will visit Graceland and begin the next portion of the trip to Jackson Mississippi on our way to New Orleans.

 April 29

 We picked up the girls at 11 o'clock at the airport and road back to the hotel. Shortly there after one of Tony's friends arrived at the hotel on his Harley with his wife. They proceeded to escort us around Nashville and show us the sites. The first stop was the grand Opry Hotel and resort.  It has about 2800 rooms. We had lunch there and then proceeded to travel to downtown Nashville. The place is loaded with people  walking, riding pedal bars, loaded in the back of pick up trucks drinking and singing. After seeing the location of bars and honky-tonks we proceeded to the local park where we saw a full-size replica of the Parthenon.

 For dinner we returned to downtown Nashville and after unsuccessfully trying to find a place to eat we ended up waiting 45 minutes at Jimmy buffet's restaurant.  While we waited for a table there Patricia and Virginia went shopping for cowgirl boots.
Nashville is definitely a crazy party town.

April 24, 2017
My brother Tony, and I, leave on our spring trip in 2 days.  A couple of unique attributes of this year's trip:

a) after heading north for the past 3 years(two trips to Alaska and one to newfoundland), this year we are heading south.  our destination is New Orleans.

b) we are both riding our brand new 2017 Road Glide Ultras.  We got them a couple of weeks ago and they should make the journey much more comfortable not to mention faster with the new Milwaukee 8, 107 engine.

we plan to travel the skyline parkway in Virginia, to the blue ridge parkway in north Carolina, and finally a ride on the Tail of the Dragon; Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap  Tennessee,with 318 curves in 11 miles, is America’s number one motorcycle and sports car road.

Designated US 129, the road is bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest, with no intersecting roads or driveways to hamper your travel. It is considered “the destination” for thousands of motorcycle and sports car fans throughout the spring, summer, and fall.  

after arriving in Nashville, we will pick up women.  I mean we will pick up THE women;  Patricia and Virginia will fly there and then ride with us to Memphis and then New Orleans.  they will fly home from there, and we will ride home (naturally.)

stay tuned for the daily blog and photos.



April 26

we planned to leave at 9am, but rain delayed us till 1030am.   gassed up and started the trek.  we had a little rain here and there on the way into NYC.  nothing big.    the navigator took us on the cross bronx expressway to george washington bridge.   i had thought the verazano bridge would have been better. but traffic was slow but not too bad.  made it to new jersey headed south on the turnpike to i78 which would take us to harrisburg, PA.  we had brief periods of sun, but mostly cloudy.

after reaching harrisburg, we headed south. next stop Front Royal virginia.  along the way we drove through Maryland, virginia, west virginia and then virginia again.  weather turned sunny and about 75deg.  off with the heated jackets. after reaching Front Royal we entered the shenandoah national park for a ride on the Skyline Drive.


 it traverses the mountains headed south.   on the way we saw impressive vistas from the roadway which reached an elevation of about 3,300 feet.   thats the height i usually fly at.
g

temps dropped to 64deg up there.  several interactions with deer on the road, and 2 interactions with park police. they wanted us to slow down.  but with the road constantly twisting and turning its very hard to go slow.

about 7pm we exited and found a hotel in harrisburg, VA. had dinner, locked the bikes, and hit the sack.

we are making the trip with the new bikes we got a couple of weeks ago.   2017 road glide ultras. the bikes performed very well today. they handle much better than my other bike. tony said his handles better than the 2016 road glide he had last year.  the larger engine has alot of enthusiam and accelerates like a rocket when needed.   it also nice having bluetooth for phone calls and communications.


april 27

woke up about 8am prpepared to leave after having an equisite breakfast at the econolodge. i had apple juice and an english muffin.  tony had hard boiled eggs and english muffin.   after filling our stomachs we headed back to the Skyline drive.

  i have a lifetime senior pass so i get free admission to all national parks. ( one perk from our government.)   tony was able to get his senior pass today for $10. since he paid $20 yesterday for admission he actually got a $10 refund.  now he has lifetime access too!   (note to all those over 61: the fee will increase at the end of the year to $80.  so get it now.)

after that we continued ont he skyline drive, a beautiful scenic ride along the side and top of the mountain range, not to mention a great motorcycle ride.   after about 100 miles we entered the Blue Ridge Parkway, another mountain top road through the blue ridge mountains.  again a very scenic ride with plenty of sharp turns along the top and side of the mountains.  the speed limit is only 45mph here so with almost 300 mile to cover to Asheville NC, we left the BRP and headed for interstate 81 with a 70mph limit.

around 4pm we stopped at a rest area to don rain gear, anticipating we will run into rain.  it didnt rain.

at about 5pm we crossed the border into tenessee and stopped at the welcome center to be sure we were headed right since we didnt expect to be in tennessee. it was right. we saw lightning and heard thunder in the area.    we continued to the next exit, got off for gas. while entering the gas station the sky opened up and produced a torrential downpour.   checked the radar and saw a strong line of thunderstorms passing the area.   so we decide to go the nearby hotel and call it a day.   we should have no trouble getting to nashville by saturday morning.   expected weather tomorrow and saturday looks sunny and hot.

went to dinner at a local mexican restaurant. met another motorcyclist staying at the hotel next to us, and he joined us for dinner. he was from chicago headed to panama city florida.

tomorrow we expect to ride the tail of the dragon in tennessee and head to nashville.



april 28

big day today.  need to  ride the Tail of the dragon and get to nashville!

on the road by 830am. drove to Asheville NC Harley dealership by 1015..  Had the bikes serviced for the 1,000 mile service.  change all fluids and inspect the bike from tip to stern.  originally they said it would take 4 hours, but Tony talked to them and they were able to put multiple people on the job to get us back on the road by 1130.   we had breakfast while we waited.  at 1130 we were ready to roll.

next destination was Deals Gap tennessee for the entrance to the Dragon!  we arrived 2 hours later and stopped for a drink before heading into the Dragon.   hundred of bikers and car enthusiasts  waiting to ride or just finished riding it.

 it is an 11 mile stretch with 318 turns to test the most skilled riders.



we finally loaded up and began the adventure.  it started out easy for about 200 yards!  then the serious turns began. one after another - 45 degrees, 90 degrees 180 degrees!! while climbing and descending the mountains.

you cant go too slow,  but you cant go too fast.  watching for oncoming traffic of those riding in the opposite direction is required as you concentrate on your turns.  cut them too tight and you run off the side of the road down , down , down.  take them too wide and you risk hitting oncoming traffic coming around blind curves.

about halfway through we had to come to a stop:  police cars,  people in the road,  one guy lying on his back in the road.  obviously crashed but talking to police.    we were waved through and were very lucky. there was no one in front of us for the rest of the ride, and no one behind us either. maybe they just couldnt keep up with us.

it was one exhilarating ride.  its tough to take those sharp turns at 45 mph while watching for traffic, and taking pictures at the same time.    actually i put the camera away before i started and keep both hands on the bike and both eyes on the road ahead. and beleive me it was necessary!









it lived up to its reputation as one of the best if not the best motorcycle road in the country.

we survived the dragon!

then we spent the next 3 hours riding to Nashville.  got a nice hotel near the airport.  ready to pick up the girls tomorrow.

 got to hand it to harley for one amazing motorcycle ! super responsive, fast at the throttle with tons of torque, absolutely great suspension and incredible handling. i suggest if you are a serious rider and want a bike that eats up the miles and spits them out and begs for more, buy a road glide ultra. you wont be disappointed. you will be in awe.