| Author | Message | ||
     Froggy |
Hey all, due to Covid, I have a bunch of vacation time saved up that I need to use or lose. I was going to take a few days for Buelltoberfest, but after being told how much extra time I have, I've taken off two full weeks. Now, I plan on riding down from NY to Suches, and taking several days to do so, and trying my hardest to stay on Skyline drive, BRP, and hopefully hit zero freeways (at least until I head back north). I will be burning a few days in Suches, but then after that I'm not exactly sure what I am to do. Two things I'm thinking of doing are hitting Barber museum on Monday, then NASA in Huntsville on Tuesday. I still have a few more days free, I have family in Florida I haven't seen in a while, and I've never been to Key West so I'm thinking of heading that way. Anyone got any suggestions on rides or places to stop and see/eat in the South in general? Nothing is 100% set in stone at this point. (Message edited by froggy on September 20, 2020) | ||
| Pwnzor |
Well, you could always go and see the Guidestones.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/uryXDeHxudRaNpkP6 It's not very exciting, but to me it's something to see at least once. The other two things I would recommend in Atlanta are Fox Brothers BBQ and DBA BBQ Other than those two places, I have very few reasons to venture into the city. We've not had much in the way of unrest here, so I believe you're safe to go to either of these places. If the timing's right, I may meet you at one or both for lunch. | ||
| Froggy |
I heard about the Guidestones on a conspiracy podcast a few months ago, I went looking into it shortly after but it looks like the place is all fenced off now due to vandalism. Otherwise it would normally be right up my alley. I don't know yet which route I'll take from Alabama to Florida, apparently the fastest route from Huntsville to Cape Coral has me go right through Atlanta, but that means I would have use the damn freeway. The route without freeways looks like it has me cutting through Columbus GA. | ||
| Crusty |
If you've never been to Key West, it's worth the ride. Check out the show in Mallory Square at Sunset. Be prepared; everything in Key West costs double the price you're used to; from camping to food and gasoline. But it's definitely worth seeing at least once. | ||
| Ourdee |
When I went to Stonehenge they had put a fence around it because a car backed into it. | ||
| Aesquire |
If they ever open there are a few battleships to tour. The North Carolina and Alabama come to mind. Check first. Kissimmee has a chance to get a ride/lesson in a warbird. And Google hang gliding Florida for lessons/discovery flights. Because of the high mountainous terrain they air tow.  Knoxville has A great flight park, and cave tours so you can really do extremes in one area. A lot of things are closed due to Coronapanic, varying widely, State to State. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Go to key West. Boyds Campground is very reasonable, and super clean. Check out the sunsets and enjoy the cigars. And on the way down and back, soak in every mile of A1A and the bridges - absolutely GORGEOUS to ride through. Look to your right as you ride down 7 mile bridge, and you can see the section they rebuilt and then blew up in the movie "True Lies" with Ahh-nald and Jamie Lee Curtis. I'm very jealous. The Keys are amazing. I haven't been in over a decade. | ||
| 1313 |
If they ever open there are a few battleships to tour. The North Carolina... appears to have reopened. If you opt to take in the Battleship North Carolina, you must plan to have lunch or dinner at Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn! http://flamingamysburritobarn.com/ Hot, Fast, Cheap & Easy! Whenever I visit the Wilmington (~ 90 miles away), I always bring back a quantity of my preferred burrito to keep in my freezer. | ||
| Hughlysses |
If you’re interested in WWII ships, the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, destroyer USS Laffey, and submarine USS Clamagore are on display at Patriots Point near Charleston, SC. They also have a bunch of aircraft and other stuff: https://www.patriotspoint.org There’s plenty of other stuff to see and do around Charleston as well. | ||
| Zane |
In south Florida inside of Everglades National Park is Shark Valley. It's a 26 mile loop where you can get up close and personal with the wildlife. The place is littered with alligators. At the bottom of the loop is an observation tower that gives a great view of the glades. Key West is great too. I live an entire week one weekend in Key West. | ||
| Aesquire |
Flaming Amy's??? Thank You! | ||
| Britchri10 |
If you're coming to Fl from Columbus, Ga you could look @ Andersonville National Civil War Prison & POW Museum, Andersonville, Ga and Providence Canyon State Park, Lumpkin, Ga. They're close to Americus, Ga which has a great 19thC Hotel the Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel. (Not a usual Best Western) Google the three of them. They're on the way... Enjoy your trip. Chris C | ||
| S2t_bama |
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park (in Mobile, AL) reopened to the public on Saturday morning, September 19, 8:00 a.m. following Hurricane Sally. | ||
| Oldog |
Hey Frogs If you visit Wilmington NC Let me know. I will meet you for supper ( AMY's 1313's favorite ) Brankin what about hell's kitchen ? I can provide you with an over nite if you need to as well. | ||
| Oldog |
Or "Mac's Speed Shop" Brankin has not tried that place yet.. | ||
| 86129squids |
+1000 GO to Barber. Not sure how it works, especially now, but they have a ginormous archive/library of print memorabilia that you can view by appointment. They open at 10am- DO expect to be there until 330-4PM at least to simply look at everything. Start at the top and work your way down. GOD I love that place. If you've not been to the Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley NC, you should work that in too. Closed on Tuesdays (???), their nickname is "The Museum That Runs"... over 80% of the bikes run and are roadworthy. If Dale Walksler or any of his sons are there, chat 'em up... they're likely to fire up anything in the place. I watched Dale fire up an old Henderson 4, after a short warm-up he proceeded to do a burnout on it, in the middle of the place! If you happen to spend any time in the Tampa Bay area, St. Petersburg has Pass-A-Grille beach, furthest point south on the isthmus. Few know about it- my favorite beach now. (M's daughter lives in Gulfport, near Madeira Beach- she took us there.) | ||
| Oddalloy |
+10 on a visit to Key West. If you've never been, imagine Greenwich Village set in the tropics. If you like seafood... do not pass up the opportunity to try Conch Fritters. Just about any roadside eatery anywhere along the length of A1A will have them on the menu. I do miss Conch Fitters ! | ||
| Tpehak |
Just remember when you will be back home you have to self quarantine yourself for 2 weeks. | ||
| Crusty |
If you can find some real Key Lime Pie. have a slice. You'll love it. | ||
| Froggy |
Thank you guys, these suggestions are great. I'm only a few hours away from heading out, my initial route "south" has me starting in NY, heading west almost all the way through PA, then heading south to WV, before cutting across that state, then working my way south through KY and TN to get to Suches. I have no idea what I'll see on the way down, most of this route is new to me. This is gonna be great! | ||
| Crusty |
If you swing through Cincinnati, I'll turn you on to the best Burnt Ends you've ever tasted. Just don't come by on Monday - Velvet Smoke is closed on Mondays. Then again, if you do come through on Monday, I'll turn you on to Cincinnati style Chili. | ||
| Froggy |
I'm not sure if I will get near Cincinnati, but that sounds good if I do. I should be on the road soon https://glympse.com/0BMM-9G7M | ||
| Ratbuell |
Door's open if you need it. I'm in MD, right by where I-81 crosses I-70. Remember - real Key Lime Pie is WHITE, not green!!! | ||
| Aesquire |
The PA-WV area is nicely hilly and has a definite "grain". If you're parallel to the ridges, you get smoothly curving more or less direct ( sw to ne generally in PA & VA ) roads... When cutting across the ridges it's twisty, steeper roads, then WV has more curve to the grain, thus a generally twistier nature. In roads, I mean. No comment on native population. I did a lot of SCA events ( campgrounds and schools ) and car shows ( fairgrounds ) in the region, but for touristy stuff? Mostly the fun is the roads, food, and people. State College PA is a fun town. Restaurants and good hotels. As to route? 81 is fast & parallel Skyline & Blue Ridge parkway so you've got options to balance speed vs. Views. We had planned a Skyline Drive run this summer, but circumstances nixed it... So far. I did have a nice run from Rochester to Bath, NY. To visit the VA cemetery, then back roads through the hills. My buddy's XS1100 lacks a speedo... & I suspect he hadn't properly figured his tach-to-speed numbers, or my speedo is off, since I thought we were possibly exceeding the posted speed of 35 on most corners. Must be me.  Have fun. Be careful. | ||
| Buellish |
If your going through Columbus,head on down to my mother's house in Bainbridge and take her out to eat,she'd love it! P.S.You'll have to talk slower so she can understand you. | ||
| Froggy |
Yesterday was jam packed, 12 hours on the road, 460ish miles, but zero freeway. I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted, but maybe today I'll do better, I don't have a strap on my phone and on the side roads things are more hectic, but I'll try and do more today. I do post more on my facebook as it is easy peasy while I'm on the side of the road, and I was too pooped last night to deal with resizing photos for here. Todays plan is to head south a bit, then west, I'm thinking of hitting Dodd's Log Cabin Grill for lunch and get another Big Buckie, then continue west more. I figure once I get to Ohio I'll start moving south. No idea where I'll land tonight. My Garmin has an "Adventure Mode", it is fantastic for finding me great roads but it does suck up a lot of time, but right now I got plenty of time. I'll post a glympse link in a bit. | ||
| Buellish |
Which bike are you bringing down? | ||
| Froggy |
Rolling out in a few minutes, I have the oldwing this time https://glympse.com/EMF-WH6 |
