New York and Across the Pond

On the way down to New Jersey I had found a shipping agent online whose website sounded like they would be able to everything I needed. Unfortunately when I got there and said that I would be transporting the bike overseas they said they weren’t interested, more to the point they couldn’t deal with the shipping that requires a special licence in the USA. They did quote me a price on a custom built crate which at $551 was about what I expected. In the meantime my mate in Australia at Ultimate DLR had come up with a possibility of getting the bike into a container that was being shipped from New York to Melbourne with a Corvette in it. All we needed was agreement from the owner of the car. I wasn’t about to sit around in New Jersey for the weekend so I looked at the map and headed south to Gettysburg.


Honest Abe showing a tourist where he wrote the address


Some fine civil war era buildings are still around


All sorts of shops, and shop owners??


Still in town the bullet holes still remain

The small town of Gettysburg was one of, if not the battles that would be the turning point of the American civil war. Also the site of Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg address, today it’s a major tourist destination for Americans on the east coast. Once again I managed to pick one of the busiest weekends of the year for this area with the apple harvest festival taking place. But I managed to get a motel within walking distance of the town centre where the antique shops make for some interesting browsing. The battlefields which nearly reached the town do require transport. In places on the Saturday the roads became almost blocked around some of the country lanes, especially little round top. But I saw enough to satisfy my curiosity and finish my limited education on the civil war.


The monuments on the battlefields


The view from Little Round Top


Another stirring monument to the brave south

Also while in one place I managed to get my registration documents sent to me from Awendaw. For any shipping out of the states you need to have current title (or registration in my case) so it was the last thing I needed to be able to get the bike home. On the Saturday I spoke via skype to Gerry in Aus and they had confirmed that it was a go for putting the bike in with the Corvette, so on the Sunday it was back to New Jersey. I booked a motel only 750m from the transport depot and on the Monday took the wombat down and completed all the necessary paperwork. It should have gone into the container last week and should be shipped sometime this week all things being well.


The Manhatten skyline


Driving in NY, Got that??

The Tuesday was now free to do a tour around New York. At $69 it was the cheapest way of seeing as much as I could. My main aim was to see the Statue of Liberty and Elis Island but by taking the tour I was also going to see a lot of New York city including Times square, Grand Central station, Strawberry Fields in central park and ground zero.


The view of Elis Island most immigrants would have seen


Then into the main hall for processing


Some got bored and creative while waiting


Then on to the trains


Liberty


And up close


Then into Times Square


And looking the other way. What a Zoo!!


The Naked Cowboy busking. Proves a point.


Yoko's mosaic to John in Central Park


Grand Central Station. A magnificent building.


Ground Zero. Very eerie at night

Mike Haysom say’s I need to explain why the Wombat is going back to Australia. Well the original plan was to ship it to the UK to then ride from London to Magadan. After a year on the road I've had enough for the time being. Also the $30,000+ dollars for the organised trip to Magadan is too much at the moment and can be better spent at home. That ride would be interesting no doubt, and may still happen in the future, but it doesn't achieve anything I haven’t already done in riding around the world.

The adventures haven’t finished by any means and with having plenty of time during this ride to think Africa will be the next big overseas trip. A ride from the UK down through to Spain and Across to Morocco, through Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, finally crossing back over to Italy and up through to the UK. Obviously this isn't going to be possible at the moment! Libya has to settle down first.



With this in mind I have just added another bike to the collection a 2008 Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, white of course. Now I have one of the first and one of the latest. The first run it will get will be to Paris in a few weeks time. I think it will make a good bike for any further adventures that will be based out of the UK. This will save me the cost and hassle of shipping bikes across the world time and again.

Witches and Mooses

Three good riding days saw me through Virginia and Pennsylvania and New York State. I deliberately went wide around Philadelphia and New York City as the traffic intensifies to a point that is no longer fun. The Catskills were beautiful to ride through showing only minor damage from the storm left by Hurricane Irene.

Then into Massachusetts and a stop in Salem where in 1692 a few young girls though it would be fun to accuse someone of witchcraft. Over the next year fear and panic gripped the area as others joined in and a total of 19 people were hanged. It was not until the Governors wife was accused did the trials suddenly stop. Unfortunately fire swept through Salem in later years, so many of the old buildings have been destroyed but it’s a nice place to visit any way.


One of the original houses associated with the witch trials


The grave of one of the Mayflower pioneers in Salem


A misty day in Salem Harbour


Along the Maine coastline

On up the coast of Maine and the scenery gets better culminating in the Acadia National Park. After that the traffic dies down considerably all the way through to Calais which is the pretty much the furthest point of the north east USA. After that you go into New Brunswick which is Canada.


Acadia National Park


This National Park is free!


The view from Cadillac Mountain is stunning

I wasn’t particularly planning to go into Canada again but I sent my buddy Ben an Email to say I was in the area. Ben you may recall was the guy I rode from Panama to Mexico with. He said that he was free for the weekend and to come up to Tuque to stay with him and his lady Dominique. So I packed up and headed for Quebec.

Once you have gone past the St Lawrence river and Quebec City civilisation once again starts to get further apart. La Tuque is about 200km north of this point and is out in the boon docks. The town though is relatively large because of the pulp mill there so it has all the modern facilities that you need. Ben and Dominique made me feel so welcome and over the weekend we had great fun. We tried a couple of local food delicacy’s of Quebec. Poutine is French fries covered in rich gravy with cheese curds on top. Sounds a bit iffy but when the curds start to melt its delicious. The second thing was Cretons, a tasty pate of ground pork, onions and lard. All of these things are of course low fat (well that’s what Ben assured me it was)


Poulet Frite Kentucky?? Very French


Non fattening Poutine - right!!


Ben's new F350 "Monster" Ute all 6.7ltrs!!

We also drove up to his Brothers Guy’s lakeside cabin which was only about 10 minutes at the back of Bens house, and nearly killed ourselves (well I did) on the three wheel motorbikes they use for hunting. This is a pastime that is common up here and although Moose season with firearms didn’t start for another couple of weeks, hunting with Bow and Arrow had already started. Moose sausage is delicious as well especially with a nice red wine!!


Guy's cabin on the lake


Three wheels in the bush. These things are dangerous!!


Moose hunting season has started


Moose sausage absolutely delicious


Ben, his dad and brother Guy. Very Canadian redneck!!


The fall foliage colour in Quebec was the best I saw


Dominique, Ben's Mum, Ben and his dad

All too soon the weekend was over and I headed south towards New York and a shipping container to ship the Wombat back to Australia. A massive thanks to Ben and Dominique for their hospitality and hopefully I'll see them in Australia in two years time.

Chesapeake and Charleston

The ride out of Washington was busy, but then again it was Monday morning and all the traffic that had left for the weekend was back. As we crossed over the Chesapeake Bay we got lost as the GPS had another hissy fit and ended up in Annapolis. It was a good enough reason to have five minutes as I tried to get “moaning Myrtle” to get her act together, but the harbor in Annapolis and the little town is very nice, although it has become swallowed up by the Navel Academy that all but surrounds it. We soon got back on our way and headed for Virginia Beach for our first overnight stop. Just before you get there you cross the Chesapeake again but over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and tunnel which is 20 miles long with two mile long tunnels, very impressive. Virginia Beach is a huge summer beach holiday destination but as the season was winding down not quite so busy. After dinner we walked along the front and we entertained by all the fighter jets (around 14 of them) flying back into the Norfolk Air Force Base in the fading light.

Another overnight stop in Morehead City saw us back in Charleston on the Wednesday night to catch up with John and Gabbe about our adventures for the last week and a half. They had also invited us to use there apartment in the center of the French Quarter in the city on the Thursday which we eagerly accepted.


The Apartment in the French Quarter


John, Gabbe and Claire


I love the name of this seafood restaurant


Gas lamps still light the streets

The old part of Charleston is fantastic. Everything that is chic and classy about the “old south” is here in spades. The tourist shops cater for every need and wallet size and we finally got to try the Sticky Fingers restaurant chains Ribs and ‘slaw.


The old market


The sign above the building. A step into the past.


A dozen fresh Oysters and a cold beer as an appetizer


Potato shins with pulled pork


Followed by a selection of ribs! Oh god I can't walk!!!

As you walk around the Waterfront from the Market to the Park and on towards the Battery you pass some of the largest houses I think I have ever seen, a testament to the wealth and importance of this city in times gone by. All too soon our time there was over and so to was Claire’s. We said our farewells on the Saturday as she flew back to Paris and work. Never mind we will catch up again in November when I visit her at home. I left on the Monday heading north to by-pass all the things and places I had already seen and head up to the Catskill Mountains.


The oldest house in Charleston (the pink one)


Some of the mansions along the waterfront


Very impressive


Tax was levied on street frontage, so build narrow houses!