Actually, this was Day 2. Day 1 was a very short one. I was picked up at home by the airport shuttle at 5:30pm on Monday and arrived at the airport hotel around 7:00pm. Sounds pretty cut and dried, and it was, but the ride was anything but ordinary.
There were only two passengers in the large 15-passenger van and we sat together on the same row. The other passenger was a 20-something kid from Katy...now living in College Station and working with a software company specializing in oil and gas programs. He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a Chemical Engineering degree and somehow ended up in College Station. He was on his way to Argentina to teach a class on one of their new programs.
But that wasn't the only interesting thing about the trip. The driver drove like a bat out of you know where. I didn't know a 15-passenger van could attain such speeds, but this one did. Our driver managed to blow just about every speed limit between College Station and Bush Intercontinental Airport. I hesitated to look at the speedometer too much because it made me nervous, but every time I did sneak a peek, it was well over 80 mph. The icing on the cake was that the front end wobbled badly at speeds over about 60 mph so you can imagine how we felt inside the van.
Well, the driver was very nice and we did make it to the airport without incident. As they say, "no harm, no foul". I just hope he made it back to College Station in one piece.
Now, to the real Day 2. My day started in Houston with a 5:00am wake up call. My flight was scheduled for a 8:05am takeoff and I did not want to be late. Since I had checked out the airport tram the night before...made an entire loop looking for a place to eat...ended up at the hotel in the lounge...good sandwiches...I knew the way but I didn't want to be rushed so I gave myself plenty of time.
By the time I got through security...which took about 1/2 hour at least...it was about 6:30am. By the way, for future reference, it isn't a good idea to take tools or a flat tire kit for motorcycles through security...they get a little concerned when they see screwdrivers, plugging tools and little CO2 cartriges. In the end, they cleared me through after I made a donation of the CO2. The two inspectors were very interested in my trip so that probably helped avoid a strip search.
Takeoff was a bit late but with a slight tail wind, we landed in West Palm Beach only three minutes late. I called the seller as I walked down the concourse and he was waiting for me when I walked out the front door. The drive to his shop was about 30 minutes...he talked all the way.
Once we arrived at the shop, we spent another 30 minutes looking at his other bikes for sale, his personal bike and talking about my new bike. Once I felt comfortable with the starting procedures, etc., I took a short familiarity ride around the block. I was really glad I did because the new bike feels completely different than my old one. It is substantially lighter and the sitting position is different. In addition, little things like the turn signals and the starting sequence is different.
We tied my bag on the back...no small task since there isn't much to tie on to...and then I followed him to the bank to get the paperwork notarized. Around 1:30pm, Florida time, I hit the road headed north on I-95.
I opted to utilize the interstate versus the coast highway because I knew it would be really slow going nearer the coast. I made good time, averaging 70-75 mph most of the way. The other advantage to being on the interstate is that I can use the cruise control, which works really good.
Due to a lack of time on this trip, I did not do much sight-seeing. I wanted to take a side trip over to the beach in St. Augustine...the oldest city in Florida...but I resisted. I did stop in Daytona Beach at what is called the largest Harley-Davidson dealership in the world...it is really big. The entire complex, called Destination Daytona, covers several acres and includes not only the dealership but a hotel, 2-3 restaurants, a couple of night clubs and tons of motorcycle-related stores. There's also a large covered pavillion...about the size of a football field...where I can only guess they have concerts, dances and parties. This area is very popular with the bikers during Bike Week in the spring and Biketoberfest coming up later this month.
Of course I had to do the requisite shopping in the dealership...no looking at new motorcycles though. Been there and done that. By about 4:00pm, I was back on the road headed to Jacksonville. Except for a short potty break at a rest stop, I stayed on I-95 until intercepting I-10 where I turned west and headed toward Tallahassee. Driving into the setting sun was murder but it only lasted about 30 minutes...then it got dark very quickly. About 7:00pm, I decided to call it a night in a small city named Lake City, about half way between Jacksonville and Tallahassee.
Oh, I almost forgot...there was some excitement about 20 miles north of Daytona. As you can see from the picture, there apparently had just been a wreck where the car departed the interstate and caught fire. A fire truck headed for the scene got on the interstate when I did so I followed him down the highway...thinking I shouldn't pass him like other motorists did. It was a few miles down the highway before you could see the column of dark smoke...I thought it was a grass fire...which it was, only there was a car in the middle of it. Several cars had pulled over and there was one trooper's car at the scene but there was nothing they could do except wait for the fire truck. I pulled over and took a couple of pictures...one of which was the long line of cars on the other side, thankfully.
I found a decent Days Inn in Lake City and now I'm sitting on the bed, typing this blog and eating a Domino's Pizza delivered to my door.
Day 3 is going to be a long one. I'll probably get up early and hit the road in an attempt to get on the west side of Tallahassee before the morning rush hour really gets heavy. Once I pass the city, I'll find a place to eat breakfast. My plan is to try to make it to Baton Rouge but that might be a bit optimistic...we'll see.
Check in again tomorrow and see where I ended up.
Papa Jax
There were only two passengers in the large 15-passenger van and we sat together on the same row. The other passenger was a 20-something kid from Katy...now living in College Station and working with a software company specializing in oil and gas programs. He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a Chemical Engineering degree and somehow ended up in College Station. He was on his way to Argentina to teach a class on one of their new programs.
But that wasn't the only interesting thing about the trip. The driver drove like a bat out of you know where. I didn't know a 15-passenger van could attain such speeds, but this one did. Our driver managed to blow just about every speed limit between College Station and Bush Intercontinental Airport. I hesitated to look at the speedometer too much because it made me nervous, but every time I did sneak a peek, it was well over 80 mph. The icing on the cake was that the front end wobbled badly at speeds over about 60 mph so you can imagine how we felt inside the van.
Well, the driver was very nice and we did make it to the airport without incident. As they say, "no harm, no foul". I just hope he made it back to College Station in one piece.
Now, to the real Day 2. My day started in Houston with a 5:00am wake up call. My flight was scheduled for a 8:05am takeoff and I did not want to be late. Since I had checked out the airport tram the night before...made an entire loop looking for a place to eat...ended up at the hotel in the lounge...good sandwiches...I knew the way but I didn't want to be rushed so I gave myself plenty of time.
By the time I got through security...which took about 1/2 hour at least...it was about 6:30am. By the way, for future reference, it isn't a good idea to take tools or a flat tire kit for motorcycles through security...they get a little concerned when they see screwdrivers, plugging tools and little CO2 cartriges. In the end, they cleared me through after I made a donation of the CO2. The two inspectors were very interested in my trip so that probably helped avoid a strip search.
Takeoff was a bit late but with a slight tail wind, we landed in West Palm Beach only three minutes late. I called the seller as I walked down the concourse and he was waiting for me when I walked out the front door. The drive to his shop was about 30 minutes...he talked all the way.
Once we arrived at the shop, we spent another 30 minutes looking at his other bikes for sale, his personal bike and talking about my new bike. Once I felt comfortable with the starting procedures, etc., I took a short familiarity ride around the block. I was really glad I did because the new bike feels completely different than my old one. It is substantially lighter and the sitting position is different. In addition, little things like the turn signals and the starting sequence is different.
We tied my bag on the back...no small task since there isn't much to tie on to...and then I followed him to the bank to get the paperwork notarized. Around 1:30pm, Florida time, I hit the road headed north on I-95.
I opted to utilize the interstate versus the coast highway because I knew it would be really slow going nearer the coast. I made good time, averaging 70-75 mph most of the way. The other advantage to being on the interstate is that I can use the cruise control, which works really good.
Due to a lack of time on this trip, I did not do much sight-seeing. I wanted to take a side trip over to the beach in St. Augustine...the oldest city in Florida...but I resisted. I did stop in Daytona Beach at what is called the largest Harley-Davidson dealership in the world...it is really big. The entire complex, called Destination Daytona, covers several acres and includes not only the dealership but a hotel, 2-3 restaurants, a couple of night clubs and tons of motorcycle-related stores. There's also a large covered pavillion...about the size of a football field...where I can only guess they have concerts, dances and parties. This area is very popular with the bikers during Bike Week in the spring and Biketoberfest coming up later this month.
Of course I had to do the requisite shopping in the dealership...no looking at new motorcycles though. Been there and done that. By about 4:00pm, I was back on the road headed to Jacksonville. Except for a short potty break at a rest stop, I stayed on I-95 until intercepting I-10 where I turned west and headed toward Tallahassee. Driving into the setting sun was murder but it only lasted about 30 minutes...then it got dark very quickly. About 7:00pm, I decided to call it a night in a small city named Lake City, about half way between Jacksonville and Tallahassee.
Oh, I almost forgot...there was some excitement about 20 miles north of Daytona. As you can see from the picture, there apparently had just been a wreck where the car departed the interstate and caught fire. A fire truck headed for the scene got on the interstate when I did so I followed him down the highway...thinking I shouldn't pass him like other motorists did. It was a few miles down the highway before you could see the column of dark smoke...I thought it was a grass fire...which it was, only there was a car in the middle of it. Several cars had pulled over and there was one trooper's car at the scene but there was nothing they could do except wait for the fire truck. I pulled over and took a couple of pictures...one of which was the long line of cars on the other side, thankfully.
I found a decent Days Inn in Lake City and now I'm sitting on the bed, typing this blog and eating a Domino's Pizza delivered to my door.
Day 3 is going to be a long one. I'll probably get up early and hit the road in an attempt to get on the west side of Tallahassee before the morning rush hour really gets heavy. Once I pass the city, I'll find a place to eat breakfast. My plan is to try to make it to Baton Rouge but that might be a bit optimistic...we'll see.
Check in again tomorrow and see where I ended up.
Papa Jax
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