May 30, 2014: Final Day

After another good nights sleep, we had breakfast at the Best Western and packed the bikes one more time for our final leg of the trip. From here we would travel through Conn, NY, NJ, PA, and back home to Frederick, MD. We traveled down 95 south and picked up 287 west over the Tappan Zee bridge into NY. We stayed on 287 west until we picked up 78 west across PA. Not long after getting on 78 west is where we separated from Bob for the balance of our return trip home. The trip total for Crystal and I was 1,804 miles. It was awesome to cruise all those miles with my buddy Bob on his BMW K1600GT; and the best part, all three of us had the Sena Com System to communicate during the whole trip. This allowed us a multitude of opportunities for warning each other of road hazards, fuel stops, potty breaks, route changes, picture taking, GoPro video shots, and much more. But most of all, having a great riding partner, my wife Crystal, to share the experience with. Crystal was always there helping Bob and I with navigation and information look up on her iPhone; whenever we needed to know something, Crystal would look it up and give us the information. I love you babe and look forward to our next big ride this summer.....

This is what 1,804 miles looks like

Updated ride map

May 29, 2014: Riding the coast

After a good nights sleep, we awoke the next morning to the smell of coffee and breakfast cooking. We decided on the breakfast special which was polenta with black beans, salsa, and eggs, it was great. After breakfast we packed the bikes and headed out to take the loop around Acadia National Park. There are many places to pull over to take pictures of some really beautiful scenery over looking the ocean. Most of the loop had 2 lanes going one way, which was nice and kept the flow of traffic safe. 

Once we left the park, we decided the travel on Rt1 down the coast for our return trip to home. We stayed on Rt1 until we got to Portsmouth, ME and jumped on the interstate. We stopped for a long lunch to help us miss the Boston rush hour traffic. That didn't work out so well so we opted for another break for dinner at a Chinese buffet. After dinner, we cruised down to Woonsocket, RI; we picked Woonsocket just to get RI in the books and not get too close to Providence. Our goal after RI was to get past the Hartford Conn area before stopping for the night so we wouldn't have to deal with Hartford's morning rush hour traffic. After we left Woonsocket, the temps fell rather quickly and we only made it to West Greenwich, RI where we stayed at a Best Western for the night. The upside was they had a hot tub, the downside was the hot tub with too much chlorine; we could hardly breathe, and our eyes were burning! We slept in the next morning to keep us away from the traffic, which turned out perfect.  

May 28, 2014: Sabago, ME to Bar Harbor, ME

Tuesday night on the 27th we stayed at a lodge in North Windham, ME that is located on the shores of Sebago Lake. Bob used Yelp to find this place and I would recommend it to anyone; Crystal said it reminded her of the vacation lodge used in the movie Dirty Dancing.

There are many units around the property

   

                  

              

 The window with the light on was Bob's room

         

McDonald's for our 32nd anniversary breakfast.....

The Iron Butt Trio!!!!!

Unfortunately, rain was in the forecast for the day up to about 4pm, so we decided to head out anyway and make our way to Bar Harbor, ME, which was our most northern destination. We figured it would be best to cruise up 95 to make time since the rain didn't leave much of a chance for sight seeing. On the way we encountered a C5 landing at Bangor International Airport just as we were getting on the highway.

It was a cold ride with the rain and temps in the 40's; however, Bob was nice and toasty with his heated gear. It was clear to Crystal and I that we needed to invest in 2 sets of heated gear to give us "any type" weather riding capability. We stopped along the way to warm up.....

Oh yeah!!!

The sun came out just before getting to Bar Harbor, ME and warmed things up a bit. Bob was able to find us a really nice B&B to stay for the night. This place was really nice on so many levels. The owner, Ralph, was a very good host and took very good care of us. He shared some good information about the town and places to see. 

Our room!

                 
 

                 

 

After checking in and getting our bikes unpacked, we decided to walk around Bar Harbor to take in the sights, take some pictures, and do a little shopping. There's a lot of small craft stores, eateries, and adult beverage places around town. We decided to have our first adult beverage at the Thirsty Whale; the clam chowder was great.

We walked around a bit after leaving the Thirsty Whale and Bob wanted to separate and leave Crystal and I to ourselves for our anniversary. We tried many times to convince him it was okay since this is a trip we decided to take together, but we understood and separated for dinner. Ralph at our B&B recommended The Light House Restaurant for our anniversary dinner. I called while we were walking around just to make sure jeans and tee shirt attire was acceptable, and it was. However, once we arrived, it was clear to me we were significantly under dressed and decided not to eat there. Crystal and I wanted to bust on some shrimp and lobster and enjoy ourselves without feeling like we're the only "hicks" in the room! lol...  We left there and decided to eat at Stewards which sits on the waterfront; it has many levels including an enclosed section on the pier, which is where we decided to sit. While there, I text Bob and told him of the issue we had with The Light House and again asked him to join us at Stewards. Funny thing, he was already there on the upper floor! Thanks for the champagne Bob..... We had the lobster special with shrimp, mussels, potato's, corn, and clam chowder. "Great meal"... The lobster was awesome!

                

                    

                   

I highly recommend Bar Harbor and the Acadia National Park as a place to visit or vacation.