Travel

Travel

Be it on a motorcycle or not, I love to travel:


New Year’s Eve in the Valley of Fire

On the morning of December 31st, 2016, when I awoke it was still dark. I was in Las Vegas. I hadn't planned on being there for New Year's Eve, it was just the way that my trip unfolded. Though it was a holiday, it was an easy place to get ...

Roadside Americana: Greetings from Woolwich – Mainer C. Lobster

Mainer C. Lobster sits outside of Taste of Maine restaurant in Woolwich, Maine on Route 1. Isn't he glorious? Having a lobster this excited about well, everything would probably bring a lot of sunshine to your life. I'm a little bummed to discover that I could've gone inside and bought ...

Boothbay Harbor: Gimbel and Sons Country Store Post Office Call Boxes

While in Boothbay Harbor, Maine last week, I was drawn to a lovely olde tyme gas pump standing outside Gimbel & Son's Country Store. I'm not much of a shopper. If I venture in at all, I usually breeze in and out of store fairly quickly. With vacation-centric places it usually ...

Big Bertha of Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Big Bertha of Boothbay Harbor, Maine wasn't even a whisper of a thought in my mind before meeting her. No, on a gorgeous summer day, we were enjoying our time in the quaint harbor town when she came into our lives unannounced. Oh, what a lovely little house. So New ...

Interlude: New England Idle Hours

A collection of random non-motorcycle photos, thoughts, and observations made during a lazy week in Maine. I may have been tipsy. Each summer, our little clan piles into the car and heads off to our family’s house in Maine. The Maine-house is a picturesque place nestled on the shores of ...

Random Odds and Ends from Kansas and Missouri

My route back home to Long Island from Catoosa, Oklahoma in October of 2016 bumbled along Route 66. At the time I remember feeling like I was moving too fast, that I wasn't taking enough time to linger. I don't know why that happens but it does. You long for ...

Remember That Time I Rode to Oklahoma?

In October of 2016, after completing the Void Rally 11 in Fredericksburg, Virginia I set off towards Oklahoma with the goal of seeing the Blue Whale of Catoosa. I know, I know. It's ridiculous. But, that's my specialty. Straight as an arrow along Route 66 in Ok. Swing and a ...

The Grasshopper, Scorpion, and Serpent Who Stole My Heart

Borrego Springs - December 2016 Two days after Christmas in 2016, I set off for California to take a solo motorcycle trip. In hindsight, I can't say if I was looking to find or lose myself. One thing is for sure, the trip opened my eyes and heart to feelings ...

Riding to Sloan, Nevada to Visit Seven Magic Mountains

On New Year's Eve eve, I found myself tracking across the Mojave, on through Amboy, past the world's largest thermometer in Baker and towards Las Vegas. The sky was gray and a chill settled in. When I made it to Sloan, Nevada the surface of the road whispered that I was chasing ...

Serendipity is a… Giant Rocking Chair?

"Babe! You're never going to believe where I'm standing right now!" "Where?" "In front of the world's largest rocking chair!" "Why am I not surprised?" "Actually, I ended up here completely by accident." "Of course you did." My husband Kenny's sarcasm came through loud and clear, even in text. It's ...

One Of The Simplest Pleasures of Riding a Motorcycle Is When You Stop

Sometimes the simplest pleasure in the world is doin' nothin'. There can be so much to see when you're just standing around being. Life becomes uncomplicated and yet expands far beyond the reaches of your mind. Not far from Ocotillo, I stood watching some wind turbines and snapping a few ...

Riding a Motorcycle Through the Big Wide World

Riding across the Mojave from Twentynine Palms on my way to Amboy, California was something of a spiritual experience. Seeing an ocean of sand spill out before me with dappled light spread across the expanse... it is a moment I will never forget. I had many such moments in different ...

Route 66 Amboy, California – Roy’s Cafe

When something from popular culture becomes a fixture in my mind, often when I visit such a place I don't know how to react. Almost like standing around at a party and not knowing what to do with your hands. The sight isn't a surprise. You've seen it a million ...

California Desert Art: Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum

While near Joshua Tree, California - I made a pitstop at the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Museum. When I pulled up in the early morning, the light coming east across the desert was glorious. It bathed everything in a golden glow. To the west, menacing clouds gathered. And me? I ...

Motorcycle Travel Packing – Some Odds and Ends

When I'm roadtripping on the bike, I do my best to pack lightly with regard to clothing. I try to pack things that are easily re-wearable, wrinkle resistant and fast drying. Fast drying is a huge help. That means I can wash them when I stop for the night and they're ...

Finding Forgiveness in the California Desert

It was cold when I left the town of Brawley. The sun was just starting to make its way up the eastern sky. The dusky morning blanketed the horizon in a gray-blue haze. The world was not awake yet. With the sun rising at my back, I hummed west with ...

The Giant Beetle Spider of North Palm Springs

There aren't many people that I know who love spiders. But I have a peculiar fascination with big spiders like tarantulas and the giant huntsman. Not that I want one on me - I just like to look at them. Perhaps thats why this giant Beetle Spider in North Palm Springs ...

We Are All Just Little Seeds

With the sunset closing in on Salvation Mountain, I continued south along the Salton Sea to the closest town with a chain hotel in it. Google Maps said that was the Best Western in Brawley, California. By this time of the day, I was hungry, dirty and windburned. I felt ...

Love Wins and Other Streetart Wisdom

What someone chooses to say publicly in paint fascinates me. I feel similarly about bumper stickers. You might only have one shot at getting the attention of someone's eyeballs and this is what you want them to know. My biggest takeaway from this little shack is LOVE WINS. I want that to ...

Feeling the Glory Of Salvation Mountain

For a few days now, I've struggled with how to describe my experience visiting Salvation Mountain. I keep coming up short. I am unable to pinpoint the feelings that overwhelmed me there with my cliché words. Perhaps it was the hopeful romanticism of being on a trip and feeling free ...

Road Trip Bucket List: Visiting the Cabazon Dinosaurs

There is no doubt about it. My introduction to the Cabazon Dinosaurs was through watching Pee Wee's Big Adventure a million times in Junior High. I loved that movie. So in December of 2016 while roadtripping in California, I was ecstatic to be able to visit the dinosaurs of my ...

The World Famous International Banana Museum

Friends, did you know that there was an International Banana Museum? "A what?" you might ask. But I assure you that yes, you heard me right. International. Banana. Museum. A museum stuffed to the gills with luminous bananesence. It's world famous. It just so happened that on a sunny Wednesday ...

I Met A Man On The Salton Sea

While I was heading south along the shore of southern California's Salton Sea, I saw a familiar shape casting a shadow across a parking lot. I'm sure my eyes must've swirled with stars as he came in to view. Abruptly, I clamped on the brakes. Before my trip, I hadn't ...

Fly and Ride: Renting a Tiger 800 for 8 Days in California

Two days after Christmas, I left cold New York for chilly California. If you aren't familiar with California, you might assume a few things: It never rains there It's always warm Both of those things are incorrect. But while sitting in my office, I impulsively decided that I should burn ...

Roadtripping: I’ve Got a Bad Case of the Hurry-Hurries

When I first set off on a roadtrip, I'm overcome with excitement. It isn't unusual that I will make "mistakes" right out of the gate as a result. I'll forget to plug in, turn on, write down, navigate to, or forego things I'd been excited about all because I'm on ...