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Lou Goes to DC 2011........Day 16
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » Canada » Alberta » Edmonton
August 14th 2011
Arose at 0800 Saturday morning and was on the road by 0900 with just 250ish km left in my journey. Cranked those out at 140 kmh and was home by 1100, and into the arms of my SweetPea! Here a few facts about the trip; Total distance driven; 8742 km (4369 going & 4373 returning). Although I took a slightly longer route home with my diversion to Cincinnati, I was mostly on the Interstates which are apparently an efficient means of driving across America as the 2 mileage totals are nearly identical. Going took 2 half days and 5 full days or about 728 km/day. Return was 1 half day and 5 full days at 795 km/day. I had zero run ins with any local law enforcement other than kooky border guards. Stopped for gas 31 ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011......Day 15
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » Canada » Saskatchewan » LloydminsterAugust 13th 2011
Left Minot, ND at 0900 in preparation of a long day. It was raining lightly but elected not to put on rain suit, thought I could drive out of it, which I did. Crossed the border in Portal, SK. With a name like Portal I was expecting a Particle Accelerator Transporter or similar, but was disappointed. They did have Duty Free however! I was having a nice chat with the Customs guy, he asked where I’d been and I said; Washington, DC. Click, his demeanor immediately changed and he became quite curt. He consulted his large wall map and questioned me why I chose to cross the border in Saskratchmybum, if I had been in Washington. I politely offered that he may be confusing Washington state, with Washington city, especially as I could see he was ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011.......Day 14
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » North Dakota » MinotAugust 12th 2011
Very productive day roaring through the Dakotas, left about an hour early and that made a big difference as I got into Minot around 1900 and had a chance to drive around a bit so I didn’t stay in the roughest part of town. Actually it was a mostly boring day, did drive through a big storm system from Fargo to almost Minot. Shot a video sequence of putting on and taking off the rainsuit. But the experience that I had just before Fargo, and I am just bursting to tell you, was amazing! I got to run with a Bugatti Veyron! There is a ton of bridge construction on Interstate 29 northbound and one lane is always closed compressing the traffic. When the road opens to two lanes again I usually go left and pass ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011.......Day 13
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » South Dakota » Sioux FallsAugust 11th 2011
It was a real treat not to have to navigate my way out of some large metro center yesterday, I was on the right highway as soon as I drove out of the motel parking lot. Most excellent riding conditions all day, sunny, not too windy, desolated interstates. It blows my mind how much of America you can drive on deserted roads devoid of traffic. I think I only encountered traffic on the order of a Whitemud Drive or Deerfoot a couple of times, and those were right outside of major centers. Leaving Burlington, IA headed westbound I stopped for lunch in the town of Ottumwa, home to the television character of…………………..do you know whom?(answer later). I had to pickle my way a bit until I could get onto the Interstate, but once there average speed ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011.......Day 12
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » Iowa » Burlington
August 10th 2011
I was in 5 different States yesterday, starting in Ohio, briefly visiting Kentucky, drove across Indiana and Illinois and slept in Iowa. I had purposely diverted to the Cincinnati area because I wanted to meet Noah, (of Ark fame!). Actually it was because the builder of my HD-NLE computer (aka The Juggernaut) was ADK, or Advanced Design of Kentucky, located just a few miles south of Cinci in a town called Alexandria. I awoke to cloudy skies and wet leather as I was only partially successful in drying everything out in my hotel room, but I put everything on and headed south. Despite ADK’s reputation and the quality of the their products you’d never know it from their location. Main street in Alexandria is about 15 feet wide, very twisty, their shop is an old Mexican ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011.......Day 11
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » Ohio » Cincinnati » XavierAugust 8th 2011
Left DC this morning Westbound, first day on the way back. My navigation was solid, got back on the Interstate without issues and made excellent time. Despite my recent issue with trying to take a shortcut, I did find a shortcut that took over 200km off of the Interstate route between DC and Cincinnati. I was having a pretty uneventful day, in fact I was wondering what I was going to write about tonight……………………………..until I was about 50 km outside of Cinny. I had been approaching a large storm cloud and had noticed it had very frequent and intense lightning. Well, I naturally had to drive right through it. Most people that know me know that I love thunderstorms, and I was stoked that I was going to see a classic tornado alley boomer. I pretty ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011.......Day 10
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » District of Columbia » Washington D.C.August 8th 2011
Sunday was spent as a tourist at a frantic pace. Started at the Holocaust Museum, which took several hours do to the various tours. It was a emotionally powerful and poignant experience. Then I went next door to the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, part of the Department of the Treasury. Saw the whole money making process from plate design to shipping a pallet load of $100.00 bills! The DoT prints about $900 Million dollars a day! The average $20 bill last 22 months. Due to the sensitive nature of the Holocaust material, and security concerns at Dot, neither of those locations allowed any photography or recording. They were nice about it, had signs at the door, never said a word to me. Then I got on the HOHO and took the entire 2 hour loop, ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011..........Day 9
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » District of Columbia » Washington D.C.August 7th 2011
Spent about 6 hrs at the Air and Space Museum today. Unfortunately the Space Shuttle Enterprise is at the Smithsonian A&SM in Virginia, not DC! Bummer! Still it was a great day, there are so many amazing aircraft of historical significance. The place was absolutely packed with people, but I did hear quite a few pardon me's and excuse me's. Refreshing! All the Museums would benefit from mandatory lockers at the door to store small children in, with air holes of course! Maybe built in DVD screens showing Barney videos. Went back to the Museum of American History and finished the 3rd floor in about 2 hours. Went to the Holocaust Museum but it was closed. Got back to my motel, I took a cab each way @ 8 bucks, and Skyped my SweetPea. Nannykins and ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011..........Day 8
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » District of Columbia » Washington D.C.August 5th 2011
Was out of my room by 0900! Quite an accomplishment for me. No riding today, took the shuttle bus out of motel land, it was quite a milk run so I won't do that again. Spent 11 hours at The National Mall. No shopping, that's what they call the Smithsonian National Museums complex. Did the National Museum of Natural History et al, walked around the National Monument, got as close to the White House as I could without a cavity search, and did 2 out 3 floors at the American History Museum. The Museums are incredible in their variety of displays and exhibits. Also incredible in the crush of rude people, and herds of small, carbon based life forms under the age of 30. It is a true character building experience and exercise in patience. In ... read more
Lou Goes to DC 2011..........Day 7
Published: September 2nd 2011North America » United States » District of Columbia » Washington D.C.August 4th 2011
Due to the heroic nature of yesterdays epic ride I started today only 79 miles from DC. I stopped at a wayside for a breather and forgot to latch shut my Pelican case. It flopped about when I left and my close-up map of DC blew out by the time I realized it, so I was flying blind by the time I got to the Washington area. Face with the option of 17 exits off the Interstate I did what I always do when presented with a large list and no information, I picked number 3. That put me on the George Washington Parkway. A little later I was presented with the option for numerous bridges, again picking number three I crossed the Potomac and ended up on Constitution Avenue, exactly where I wanted to be! ... read more
Tot: 0.165s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 16; qc: 79; dbt: 0.0674s; 1; s:apollo w:www (50.28.60.10); sld: 1; ; mem: 6.5mb
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