Today is our first train ride on this trip. I'm not sure whether it is because I'm a retired engineer (not THAT kind of engineer), or because my dad was always into trains, but I have always just loved trains. This train is called the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, and it is less than 50 miles from Helen, GA on the way to Chattanooga tonight. Since the train doesn't leave until 11:00, there was no real rush to get started this morning, but nevertheless, it's too hard to sleep in really late. So we had a quick breakfast and got under way at about 7:30. The first 20 miles getting out of Helen was just awesome! Twists and turns and ups and downs, I was in 4th gear most of the time between 30mph and 40mph. ... read more

After yesterday's long grueling ride, today is a tourist day in Atlanta. We both slept well, and since we only had a 30 minute ride to town, there was no reason to wake up particularly early, especially since the free hotel breakfast doesn't begin until 7:00 on the weekends. So with coffee and breakfast, we hit the road about 8:00. We were about 10 minutes from the hotel when I realized that I had forgotten the camera in the room so we had to turn around and go back. No problem, we have plenty of time today. So we're about 10 minutes down the road again and I realize that the TPMS light is on solid on the bike.This means low tire pressure on one of the tires, and when you only have 2, it's kind ... read more

The long journey begins with a few baby steps. The original plan was to leave tomorrow and head directly to Atlanta. But that turned out to be close to 500 miles, a bit much for the first day. So we decided to leave a day early and head for St Augustine to take at least 100 miles off the Atlanta trip. Besides, we were getting anxious to get on the road, so why not. The morning began uneventfully, with Jody convinced, of course, that we had forgotten something. So far we haven't found anything forgotten, but it's too late now. We generally avoid interstates whenever possible as battling for the road with 18-wheelers at 80+ mph is not really my idea of a relaxing drive. So we headed out FL434 to FL419 until we turned onto ... read more