Breakfast

Like many hotels, the Wicker House offers a continental breakfast. Nothing particularly fancy. Cereal, fruit, bagels, fresh orange juice and good coffee. My schedule is different than the guys, so I get 2 hours to read by the pool eating breakfast and sip the wake-up juice. I realized that I could just see my room from where I am sitting. 

It is hard to see. Look past the colorful plants. Past the palms. Through the flowering tree. There!  See the door to room 17?

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh..........

Shopping, eating, shopping, time for a drink. More shopping, more eating, ride the train and shop some more.  Meander over to Sunset Pier for dinner and drinks while we wait for the sun to set. Oh look, tenderloin kabobs. I think Yes. 

The Three Amigos. Yes I got some sun. 

And the sunset.

To the Keys!

We made it to the house in Inverness. Unloaded the bikes and I was almost dancing with excitement over the first ride around the block.  Oh did that feal good!  Next morning we made the final checks before we left for Key West.

Let's see. Fog. Check. Spanish moss. Check. If the truck were just the Mystery Machine, we could have a Scooby Doo episode!

Our ride started well. Rather than taking the quickest route on the super-slab, we wanted to go through the Everglades.  Only a few wron turns that cost us a half hour or so. :)

But the ride progressed more slowly than we anticipated. We got in to our hotel about 3 hours later than we anticipated. Since we missed the sunset from Malory Square, here is a shot crossing one of the Keys. 

Vehicle Maintenance

We stopped in SC last night for fuel for the truck and fuel for the humans.  The plan was to see how far we could drive tonight tag teaming on the driving.  Our inspection of the cargo revealed problems. One of the floor boards is pulling up. We have an eye bolt in it for the straps, and it needs to be secured.  Not a biggie.  We have the tools and equipment for this.

But the running lights on the trailer are out. Brake lights are good. Turn signals are good. But we need running lights (especially for running at night). So, we got a room and will have to get a test light in the morning.

On Our Way!

We are on the road!  The bikes are loaded and we are rolling. West Virginia, currently. 42 degrees and climbing!

Last night before departure...

Got my packing done. And I really mean that my Marion packed while I picked out me socks. :)

I am ready to roll out for Florida tomorrow.

Ron's work on getting the trailer finalized was hampered by several things. My sister, his wife, is sick. My niece, his daughter, just took possession of her house. Tonight. With the gas turned off and temps below zero. It sounds like he has most of it wrapped up. Just a few last minute things (he did get a spare tire for the trailer).

Tomorrow, we will head down. I feel like a kid the night before Christmas. 

Prep Work

Ron spent Friday prepping his brother's trailer for the trip.  First they had to drag it out of the snow and in to the barn, then the work on the trailer itself could start.  Check that the lights work.  Re-mount the tie down points. Purchase new straps.  Sunday, we hooked the trailer up to the truck and made a loop to pick up the bikes.  To the left, you can see two down and one to go.  We have my Gold Wing and Shawn's Harley loaded up.  I really wanted to ride my bike up and down the street just to say I did it, but there was too much ice on the road.  Oh well, off to Ron's to get his Gold Wing.

On the right, we have we have the picture I wanted to see - all loaded and ready to go.  The picture does not really show it, but Ron's driveway is down hill, enough that we were worried about a motorcycle 'fail' moment on the ice.  We got it down the drive in once piece and Ron rode it up the street to turn around.  He rode it up the ramp and we had all three bikes loaded.  But as things happen, Ron's bike is suffering from brake problems.  The rear brake is hanging up.  Well, the bike is already on the trailer, let's take it over to Cycles R Us in Chippewa.  Diagnosis?  Caliper, piston and seals for the rear.  Maybe new pads will be enough for the front. (What?  Your motorcycle shop service manager does not make Sunday appointments?  It helps that he is my brother.)  :-)

Sourcing parts for an old Gold Wing is easy enough, just not quick.  After market places can overnight the parts if they have them.  If the parts can get in by Wednesday, we should have the bike ready to go for out Saturday morning departure.  But we need to consider some alternate plans.

Plan B - Ron borrows his brothers Gold Wing.
Plan C - Shawn rides his crotch rocket and Ron rides Shawn's Harley.

We'll see how this goes.