Winter... 2016

Well after spending the month of November in Mexico, we are back in Maine for the holidays. It's a bit of a shock, 28 degrees and dark at 4:00 today...

A few weeks ago on the beach, bonfire with friends, hot dogs and a brilliant sunset...

I'm still mulling over the bizarre election and the insane process that went along with it...

Changes I would like to see, but will probably never happen:

1. Shorten the whole process to six months, 3 months for primaries, and 3 months for the final.
2. Get rid of "Citizen's United". There is enough dirty money in politics as it is.
3. Get rid of the Electoral College. It is antiquated, and not  the way a democracy is supposed to work. Every vote should count.
4. Somehow, make voting mandatory! There are approximately 260 million Americans eligible to vote, yet just half did so. As a result, this president was elected by barely 20% of the electorate.

Henry Louis Mencken, a prominent newspaperman and political commentator during the first half of the 20th century, wrote for the Baltimore Evening Sun 26 July 1920,

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." 

Ok, no more politics for a while, needless to say, the next four years will be interesting.

The World Series is over. It's nice to see that the teams that spend the most money don't always get there. The Cubs were # 5 in spending, with a 188 million dollar payroll, but the Indians were # 21 with 144 million. Crazy numbers still. The Dodgers spent 288 million, while the Tampa Bay Rays spent just 71 mil. I wonder what would happen if there was a salary cap in baseball?

Speaking of salary caps, the NFL is in full swing. The salary cap, along with free agency was suppose to create parity in the league, so that no one team could dominate. That's why everyone hates, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots, They have dominated the league and certainly the AFC for 16 years. Even when the dictator Roger Goodell trumps up phony charges against  them, suspends Brady for 4 games, takes away their draft picks, they still manage to win.

Every time I think of Baseball and Football, I have to listen to George Carlin's classic skit..

If you've never heard it, click here.

Ernest Hemingway stated  "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games"

Speaking of such, the 49th Baja 1000 off road race was held a few weeks ago, with Rob MacCachren and Jason Voss winning in a Trophy Truck for the third straight year, while Colton Udall won for the fourth straight year on a Honda CRF450. Race spirits were dampened though by the death of racer Mark Uhtala, who was involved in a head on collision with another racer during a speed control section late at night. Baja can be brutal and racing is dangerous.

Next year is the 50th running of this incredible race. The race will come through Loreto and we plan on being there.

Autumn, the Fair, and an injury

Over the years DeeDee and I have climbed and hiked and ridden our motorcycle all over the world. DeeDee has bravely hung on to the back of the bike through rain, snow, giant mud holes up endless rocky hills and getting lost for hours. We have gone down on the bike more times than I can remember even going over the bars on my big BMW 1200. We have come out mostly unscathed with just a few scratches and bruises. Two weeks ago DeeDee was trimming flowers in the back yard and proceeded to scramble down one of the large rock walls, when a boulder moved and she tumbled down wrenching her knee. Go figure!
She could not walk, so she crawled into the house and waited for me to return from a day of dirt biking. Off to the emergency room, good news, no significant damage, most likely a strained MCL. She was not happy being immobile, but after a week of bed and lots of ibuprofen and ice, the swelling has gone down and she is slowly on her way back, still pissed at missing all this beautiful weather..

And beautiful it has been. After a bit of a cool rainy spell, the perfect autumn days have arrived, right along with all the tourists and the Fryeburg Fair!



All the experts predicted this years foliage would not be very good due to the drought. I climbed yesterday up in Berlin, NH and drove through Pinkham Notch. The colors are as good as I have ever seen, and the perfect crisp blue sky made for a postcard view around every corner.



The only thing cluttering up the view was all the stupid political signs everywhere!!  Can't wait for that fiasco to be over. With the exception of the Presidential mess, Maine has several interesting questions on the ballot, Legalizing Marijuana, Background checks for gun sales and Question 5, which would allow you to rank your voting options.  This would be a realistic way to have viable third party candidates and hopefully will be adopted here and then maybe Nationally as well. Had we had that option five years ago, we wouldn't have the worst governor in the country, asshole Paul LePage now!  So you Mainers out there, get out and vote YES on Question, 1, 3 and 5!!

Back to it..

Back home, get the grass cut, laundry, groceries.
And reality brings the news, depressing as ever, shootings, and more shootings here, poisoned water, food re-calls, Wells Fargo stealing money, Big Pharma raising prices, more terror attacks over seas

And then there's the politics. Political signs line the streets on every corner, Politicians lying in TV ads every minute, and the worst Presidential election ever. I have a hard time wrapping my head around it. Why do so many despise Hillary? Did she do anything worse than any other politician? Not that I can figure. And how in Hell can so many think that Donald Drumph could actually be president? Does anyone actually look up facts?

This is from a USA Today editorial

"From the day he declared his candidacy 15 months ago through this week’s first presidential debate, Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he lacks the temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that America needs from its presidents."

The entire editorial is well written and focuses on why Trump is unfit for the Presidency.

Read it   HERE

Canadian Reflections

Even though the weather was less than optimal, the trip was great. For those who don't ride, it's probably hard to understand sitting on a bike for 10 days, and I'll admit there are times when our butts get sore, our backs are aching, it's uncomfortably warm or cold or it's wet. But there is also nothing like it. Leaning a bike into a turn on a perfectly paved road, being part of the environment instead of an observer. Flowers, dyeing leaves, back yard Bar-B-Ques, farms and the sea air all permeate the senses, yes, even your sense of smell is a big part of riding.  And then there is the exhilaration of acceleration, twisting the throttle, passing a car in seconds, flying down the straightaways.  While it may be inconvenient at times, there is no better way to travel.

All of the Canadians we encountered were all very nice, and very talkative, and boy, were some of them talkative! All wanting to know where we've been and where we're going, and all with great and not so great suggestions.

One of the  things that stood out to us, was that most of the homes we saw were very modest and well kept, Very few large pretentious homes and very few with piles of junk all about. And all seemed to have perfectly manicured lawns. It got to be a joke with us checking out how many folks would be out mowing their lawns at all hours of the day.



The other very noticeable thing was the coastline, while very similar to Maine's coast, the Canadian coast was far more accessible. In Maine the coast has all been bought up by the one percent, and immediately along with their multi-million dollar homes comes the fence and the "No Trespassing" signs. So, driving along the coast in Maine, and probably elsewhere in the U.S.,only gives you glimpses of the actual coastline dotted between the mansions. To the contrary from what we saw in the Canadian Maritimes, the roads hug and coastline and make it quite accessible. The homes that are on the water are mostly the same modest homes you see anywhere, and by the looks of the lobster traps and boats in the yards belong to fishermen. We really enjoyed these rides and scenery along these coastline roads.

The food during the trip was pretty similar to rural Maine. Lots of chowder, fish and fried food. Poutine seems to be a favorite everywhere. Poutine, for those who have never had it, is French Fries and cheese curds smothered in gravy. It has evolved into lots of creative alternatives with meats, vegetables and what ever else you can imagine. We even saw Lobster Poutine!
Craft beers are starting to appear, but certainly not to the extent that they are in the states. Wine selections are somewhat limited as well. Luckily the exchange rate is 25% in our favor, because food and fuel are on the expensive side.

For you New Englanders who have never been up to visit our neighbors to the North, take the time to go. It's not very far and well worth the trip, whether by bike, car or RV. Before the Fourth of July or after Labor Day seem to be the best times, eh!

Heading Home...

Nice, but cool weather greats us as well as some home made muffins from our host. We stroll downtown to the Farmer's Market. Lots of local crafts and food and music. We get a fruit smoothie and some local honey. DeeDee buys some sea glass jewelry and we find some local smoked salmon on sale, so we get 3 packages.

We pack up the bike for the final time and head for the border. The U.S. customs agent is about as pleasant as a prison guard, so I skip the jokes. He asks us if we are bring anything back into the country, DeeDee doesn't say a word as I calmly say 'No Sir", I'm not letting that bastard take my honey and smoked salmon!. He lets us go and we head through Calais down rote 9 to the Maine Turnpike.


We pass the group of riders from Quebec on their Spyders. As we reach Brewer Maine, we are getting hungry and stop at a little place called the "Eagle's Nest", the parking lot is full even though from the outside the place looks tiny. Once inside we find that the place is tiny! We sit on two round diner stools from the 50's and order lunch, DeeDee has a chicken cheese steak and I get a fish sandwich. Jusyt about then we see a sign that say they have the best Lobster roll around, for $18.No big deal until I see one, there must be a pound of lobster meat piles high with lots of fries... If we had only known..

Just past Bangor we hit the Maine Turnpike. I can't help but notice the trees, 9 days ago they were mostly green, now tones of yellow, orange, brown and red abound.  Autumn is here.

We get off the turnpike not any too soon at Grey and take pleasant back roads home.  We've gained an hour getting back to the Eastern Time Zone, but it's still 4:30 when we roll into the driveway. I unload the KTM as DeeDee checks her plants, a few look parched, so she gets to watering. we settle in and finish a half a bottle of wine...

Number Nine..

Breakfast is awesome at the Bay View Inn, light and fluffy blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, home made muffins....The ferry terminal is only 10 minutes away so we plan on leaving the Inn at 9:45. We leave on time and  cruise along several sides street admiring the architecture. The weather is partly cloudy and looks to be possibly raining over in Saint John.

We arrive at the dock  and are directed to the front of the motorcycle line with two folks on Harleys. Another group of riders show up on Spyders and Gold Wings with trailers. The are from Quebec on a long camping trip, heading down into New England, then over through the Adirondacks. Bike camping would be fun, but we have no room for camping gear, and hot showers at day's end are pretty nice. We board the ferry and tie down the bike. As i secure it with an additional tie down, the attendant tells me in 25 years he's never had a bike fall over. He says, they only fall over when there are people on them!

A large tractor trailer pulls in along side. The driver tells me he is bringing a truck load of Maine lobster up to Moncton. That's strange, you guys have lobster up here? He tells me that the season is more closely regulated in Canada and is closed for three months, so lobsters are imported from Maine where the season is open all year. Now we know why it was $35 for a lobster dinner! The ferry is obviously quite large and has a nice mezzanine inside and a spacious out side deck with plenty of seating. We grab a table on the upper deck and play some cards to wile away the two hour trip. Our lunch consists of half of DeeDee's left over dinner, chips and our usual half bottle of wine. We disembark in Saint John and easily get onto the hi-way that leads to our destination of Saint Andrews.



The clouds are threatening and occasionally spit out light showers, the temperature is going down as well. We stop under an overpass and add layers, no rain suits yet. Saint Andrews by the Sea is one of New Brunswick's oldest settlements, established in 1783 by British Loyalists. This history is still evident by the street names, most of which are named for the children of King George III and his wife Charlotte. The main street has the usual selection of gift shops and restaurants along with some unique art galleries. It's a tourist destination, but again, not too tacky. We find a nice room in a home overlooking the Bay of Fundy with its unusual tides and as usual for us we just beat the rain. Our host recommends the Rossmont Inn for dinner, he tells us we should make reservations. Two problems with the Rossmont Inn for us is that it is about a mile outside of town, and neither of us feels like getting on the bike again just to go to dinner. The other problem is that he tells us it will be about $70 per person without alcohol!!  We opt to walk downtown and see what we can find.

We stop at a little pub for a beer, they do have a few on tap. And as has been the case for most of the trip, when I ask about IPA"s, they alwasy recommend Kieth's IPA, a Canadian brew. I made the mistake of having one on our second day, and Kieth's IPA is as much an IPA as Bud Light is a lager. So by now I no longer hold my tongue and just respond with "Kieth's is not an IPA, thank you!"
After a beer we head down to another restaurant with a little fancier bar, thy also advertise craft beers but are out of everything except Kieth's IPA and Shock Top. I have a Shock Top and DeeDee has wine and we have an order of mussles, which are quite good. We check out the menu, but a little too fancy for us tonight, so we mosey on down the road.

We end up a little fish restaurant overlooking the bay, that we cannot see. The place is packed and the food is great, DeeDee has a smoked salmon sandwich and I have New Bruswick Crab cakes.
Back at our room we have a glass of wine and watch in amazement as the tide has now come in almost 200 feet from where is was earlier,   pretty neat

Eight is not enough...

Day 8
Breakfast is excellent, we have fresh fruit and yogurt, delicious homemade scones and a vegetable and cheese frittata. Deborah asks us of our plan for the day and gives us several suggestions, including some of her favorite places.

We head north a bit out of the way to the small fishing village of Blue Rocks. It's a very picturesque spot, so we stop and take picturesque pictures!

Next we head south on the shore roads and stop at a few white sandy beaches. The weather is good, but not exactly beach weather. We continue along heading towards Kejimkujik Seaside Provincial Park. The entrance to the park is not signed very well. After several wrong turns we finally fine the dirt road into the park. When we arrive at the parking area, we find that we will need to walk over 2 km to get to the seashore...  We can't leave the bike unattended for that long, and don't really have the time to change our clothing and hike that far. I guess we should have made that a bit clearer to Deb, as most of her suggestions involve walking quite a ways, but that's ok, it's all good.


 So back we go heading northwest across Nova Scotia to Digby. The road is pleasant weaving through foothills and deep green forests. We stop at a little roadside stand for some pretty good fried clams, and of course, finish off a half a bottle of wine.

Digby is where we will board the ferry tomorrow for Saint John. The town itself is fairly small with a few hotels and Inns. DeeDee has booked us a room at the Bayview Inn. This Inn is very nice and our king sized bed over looks the harbor with its large fleet of colorful fishing vessels.

Digby is known at the "Scallop Capital of the World" so our quest for the evening is scallops. There are a half dozen or so seafood restaurants along the water, we settle on the "Shore Line Restaurant" a casual looking spot with outdoor seating overlooking the bay. I have a local ale on tap and DeeDee has a glass of wine and orders the bacon wrapped maple glazed scallops and I order the sauteed scallops. All is good, we relax with another drink and then walk down along the harbor. We pass an ice cream shop and try and convince ourselves that we shouldn't, especially since we have had no real exercise in a week, but our cravings win out.