Day 15 - April 17, 2011 - Pensacola, FL to DeFuniak Springs, FL - 82 miles

     I zoomed back out to DeFuniak Springs to spend more time with Greta and John Danilow. On the way out there, I rode through the Avalon Beach area of Milton, FL. Beth and I spent our first months of marriage living in a little place in this failed development. I rode around for about an hour trying to find our old place, but could not. I think that something had happened such that the some parts of the development were abandoned. Nothing looked familiar to me. Oh well...

    John and I were at it again, discussing politics and economics. Greta made us a very fine dinner, and the next morning I was headed east and north.

Days 12, 13 & 14 - Staying At Pensacola, FL

    Well, my plans to visit Pensacola, FL during my last motorcycle journey were not completed...thus, I've gone back to take a look back into my military (such as it was) past. As some may know, I was on active duty in the Navy (actually the US Naval Reserve-USNR) from the end of August 1967 until the end of December 1969. My intent back then was to go down to Pensacola, go to Naval Aviation OCS there, then go to flight school, become a pilot, etc. etc. Long story shortened: I went down, went to OCS, was commissioned an Ensign in the USNR, and went to flight school. Candidly, I was an inept pilot, and the Navy sent Ensign Gamel off to do other things in the Pensacola area, but not to fly airplanes.

    Anyway, various parts of my life had beginnings in the area: 1) Beth and I were married in July 1968, and spent our first 1.5 years together there; and 2) we made some friends there (some of whom still live in Pensacola). It's hard to explain to anyone why I'd want to go back to a place which didn't play that big a role in my or our lives, but I just had a feeling that I'd like to see it again.

    Fortunately, friends Donna and Pat Quinn were still there, and were apparently very pleased to see me. I knew we were back on our old track again when Pat and I took off for a very fine lunch of Gulf of Mexico oysters on the halfshell, some very tasty fried mullet, and cole slaw. Donna met us there, and it was old home week again.

   Donna and Pat spent a lot of time in Pensacola, where Pat was developing a zoo. His background is in zoology and animal behavior, and he and Donna have been leading photo safaris to Africa for about 40 years. Animals are Pat's life, and their house is filled with animals (two dogs, one rooster and one quail), and their backyard is filled with wild birds. Here are a couple of shots of Donna and Pat in their backyard while the rooster and quail got a chance for a little limited outdoor freedom:

The next couple of days I spent visiting the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Pensacola itself, and then wandering around Pensacola Beach. As noted earlier, I spent 77 terror-filled days in Aviation OCS in Pensacola, and was interested to see how it might feel to be back at the place again. NCIS Special Agent Ian Little took me on a tour, explaining how many pieces of the old place were destroyed or badly damaged by mostly Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The barracks where I'd been lodged, Building 624 was still there, but is not used for training officers any more. I expected some sort of thrill or feeling of dread when I saw the place, but it was just an old building:

I was pleased that the emotions of the Fall of 1967 had stayed in the past. After I looked around at the old place, and remembered the interesting moments I'd spent there, somehow it just did not have the poignancy I expected. I'd clearly left it behind.

     Everyone had told me how wonderful the Naval Aviation Museum was...and it is a terrific museum for anyone who has had any involvement with the Navy flight programs. It's filled with gorgeous aircraft, but of course, I had to go looking for the one in which the Navy tried to teach me to fly: the T-34. There's one on display in the museum, hanging from the ceiling:

You'll note the walkway above the 'plane, and so, of course, I had to get a shot down into the front cockpit where I spent 23 hours in the air, learning that I was pretty inept at flying:

It is a fine museum, filled with wonderful displays with tons of information. I think it would take a week to take it all in, candidly. Here are a couple of interesting shots of some displays:

Soon I was out of the air station, riding my way across town to go out to Pensacola Beach. For those who have not been there, Pensacola Beach probably has about the whitest sand you'll ever see. When Beth and I were living there, we went to the beach with some frequency in the summer, and learned that the white sand gets very hot, and a quick run across the sand allow you to plunge into the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Nonetheless, it's a very popular place, and as with many such places, development has taken hold. There is a piece of this barrier island which is unsullied by commercial development:

 One part of this area includes some old military coastal-defense installations which we used to explore back in the days we were there:

Of course, once you're off the protected area, the development begins:

Not quite what was there forty+ years ago for sure.

    Anyway, soon I was back with Donna and Pat. Donna is a gifted actress and has been part of the dramatic theater scene in Pensacola for years. As Pat says, "I'm pleased to say that I'm married to a thespian." She was in rehearsal for a production of "Driving Miss Daisy" and I was privileged to see her doing a dress rehearsal for the play. She finds this kind of thing intense and involving, and husband Pat is her greatest fan.  We did have a day that she had no work or theater commitments, so Pat, Donna, their dog Buddy and I took a wonderful ride up the Yellow River, east of Pensacola:

The shot immediately above was taken about 30 seconds before Buddy decided to test the waters, so to speak. The one below shows Donna holding him to try and warm him up after the swim:

     Well, it was fine indeed to be back with old friends in Pensacola, and to have dredged up those awful times (their were some good times however) of OCS days.  Pensacola has changed, but so have I. 

Day 11 - April 13, 2011 (Wednesday) -DeFuniak Springs to Pensacola, FL (82 miles)

Well, this is about the last historical phase of this trip. I bid a short farewell to Greta and John (I was planning to descend on them again on my trip back home), and headed out for Pensacola. For those not familiar with the Florida Panhandle, DeFuniak Springs is on one corner of the huge (putting it mildly) Eglin Air Force Base. I think the base may be half the size of Rhode Island, but don't really know. I looked at the Wikipedia entry for it, and that's huge too. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglin_Air_Force_Base  I could not find any statement of square-mile size in Wikipedia.

     Anyway, I spent some time there in Navy flight survival school, and after we were married, Beth and I went occasionally to the Eglin Commissary (grocery store to you civilians) to buy stuff. The point of all this is that on this trip I rode through the place from DeFuniak Springs to Pensacola, and when I got to the operational area, ran into a security guard who demanded a "military ID." Lacking that, and not wishing to backtrack, I pulled out my FBI retired ID which he scrutinized, and pronounced: "That works for me..." saluted, and in I went. 

    Candidly, I love this stuff. I love to look at new military installations, old military installations (more about that later), love to see equipment, things, planes, old battlefields, and here I was in the heart and core of some pretty specialized stuff. Of course, I didn't see much. I did pass by a huge hangar beside the road in which the USAF stuffed an entire C-5A back in the sixties, and chilled it down to -40F. When I went by this day, something else was being tested and the temperature display read 125F. Wow!  Well, maybe not...it was already 85F when I went by. 

     Anyway, soon I was out of Eglin, and went past the place where all the helicopters are black (Hurlburt Field...for those of you who harbor conspiracy theories). I rode on west and south, looking for water and sniffing the breeze for the odors of the ocean.

     I was hoping to see & smell the Gulf of Mexico, but there were too many trees in the way, and then, there were too many buildings on the shore. This is not the way it was when I left in 1969. 

Day 10 - April 12, 2011 (Tuesday) - Auburn, AL to DeFuniak Springs, FL - 158 miles

    For those who don't know this, I served in the US Naval Reserve on active duty from August 1967 to December 1969. I went to Pensacola, FL and entered Officer Candidate School in 8/1967 and was commissioned an Ensign in the USNR 77 days later. Ensign Gamel entered flight training, and candidly,  I was not very good at that. The Navy sent me to Naval Air Station Whiting Field (Milton, FL...NE of Pensacola), where I served in a couple of different positions until December 1969 when LTJG Gamel (I was promoted) was released from active duty.

     When I was at Whiting, I served with LT John Brown, and we became friends. We both left the Navy about the same time, and eventually lost contact. In the past couple of months, I found John (who had changed his last name to Danilow...that of his mother), and we made plans to get together again.

    I left Auburn, AL and rode through Montgomery, AL to take a look at the state government facilities there. I stopped outside the state capitol building to make a photo, and this is the result:

I'd have gotten a more centered shot on the stairway, but two buses were parked there. After I made the photo, one of the drivers came running after me yelling: "Officer, officer...do you want me to move these buses?" I guess I must have looked official (many police officers in the South wear brown uniforms), but I told him that I was not an officer, and as far as I was concerned, he could leave his buses there. Anyway, the state capitol building in Montgomery is surrounded by government buildings up to three blocks away. It must be a mini-industry in Alabama.

    I rode south through Alabama, and smelled the wonderful rural smells of Spring. I marveled at the little blue and red wildflowers beside the roads, but my attempts to do them justice in photographs really didn't do the job. I did stop in the little town of Luverne, AL which characterizes itself as "the Friendliest City in the South." I made of couple of photos, and chatted with the owner of a general store (just to the left of the car in the second photo).  He said business was good in Luverne, and (looking over a huge rack of camouflage clothing) that the turkey hunting around Luverne was "outstanding."

     I arrived at DeFuniak Springs, and my trusty GPS took me right to John's front door. It was old home week again, but the passage of 30+ years had taken its toll on the youthful 20-somethings of 1969. John and his wife Greta pulled me into their world, and we spent many hours catching up.

    John is in the real estate business now, and he took me on a tour of the area in which they live. Meanwhile, back at Chez Danilow, Greta was preparing a wonderful dinner of Schnitzel which we enjoyed with a bottle of Pinot Noir.

    A little snooze, a little shower, some sausage and eggs cooked by John, and the new day began.

Day 9 - April 11, 2011 (Monday) - Zirconia, NC to Auburn, AL - 297 miles

    This was a pretty long day. I left Carola and Stu's place in the morning with my most immediate goal being Two Brothers Tires in Lawrenceville, GA. Here are C&S standing in front of a lovely flowering tree in front of their home:

     We bid a fond farewell, and I was off, headed for Lawrenceville, GA. For those who don't know this, motorcycle tires are very expensive (compared to automobile tires), and they really don't last long. I'm sure most of us expect to get about 40,000 miles from a set of car tires. Motorcycle tires are asked to do a much more complex job than car tires, as they must handle varying loads, substantial temperature changes, high speeds (sometimes), and various lean angles on the motorcycle.

     When I embarked on this trip, the rear tire on my bike had over 13,000 miles on it. The front tire had about 6,000 miles. My tires were wearing in an odd way, and I thought I'd probably have to replace the tires at some point during the trip. After getting some expert evaluation about wear, I decided that I might as well do so at "Two Brothers Motorcycle Tires" in Lawrenceville, GA (a place about 30 miles NE of Atlanta). Tim and Ernie Keel started out in the landscaping business together, but moved into the motorcycle tire business as they both rode motorcycles, and it seemed a natural thing to do. Now they run a small tire store in Lawrenceville (see photo below), but also run a large Internet sales business for tires:

    Ernie's on the left of this photo. He replaced both tires on my bike in one hour...and I can tell you the price was right.

    After I paid, I was on my way south again. I ended up going right through the middle of Atlanta, GA at rush hour. I thought I'd found a way around, but messed up somehow. I do think Atlanta drivers are pretty accommodating, and many were tolerant of the tourist on the BMW motorcycle messing with their commute.

    Of course, motorcycles do like gasoline to get them down the road. I stopped in a rural Georgia Shell station, and after filling up, used the mens' room. Lo and behold, I found something in there I hadn't seen in decades. Take a look, and test your memory guys:

     The price is higher these days, but the commodity is the same.

     I arrived at Auburn, AL late in the afternoon, and saw that bad weather was due in the area. Eventually, a tornado warning was issued for Auburn, but no one seemed very concerned about the prospect. As a weather junkie, I kept the TV on, and the computer tuned to accuweather.com to watch the progress of the front. Soon it arrived, and after 15 minutes of intense rain, it was past...and no tornadoes appeared. Here are a couple of photos of the weather passing by:

     Otherwise...a non-event in a city which, in all candor, is not memorable.

Day 8 - April 10, 2011 (Sunday) - Staying in Zirconia, NC

     Not much to report this day. We read the newspaper, I took a nap, then did some reading of an interesting book Stu showed me: The Watchman's Rattle/ Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction by Rebecca Costa.  I left his copy with him, but ordered one from Amazon for me and one for a friend.

I took another nap (tough day yesterday...). At some point we all went up to a high point in Hendersonville called "Jump-Off Rock"(or some variation of that). We saw a looong way. I think I took another nap.

Day 7 - April 9, 2011 (Saturday) - At Greenville, SC but returning to Zirconia, NC - 31 miles

     As noted in my last post, I had a very fitful night of sleep anticipating the rigors of the day at the BMW Performance Center motorcycle training. I had some breakfast at the hotel, packed up the bike (since I was planning a return to Zirconia if I survived the course, and then headed out to Greer, SC where the BMW complex is located. Here is a shot of the bike as the sun came up in Greenville:

     After I took this photo, I mounted up, and rode to Greer. Of course, I was the first to arrive. Eventually, a total of eight students showed up, and we were all introduced to our three instructors. After that we were all assigned motorcycles (BMW supplies the bikes for the course), and mine was a 2010 BMW R1200GS. The day grew warmer as it progressed, and soon we were on the hot track learning slow riding techniques, many safety techniques (swerving, controlled braking, counter-steering), and a whole lot of knowledge about how to control a motorcycle in a substantial variety of situations. Of course, I ran over more than a few cones, but I never dropped the motorcycle, and came away with some new attitudes and new knowledge of my limitations. It was a long, hot day, but worth every penny and every minute. Here is our class at the end of the day:

     The fellow in the red shirt came from Minnesota for the class. Two fellows from Maine were part of the group also. These two met friends I made last October on my Texas trip. Small world.

    After the photo, I mounted up, and outran a thunderstorm to get back to Zirconia with Carola and Stu. Stu had a nice glass of Scotch waiting for me (his brand is "House of Stuart" appropriately enough). He also had caught two very nice trout in his pond, and we had a really royal feast for dinner. This night I slept like a baby (only crying every two hours or so). Ha!

Day 6 - April 8, 2011 (Friday) - Zirconia, NC to Greenville, SC - 31 miles

     Well, no big trip this day. I left Zirconia in the early after noon and headed out of NC down into SC. This was really just positioning so that I could be close to the BMW track for the course without having to make the trip in Saturday morning. Also, I met Ed Frank Patek of the BMW Car Club of America, and fellow ombudsman Dwayne Mosley for dinner. On the way down, I made a couple of photos to give readers a little flavor of South Carolina:

    I was going to stop in "Dixie Republic" to look around a bit, but the parking lot was treacherous for parking a motorcycle. You'll surely see that Charlie's was not open anyway, but I'm sure they will be in a month or two. I did see many other fireworks sales locations throughout SC, and some were pretty dramatic in size. Must be a thriving business.

    On to Greenville where I stayed again at the Drury Inn, part of a chain which has s series of inns across the South, I think. If you're traveling through the South, these Drury Inns are pretty darn nice, and everyone treated me very well.

    I went to bed, but seemed to toss and turn all night in a stew of anticipation and anxiety about the day ahead at the training course at the BMW track.

Day 5 - April 7, 2011 (Thursday) Staying at Zirconia, NC

     I was a day late in arriving in Zirconia, so Beth's Aunt Carola, and Uncle Stuart Cohn were there, but her cousin Ellen had departed in the morning.  Carola and Stu live in a lovely home about 1800' ASL, so the nights can be a little cool in April. Nonethless we managed to find some things to do, and I was pretty glad to be off the motorcycle after a 400+ mile day.

     The Zirconia and Hendersonville areas are filled with people who have come there for the great climate, and stimulating intellectual environment. We went out to dinner (as we did last October) to a very fine sushi restaurant, and had a very nice meal.

     I had planned to depart Zirconia on Friday (4/8) for Greenville, SC where I was going to take a training course at the BMW Performance Center (across the street from the assembly plant where BMW X5, X3, X6, and soon X1 vehicles are built. I figured out that I could just come back from Greenville, and spend more time with C&S, so built that into my plan.

Apologies to All - Friday April 15, 2011

I have been traveling far this journey, and as I write this, I am in Pensacola, FL, which was one of my intermediate goal locations. In any case, I have had little access to an Internet connection, and thus have not been able to make any posts. All is well. I have seen friends, made many photos, and seen lots of interesting things. Without a good Internet connection I cannot post to this blog, or upload photos for that matter. I'll be able to catch up before the end of the weekend.

Thanks - John

Day 4 - April 6, 2011 - Waynesboro, VA to Zirconia, NC - 416 miles

     Quite a day this was... After staying cooped up in Waynesboro, I was ready to get going to NC. The winds and rain of the day before had disappeared, and the sun was out. I got on the road before nine, and as the temperature was in the lower 40s, I had my heated gloves, jacket liner and boot insoles cranked up. I was toasty warm, and wonder how people can safely ride in lower temperatures without this stuff.

     My plan was to take a fast route down into southern VA, then get on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Fancy Gap, VA and ride it down to a point below Asheville, NC. A NC friend had told me that the BRP had no blockages, so I'd be good to go all the way.

     I was down I-81, zipping along at 74-mph in the company of a few trucks, and some cars. The trucks travel at about 70-mph, so a little faster feels good to me. I pulled off the side of I-81 to make a couple of photos of the area so that you'd get an idea of how pretty this major highway can be:

  
     As you'll note, Spring is just beginning down here in southern VA.

     With 150+ miles on the tripmeter, I was soon near Fancy Gap. Here is the entrance to the BRP there:

     I had ridden this section of the road before in October of last year. There's a reason why this road is so adored by motorcycle riders...the sheer pleasure of mile after mile of gentle curves, great views, and elevation changes. I had planned to ride down to just beyond Asheville, but passed a signed somewhat north of there which said "Parkway Closed - 11 Miles."  What was left unsaid was the words: "Get off now!" I figured that it was some sort of detour, and there'd be a detour off. Ha! Closed meant closed. I rode a few miles back, and ended up on a very nice descending canyon road NC-80. I continued on to Zirconia, NC where Stu and Carola Cohn awaited my arrival. On the way down the BRP I made a couple of more shots of scenery:

     It was a very long day, but I did learn that my new Russell "Day-Long" saddle on the bike supported me well. Some may remember that on the Texas trip last year I found it very painful to go beyond 200 miles or so. Today, the 416 mile-trip was not a problem, seating wise. It's just tiring to concentrate so hard on the road and traffic for 9+ hours. I'll have a rest day tomorrow in Zirconia, and then on Friday, take a short hop down to Greenville, SC to attend the BMW training course on Saturday morning. 

Day 3 - Tuesday - April 5, 2011 - Staying in Waynesboro, VA

     I don't have much to report. All my plans to get up early, and head south to Zirconia, NC were scotched by a rather remarkable day which started with dramatic thunderstorms in the night, followed by continual rain. Once the rain stopped, the wind picked up. I did have a complication in the fact that the lock I put on my front disk brake would not open. After a locksmith ground off the lock, I tried a trip on I-64. Some scary moments ensued and after a strong swerve toward the undercarriage of a FedEx truck, I decided to hang it up and stay another day. I can see the headlines now: "ExFed Hits FedEx!"(Thanks Mike).

No photos today. Sorry.

Day 2 - Monday April 4, 2011 - Cherry Hill, NJ to Waynesboro, VA - 325 miles

     I finally got rolling in Cherry Hill about 10am. I was hoping the weather would warm up a little so I would not have to start out with heated stuff on. Turns out it did warm up in an unseasonable way.

     I discussed route options with daughter-in-law Meghan. Forecast high winds made me concerned about the Delaware Memorial Bridge, so I took a different route (on her advice) around Philadelphia. After I got out of the exurbs, I was in farm country mostly, heading south and west on good 'ole US-1. This road turned out to be pretty straight, but not filled with vehicles. This is always a nice experience, as it reduces the tension a bit. At one point, the road passes over a dam on the Susquehanna River (The Conowingo Dam), and at the southern end, there's a hydro-electric station. Since I continue to be a lover of civil engineering projects (remember the dam in Georgia last year), I tried to get a look at the thing, but was frustrated. The road drops steeply down to the river, and rises just as abruptly on the way out. Here's a photo I made where I was able to stop, albeit briefly:

The visitor center was closed, and there was no information available on-site. Looked to me like it's under renovation with new dam door being installed. That must be pretty hard to do with all the hydraulic pressure from the river.

Anyway, there's an interesting WikiPedia summary here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conowingo_Dam

Soon, my trek continued down through Maryland and West Virginia, into Virginia. About 100 miles of this piece was on Interstate 81 in Virginia. I say a hundred miles, but it felt like a lot more than that. I-81 is a real study in contrasts. Heading south, the Blue Ridge marches along beside the road. Skyline Drive and the Shenandoah National Park are there. It would be tempting to take your eyes off the road as you go...if it weren't for the fact that the road is filled (that's an understatement) with long-distance trucks, hauling all manner of things. I did stop at one truck stop to get some water (it was 90F in spots along the road). We don't have truck stops like these in New England:

This photo is just of the line to buy diesel fuel. Behind this was about four acres of parked trucks. This was on just one side of the road. 

This photo is of the other side:

I did speak some with a driver who was buying supplies for the road. He said he was headed to Alabama with some "freight." His purchases were: one large loaf of white bread, one pound of packaged bologna, and a large jar of French's yellow mustard. He said this would get him "all the way home."

Back on the very warm road, I spent a lot of time in company with a lot of trucks. Speed limit most of the time is 70mph, and they all drive 70mph, and the winds buffeted me constantly. I was glad to get to Waynesboro, but because of a major cold front coming through (high temperature here tomorrow is supposed to be 57F), I may stay off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and be back on I-81 again. Oof!