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Well, we did it. Chef and I started 5/14/10 and finished 6/4/10. Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming Utah and Idaho. 17 states, 22 days, 6,651 miles.

No accidents, no tickets. Highest altitude 10,250 feet, lowest altitude 160 feet below sea level. Highest temperature was over 99 degrees , in Oklahoma. Lowest temp was 45 degrees right here in Washington at Snoqualmie Pass. Top speed will not be disclosed at this time.

We saw lots of country, and met lots of people. Riding a motorcycle seems to make almost everybody your friend right off the bat. We did not make it to Key West, because of time constraints.

Unfortunately we had to put the Chef's bike down 294 miles from home in Pendleton, Oregon. Clutch failure. We packed it into a rental truck and Chef drove it home and delivered it straight to the bike repair shop. I fared better, in that my only problem was a blown headlight. No harm done in either case.

Observations were many:

This is a big country, sometimes will 100 miles between communities, and many of those smaller communities are dying.

This is a beautiful country, with redwood forests, ocean beaches, stark deserts, snow covered mountains, huge grass covered, rolling plains, fascinating geology, intriguing swamps and bayous, and always something new around the bend or over the hill. We humans are just incidents in the big picture.

Never let your tank get below half full. It might be 100 miles to the nest gas station.

Just because you are surrounded by black clouds and streak lightning, that does not mean you will get rained on.

You can keep going longer and farther than you think.

Food in the southern part of the US is generally very good and less expensive than the NW and California, but they need to learn something about portion control.

The 'Droid' can navigate, communicate, educate and entertain. A wonderful machine.

No place the we saw was as beautiful as Washington State.

Lessons learned:

Many, I am sure. I think we both learned different things. I don't think we will really understand that until we are able to look back and reflect upon our little adventure.

The best part:

New stuff every day.

The worst part:

The heat and the saddle sores, missing family and friends.

Do it again? Absolutely.

Thanks for sharing our fun, Chef and Jack

THE LONGEST RIDE

607 miles today from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Burley, Utah. Wonderful scenery. Grass covered plains with prong horned antelope, cattle, early signs of Halliburton attacking the Barnett Shale (Google it) all across Wyoming. Temp down to 48, max altitude 10250 on Elk Mountain, way above the snow line. I would not want to be on I-80 this winter.

Then into Utah again with dramatic changes in scenery. Finally into Idaho. Sometimes we go 100 miles between gas stations or motels. We learned long ago not to drop below half a tank of gas. Anyway, a big beautiful country. Everybody should do this at least once. When I get a new seat, I may do it again.

Yesterday, we had lunch in Denver, with Brian. Chef's twin cousin!

Chef and Jack

May 31, Day 18

We spent the day going north from Ardmore, OK to Salinia, KS. Turned west on 170, stopped for the night in Oakley, KS. 550 miles, dodged a couple of nasty thunderstorms, but the high temp was a welcome 84 degrees.


Very nice green, rolling fine country. Beef cattle, oil wells, and wind farms all in the same spot. This was a bad day for sleeping deer at the side of the road-maybe 20 or so. We passed a great rolling Antique Car Show/Rally. Dinner at a truck stop, tasted just fine. All and all a great day. More later, Jack and Chef

OKLAHOMA

While in Fort Walton, Chef and I decided the temp. was too hot and time was to short to continue on to Key West...but we made it to Florida. We are headed north. Today we are in Oklahoma. The gauge on my bike only reads to 99, and that is where it sat all afternoon. We finally quit in Ardomore, Oklahoma, after 375 miles at about 4 in the afternoon. We saw swamps, a few armadillo's sleeping by the side of the road, our first corn fields and not many people. We now understand about the "dust bowl". What a fascinating country, what an education. Tomorrow we enter Kansas. Hopefully that will mean the end of deep fried food. Jack and Chef

500 Miles

Natchitoches, LA. 500 miles from Fort Walton Beach. 95 degrees, good ride, nice country, no rain, no wind, no curves.

Natchitoches is a darling little town in Central LA. Who Knew? Jack and Chef.

May 25, 26,27, 28 and 29
Arrived at Ft. Walton Beach a few hours ahead of schedule at 2 PM on May 25. There we met my brother Tom and his wife Diana, and a few hours later Julie came rolling in from her flight from Minnesota. We all checked into the hotel on the incredible white sandy beach depicted below. What a fine sight. Three full days here, with the activity committee picking parasailing and jet skiing as the bucket list items to address. Pictures show Chef, Tom, and Jack hangin' out, Tom and Jack hanging from a parachute, Chef and Diana hanging from a cloud at 500 feet above sea level, and our hotel as seen from the beach. Not depicted is Jack and Julie dumping themselves into the Gulf of Mexico off of their jet ski.
Lots of good southern style food to be found here. If you are ever in this area, the Magnolia Grill is a five star operation. A great time was had by all.

Tomorrow, May 29, we move on to the next phase of this memorable adventure.

Ft.Walton Beach, FL

We saw our first rain yesterday afternoon. We were tucked into our beach front hotel, and watched it from the deck.

We were joined by Mama, Jack's brother and sister-in-law. Staying put for a few days of family fun!

Dinner

Deep Fried Taters and beer, and a Frozen Margarita!

MAY 24

Baton Rouge, and hot, hot, hot. 400 miles, 99 degrees, even the natives are complaining. This is green country with lots of swamps. No curvy roads, no wind. Just swamps and heat. The natives speak their own language, reminds me of when I was a kid. Chef is tasting stuff he likes, but cannot get in Seattle. Anyway, good times. y'all be good. later, Jack and Chef

MONDAY, MONDAY

Roadside rest in Loosiana!

Day 10

This is day 10. 400 miles today, leaving us in Tyler, TX for the night. 94 degrees. Hot and strong cross winds. Nice accommodations for the night. First thing we did was hit the pool, then to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. Ever had deep fried pickles? Very good, really. Maybe it was the beer. Still no rain, no tornadoes. North and Central Texas is green and gently rolling, a welcome change from the Arizona and New Mexico desert. The poverty and failed businesses are depressing reminders of the current state of the nation. All together an interesting and humbling day. Chef and Jack

FOOD

Tuesday was our big dinner at l'Atelier in Las Vegas, which was incredible. We experienced the highest level of professionalism, attention to detail ad perfectly executed in an approachable setting. We are talking about a restaurant in the middle of the Nevada desert where they only cook with French water, but you can go in there with your jeans and motorcycle boots. What a concept.


For $95 per person at l'Atelier you can order a 5 course tasting menu, which is what Cam, Jack and I opted for.


We toasted with Champagne of course, to accompany our warm foie gras custard with Parmesan foam. Our next course was tomato gazpacho with torn basil leaves and croutons, which was the best dish I have ever been served (but for real). This was followed by langoustine (my first time trying this!), which was beautifully cooked inside a thin layer of pastry. For the main course, the duck breast with roasted baby root vegetables, and potatoes Robuchon, knocked my socks off. All of this followed by an espresso and a tasting of sorbets and ice creams, each one of them just as delicate and wonderful as the last.


Everything in Las Vegas is so expensive. We have a $75 dry cleaning bill to prove that. So, if you can spend $200 bucks a head (after drinks and tip), you should try l'Atelier. I guess the next time it's on me? Thanks, Dad! -Q

Swimming

10am, Albuquerque, 90 degrees. Q swimming in a public park in his underwear. Good Times. Chef and Jack

May 21

Another fun day. We left Flagstaff at 8am. We loitered an hour or so in Petrified Forest National Park. Fascinating, and I think Chef might want to become a geologist in his next life.


It gets pretty hot in the afternoon in this part of the country. Still very beautiful, in it's own way.


We are in Albuquerque for the night. Hope to get up early and beat the heat tomorrow. Chef and Jack

Thursday

Departed Las Vegas at 8am for Hoover Dam. Rode our bikes right across the Dam. Spectacular engineering feet for its day. Next stop the Grand Canyon. what a sight.


We followed the South Rim, Highway 64, which provides a good ride and multiple view points of different parts of the canyon. You think you have seen it, then around the next corner or over a hill a brand new spectacle. spend the night in Flagstaff, AZ.


BTW- there is no such word as 'windy', in reference to road structure. There are curvy roads or winding roads, or roads that get bad weather and a lot of wind. But, no such thing in the dictionary as a windy road. We have had some windy winding roads. Now we have straight windy roads.

Mile post 1920, more to come.


One more thing, I have seen lots of warning signs for deer and elk. Today, I saw my 1st warning sign for cougar crossing. No kidding. J and Q

Day 4

Another great day. We left Yountville early this morning and headed for Sacramento, So long to Wine Country. From Sacramento into the Mountains, with some cold and light rain for the first time. Hit South Lake Tahoe about noon. Warmed up and filled up on a delish Subway, and then headed into the Mountains. Peaked out at 7,5oo ft. We had several breathtaking views of the Valley below. WOW! What a descent. Very windy at times, very gusty winds at times, but great fun.

Snowed on us a little, but no harm done. Again, spectacular vistas. Miles and miles of good roads. Chef claims we hit 95 at one time, but I doubt it. Checked into our room in Bishop, nice little Chinese dinner, and soon to bed. Tomorrow is day 5, I think. 429 miles today. J

NAPA AT NIGHT

Today we had a morning of incredible riding through the mountains of California, then arrived in the famed Napa Valley Wine Country. After getting some exercise and cooling off at the pool Jack and I hit the streets on foot to enjoy some of Napa's treasures. I flew solo for Champagne and oysters at Bouchon, but my wingman re-joined me for dinner at Bottega, (the home base of Top Chef Masters winner, and food network host Michael Chiarello).


Our meal was beautiful. The suckling pig with roasted apples and creamy polenta was the star of the show. However, the Burrata with lemon-braised artichokes and the wood-oven octopus were equally as good. Everything was perfect including the wine, the service and our dessert, a goats milk Panna Cotta with kumquat marmalade, candied grapefruit and a shortbread cookie.


At Redd we make our last stop of the evening. It was highly recommended by my bartender at Bouchon. Too full to try any food, we had the 16 year aged Scotch and one of the house speciality cocktails (basically a grapefruit Margarita, that left us still thirsty for a REAL Margarita). We loved the atmosphere and decided that returning to Redd would be on our to-do list, as soon as we can make it back to Napa. Hopefully, we'll be back soon! Q.

NAPA

Eating frozen grapes, poolside. Wine with check in. Dinner of the century tonight. Review later!

Day 2

330 miles today. Spent the night at a Best Western with a 3 star dinner at Marie Calenders? Wonderful Oregon beaches, redwood forest that almost feels sacred. Crossing the border into California is almost a culture shock. The direction sign I see is take a right turn for Pelican Bay Prison. Tons of liquor stores, casino's with giant neon signs, etc. We are not in the Northwest anymore! Goodbye Eureka, more adventures to come. Chef and Jack

This was a self portrait taken yesterday in front of our favorite rock. Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. Thought you would enjoy it. mama

SUNSET

Great 1st day. 320 miles down the beautiful Oregon coast line. We are in Newport for the night. Fabulous dinner at Aprils at Nye Beach, salmon for the Chef, and Lasagna for Jack. A very fine day, I would say. Should sleep tonight.

AND THEIR OFF!

It was a beautiful morning to take a ride. Not just any ride, but a ride of a lifetime. A father of 5 and his youngest son heading out on a month long journey. It was a proud moment for all of us!

Daddy Jack, all geared up and ready to roll.

The Chef was not far behind.

And there they go, down our beautiful tree lined road. I must admit there was a lump in my throat. The next month will last them both a lifetime. Mama

Three days to go day>

Time is flying by. Not enough time to get stuff ready. Chef's bike is in the shop for some last minute tune up. Jack is nearly packed but has too many at home tasks to really get ready. I guess you never really get ready, you just go. Very exciting. Anyway, watch for 5/14.

Two weeks until departure time, May 14. The bikes are freshly tuned, with new rubber, clean oil, GPS in place, batteries charged, and just a little more fine tuning on the gear. We are not sure where we are going, how long it will take to get there, or when we will be back. The idea is to explore, have fun, eat well, and stay safe. Chef Q has friends with food interests all over the country it seems, and there are many new sights to be seen. This is all about new places and new eating experiences. We hope to share our adventures with our friends and family, so stay tuned.