Mount Cook is the largest mountain in New Zealand at 12,217 ft which is not the biggest in the world — but its base is about 2,460 ft — so a good 10,000 ft elevation from base. The token picture of Paula and I in the foreground of Mt Cook [with the clouds carved out […]
A couple of days ago we went on the Abel Tasman National Park. In a nut shell its a 5 or 6 hour hike on a very large island which is owned by the New Zealand conservation authority. I’m just catching up now on my blogs but it’s actually good I delayed so I can compare
Yesterday was just one of those days that you don’t forget. So different, so exciting and so fun. Paula and I really like hiking in nature. If you looked at me or me looking at me for that matter, you would not expect that from my personality. But I just love it. We’ve climbed mountains
Graham [aka “Grum”] Frith. Don’t even know where to start. How ‘bout a 62 year old fella who has just returned 2 months ago from a 2 and one-half year bike ride around the world. No kidding, this guy Graham rode a bicycle and a small trailer around the world and has a million stories in
So today we hiked the 6.5 hours, 19.4 km Tongariro Alpine Crossing inside the national park, a UNESCO World Heritage site — that alone is awesome. Check anywhere, this is among the worlds great hikes and no doubt, it deserves its high ranking. Tongariro is an active volcano with most recent eruptions in 2012 but
Tongariro Alpine Crossing Read More »
Meet Kath, our guide for the Northern Island part of our trip. I thought that I would introduce her since she is somewhat permanently attached to Paula and myself for the first portion of this trip. Well, we’ve actually blown her off a bit in the last day but hooking up again today. Kath is —
No kidding, its mine. And yes, that’s Paula carrying it. We’re in the Lake Tarawera Forest. If you look on the other picture here on the left, I’m wearing a petite 15 liter pack. So how does this happen? Ok so I will work the day activities backwards. Our last ambitious activity was to
Not a huge amount to say about today. Its now November 17th. We landed in Auckland, New Zealand at 8:45am on November 17th. Don’t get me started, but two days ahead of when we left Los Angeles on November 15th. Suffice to say, Paula and I are real tired although we do have a
Aucklands in 24 Hours Read More »
Oh yah, heading down to New Zealand. The city of Auckland on the north island to be specific. 21 full days of hiking and abuse to my slightly jello-y body. I’m of course with my wife, the Marine Drill Sargent to keep me on the straight and narrow – no folding or complaining. Just do
Finally made it to Los Angeles. Ride is now officially over!!! Took a total of 16 days from Boca Raton, Florida, with hotel stops in: Orlando, Florida Pensacola, Florida LaFayette, Louisiana Houston, Texas Austin, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Amarillo, Texas Santa Fe, New Mexico Phoenix, Arizona San Diego, California Laguna Beach, California Redondo Beach, California
Lets start off with Lukas. I met him today at a KTM/Adventure dealer in San Diego and we talked for about a half hour while he was fixing his bike and I loved every second of it. Lukas is from Vienna, Austria, is barely 35 and has been traveling on his KTM motorcycle for over
Today was the day which would conclude my coast-to-coast journey that started on the eastern Atlantic and then ended up on the western Pacific. Said another way, I left Boca Raton, Florida and arrived San Diego, California today — 11 days later. Now that’s not the end of my trip of course, I still need to
Cover image is from the front door of my hotel room. Pretty sweet. Today was a down day here in Phoenix. What did I do? Of course went to a couple of BMW Motorrad dealers and hung out then back to hotel to catch up on some emails which needed attention. Thats all.
So traveling by motorcycle is pretty liberating — sure we all know that. It also has some drawbacks, although few. Where am I going with this? Well, the past few days have been pretty cold. The afternoons in the past few days are in the low 60’s, mornings in high-30’s to mid-40’s. Sad to say
I can’t say that Bruce Springsteen had visited this place when he wrote the song “Cadillac Ranch”, but lets go with it. The second thing that Amarillo, Texas is known for is The Cadillac Ranch. In 1974, just outside of town in a farm field, a wealthy business guy and his buddy had opened a
I love the home page picture of the menu for this night’s dinner spot — Mountain Oysters. Yum, Cows nuts. If you don’t know what it is… Order the Shrimp! Hahaha. That set the scene for my dinner event. I guess that 339 miles sounds like not too big a trip. When I drive
I really have to say that today was a great day. One of those rare days where everything really comes together and you feel great. I will jump right into it — why not? Get to the best of the day’s event. So I had read that Fort Worth houses the Bureau of Engraving and
It has always been a desire of mine to visit Austin, Texas. I guess to me, it seems like one of those towns that has its own rules and does not follow the conventional, fit-in-the-box city which I see all the time in my travels. Austin has broken out to dare and be different.
Austin City Limits Read More »
Let me jump to the Tabasco Tour. I rode 30 minutes from Lafayette, Louisiana to Avery Island, home of Tabasco. Yes, I did the self guided tour which is real interesting. So interesting huh? What’s so interesting about the Tabasco Factory tour? I’ll tell you by asking you a question: What does Tabasco and Jack
Ok, ok, so I’ve bored you with all that riding bull-crap. Now for the real fun. My plan. My goal. My vision is to find the best Beef Jerky in the United States, as that I carve out my path. Listen to me, all beef jerky are not created equal! I have lived my life
Today I woke up early for my very long ride from Orlando to Pensacola, Florida. I had to make this trip because on Tuesday morning, I have an appointment with Pensacola BMW to change my oil on my bike — 600 mile change. This means that I had to do the 470 mile day. Trust
Florida’s Gulf Ride Read More »
So it has become a reality — I left at 8am on Sunday morning, not exactly sure of what to expect. Sure I had watched a ton of videos on YouTube. I had bought what was needed to make it happen. I roughly logged my trip out. Ok, ready, lets go — enough of the
So tomorrow is the day I start my motorcycle journey. I’m pretty amped about that. Heffrey Jabert asked me why don’t I take a car across America instead? Sager asked, why not Greyhound bus? Pollard, well, he is just having a good laugh about me falling. All the boys are having fun at my expense
2 Wheels — 4,000 Miles — Lets do it! Read More »
Was a great and memorable experience. On to the next…. Where will that be?
Last Post in Antarctica Read More »
So I was thinking about some of the highlights of the past month travel. Of course, we traveled from Rio, all around Argentina — from far north to the furthest southern town in the world. Still blows my mind. Yes, we visited Chile, trekked, climbed some areas where I was scared shitless — overlooking cliffs.