We opted to add the long johns today as it was cool and were grateful for them except for the last hour (1.5kms) in a snail pace dribble over some of the interstate to our exit 200m from our hotel. The only respite from the heat was briefly under an overpass or two and in the shade of trucks …. Not enough.  But that said we had a beautiful day of riding along Route 28 then Route 20 through lots of farmland forest and cute little communities. More eagles soaring and lots of pumpkins in evidence as the locals get ready for Halloween.

We particularly loved Skaneateles Auburn and Seneca Falls with Skaneateles (pronounced as skinny atlas) being knobs hill (our opinion) and the next two in descending order of status going on the real estate. The first incredible, the second just beautiful and third still quite lovely.

Creative use of a bale elevator.

Great view of a lake in passing.

A part work shot. I'd seen this truck earlier but wasn't quick enough to get a photo so was chuffed when I came back from my walk to find Norm had snapped this.

Found a little community recreation park (closed) but went for a walk and startled some ducks.

 An old-time clothesline … and a trailer in the back yard.

Serious intensive farming in this area.

Specie real estate,

And again.

And again.

Another great bridge.

A wildlife reserve complete with eagles or osprey nests on the top of transmission towers. We’ve seen these elsewhere in the states on previous trips. They are quite a hazard to themselves not to mention the power supply.

The sunflowers are about done.

No stopping on pavement … would be more than happy to oblige! The last 1.5km took us 1 hour!

Hotel foyer display.

And our hotel for the night the Buffalo Grand Hotel, some of it not as grand as it used to be.

We started with grey skies and a light dusting of the wet stuff at some point, but a clear blue sky soon made its way through the clouds and the day has been just lovely to travel in. We wound our way through lots of forest and farmland and delighted to see a lot of trees starting to colour up and have arrived this afternoon in Cooperstown where all things Baseball happen. There are baseball Museums, this is the home of Cooperstown bats, there is a Baseball Stars Wax Museum and even the Baseball Hall of Fame. Apart from that the town is just a delight with picturesque houses and leafy streets. Just beautiful.

Rondout Yacht Basin bridge, quirky … but a 3-ton load limit?

Ahh, that would explain the load limit. Probably about to dissolve in a rust cloud.

Ahh a cute bridge in Lexington.

Love the farm buildings.

A change of colour slowly happening.

Awesome barn.

Prattville Diner for lunch.

Country roads.

And again.

Into Cooperstown and there is a definite Art Deco feel in the street.

And again.

A lot of specie real estate in Cooperstown.

And again.

And the Railroad Inn, used to be a feed supplier building in the railway precinct.

We have had a lovely time exploring Poughkeepsie And Hyde Park area with our grandson Ashley. Norm collected him from the train on Friday and we hired a car and walked the foot bridge over the Hudson River and then visited the Franklin D Roosevelt Home (Springwood) Museum and Library on Saturday and then the Vanderbilt Mansion and some of the surrounding area on Sunday before delivering Ashley back to the station. We were grateful of the car Saturday with a fair amount of rain while today the sky has been blue and the day just beautiful. It was a treat to spend some one on one time with Ashley, we don’t get the opportunity to do a lot of that individually with our grandchildren, and given Ashley’s work is as demanding as it is we were particularly grateful also knowing it will be some time before we catch up in person again.

Norm and Ashley about to set out on our walk of the Highland Railroad Bridge which was originally considered the great connector for rail traffic being the only bridge between New York City and Albany (Capital of New Yor State) but failing industry and increasing use of interstates saw the decline of rail travel and after a fire on the bridge it looked like it would be demolished but the community fought that and it is now a shared linear park and trailway commenced 1992 and completed 2009. Thankfully we decided to walk it Saturday as it was going to be closed Sunday with a function on.

Walking bridge.

Poughkeepsie Railway Station from the bridge.

Mid-Hudson Bridge from the walking bridge.

View of the bridge from the elevator platform.

Almost across the bridge.

The details.

Teamwork approaching one of the entry gates to the Marist University. It was the stonework in these entrances which enticed us in for a look.

Our Saturday lunchtime Diner.

The FDR Museum and Library. Some great displays.

The FDR residence – Springwood.

FDR’s library (in the residence) almost empty of books as major restoration is going to start next year and things are already being packed up.

Vanderbilt Mansion.

The Man Cave (smoking room).

And a view in the garden.

And another.

And more of the garden itself largely established before the mansion was built as this was on a site of a previous mansion unsound to restore.

A view from the overlook across the Hudson River on our way through the yard.

And our Sunday lunch Diner.

And inside. All kinds of cute,

A shot in the Marist University. Beautiful stonework.

Mid-Hudson Bridge.

Some Highland area real estate.

And another.

Crossing the Mid-Hudson bridge.

And finally a farewell shot at the Poughkeepsie Railway Station with Ashley.

Without trying to stick to country roads we did anyway because we headed for the country township of Bethel which was where the Woodstock Music Festival was held in 1969 and found a largely sparsely settled old area which I doubt would have survived without the festival apart from a few farms. Woodstock was held on a dairy farm on the edge of town which is now a terraced community space used for all sorts of functions. It reminded us of Lardner Park plus it has a Museum to all things Woodstock and the arts as well.

We diverted off the road to check out the Dingmans Falls which were a comfortable walk on a recycled plastic boardwalk and even though it is the end of summer there was still some water coming over the top.

The forest was predominantly Hemlock trees with lower coverage of rhododendrons. It must look magnificent when they are in bloom. They are also under attack by a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) an aphid like insect from Asia responsible for the severe decline and mortality of up to 80% of Hemlock Trees in the Shenandoah National Park! But enough doom and gloom this is a still section of water on the way to the falls.

We came across a picturesque little village of Milford and this is the Community Centre.

And then it was off on the road again.

And then it was off to find Woodstock territory, and this is some of what we saw. A Hippie VW … sort of.

The only serious looking farm we saw.

A photo of a poster in our lunch spot.

And an Ariel view ….. unbelievable.

Lunch was at a little country store which is depicted in the board outside. At the time of Woodstock, it was a store with petrol as well as being the Post Office. Just a little store and café now.

The board with pics from the day.

A plaque outside the museum.

About to head through the toll booth before Poughkeepsie.

The walking bridge from the station.

And the station itself.

And Norm found Ashley at the station and brought him back to the Inn.

The Marriott Residence Inn, where we will stay for 3 nights. A lovely 2-bedroom apartment and couldn’t be more opposite in all respects to last nights’ accommodation (all of which have been our choice).

We  set out this morning aware that there were forecasts for scattered thunderstorms in all the areas we would be travelling through so were relieved and somewhat surprised that we didn’t encounter any rain until about 30kms before our destination so we decided to forego lunch and make a run for it and soon changed direction from the storm before getting really wet and didn’t get any more rain until after we were in. Yay! We enjoyed the ride through picturesque Pennsylvania farmland and forested hills with all sorts and sizes of communities along Route 209. Very nice travelling, lots of windy bits and not much traffic.

We doubled back from Hershey to Harrisburg at the start of the day to find route 209 which gave us a perfect opportunity to check out the Rockville Bridge which is the longest stone masonry arch railroad bridge in the world built between 1900 & 1902 by Pennsylvania Rail. It has 48 arches, is 3,820 feet long and replaced an iron one built in 1877 which replaced a timber one built between 1847 to 1849.

Great timing. A coal train crossing. Was still crossing when we turned around and came back.

And the other side.

Lots of little towns along the way, many of them several kms long with houses right on the street like these and only 2 – 3 streets deep..

Coffee at a Diner in Pottsville on this little square.

Many ups and downs in roads in the country as well as the towns.

Nearly in and so is the rain.

We had a genuine American hotdog for a late lunch which was yummy.

And of course, it started to rain while we ate. My handbag served as a very inefficient umbrella on the way back to the motel.

The Pocono Plaza Inn, under restoration…….

We didn’t have a very big day of riding lined up toady and had planned to call into the Flight 93 Memorial to pay our respects and hadn’t realised until last night that today was in fact the 18^th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks so we visited along with several thousand others. We enjoyed a lovely ride there through fields of corn and many small farming communities which was peaceful. Then we arrived at the memorial and considering this wasn’t a public holiday here the numbers were impressive. Much work has been done since we were last here and the trees have grown incredibly so softening the edges of things somewhat. The Vice President, other dignitaries and family members of those on the plane were in attendance so security was tight with Secret Service, State Troopers and local Police all in attendance. We couldn’t go as far as the memorial site and left our bikes some distance away, were cleared by the secret service then transported by shuttle bus. Was quick on our way to the memorial but we waited in line for over an hour for a shuttle on our return. We were pleased to see the incredible number of motorbikes in attendance and the demeanour of all in attendance was respectful and patient. Our not so big day got to be a very big one.

Heading out of Cumberland.

Pennsylvania farming land.

Country roads.

Corn corn and more corn.

A real general store where we grabbed an iced coffee.

Flight 93 Memorial.

RIP.

What happened.

The Investigation.

‘We’re going to do something’.

Since 9/11.

The Tower of Voices and a couple of Aussies coming to pay their respects and despite some of the chimes being readjusted we did hear the chimes.

A common field one day, a field of honour forever. What looks like a path heading up between the 'field of' is the path from the memorial to the impact site.

Interstate hold up on our way in. We went from 120kmh to stopped in a matter of metres and managed not to get run over with both of us heading over the fog line and  a 4 wheel drive finally stopping beside me not to mention many cars off the sides of the road and choking smoke from all the truck tyres.  2 lanes into 1 and snail pace for around 5kms. We were hugely hot by the time we got past that!

And the Econo Lodge Hershey where we will lay our heads down tonight. Sorry we couldn’t pick up a Hershey bar this afternoon, it would have melted by the time we got it here so would have been a waste ….and a very messy pannier / saddle bag.

Another cool start with comfortable travel throughout the day, partly due to the temperature and partly to being in the shade for most of the day travelling on country roads with only the last 2kms on an Interstate. Yay. We rode through mountainous hillsides, forested hills and open farmland. Even saw a few cattle and sheep and with or without the scattered settlements we saw the ride would have been magnificent with dappled shade, rugged rocky outcrops, rippling streams and more leaf confetti and leaves on the ground to swirl through. It would seem the fall / autumn has arrived in these here parts even if it isn’t official until September 21^st over here. Norm spent some time exploring Downtown Cumberland this afternoon while I caught up on some NTC work.

Part of the Old Dairy at Warm Springs. It is an intriguing historic little settlement which has had many historic buildings retained and well maintained. Very nice.

And quite the oppsite, a bit down at heel later in the morning.

A little bit of country delight.

Lovely country roads.

A specie house in Franklin.

A cute little tractor sign finally got a pic.

My next ride…a Slingshot. Nah,

More country roads and even more rugged rocks in them thar hills.

The Mall Downtown Cumberland.

The historic West Maryland Station.

An impressive tribute to the developent of travel in front of the West Maryland Station.

And our hotel for the night The Ramada by Wyndham. Can't get much closer parking than that!

The day was cooler than we have had since heading north and warmed slowly and was comfortable overall. We have continued riding through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia and a slight change in colour is becoming slightly more obvious and this afternoon leaf litter on the ground was getting evident and we were enjoying a confetti effect on the quieter roads. Lovely. We spent a good part of the day on Route 311 which was a treat. Lots of little settlements of varying size and stature. We even saw a small number of cattle grazing and one very small flock of sheep. Getting into more country where one’s efforts need to be self-sustaining I suspect. We were told if we went to White Sulphur Springs we would be able to find the boneyard for the ‘Barnyard Builders’ show. We found the town but not the timber but loved the roads.

An unusual truck and axle configuration. No idea what it is or what it does.

Morning coffee in Salem and we were impressed with the Roanoke College Buildings everywhere

Great hills to climb up and down, yum.

Lovely country view USA style.

And another one.

Paint Banks settlement had some lovely buildings and a quirky Swing Bridge café at the general store for lunch.

Great barns still in use.

Quirky bridge … and Norm in place obviously … wondered where he got to.

Village of Bacya, all kinds of cute and quirky. Loved a roadside sign which said, ‘Drive like your Kids live here’.

And tonight, we are staying in the Barley Suite in the Millers House at the Inn at Gristmill Square. This is the restaurant where I plan to have a well-deserved drink very soon.

he day started comfortably cool but warmed up rapidly though not as hot overall as yesterday. We travelled largely on country roads though a few were dual lane, even so we encountered very little traffic until we were on the Interstate and heading for Marion this afternoon. We loved travelling through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina and then on into Virginia. Amazed at how much grass and farmland we have seen including hay bales in evidence and no cattle at all. Okay the countryside was predominantly forest but even so, it feels weird for us. At one stage we doubled back for a few kilometres not being able to find the connection to a town we were headed for but were rewarded with travelling along the Windy Gap Lane. What a treat! It was so pretty and at least as windy as the Dragon Tail yesterday just not for the same distance and there were heaps of little settlements barns and buildings …. Again, no cattle but saw one property with 3 donkeys so we suspect tree changer rather than long term local. Sort of confirms the feedlot beef theory except for big Texas country perhaps.

This one’s for Norm. A bad ass ute he saw in the carpark with all sorts of things that wouldn’t be allowed at home.

Some of many specie cars in the hotel carpark this morning. The owner of the Ford introduced himself as Joe Hatfield, the great grandson of William Anderson ‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield who was part of the original Hatfield & McCoy feud. He told me Kevin Costner played his Great Grandfather in the movie.

And not to be outdone one of the theatre dinner options in Pigeon Forge is the feud itself.

Beyond Lens, typical of some of the ‘out there’ family entertainment in town.

Heading out of town Norm was impressed with this.

The sign is self-explanatory, in the town where we stopped or a cold drink.

A stretch of wildflowers sown along one of the dual lanes in the median strip.

One of many barns, all timber in all sorts of condition.

Typical of the views on the Windy Gap Lane.

A view from an Overlook in North Carolina. Was a specie bit of road, steep grades and 2 runaway truck runoffs. The first was in line with the road but the second headed off at such an angle if a runaway truck tried to get in it laying it on its ide would be inevitable. A bit weird.

We’ve seen the start of some colour showing in trees and Norm returned from the Overlook with some evidence of it.

We’re staying tonight in an Historic Hotel, the Francis Marion Hotel, a lovely old building in a quaint little town of approximately 6,000 people.

Today we headed off with a plan to find a famous road / ride for motorcycles called the Dragon / Tail of the Dragon (US129) situated in North Carolina and Tennessee which has a staggering 380 curves in an 11mile stretch with 12% grades and 15 – 20mph corners. All kinds of awesome. Not surprisingly we found all the motorcycles we hadn’t seen since we got here and the road to and from it were also some of our favourites with sweeping corners, gentle grades and beautiful shaded green surrounds. Very reminiscent of our previous ride down the Skyline Drive / Ride through the Blue Ridge Mountains. We were grateful for the shade as it was quite hot.

We were surprised to get into Pigeon Ford and find a massively bustling Gold Coast on Steroids! There are theme parks and musical and theatre options with meals all over the place, but I think we will opt for a quiet dinner in. Felt like it was a big day.

As we headed off to find our road we rode alongside the Ocoee River and multiple dams and hydro facilities. Lots of white-water rafting opportunities and Zip lines available. This was an opportunity to get close enough for photos.  

And again.

Fuel stop and we discovered Doc from the Cars movie. Unfortunately to quote his owner and restorer “she just laid down on me”.

We found green surrounds and shade nearly all day but had our hands full on the Dragon Tail, so this is a shot before we got there.

The Tail of the Dragon.

Some only of the 100 plus bikes parked up at the Den....and look at that a Triumph Rocket converted to a trike!

The Tree of Shame commemorating silliness and tragedy.

The Sculpted depiction of the Dragon.

Signs to Motorcycle Heaven, well somewhere to stay and eat called the Den.

One of the Dam walls from an Overlook (scenic outlook) as we start to descend.

Some of the silliness in Pigeon Forge, King Kong.

We are staying the night at the Music Road Resort, Pigeon Forge and as you see you don’t have to go to Cuba to see old cars. There were quite a few here.