|
|
||
 | Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. Seattle, WA July 3, 2005 |
|
| Apple | Cool | Disney | Entertainment | Fitness | Geek | Microsoft | Politics | Seattle Storm | Transit | Travel | UW MBA | ||
|
« "Hurt" | Main | Training: Day 5 Of 6 » January 29, 20062008: Road Trip!My father is a motorcycle nut, and has been for many, many years. He owned bikes for a good chunk of my early childhood, and used to take me tooling around Seattle with him when I was three or four. (I even had this cute little yellow helmet. It'd melt your heart.) Flash forward 30 years. Dad's had this urge to ride the "four corners" of the United States on his motorcycle. Effectively, this means you start in Seattle (or, in his case, Spokane) and, in one consecutive ride, you hit Blaine, Washington, San Diego, California, Key West, Florida and Madawaska, Maine - the four extremities of the continental US. The trip totals out to roughly 11,000 miles. As you might imagine, this is not a light undertaking. Rather, it's a five-to-six week Tour de United States, with all manner of logistical and planning issues. My dad's been lobbying my stepmom for a few years now to let him go on this thing, and she finally acquiesced last year. He then asked me if I wanted to go. And, of course, I said yes. Look, I know I don't own a motorcycle (yet). But this is clearly the opportunity of a lifetime: see the country, spend time with dad, camp, stop in greasy diners, snap lots of pictures, meet people. Live out of your saddle bags for six weeks or so. It's gonna be really cool. So without boring you with some of the planning issues (e.g., finding a time to go when the weather is good, making sure I've saved up enough vacation at work, being permitted to take off a huge chunk of time, etc. etc. etc.), the plan is to depart on Saturday, August 23, 2008 and return on Wednesday, October 1, 2008. (Incidentally, August 22, 2008 will be my three-year anniversary with Microsoft, so the trip's a nice anniversary marker.) I spent a chunk of today playing with Streets and Trips 2006 to plan out routes and make sure that the necessary landmarks are in the system. Dad is focused on finding routes that are scenic and winding: we're not big fans of riding on the interstate, so you'll find us on winding country roads and two-lane state highways. For my part, I was plugging in the can't-miss stuff, like the other four corners (where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado all touch), Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon ... and the theme parks we're going to hit on the way. (Did I say theme parks? Oh, yeah.) This is an incredible opportunity for a coaster fanatic like me. We're going to be riding through a lot of country that I've never seen before, and, well, that country's got a lot of coasters. Dad's agreed to indulge my enthusiasm (or, if ya like, enable my habit), and I've agreed not to pull us too far off track to ride some small county-fair woodie. We're going to ride clockwise around the country, so the list of theme parks is, in order:
Unbelievable. The ride is two-plus years out, and I'm already bouncing up and down with excitement. (Now I just have to buy a motorcycle...) Posted by Gavin Shearer at January 29, 2006 6:53 PM. Posted to Travel. CommentsTechnically, you'd have to hit Point Roberts or Macah Indian Reservation to get the Northwestern most corner in the US (depending on which direction you evaluate first). And unless you head to Buffalo Bay, no location in Washington nor Maine will get you to the northern most point of the CONUS, which happens to be north of the 49th parallel in Minnesota. Of interest in Maine, the northernmost point is near the Canadian border town of Pohenegamook (I'm not making this up!) and the easternmost point is Quoddy Head state park (I swear, it really exists). Key West definitely gives you the Southernmost point, and I suppose it would be generally accepted that, even though San Diego isn't the Westernmost nor Southernmost point of the CONUS, it is the "SouthWesternmost" point. So, in summary, the easternmost point in the CONUS is Quoddy Head. The southernmost point is Key West. The northernmost point is the spit near Buffalo Bay. And the westernmost point is Macah point. Normally, this information is tucked in my cranium for use in "Trivial Pursuits", but seeing as how you're likely to ride within a few hundred miles of these locations, I thought it might be useful to point out a few points of geographical and trivial interest. :) Posted by: Khan Klatt at January 29, 2006 7:44 PM What? No Busch Gardens Williamsburg-Williamsburg, VA on the list? How can you pass up Apollo's Chariot.... Posted by: Hanan at January 30, 2006 9:58 AM Ok - first and foremost - spend some time in Bar Harbor, Maine. It's so beautiful. And to fit your theme - hit Cadillac Mountain -- the highest peak on the Atlantic coast and the first place the sun rises on America. I love it there. Also, you are most likely skipping the broad swaths of Middle America but should you find yourself lost in Iowa, you should check out Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. My childhood theme park - it's only special because I loved it there. But it has the Amazing Silly Silo - and seeing someone vomit on that was a rite of passage of sorts. As for the coasters, I've never ridden the Outlaw or the Dragon (both too new) but the Tornado never failed to delight. And I must wonder why Grand Old Coney Island isn't on your list? It may not be the shiniest park these days but give the devil his due -- without Coney there would be no Disney, No Six Flags, No Cedar Point. I'd think you'd groove on the history. Maybe you just need some reading to get you up to speed? Let me recommend: Coney Island Lost and Found by Charles Denson and/or The Kid of Coney Island by Woody Register. But the best BY FAR (despite being fiction) is Dreamland : A Novel by Kevin Baker. This novel is incredibly well researched and it takes you back to the early days of Coney Island and let's you live them. But it's not all cotton candy and ice cream - Coney has always had a dark side as well. I can't recommend the book strongly enough - you will love Coney Island after reading it. Posted by: Allie I really recommend taking the 101/1 from LA to San Francisco. The roads are winding, and great fun on a motorcycle, and the views of the coast are absolutely amazing. I did the trip on a bike several years ago and I still have this ultra-vivid memory of rounding a curve, looking out over the waves breaking on the coast and being inundated by the smell of eucalyptus. It was better than "Soarin' Over California." Posted by: ginawallace En route from Texas to California, you might see if you can stop in Jean, NV for the Desperado coaster. Truly terrifying plunge! Posted by: CoasterHubby at February 10, 2006 2:16 PM Post a commentThanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out) (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) |
