This post is the first in a series about our motorcycle trip from NY to the tip of Nova Scotia:

We left on Monday August 14th and took a long ride up route 91 into New Hampshire, with plans of staying in the national forest there, but a late start and rapidly tiring backsides had us stop about 60 miles short where we spent the night in a fairly quiet and otherwise nondescript campsite.

On Tuesday we rode through the scenic Kancamagus highway, through North Conway and into Maine. There we camped at a fairly crowded site on Sebago lake, fighting with large campers and RVs for space. We then rode north of Portland, ME along Route 1, which runs along the ocean through towns that grow progressively smaller and more remote. We reached Bar Harbor that evening, and ate our fill of lobster and enjoyed a “civilized” meal rather than our usual campsite “gruel.” One of the interesting things about Bar Harbor is that all the local businesses employ help from eastern Europe and Russia. For a little town in Maine, it’s a bit surprising to hear young women giggling and conversing in Russian, and see a group of men conversing in Polish.

Meghan is adopting well to motorcycle adventuring, and our camping routine is slowly getting down to a science. We each have our particular “duties” and get the tent quickly setup and start cooking upon arrival at each site.

Photos from each section of the trip are below, and more will be added corresponding to each post:

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Meghan and I are finally back from a motorcycle trip from New York up to Nova Scotia. 14 days, 2431 miles and two sore butts later, we’re drying off our gear and working out of the pile of mail, chores and other household business that has accumulated during the last two weeks. We have over 200 pictures and some great stories from the trip, and I will post them over the coming days so stay tuned!

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Indeed it is. Although I hate when people ask me if I got into teaching for the time off, it is in fact a wonderful thing! Since my liberation, err…I mean the last day of school with my lovely students, I have had lots of time to get into some crazy shenanigans! Here is a run down:

June 30- July 4: Celebrating the 4th of July in Montreal
Somehow Pat and I have made a tradition of leaving the country for the 4th of July. I think that it started out as a coincidence, but now it’s done purposefully to avoid America! We spent it this year in lovely Montreal with Jenni, Carlos, Katherine, Tom and Pat G. (AKA Chest Rockwell). We caught some Jazzfest, watched the world cup games, and of course made our pilgrimage to St Paul’s pub where Pat and I met.

July 7-8: Wantagh
I spent some time raising hell with Ryan, his pals from Wantagh and a few of the MS 391 crew to wish the Z-man well on his move to Florida.

July 14-16: Boston.
We spent a lovely weekend in Norwell with Pat’s parents. No trip to the area would be complete without a nice dinner at the golf club, and some little jobs around the house (mostly for Pat, but I helped out too!)

July 20-24: Family Reunion
We drove down to Piney Creek, NC where my aunt and uncle have a house for a family reunion. It was nice having the entire Sierra (my mother’s side) all together again like when everyone lived in Elizabeth. We went canoeing, and of course ate well and drank too much!

July 27-30: Erie, PA
For the first time, I got to see Erie, PA in all of its glory. Since Pat and I started dating we have been talking about going out there to see his family, and where his parents grew up. The highlight of the trip was of course seeing the pink house that Grandpa Tony built almost 50 years ago! We got to hang with Aunt Marcia and Beth, which is always a good time.

August 1-13: My tour of Florida.
I started out in Miami, visiting with my family who live there and I don’t get to see very often. It was great to spend time with my grandfather, Ismael, who is recovering from his rounds of Chemo very well. Pat joined me there, and it all ended with a nice day at the beach celebrating my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Next I moved on to Orlando. We had some time to catch up with Pat’s friends from the area, and of course make a trip around the world at Epcot. We did it with my dad and my brother in tow! It was quite an adventure. Pat went back home and I stayed in Orlando for a few days with my mom, dad, sister and brother—just like the good old days! Except, this time there was more drinking and less time spent waiting in lines! My tour ended with a weekend in Jacksonville hanging out with pal Ryan, his brother and roommate. Of course there were mass quantities of beer consumed, drinking games played, and fun had by all.

August 14- 26: Moto Adventures with Pat and Meg, Part 1
In a few minutes Pat and I are heading out for our first long motorcycle adventure. We are heading north to do some camping and exploring in New Hampshire, Maine, and the eastern providences of Canada. The culmination is some time in Nova Scotia, maybe even heading out to New Foundland or Prince Edward Island. All in all this will be a test of our endurance, and stamina for living off of the bikes for a few weeks. Don’t worry, Pat promised to spend our anniversary in a bed and breakfast and not on a campsite!

We’ll be back soon with many many pictures to share!

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