Your Guide to L.E.T.S. (Leisure, Entertainment, Travel, and Savings)

Category: Travel (Page 1 of 3)

Day of Recovery

After the horrible travel experience we had to take it easy. We took it slow and ended up exploring the area around the hotel.

As we walked around we found a great little brewery, Mission Brewery. This place had reasonable priced beer that was excellent. We found many beers that were great. If this brewery was back home it would have been added to our rotation of places to visit.

Lunch was a little let down. We walked around the Gas Light district to find something reasonable. From our research we found that San Diego is known for it’s clam chowder. So we were walked around to find someplace that sold local chowder. Based on Google reviews we went to Baja Rick’s Cantina. Unfortunately they had taken chowder off the menu. To make matters worse we ordered a chicken and shrimp dish that came without the shrimp. They took care of the issue by just adding shrimp so the dish ended up coming back with cold chicken and fries with hot shrimp. Not to mention the other dish that was ordered was cold.

I would not recommend going to Baja Rick’s Cantina unless you just want to drink with friends. We did not have any drinks but it was evident that that was what they were setup to handle.

Alabama Day End of the Adventure

The last post for this trip. Day four of the trip was about driving back home by way of Ashville, NC. We planned our rout to avoid the interstates to experience the community and natural beauty.

As such the ride was the adventure for the day. So we did not really plan on any interesting place for lunch so we just stopped at a Chick-fil-A for lunch.

The ride was not only interesting for of the communities but also the constant threat of rain. We were very lucky. We only got drizzled on a few time but the threating heavy rain never came.

At the end of the day we ended up staying a Four Points by Sheraton. The hotel was clean and the staff were exceptionally nice, but the rooms are starting to show their age.

For dinner that night we went to Sovereign Remedies. Which turned out to be one of the best meals we had on the entire trip. The cocktails were awesome and the burger with truffle fries were out of this world.

This ended the fourth day of the trip.

The final day started off with having breakfast at the hotel which was really good and worth the extra charge.

The rest of the day consisted of riding the interstates back home. Not exciting but necessary to make it back in a day.

So that brings a close to this adventure. We had a really great time and saw some wonderful motorcycles. The whole thing just proved that if you plan well and have the correct gear the weather is not an issue.

Till next time be safe out there and Don’t forget Your Towel.

Alabama Day 3

On Day 3 we went to the prime reason for the trip. We went to Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

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Yes those are our bikes right up front. Driving into a hurricane that was down graded to a tropical storm on a weekday, does have an effect on the number of visitors.

I guess the first question I should ask is why did we make this trip. Well Barber has over a 1,000 motorcycles on display at any one time that cover the history of motorcycles. They have on display examples, read as reproductions, of some of the first examples of motorcycles.

The inside of the museum is massive and expansive taking up 5 visitable floors.

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Now to say there are a lot of unique and interesting motorcycles would be an understatement. They had motorcycles from the 20’s through modern day. Here are a few of the many motorcycles that I thought were interesting , but it would be impossible to show everything.

What surprised me was that the museum had other exabits besides motorcycles. I did not know until we were walking around that they have one of the largest private Lotus Racing collection on display.

They also have motor boat engines on display as well as ship models.

We ended up spending the entire day at the museum. Their was just so much to see. Unfortunately, they did not have anywhere to get something to eat. This was a big oversight in my opinion. They do have snack area but most of the vending machines were not working.

But overall this was well worth the trip and a must visit for anyone who is interested in the history of motorcycles.

Alabama Day 2

Today was a rain day, The radar showed rain clouds all the way in to our destination. All ready for rain we headed out.

Our first stop was the Currahee Military Museum. This place was awesome. They tell the history of the area and that of the paratroopers that jumped on D-Day. They even have a barn that some of the actual troops sleep in when in England.

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After the museum we headed out. Rain set in shortly after our ride, but it stayed light. This continued on for most of the day. We stopped for a short lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Had the usual and headed back out.

As we were getting close to our next stop we turned in for gas. That was when the motorcycle signaled a warning. An issue had arisen with the adaptive ride height. Luckily it was safe to continue but from that point on till it went to the shop after the trip I would get 3 warning messages. I am going to skip to the fix. Apparently there was a software update that the dealer should have done before the bike was sold. The update fixed the problem and no further issues have been had. But again that was not know at the time.

So in the rain we take the bike to this evening’s hotel, Hampton Inn Birmingham/ Leads. Unfortunately, there are not restaurants or places to eat near the hotel so we drive off to find a place to eat and end up in a nice Irish Pub, Oh Sherri Pub,

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I had the fish and chips and some good beer that was poured correctly. This place was great. The staff were nice and friendly.

On the Road to Alabama.

First day out has been great. The rain has held off and we have made good time. The BMW R1300GS has handled like a dream.

I will say I am disappointed in the fact I can not get any OEM Panniers for the bike. Apparently there was a problem with the design and they have all been recalled. It is possible to get a top case but you can not buy a case mount for it. Not good.

But back to the trip. Today has gotten us into South Carolina. We are just east of Toccoa. Staying at the Hampton Inn in Lavonia. The staff here are great. Really friendly and nice. had dinner at J Peter’s Grill and Bar.

I would not say that J Peter’s is on the cutting edge of food cuisine. But what I will say is the food is good and the portions are large. If there was one of these near home, it would be on the rotation of places we would go eat.

Voodoo Doughnut

My first thought about Voodoo Doughnut is oh my Lord that’s a big doughnut. These thing are huge and they are awesome

These were so good with so much filling. I really wish there was one near home.

The Driskill Bar

We just happened to stop in the bar to grab a meal and drinks.

We grabbed a shareable app, pulled pork quesadilla. It was great. We also had some masterful cocktails that were very well done.

For entries we had the pork belly and beyond tacos. Both we t well done and incredibly tasty. I’m fact I should apologize because they looked so good and we were so hungry we ate them before grabbing some pics. If anything that should tell you how good they were.

New travel suit case

I forgot to pay this earlier but I picked up a new hard side suit case for this trip.

We were looking online and keep seeing Traveler Pro coming up on recommendation list. They apparently were started by an airplane pilot made for frequent flyers. The first company to add spinning wheels.

We picked the Maxlite Air hard side case, in blue. We normally do soft side so we just wanted to try without going crazy. We also decided to go with the large size to replace an old America Tourister. We wanted something large and light weight for our longer trips next year.

We have high hopes for this case. We will keep you updated.

Eurika!

Left the hotel and walked down 6th Street. The locals call it Dirty 6th. We quickly found out why. There is a large number of dive bars and homeless people within a few blocks. We walked around looking for something to eat and ended up going to Eurika, which is at the start of 6th bar screen.

The food and service is great. The staff was very helpful and they made some recommendations that were spot on. We grabbed two salads. The Cobb salad and the steak salad. They were both great.

Cobb salad on top Steak on bottom

The real treat however is there whiskey selection. I was able to grab a flight of local whiskey to find some new likes.

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