That's All, Folks!

This morning's USA Today features a story on the newest attraction at the Warner Bros Studio Tour. Stage 48: Script to Screen unearths some of the studio's best treasures, including Central Perk from "Friends," Christopher Reeves' cape from "Superman," and Jack Warner's address book (opened to Walt Disney's phone number).

Cece and I just happened to take the tour one day after the official opening of Stage 48. Here are my highlights (before my phone's battery died). Unfortunately, Blogger's features are really limited on an iPad, so I can't include captions for all the phones. So just enjoy the photos.

We attended the 4pm tour on Saturday. The backlot was quiet, but we also got to see and do more than if we went on a weekday.

America's Greatest Byways

If you read enough motorcycle magazines, you're bound to come across an article claiming to list the BEST rides in America, or BUCKET LIST rides from around the world. Dig a little deeper and you soon find out that the "best of" lists are based on some guy's experience or favorites from an editorial white boarding session rather than an objectively calculated list of rides that has a quantitative or qualitative formula.

So why can't I have my own Best Rides list?

Well I do, and here it is. Read 'em and weep.

TOTALLY AWESOME RANKING OF RIDES IN THE US*

1. U.S.-129 NC/TN. Known as "Tail of the Dragon"
2. US-14 WY. Passes through Big Horn National Forest
3. US-385 SD. Ride from Sturgis to Deadwood
4. US-719 VA to US-50 to US-17 to US-66. Purcellville to Upperville to Paris to Delaplane 
5. Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway
6. US-20 and US-15 VA. The Constitution Route (Charlottesville-Scottsville-Farmville)
7. George Washington Parkway. From Arlington to Alexandria
8. U.S-202 Redmond-Fall City Road. From Redmond to Snoqualmie

*Ranked by uniqueness, "wow" moments, and my mood at the time.

By the way, there is a source for objective-rated rides. It's called the Destination Highways guide.

Casa du Café

Dried-out wood is a sad sight.

So it's with a great deal of relief--and happiness--that I can look at the exterior of my house now that it is finally painted.

We've been living here for 6 years. When we moved in, Cece and I created a master list of all projects, conducted independent ranking of those projects, and then merged the two rankings into one.

"Obsessive," you say? Maybe. But in all the years together, we've never had a less contentious relationship when it comes to the priority of home projects.

Here's the house before the paint job:

And here it is afterward:

The color is much warmer and the job also managed to repair the south wall (left), which was a battleground a couple years ago between a Northern Flicker and me. It was covered with pock marks, metal plates, and a very attractive hanging net. I'm sure the neighbors are pleased with the improvements.

All of our work on the house has been gradual and it's really coming together. From a time capsule POV, here's what the house looked like 4 years ago (Courtesy of Google Maps):

And here's a similar view today:

A Stretch of Highway, A Chrome Pipe, And Thee

Driving on Southern California highways can be rough. I dodge more accidents each day between LA and Irvine than a month of Seattle driving. 

Most recently, I was on I-5 north (the 5) near Los Alamitos with little traffic around me on a clear day. The radio was blasting on 101FM and life was good. 

A few cars ahead there was unusual motion and then like it was shot up by a rubberband, a four-foot long chrome pipe was airborn and spinning toward me. 

For the record, the sight of a four-foot long chrome pipe spinning in the air is mesmerizing. For example, your brain might think:

"Hey, look at that. You don't see that everyday."

Or "look how the sun reflects off that spinning chrome pipe in the clear blue sky. Sure is pretty."

Or "it's weird how that pipe looks like it is moving in slow motion toward me."

Or your brain could think all of these thoughts at the same time before registering the inevitable "holy crap--evasive action!"

Which is what I did, managing to avoid impailment, but dinging the left front bumper in the process. 

A shot to the car, but who's to blame?

And with that, here are your Top Song Clichés While Driving in Southern California:

Anything by the Eagles

Low Rider by War

Ventura Highway by America

Anything by Steve Miller

I Love LA by Randy Newman

Warm Memories From Big Brother

Still trying to make up my mind whether Google's Stories are cool or creepy.

Apparently Google scanned my blog and created picture books from my trip. 

There are two:

• Washington to Montana
• Tennessee and North Carolina

The titles are not entirely accurate because there are photos that span more of the trip that just those two segments.

What do you think--creepy or cool?

Fantastic Voyage

Or Incredible Journey

Or whatever.

In any case, look who's home.

Last I saw the Orange Warrior she was in a Nashville warehouse, waiting to be packed up for shipping.

There's a whole sub-industry in cargo shipment around motorcycle shipping. Makes sense, and not just for manufacturers and dealers. Lots of riders will ship their bikes to destinations, ride the heck of them, and then ship the bikes back home. The cost is pretty reasonable too. When I dropped her off, there were at least 3 other bikes already on palettes.

I used motorcycleshippers.com. They had the best price for shipping. Next time I go on one of these long-range adventures, I just might ship the OW and then ride her back here.

I Know Now

Or rather I previously knew but have since forgotten and now re-know; a collection of learnings that maybe you didn't know.

The US is a big, big country with lots of nothing in-between.

But you gotta see it for yourself.

Eating moonpies with your nieces is always awesome.

When camping in the Mt Rushmore area, pack your own water--unless you like iron deposits.

The primary interstate route through the northern US (I-90) is often closed for bad weather. And when winds get to 40+ mph winds, the feeling is akin to being smacked on the head and body by 3 dozen whiffle ball bats. For 8 hours. 

There are enough poisonous snakes in South Dakota to warrant a sign at each rest stop. 

People will eat just about anything.

Always be on the lookout for the little surprises in life.

When visiting Mt Rushmore, leave the drones at home.

Finding long-lost friends never gets old.

If you are lucky enough to visit inside Ohio Stadium, Stay. Off. The. Field. (My apologies to the grounds crew)

Put out good vibes and you can meet great people anywhere, anytime.

Sometimes you choose the robe. And sometimes the robe chooses you.

The small moments can last a lifetime.

Bat Boy is still hilarious.

Dragon Slayin'

Riding the Tail of the Dragon less than a week ago.

There Be Dragons

Route 129 connects North Carolina and Tennessee on the southwestern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At its core, it is a twisty little two-lane road that climbs and dips its way along hillsides and water. It's the type of road you'd expect when you want to get away to the countryside.

The Tail of the Dragon, as it's known, is also considered one of the most technical stretches of road in the country. The road's mystique and attraction have grown over the years due to the 318 turns in 11 miles, along with the bikes and lives its claimed. Long tractor-trailers are for the most part banned, and motorcyclists and sports car drivers from around the world converge on this remote part of Appalachia for a chance to push speed.

You can start on either end of the Dragon, though the Tennessee side seems to be considered the start. I started on the North Carolina side at Deal's Gap. 

A motorcycle resort and another roadside bar/store greet you on this end. Though you can buy TOTD t-shirts on either end of the ride, this side seems to be more established and more commercial. Go ahead and buy a t-shirt or sticker here--prices are decent and the selection is good. But if you're the superstitious type like me, pack those trinkets away until you've earned them at the end of the ride.

This is also where you'll find the Tree of Shame. It bears the wreckage of bikes and tributes to riders who've died in this stretch of road.

Spending a few minutes at the tree should be required reflection for anybody about to ride the TOTD. 

There are plenty of copyrighted maps you can look up to see the route, so I'm skipping the turn-by-turn description, but check out the video below. I mounted the Drift Ghost HD vidcam on the right front turn signal for the first time.

A few photographers have set up shop along the TOTD, and if you can wait a day or two you'll have a professionally captured image of your ride to glory. The ones I know of are www.killboy.com, www.129slayer.com, and www.us129photogs.com. Here's the best one of the bunch from my ride.

Just make sure you are finished with TOTD before engaging in a suitably embarrassing display of celebration.

And if you do ride TOTD, have fun, be careful, and don't let the squids rush you.

Pennies From Heaven

Where: Shenandoah National Forest

When: 1989

The Setting: The intrepid reporter (yours truly) is lugging 50 pounds of camera gear through a forest trail to reach an outcropping overlooking Mt Jackson. This is where the National Park Service is conducting a peregrine falcon release program. 

As we climb through the brush, sweat soaking my clothes, the forest ranger stops in his tracks and turns to me:

"You hear that rain?"

Listening through the pounding of my heart and heaving of breath I manage to hear the steady trickle of rain splashing through the leaves. It's weird though, as the rain hits me, I don't get wet. 

"It's not rain," he says, "it's caterpillar poop."

True story. 

Why bring it up? Because the caterpillars are still pooping up a storm in SNP. Riding along Skyline Drive, it seemed like a good idea to leave the face shield open to catch the breeze. There were occasional raindrops, but it occurred to me after a while I wasn't getting wet anymore, and they were the same type of "raindrops" that fell on me 26 years ago. 

Pennies from heaven indeed. Anyway, here's some footage from the ride. 

P2P: By the Numbers

5,101  Total miles

3,321  P2P miles

318     Turns in the Tail of the Dragon

107     Top speed

96       Top speed (North Carolina)

81:08  Hours ridden

54       Average MPH

50.3    Average MPG

18       Days on the road

14       States (+DC=15)

5         Time Zones (Central twice)

3         Continental Divides (Western once, Eastern twice)

2         Free hotel nights

2         Boat ramps 

1         Free 1st class ticket home

So many folks to thank for making it a success and worthwhile--from the overnight stays to the free meals and coffee. A lot of folks I couldn't visit--so next time...

Most of all, thanks to Cece, Natasha, Jackson, and Robby for supporting me the entire way. Yes, I brought you something.  

Now, all employees are reminded to wash their hands before returning to work.