I've put all my blog photos, and some others here in one place for your viewing pleasure. This will be easier then sifting through all the older posts.  Enjoy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/curtisbbaker

I decided to clean up my act today, this is what it looked like this morning, Stay tuned for the after photos.

                                 My neighbor Wade took these and put them together.  

                                 www.wadecollins.com

The end is here;

 It's all over, I 'm home.  Total miles 14,589  Avg. Speed around 65 mph

I drove home from Ocala Florida this morning. I didn't stop much in the four hundred miles. A quick lunch at Taco Bell and one gas stop. The temps didn't go about 92 which was actually nice compared to the days before. A couple quick showers once I got into Atlanta but not enough to stop for rain gear. 

Atlanta traffic has been the scariest of the whole trip, all these miles with no bad drivers until I got home. Otherwise no major events for the day. While I am sad to be finished, I am glad to be home and back in my element. I started getting used to the road so I'm sure there will be a few days of adjusting back to reality

I just want to thank all of you who have sent me comments and support. I thank my wife and family for helping me make this dream trip happen. 

I would love to hear from people who enjoyed my blog. If you would send me a quick note and tell me what you enjoyed and maybe an event that stood out for you. 

just email me at  curtisbbaker@gmail.com or just click the button below each post with my address on it.   

I will continue to post once I get more photos from the other guys. 

 

                                   S'more pictures from Key West...

Florida is hot and very flat!

 This Morning Angela and I woke up early in our very soft bed at the Duval Inn. We then walked down the street to the 24 hour Denny's for a full breakfast and coffee. We ate some good food and then walked back to our hotel to pack up and leave. We enjoyed the Duval Inn, very much it was like staying at someone's house, someone who has a pool. We hit the road pretty early since Angela had a plane to catch in Ft. Myers. Our trip back to the mainland wasn't so bad compared to yesterday's delays. The heat is the hardest part of this trip. It's tough to stay awake when you have the hot air blowing across your face all day. We had to stop a couple of times to grab a Red Bull and some "helmet off" time to cool down. We drove on a section of I-75 north which crosses florida. This road is more flat and straight than any road in Kansas. It took a couple of hours to get across but that was a big chunk of the drive to the airport. We made it in plenty of time for Angela's flight. She changed her clothes on the sidewalk and I stuffed her moto gear in my side case to carry home. I kissed her goodbye and got back on the road in the 96 degree heat. I decided to drive until 6:30 which would leave 400 miles for tomorrow. I stopped at the first motel I found and grabbed a first floor room and took a much needed shower. There is a Sonny's BBQ is next door so I had a simple salad for dinner and now I am back in room for the night.

Tomorrow night I will be back in my own bed. I am partly sad about this trip being over, but I also want to start living a normal life again. I have seen so much of this country in the past seven weeks, it's almost a blur. At least I will always have this website to look back at my memories on any given day. Tomorrow I will reflect more on how it feels to be finished with a trip of a lifetime. For now I will enjoy my last night on the road, and sleep like a rock.

Some additional photos from the Everglades.

Key West is Best

Angela and I left out hotel in Homestead this morning and drove out to the Everglades national park. We took the main road about 40 miles to the south, in an area called Flamingo.  All we found there were a boat dock and a ton of mosquitoes flying around our heads. The bugs down here were crazy; we had to deal with the swarms of mosquitoes and some biting brown flies. These flies landed on you and took about a second before they took a mean bite. After braving the Everglades in the summer heat, we got back to our hotel and checked out around 12:00.

The drive to key west was to be about 3 hours across a bunch of bridges and through some small towns. We were moving along fine until we hit a traffic snag 22 miles outside of Key West. A truck and a car had collided at the middle of a main bridge and stopped traffic both ways for around 2 hours. We eventually made it through and finished the hot drive to Key West.

We checked into out cute little bed and breakfast called the Duvall Inn just off the main drag. We quickly jumped in the pool to cool ourselves off from our very hot ride and long day. After a shower we walked down to the Southern most point in the continental US concrete icon. We took some photos then moved on to catch the sunset since this is the “home of the sunset.”  We missed it by a few minutes but it was still nice to be here after all these miles. 

We walked around the corner for some very tasty Cuban food, and a couple celebratory mojitos. After dinner we walk back down Duval street and enjoyed the cool night breeze and many other people enjoying the nightlife. This is a nice little town and I am sad to leave after such a quick stay. I need to get Angela to the airport in Ft. Myers around 5:00 tonight for her flight back to the airport.

Even though this is the final destination for this mega journey, I still need to get home, so a couple more days on the road until I have to park this beast.

 

 Leak Fix-t!

We left Melbourne early this morning and headed north back to Daytona to the BMW dealer. After I described the problem, they seemed to know what I needed and took me right in. Angela and I walked down the road to the Daytona Diner which shares the building with a huge Harley Davidson shop. We had some breakfast and then checked out the massive collection of Harley parts and clothing. You can buy anything in black and orange. After a while we walked back down to the shop and my bike was ready to roll. Everything was under warranty so the repair cost me nothing, which was very nice news.

We got back on I-95 south and continued all the way through Miami stopping in Homestead for the night.  We both took a dip in our hotel pool to cool off from the mid 90's temps, then had a frosty Starbuck's beverage. I chose to drive down the road looking for some landscapes or anything to take a picture of.  I headed to Biscayne National Park, but it was closed until early morning. So I walked around a small swimming area and shot what ever I could.

I think we will check out Everglades Park in the morning before heading down to the Keys, I hope to get an Alligator shot with my new camera and zoom lens.

Hot Hot Hot!
Tonight we are staying with some family in Melbourne Florida. We drove about 250 miles today and I think I am having my first mechanical issue of the trip. I have a little oil leak in the rear wheel area. I'll have to back track a little and go to the Daytona BMW dealer to get it looked at. I hope it's just a rubber seal replacement.

We got here around 3:00 and quickly changed out of our hot gear and jumped into the pool. It's about 92 degrees here right now so it's no fun driving in all this gear and helmet. Most of the folks here in Florida ride without helmets, some without shirts. They look at us like we are aliens due to our full face helmets and full protective gear. I like my skin and I enjoy living, so I choose Sweat.

Angela is doing well on the back. She listens to her music and just takes in the scenery while we speed across the flat landscape. I try to make it a point to stop more frequently than I would if I were riding alone. I see no need in pushing it on this leg of the trip. She is not used to the miles like I am, and we don't have deadlines like I did on the first half of my trip.

So tomorrow I get the bike fixed, and then make the long haul to Miami and beyond. We don't have to Be in Key West until Wednesday night.

Well I'm back on the road. This time I have my beautiful wife along with me. Angela had to work today so we left Atlanta around 5:00 and then did around 200 miles on the highway. We headed south to Valdosta Georgia. We got a hotel room and went to eat. It's really nice to have my best friend along for the ride. I no longer feel like I NEED to get home, I have been home and slept in my own bed for two nights. I am back in a hotel, which feels fine, but at least my better half is here with me. It pleases me to know that Angela really enjoys riding on the back when we take trips. She sits back and crosses her arms and just listens to her iPod, and watches the miles go by. Not much scenery so far but once we get into south Florida we might see some gators and swamps. So the next leg of this once in a lifetime journey has begun. Come along for the ride.