May 18, 2006

Left Flagler Beach, Florida, continuing up the coast.  Got to St. Augustine, Florida.  Very nice little town with lots of history which I wont get into here (look it up!).  Rode around town for a while and moved on.

St. Augustine, Florida


So the plan was to continue along the Atlantic coast to Savannah, Georgia.  No reason in particular, just heard it was a nice place.  Halfway up there while stopped for lunch, I logged on to www.ADVrider.com, a rider forum I had been checking into for months before the ride, but not for the past few days.  To my surprise, there was a rider meeting up in Hot Springs, North Carolina.  I promptly scratched the Savannah plans, and motored north towards Hot Springs.  Made it as far as Clinton, South Carolina and called it a night.

May 19, 2006

Arrived at Hot Springs around noon.  Not hard to find the campgrounds, as it is a one bar, one bank, one drugstore town.  A very nice one though.  Set up camp, had lunch, met riders, had dinner, had a beer or two, and went to sleep with a pretty heavy downpour.

The campsite.


The Campfire


The inmates (ADVriders)


May 21, 2006 - Southbound Again

Sunday noonish, the riders started to disperse, and I promptly followed suit.  Plan was to head south to Atlanta, Georgia, and pick up a couple of things I still needed for the bike.  Was heading out of town with no particular course to Atlanta in mind, when two bikes passed me.  I tagged along behind and followed, as they appeared to know where they were going.  A few miles later at a fork in the road, I found out they were Atlanta bound, and they were taking the long way there.  These guys knew some great back roads.

Leaving Hot Springs.


Riding south with Matt and Dan.





At one stop, Matt kindly offered me a place to stay at his house in Atlanta.  I gladly accepted and stayed at his and Kristin's house for the next two nights, while I sorted the bike details and accessories I needed.  As a bonus, Matt had a garage full of tools and made things a breeze.  Thanks again Matt!!