Live To Ride, Ride To Live

Our love affair with South Dakota all started on a motorcycle! Many thanks to Corinne and Tucker, two fine folks, who rescued us from a fierce thunder and lightning storm when they welcomed us into their home! The cup of coffee and towel were much appreciated!

Buffalo Gap National Grassland, South Dakota

It's always a bad hair day on the back of a bike!

South Dakota Morning

The Badlands is rich in beautiful flora and fauna as well as wildlife!

Badlands

Words cannot explain how beautiful and amazing The Badlands of South Dakota really are! The pictures speak volumes! Hope you enjoy the next three posts!

Take It Easy

As we motor on West across the United States, we are really racking up the

Camped out next to a cornfield in Indiana

kilometers. Typically, on a "driving day", we will clock 4 hours or so with some pit stops along the way. If we really want to make some progress we may drive 5 or 5.5 hours! Either way the driving can be absolutely exhausting and we have discovered that sometimes we just need to stop for a couple of nights and do nothing!!! Not even unload the motorcycle to take a run here or there.....just stop and have some rest time.

We don't usually plan our rest days, they just kind of happen! But we really do enjoy them. During our down time it gives us a chance to catch up on some exercise and some reading or research about places we want to visit. A lot of the parks we stay at have wonderful

Enjoying a good book

facilities and we do try to take full advantage. Some parks have fitness rooms and pools and Steve will usually try to visit for a workout. I have brought my fitness bands along and will just do a band workout on site. Sometimes we will go for a walk in the park or around the area. And I can't forget about some of the lovely bike rides we've taken, if traffic

Early morning ride
along Lake Michigan

permits.

Rest days also give us an opportunity to check on the trailer and make sure everything is top notch! So far all has been well! Checking the tire pressure, adding air, fixing the toaster, and tuning up our navigation system have been a few things that have needed attention. Steve also spent some time tightening everything up that has come loose over the last 5000 kilometers. Other than that Princess has been running like a charm!

During some down time in South Dakota we tried out a new appliance we had purchased for this journey. Our RV has a convection microwave but no oven. We decided to buy an Instant Pot that claims to have 9 appliances in 1! What we like about this is we can have home cooked meals prepared in short order which means we can stay well fed on long driving days, busy sightseeing days, OR relaxing rest days! Here is the recipe link to Instant Pot Coca Cola Ribs that I grabbed off the internet!  This time around we used beef ribs but next time I'd use pork. Pot to table in less than an

hour! Simply delicious!


Until the next time....

Strawberry Fields Forever

Eating on this trip has been a big deal for us! We DO have to eat and we do shop regularly for groceries just like we would at home. But we also want to make sure we are eating healthy while still having an opportunity to take in special foods or restaurants of different places we visit without breaking the bank. It tends to be a bit of a balancing act.

The Confederate Burger at Gettysburg

Every morning, we have breakfast at home in the RV. Generally our breakfast consists of a protein, like eggs or turkey bacon, and here lately, a fruit smoothie. Coffee is a must! We are so happy with

Philly Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia

our new mini Keurig machine and would recommend it to any RV'er. If we are on the go visiting museums or travelling into cities on motorcycle, we generally try to take in something from that place. With a healthy start to the day, we don't usually need anything until around 3pm. And that's it! 2 meals a day is all we usually have.  

We couldn't resist the stuffed jalapenos at Gettysburg as an appetizer. On the menu they were called Artillery Fire and were delicious! Most big meals like this we share and ask the server to bring an extra plate. 

In Pittsburgh, we found a lovely Italian restaurant down by the harbour. The food was absolutely to die for!

Quattro Forma

My only food regret so far is not getting a piece of authentic Boston Cream Pie in Boston but we did go to a a neat restaurant that had a live Blues band playing (a must on my bucket list!). We would highly recommend The Beehive to anyone visiting the Boston area.

When we are having a down day back at the trailer we cook and barbeque like we normally would. Barbeque seems to be the preferred cooking method as the weather has just been so hot! Below is a pic of some shish kebobs that we prepared one night using some scallops from home! 

And when we have a driving day? We snack on nuts and fruit as we go, stopping and stretching while preparing a sandwich from things we have in the fridge. Sometimes, not often, we will have a roadside treat like in the pic below.

DQ Strawberry Sundae....my fav!

Until the next time...

Ezy Ryder

After leaving Pennsylvania, we breezed through Ohio and Indiana and on in to Illinois. Luckily we motored on past Chicago but were amazed by the

skyline of the city. We were never so thankful for our Navigation system as it was just a maze of highways and byways. Before long we found ourselves camped out in a small town called Caledonia, Wisconsin just outside the home of Harley-Davidson…..Milwaukee!

Chicago Skyline

The Harley-Davidson Museum is a must see attraction for any die hard biker.They have done an amazing job of showcasing the history of this iconic motorcycle with displays from every era - 1903 right up to today. The historical information and facts were quite interesting, with a must do stop at the Harley shop next door for some

paraphernalia! We topped off our visit with a cold beer and small meal at the Motors Restaurant before heading on back to the campsite. 

Some of the First Harley Davidsons ever built!

1930's bike

A Harley Delivery bike!

After a 2 hour mountain bike ride this morning, we plotted our route west to South Dakota for the 79th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Should be a time! Stay tuned….

American Land

Pennsylvania.......WOW!!! We are absolutely blown away by the beauty and history of this state! We never ever thought that there would be so much  packed in to one place, but there was! And we were so happy that our travels brought us this way!

What has amazed us most is the beauty and peaceful easy

Somewhere in Pennsylvania

feeling that we felt as we toured the country side or drove along the highways. A true gift! Wide stretches of farmland, quaint towns, and mountainous regions all wrapped up and ready to be opened. It is truly a bikers heaven and we were so glad to have taken the motorcycle along on this trip. It has allowed us the freedom to camp outside more populated cities yet still explore the places where real people live and play.

The first big stop was in Philadelphia otherwise known as Philly! And, of course, we just had to have the infamous Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich! Hands down,

the best Cheesesteak Sandwich came from Pat's King of Steaks, who also happens to be the original restaurant AND creator of this very

popular Philadelphia treat. Pat's was also the location where Sylvester Stallone ate his cheesesteak sandwich in the Rocky movie. 

We learned lots of American history in Philadelphia too! We visited Independence Hall, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the

US Constitution and had the opportunity to learn all about the Liberty Bell.....both iconic symbols in

American history and indeed around the world!

Gettysburg was our next stop! Another opportunity to brush up on American history! The whole town is built around the site of the Gettysburg battlefield which happened to be a turning point in the civil war. Over 50 000 soldiers died

in 3 days during the battles of 1863. It was also the place where President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. The entire town has incorporated relics and artifacts from that time in history. Below you can see a picture of Steve standing next to one of the 1300 Memorials erected throughout the town in memory of those lost.  

You know when you're in Pittsburgh when you come across this street art!

We were excited to motor on to Pittsburgh.....our last Pennsylvanian stop! The view of the city from atop Mount Washington was spectacular. The "Steel City"

was certainly worth a visit!

The city of bridges!

Where will our wheels take us next?