We had breakfast at Nylo, which was very nice, and looked at a photo album Thea brought which had pictures of Jon and his parents. Jon was less than 1 in the pics!! Blonde hair, with big curls...so freaking cute!!!! We had a relaxing, leisurely, peaceful breakfast. We got ready to leave, packed the bikes and Thea sent us on our way and wished us well. We did remember to take pictures this time... See below!!
The riding plan for today was wretched. We were going to do 276 mostly-urban miles today, through and including New York City! We prepared for the worst, and it ended up being even worse than that!! After about 45 minutes of riding through Rhode Island and into Connecticut, the sky turned black. Huge, sideways rain drops started falling. We stopped to put on rain gear but by then we were already drenched. We rode in heavy, treacherous rain for about an hour after that. Slow going. At noon we stopped for fuel and food at one of the off-interstate "service centers" that is like a little truck stop run the the state. Disgusting condition with lots of rude people in and around it eating McDonald's. One lady with a car full of kids, threw out an empty McDonalds cup and she got into the car, clearly littering. I got off my bike, walked up to her and handed her the cup, she said thank you doll and took it. I'm sure she was trying to litter stealthily so her kids wouldn't see. When we were leaving a young teenage girl and her younger brother were walking in as I was walking out, I held the door a d said you're welcome. She gave me the snootiest stuck up look and I said watch out your face might stay like that one day.
But the rain had stopped so we rode on on our wet, mesh gear hoping it would dry out some. After about 30 minutes, it started to rain again so we stopped and put on full rain suits under and overpass. We rode on the Bronx parkway, over the George Washington bridge, saw New York skyline in the distance, and into New Jersey.
New Jersey turnpike was the real disaster of the day. There was an accident or construction or who knows what. Serious, stop and go traffic for miles. With mesh suits and rain gear, it was blazing hot and uncomfortable. And I only got turned into by blind drivers 7 times, so tomorrow should be better, right? We eventually got out of New Jersey paid $11.25 PER BIKE in tolls, and made out way into PA and paid $5 per bike to continue on to Philly.
We got to the hotel, le Meridian downtown, and parking was a cluster. The valets did not know what to do with motorcycles. The receptionist clearly judged me in my wet moto gear. "Are you sure you're in the right hotel?" in a super condescending, snoot-ass way. Total disaster. I felt low class and was highly surprised she didn't say anything more than that. The most unfriendly check in ever! I didn't even know how to get to the elevators! We ended up parking our bikes about 2 blocks away at a self park lot under a security camera. When you add up the cost of both of our bikes, they probably cost as much as a Mercedes E-class. You would think a smart hotel manager would know how to train a staff to deal with motorcycles. We can't be the first ones to stay here with bikes!!
The plan for tonight is to walk 1.4 miles to a German restaurant. They have Kostritzer bier on tap, and we need it after a day like today. Bad!!
With a more positive attitude, we have seen all kinds of things and met all kinds of people on this trip. It has been one adventure after another and we'll probably be talking about it for years!
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