Photo courtesy of Lowcountry Bistro

Riding out of the rain, shins soaked from the wet road, we landed in the “World’s Best City,” Charleston, South Carolina. Historic, beautiful and known for its restaurants, this overnight stop promised everything weary travelers craved.

Luggage loaded on the bellman’s cart, Louise headed inside to check into the Double Tree Suites. I jumped back on the bike and followed the parking valet’s directions around the corner and down the block where I found the entrance to the underground parking garage. The only other option was to park across the street in a public lot. With more rain heading our way, we gladly paid for the valet service, even though I parked the bike myself.

We showered, changed clothes, and headed out to explore Charleston by foot. And here came the rain. We waited under an awning for the shower to pass. Feeling a little road-worn and tired, our patience with the Sunday night crowds was quickly waning. Cocktails in the hotel room before dinner sounded like a better plan, and it gave Louise time to search for a restaurant.

The search paid off. She found a place a block and a half away called Lowcountry Bistro. A quick walk past the busy Charleston City Market, and we were there – just in time for our 8 o’clock reservation. The bistro is in a stand-alone three-story brick-faced building on S. Market St.

The interior is rustic, inviting, and a whole lot bigger than first impressions would indicate. Off of the first floor dining room is an indoor patio with communal window seating – a mirror of the balcony above, which is accessed from the upstairs dining room. The bar is on the first floor. We scored the table by the front window, and the friendly server welcomed us with a warmth that quickly made the wet afternoon a distant memory.

We started with bourbon and moonshine flights. This is where we discovered William Wolf Pecan Bourbon, which was presented along with Bulleit Rye, and Crown Royal. The moonshine offerings were Blueberry, Caramel and Apple Pie. The winner… Caramel Apple. Yeah, we mixed a couple of them.

Now, let’s talk chicken and waffles. I had never tried them, but had always wanted to. This was the place, and I am still addicted. They are so good, even Paula Dean raved about them. Bone-in chicken sitting atop a delicious cornbread waffle, drizzled with a bourbon reduction, and pecan butter. Pecans in the bourbon, pecans in the butter – that’s the Lowcountry for you. Oh… did I mention that there is bacon in the batter? You’d better believe it.

Lowcountry Bistro is Part of the Queen Street Hospitality Group of restaurants in Charleston. Next time we are in town, we will have to give some of the others a shot – and, hopefully, the weather will be a little drier. For now, I am still on the quest for a better Chicken and Waffles. Louise’s are pretty darned good, but nothing compares to those I had at Lowcountry Bistro in Charleston, SC.

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There’s an App for That

I have an app on my phone called MyRadar. Even with all of the weather resources available to the technologically adept, this is one of my favorite realtime tools for tracking storms. As a pilot, I find it invaluable – especially when I use it on one of my other favorite tools: the iPad. The app gives you a 2-dimensional animated view of Doppler radar in your area.

Screen grab from MyRadar on a ride through Pennsylvania

As motorcyclists, Louise and I swear by it when storms are near. We have used the green, yellow and red globs to help us maneuver away from impending weather phenomena. Pro tip: green globs get you wet; yellow globs get you really wet; red globs make you question your life decisions.

 The Freedom of the Road

Louise and I decided to take a day trip to visit with family. Actually, we set out on a very short ride close to home. We just wanted to feel the road rushing under our wheels. As we left Kent Island and checked MyRadar, it became clear that Mother Nature would prefer that we kept heading east. Who are we to argue with Momma N.? Louise texted her cousin and soon we were on our way towards Delaware.

Heading east away from the storm

A couple weather systems were conspiring to drench us, but we were having none of it. Brief glances at the radar gave us an idea which way to head to stay ahead of the downpours. We easily evaded the rain and had a nice visit with the peeps. Then we jumped back on the bike under sunny skies and headed west.

There’s an app that is as good (if not better in some ways) than MyRadar. It’s called My Eyes. As we pointed the front tire towards home, I saw a darkening sky before us. No problem, we got this. And we rode on. Into the storm(s).

Here Comes the Rain

We did our best to coordinate what we saw on the app with what we saw in the sky, and where we were with where we wanted to be. Home wasn’t in the cards right now. Again, converging storms seemed to know where we were supposed to be, so we obliged. And we found ourselves in Harrington, DE, in the parking lot of the Stargate Diner on US Rt. 13 as the first rainfall began. This should provide sufficient shelter from the storm, so we dismounted and made our way inside.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

First appearances are important. Apparently our first appearance in the Stargate Diner was out of step with the expectations of those people already inside. As we crossed the threshold and entered the main lobby area, all voices quieted and all eyes turned – toward us. We were not soaking wet and and we didn’t have antennae growing from the tops of our heads… or did we? Whatever the reason, we were the center of the universe (their universe, anyway) for a minute. When that minute was over, we no longer mattered.

I was hungry and thankful to be in a dry place. I would have been content with anything at this point – iced tea, fries, soup, time to wait out the storm. Louise still had not come to grips with our ticker tape parade welcoming. So, we made our way to the front of the building, where donned our rain gear. Even though the bulk of the storm wasn’t completely upon us yet, the MyRadar app confirmed the light sprinkles coming down were just the beginning of something much greater. We jumped on the bike as the rain got heavier and we got wetter, minute-by-minute.

Burger Quest

While I had been fiddling with radar on my phone, Louise had been thumbing through TripAdvisor on hers, looking for burgers. A place called Jeff’s Taproom & Grille, 13.5 miles to the south popped up with some good reviews, so off we went. And here came the storm.

Riding in the rain is not only uncomfortable, it’s dangerous. Visibility is severely reduced, traction is limited, breaking distance is increased, you get wet. And along with getting wet, comes the fogging of the goggles. As we rode along at a slower than normal pace, I had to constantly wipe my goggles with a wet-gloved hand to try and clear my view. What normally would be an 18-minute cruise down Rt 13, turned into a half-hour ride from hell.

We Made It

Parked outside of Jeff’s Taproom & Grille

We finally reached our destination, Jeff’s Taproom and Grille. We parked the bike in the parking lot out back, and made our way inside (though a door that was also in the back). The door opened with a creak and we were no longer taking a shower. The entrance is a short hallway that opens up to the bar/restaurant area. Here, we paused and shook the water from our rain gear. The atmosphere seemed to change a bit, and we felt the now-familiar all-eyes-are-on-you feeling. Is this a Delaware thing or are we truly aliens?

From out of the moment of silence came a lone voice: “Is it raining, yet?” We laughed. They laughed. We all laughed. We were welcome here.

Along with a bowl of the richest French onion soup this side of Paris, we decided to split a Grilled Cheeseburger. Quoting the menu: “Why just have an ordinary roll?! Two pieces of Texas Toast and cheese make this burger an overstuffed grilled cheese!” We upgraded to Krinkle-Cut Fries for an extra 2 bucks.

The crowd at Jeff’s was a welcoming, friendly, comedic bunch who were as interested in us as we were in them. We found a friend in a guy named Clay – a wheel-chair-bound veteran who told us about his specially outfitted Sportster. He didn’t ride it today because of the rain. Duh.

By the way, the burger was so good, we made Jeff’s one of our go-to stops on bike rides with friends. We have been back a few more times, and we will be back many more. Rain or shine.

The post What Are We… Aliens? The Rainiest Ride to The Best Burger appeared first on Avoiding Highways.

Motorcycle Trip to the Painted Sky Alpaca Farm… guess what?  I kissed an alpaca and I liked it!

Okay…I didn’t really kiss THIS Alpaca… but this little guy sure was cute! I love animals and it really doesn’t matter where we are or what we are doing, as soon as I see an animal or a group of animals I’m sucked in, in big way. I have been known to make Jeff turn around several miles after spotting an animal(s)… when I say SEVERAL miles, I mean we can be 5 miles down the road!

I can’t help myself, it’s an addiction. It is. This is how I know… my first instinct is to NOT interrupt our trip just because I saw a group of pygmy goats… but then, I just can’t get them out of my mind and I KNOW I will never have fun again if I don’t go check them out. I HAVE to do it! See… I’m addicted. It’s okay though because Jeff is the most wonderfully supportive husband and he will always turn around to say hello or snap a pic of our new furry friend.

I remember the first time I saw an Alpaca on the side of the road. Yes, I made Jeff stop. Yes, they were in someone’s yard. Yes, we named them and took pictures. Yes, I’m addicted. Meet our friend, Taco. This is the caption I wrote for Facebook: Look who came to say hi… he came running when we went by on the bike. Had to turn around and introduce ourselves! So adorable!

See… addicted. It’s all good.

Now that you have a sneak peak into my animal addiction, I can’t wait to share our Motorcycle Trip to the Painted Sky Alpaca Farm & Fiber Mill!

My friend, Jenny, has been wanting to check out this Alpaca farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for the past year and just hadn’t gotten around to it. So when we were planning a motorcycle day trip at the end of October, 2017 (an unusually warm day for us), we decided to make the trip.

Jenny and I planned out the back roads we would take and off we went!

First Stop, the unplanned Car Show!

We usually plan a few stops along the way to break up the ride and our first stop was a little hole-in-the-wall, Lena’s. Unbeknownst to us, they were having a car show. So, while Jenny and I had a cocktail, the boys looked at all the cool cars and picked up a couple cookies! I wish I had taken a few picture of the cars, some of them were pretty cool; even for a non-car person like me.

Next Up: The Painted Sky Alpaca Farm & Fiber Mill!

When we arrived, we were greeted by the owners and shown around. We met the kitty cats that occupy the barn and were given some history about the farm. There is a lot more that goes into raising Alpacas than I ever even considered! The Dickenson’s bought their farm in Cecil County, Maryland in 2002 before Alpacas were on their radar. They wanted to find a way to have the farm help pay for itself and stumbled upon some literature about Alpacas. They proceeded to do some research, visit some farms and they jumped right in to the Alpaca business.

As the owner showed us around and took us right in with the Alpacas (yep! were standing right beside them!), he went into great detail how they choose an Alpaca; how they breed and sell Alpacas; and even how they harvest the fiber and then turn it into beautiful clothing and accessories. It was truly fascinating and I think we spent over 3 hours talking with the owner and visiting their gift shop.

The gift shop is incredible and I was able to pick up a few unique Christmas presents for my mom & sister. They have some beautiful things!

It was super cool to know that I just petted the Alpaca that donated their fiber for the ball of yarn I bought my mom! I can’t wait to see what she makes with it. Here’s Teddy, the donor… isn’t he cute? 

I kissed an alpaca and I liked it!

I did it! I kissed an Alpaca… and I LOVED it! This little girl was so friendly and so incredibly soft!

Truth be told, I wanted an Alpaca farm for months after leaving there! Although it’s a lot of work, these little cuties each have their own personality and what fun they are! If you are ever in Cecil county, Maryland or the surrounding areas, I highly suggest a visit to The Painted Sky Alpaca Farm.

If you lean in and listen real close… they might just tell you a secret!

Our friend, Jeff, never would tell us what his new buddy said.

Here is an overview of the back roads we took to get to The Painted Sky Alpaca Farm

As always, live life in the scenic lane!

Til next time,

Louise

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