Simon and Deb's Excellent Adventure ........

[Guest]

Interesting. My wife is from Seychelles and she won't eat any fresh-water fish. Funny for an island nation where they eat fish every day. She sees fresh-water fish as "dirty". Even salmon. Oh well, more for me!

I agree with your wife .
Barramundi is a favourite fish here . The barra caught in fresh water definately doesn't taste as "clean" as that (same species) caught from saltwater . Not a real lot of freshwater fish is sold down this way .

We're just starting to get bookings for next year . Deb wants to go to Disneyland so we'll be in LA on the way home . I've bitten the bullet(possible unpaid leave involved) and we'll be over for almost 6 weeks , mid May to the end of June , so ................................

Cheers , Simon . :dancing:

 

[Dogma]

So that would have you here with time to ride:
-Brown County
-I'm sure you'd have an invite to WV with the wings
-SE Rally
-WV Rally
-One or two others I never have to to get to?
-Coast-to-coast a few times in between and who knows what else.

I do believe I'm jealous.

 

[Steve]

... -I'm sure you'd have an invite to WV with the wings...

That invite has already been extended and, I believe, accepted.

.

 

[Dogma]

Gonna wire him up?

 

[Zooks]

Just curious....why not?

You know, the only answer I can give you is that here, noone eats it, and would think you were insane to do so.

That's what I got brought up with and everyone else got brought up with, but I don't know if there's a scientific reason for it...

I know a few anglers that eat it, particualrly if they catch it while they're camping.

I think the main reason is that we have SO MUCH fantastic fish & seafood in this country that it just gets overlooked.

 

[Steve]

Gonna wire him up?

We'll have to look into that.

Solo wiring can be done cheaply enough, but wiring for two is much nicer with helmet-mounted speakers and mics.

That's a bit of expense that might be a little too much.

.

 

[Guest]

Already sorted Steve . An intercom/music is one thing that would have been tre bewdy while we were in the States .
Bought an Autocom bizzo today . Looks like "in the pocket" rather than "on the bike" will be the go . All we'll need is a cheap radio to talk to you lot. You can tell us where to go , and we'll go there .

Cheers , Simon .

Been a bit busy , so I'll get back to the "adventure" shortly .

 

[Steve]

Been a bit busy , so I'll get back to the "adventure" shortly .

Oh, goody. There's more to come. :dancing:

.

 

[Guest]

Oh, goody. There's more to come. :dancing:

.

I figured Simon had lost all the pictures taken in Detroit.

Gee - Simon. The story telling is taking almost as long as the trip itself.

 

[Guest]

I figured Simon had lost all the pictures taken in Detroit.

Gee - Simon. The story telling is taking almost as long as the trip itself.

Yes , sorry about that . I've had a few things going on at home . I'll get on with it tonight .

Cheers , Simon .

 

[Guest]

Hey , lookout , I'm back . Got a bit side tracked by life .............. (tryng to get next years trip up and running and such) .

After the BRP , we planned to make no plans for the rest of our trip (except a jaunt up to Detroit) . Take each day as it came sort of deal .
Monday was "kick back" day . Josh , Rob and I spent the day in the shed . Ran a spanner over the bikes . Found a couple of my nuts had come a bit loose , coupla iffy bullet connectors and such . Nothing much , just could develop into pain down the track .


The girls (Deb and Rose - Heidi had to work) hit the shops and , like the wonderful ladies they are , returned with beers , wines (lots of good Aussie wines available which was a bit of a surprise) and a truck load of "nibblies" . Deb knocked up a pretty good spag bol for dinner .

Good food , good drinks , good friends . How can it get any better ?

Next day , after Rob fronted , we headed off for a bit of a ride . Saw a covered bridge (still don't know why you'd bother putting a roof over a bridge - you Americans) that was pretty cool . Ceaser Creek dam and pioneer village were good for a look . The sign at the pioneer village said "You all come back now , you hear" , and we will and hopefully it'll be open next time .

Lunch was at Derr Dutchman . Unbelievable . Amish I do believe . The best by far , bar none , in the universe , $10 buffet we have ever had . AND pie for another $1.50 . We discovered root beer floats . Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm .

I think this lady wanted to take me home for some reason . Deb wanted to know if she should be jealous .

I like my girls a bit mature .

A Rose by any other name ...............

and good mates .................

(I'm the good looking one) .




Red Robins (can't get over the variety of eateries you lot have ) for dinner . Good stuff and all . We got a bit of a chuckle out of the "feckle lemonade" . "Freckle" down here is a colloquialism for sphincter . I wouldn't think it would be a big seller (a bit like catfish) . Still , tasted pretty good . Fresh strawberries always gets me going .

Spent the next day "hangin' " with Josh and Rose . We were wondering if they're getting sick of us yet and were just to polite to say so . I guess they would have .

Bought some Frog Togs . Deadliest wet weather gear I've seen . I reckon I could sell a truck load of them here . Any of you Aussies or Kiwi's Should have a look at these . Breathable wets . Not a sauna like all the other plastic gear I've tried over the years . $70 , no more to pay .

Chillin' with the chillen that night and pack for our first solo trip . Unguided , the next morning Deb and I set of for another adventure ....................To Detroit .

Lookout Steve Conlan , we're coming to get you (and your 150 something cousins) .

Cheers , Simon and Deb .

 

[ddaniels]

Simon, you'll be sorry to hear that the Derr Dutchman resteraunt had a terrible fire last week I think and fairly destroyed the place. Such a shame as it is definitely one of the best eateries in the area. I hear they will rebuild though. Those Amish can come together and get things done quickly and done extremely well, so I doubt it'll take very long.

 

[Steve]

I had not heard of that, since I am not home, but it did not take much to see the story.

Click HERE, you can see updates for the restaurant.

.

 

[mottyl]

Well I have been internetless for almost two months. I am now back on line and find this excellent thread.

Thank you Simon and Deb for sharing.

Chris

 

[Steve]

Well I have been internetless for almost two months. I am now back on line ...

Nice to see you survived. Welcom back. :clap:

.

 

[Redman]

Simon,

Thanks for the update to the story. I look for more everyday.

Oh, I understand that the cover over the bridge was to keep weather off the bridge deck so it lasted longer, and the side walls were to block the view of horses (so horses did not see the water).

.

 

[Guest]

Ah , very interesting about the bridges Redman old mate .

Very sad to hear about Der Dutchman .
The food and all was the best , but more sorrierer to think of all that beautiful furniture that must have been lost . Can all be replaced I guess . At least no one was hurt .

Hope it's up and running before next May/June .

Cheers , Simon .

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Simon,

Dave is right about the covered bridges. Back in the day, when most bridges were made of wood, it was cheaper to replace the roof than replace the bridge. Winter is hard on wood bridges.

Thanks for sharing our country through your eyes. It's quite a treat. I guess this is not such a bad place to live.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

Armed with directions from Steve and Josh , we headed off for Detroit at about 9.00am . Safely through Dayton and onto the interstate .
Your road systems are really easy to follow . We don't have a "grid" of north/south and east/west highways as in America . We went all the way to Steve's and didn't get lost once . Absolutely amazing for me . Deb was impressed .
We rode the slab for about an hour between stops .

Fairly boring stuff , but you sure chew up some miles .

Lots of this .
The plan was not to go any where near "the middle of town" as I'm a bit fright for that . We headed a bit west , then north to St Clair Shores .

4.00pm , Detroit and us on the 750 ...................
Weirdly , that was some of the most exhillirating riding I've done . Bear in mind , we come from a town where 4 cars in the main street at once IS peak hour . We were warned not to take too much notice of the speed limits but rather , stay with the flow of traffic , or "those crazy barstards will run right over the top of you" . Never better advice given .
The speed limit was 70mph , 6 lanes of traffic seperated by a very formidable concrete wall , a narrow emergency lane , then another even more formidable concrete wall .

We were doing 80mph + in this berserko concrete trench and were still being passed by all manner of trucks , cars and those insanely huge pickups with dual wheels (towing equally huge trailers) . I was freaking out . The volume of traffic moving so quickly . "If anything goes wrong here ................ it's gonna go real bad , real quick" , I'm thinking just as we pass a sea of flashing lights on the other side of the centre wall .

I wasn't sure of one of the exits we needed to take so I pulled into the emergency lane and stopped to check with Deb . Freaked out again . Here we were stopped in a concrete chute with a zillion vehicles streaming past at heaven knows what speed . Now all we had to do was get back into the flow . Two up , loaded and the 750 handled a bit of "brisk" acceleration very well . I'm loving this bike . We got the right exit and had a nice "slow down" ride to Steve's place . No one home so we headed of to the motel .

A couple of phone calls and we arranged to meet up with him in the morning . We hit Famous Daves for dinner . Ribs and shredded pork and sides and beers and coffee and dessert . BURP !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd go back there .

Well , here we are . Two little Aussie battlers in Detroit (another mythical place) again preparing to ride to places we've never heard of , with persons .................. unknown (again).

It just keeps getting better .

Cheers , Simon and Deb . :clap:

 

[Guest]

Up , breakfast and off to Steve's bt 9.00am . Top spot you've got there old mate . We loved the squirrels (don't get them in Aus) .

Spent a good couple of hours getting to know each other , then off for a ride .

The girls got on well ..........................

Grosse Point was . Unimagineable wealth . Edsel Ford's "gatehouse" . Berserk .

Nice ride beside the river , through the oppulance and a visit to a train set ............................

Mates of Steve's have this in their basement ..........

Two brother's that haven't , and don't have to , grow up . Half their luck .

Lunch at ourfirst Diner . Janet's Burgers . Wortha stop if you're ever passing . Good food prepared right in front of you . Good fun .

Off to one of Steve's cousin's (he has hundreds of them - literally) bar to have a guiness with two more of his cousins . (Must be the cold winters up this way) . They had the coldest pi$$ in Detroit .

and the best trophies ........

Another tour through the "suburbs" and back to the motel for a shower before THE ICE HOCKEY !

Cheers , Simon and Deb .