BillAndVal.com US Travel

Edisto Island, South Carolina [June 2006]

Edisto Beach is the most perfect family get away beach islands we have ever visited. It is located in South Carolina. You will not find bars, or hotels, or clubs. This is strictly a family island where the most popular mode of transportation is the bicycle. There are bike paths all over the island. Bike rental is easy with one of the outfitters even delivering the bikes to your place! Rental runs about $45 a week per bike. So, with no hotels, where does one stay? At one of the many condos available for rent. Or, you could rent an entire house for the week. In our past trips, we always sought to stay right on the beach. This trip, we didn't stay right on the beach. We rented a condo for the week that was about 1 mile from the shore. We did not notice any difference in the amount of time we would have spent on the beach had we stayed right on it. To get to the beach, we hoped on our bikes, but KJ in the kid seat and off on our way! Within 5 minutes, we were in the sand! The beaches on the island are clean, and we did not hear loud music or run into bunches of crazy beer drinking kids. Rather, 95% of what we saw were families with kids ranging in ages of 5 months to 15 years. This place is 180 degrees from Miami. If you are looking for a real get away for your family, this is it. Bring your own groceries or buy them at the islands only grocery store on day one. Stock the fridge and eat right in the condo! We cooked out multiple times, and we never ate at a restaurant the entire trip. Our condo had a nice hammock that found Bill and KJ swinging in it multiple times. We rented our condo through Edisto Realty. They made check in and out very easy and very fast. We highly recommend them: Edisto Realty.

Gatlinburg Tennessee [Jan 2006]

Gatlinburg Tennessee is a crazy, fun place. Right in the heart of the Smokey Mountains, this tourist trap provides constant amusement. Whether it is the people, stores, or crazy scenes, this red-neck get-a-way is a real hoot.

You must eat at the Pancake Pantry. Get the strawberry Parisian pancakes.... that is what they are famous for. But get there early for breakfast, within 30 minutes of opening you will hit a line of folks salivating to come in. The other nice stop is the Donut Friar. This quaint place is great for a quick donuts and coffee breakfast ... and it is close to the Pancake Pantry if you can't get in.

There are tons of things to see and do. Every time we go, we go into at least one new 'exhibit.' This time we did the Adventure Golf and the Ripleys Aquarium. The aquarium was far better than we had expected. As a pleasant bonus, they even have baby nursing rooms! While this was handy, it is the super shark exhibits that blew us away. Having been in many aquariums and in many oceans facing real sharks, we can say that this exhibit was the best we had ever seen.

We've been going to this place nearly once a year for almost 20 years, and we are still not tired of it. The restaurant selection, ice skating, crazy rides, proximity to Pigeon Forge, hiking trails in the Smoky Mountains, and on and on, make this a super three day get away vacation for a family that just wants to experience crazy different.

On the negative side, there are lots of folks out hocking timeshares. They get so annoying that I wrote the mayor of the city complaining. I received a nice letter back indicating that they have strict laws regarding how many folks can be out doing this, where they must stand, etc.

Here is a link that can help you get started planning for a trip to Gatlinburg: Gatlinburg TN

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina [July 2005]

A weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) away at Hilton Head Island is just what the doctor ordered. We traveled by car (about a 5 hour ride) and arrived Friday morning around 11:30AM. Too early for check in, but we played up the "my wife is pregnant and its hot" card. The good folks at the Hilton Head Crowne Plaza Resort went ahead and checked us in early.

The Hilton Head Crowne Plaza Resort is fantastic. The staff is very friendly. Each morning we were greeted with a good morning from numerous employees. The resort itself sits right on the beach which makes for a day on the sand very easy. You can rent umbrellas, chairs, bikes, etc. and charge it all to your room. There were multiple lifeguard stands on the Crowne Plaza's beach strip. A volleyball net had been set up on Saturday and we played a number of games. Warning, the sand is very hard and a number of our friends on this trip ended up with blisters on their feet. Yours truly did as well. We strongly suggest that if you plan on playing games on the sand that you wear beach shoes. Once done on the beach, we headed up to the pool area for a few hours. There were plenty of rinse off stations between the beach and the pool. Their pool is nice and has the requisite bar within easy reach.

Hilton Head Island is best explored via bicycle. There are bike paths all over the place. Interestingly, Hilton Head Island is not motorcycle friendly. If you are thinking of riding your motorcycle down, contact your hotel first and ensure that they can provide you an enclosed space to part your bike in. The word from multiple locals was that you are required to park your motorcycle in a garage over night.

Hilton Head Island is the second largest barrier island on the East Coast. Its about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide. There are tons of tourist souvenir type places, but the sign ordinances are so strict that spotting specific shopping places is hard. So, if you find the need to visit an "Adult Beverage" store, we suggest that you ask your hotel staff where to find them. Get good, clear, explicit directions.

Friday night we had a steak dinner at a place called Nick's. It was very good food for the money. The steaks were cooked right. One dining experience, however, was surprisingly disappointing. Saturday morning we headed out for breakfast and found a Cracker Barrel (a super chain of country style food). Once we were seated, we found ourselves waiting and waiting and waiting. The time between ordering and food delivery was 62 minutes. Incredible. It wasn't that our order was misplaced or anything because others around us were waiting too. The food was good, but took way too long to come out. The total time spent at the Cracker Barrel was 1 hour 55 minutes. 55 minutes more than it should have been. 55 minutes that could have been spent on the beach!

The ocean this time of year is really warm .... almost bath like. The wave action was minimal.... great for kids.

This was our third trip to Hilton Head Island. We were not disappointed at all. If you want a nice, clean, safe beach island for a weekend get-a-way, this would certainly fill the bill. We will be back!

Natchez Trace, Alabama Mississippi [May 2005]

At 8PM Thursday I headed out from work to Culman AL to meet my Memorial Day motorcycling riding partner, Lamar. Our goal this year was to ride the Natchez Trace. Friday at 8:30AM, Lamar showed up and we headed out to Cherokee AL to catch the Trace and head south.

The Natchez Trace is an absolutely beautiful ride. As far as difficulty for a motorcyclist, it is super easy. A novice rider would have no difficulty navigating the very predictable, long turns. In fact, by the end of the Trace my partner said, "It sure would be nice if we had a few good hard turns in here to break up the ride." The speed on the trace is strictly enforced to 50 MPH. We saw a few folks receiving tickets. On a road as beautiful as this, I'm not sure why one would want to speed!

As you head down the trace, you see some amazing scenes .... like a picture postcard. The fields of yellow flowers were incredible. If you have to ride in a cage (e.g. car) hopefully it will be a convertible. The smells really bring this wonderful trek to life.

Gas stops were frustrating. Not only were they poorly labeled, but they were at odd intervals. With a range of only 140 miles per tank, this added some undue stress. We found an old out of the way gas station and asked the guy why there were no signs on the Trace to tell us about his place. He said that because he is a commercial business, he is not allowed to post anything on the Trace. That is great for the beauty of the ride, but I believe some small sign or icon would be worth the trade off.

Don't stop in Jackson ... or at least where we did. As the gas was running low, I kept an eye out for a place to fill up. As I crossed a bridge, I could see a BP station a ways away so we circled back and hit the gas station. It was not the place that the Chamber of Commerce would have recommended. We filled up and headed out.

After about 325 miles of riding the trace, we were in Natchez. There is nothing in Natchez. We rode around a bit. I recommend that you continue on toward Biloxi. We found a Comfort Inn in Natchez that had a very convent Chinese restaurant in front of it. The next day, we were on our way.

Biloxi MS was a fun place to drive through. There were thousands of other motorcyclists. As we skirted the beaches, ones eyes couldn't help but notice how dark/dirty that the water looked. Having traveled to so many beaches in my life, I was actually repulsed. Lots of casino's in Biloxi. They received none of my money.

Up toward Mobile we cruised. Stayed on 90 for awhile, then jumped onto I-10. We found a Days Inn about 15 miles south of Mobile that had vacancy. The staff was nice, but the hotel was real, real old. We walked over a Godfather's Pizzeria, got a pitcher of beer, and ate some good pizza.

The final stretch home would see a coverage of about 500 miles, and lots of rain. Lamar and I rode to Birmingham, AL together then I branched off onto 20 to head back to Atlanta while he continued on 65 toward Huntsville. The rain hit us both in Birmingham. I rode in the rain the entire way back to Atlanta, stopping once to refuel and to pour the water out of my boots.

The motorcycle ride was fantastic. Lamar and I are already talking about next years Memorial Day ride!
This ride I covered 1,380 miles. I also saw my odometer register 15,000 miles. I can feel, I mean remember, every one of them!

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina Virginia Georgia [May 2004]

This years Memorial Day motorcycle trip was a full ride of the Blue Ride Parkway ... end to end! 469 miles, just one way! My Memorial Day riding partner, as usual, is Lamar, my Step Dad (at just 71 this year, he only has 50+ years of motorcycling experience).

On the morning of our departure, we headed up I-85 to Virgina beach where we spent they day with my step-brother (Lamar's son). We then headed across the state toward mile marker 0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The ride down the Blue Ridge was very very beautiful. The amount of twisties, though, is very tiring. You really, really work your motorcycle. The curves are so sharp and the drop offs so severe that there are really funny looking yellow road signs that show a cliff, a motorcycle going off the cliff, and a motorcyclist going off the cliff separated from his motorcycle! These roads are serious and require good solid concentration. Another area of concern is the wildlife.

There is a lot of wildlife on the Blue Ridge Parkway! While cool to see, I was nearly hit three different times by animals. Once by a large bird (Lamar swears it was an Eagle of some type) that jumped out of a tree, dropped down within 5 feet of my windscreen, then flew upwards. Another time was by a deer. Lamar told me that once the deer got past me (it darted out right directly ahead of my front tire and I brake hard), it stopped and watched him go by. The other deer behind the lead deer just waited for him to pass. The last animal was some small critter, like a raccoon. Neither Lamar nor I could discern what it was. I was so sure I would hit it that I just sat back on my seat (putting all the weight I could toward the back) and hit the throttle (causing a wheelie type weight shift). Fortunately, we didn't connect.

The ride also saw severe weather swings. We were hot, then cold, then steamy. We rode through fog, rain, and we were even caught in a large hail storm! Ting! Ta Ting ting ting ! We kept plodding along, getting some remarkable glimpses of the mountains and the awesome force of nature. We just kept riding ... watching cars pull off and gawk at us as we rode. There simply wasn't a good shelter for us .... too much lightning to stand under a tree to avoid the hail! This was the second time that I had been in a hail storm on my motorcycle .... but this time the hail was much bigger. One night, when coming off the mountain to find a place to sleep, we hit patches of ice. Talk about waking up!

On the topic of places to sleep/stay, I strongly recommend that you identify them before you head out. Normally, Lamar and I don't do this ... but on this trip, it would have been a good move. There were times that we would head down the mountain (off the Blue Ridge Parkway) to find a place to sleep only to learn that there were not hotels near by, so we would have to head back up on to the Parkway and try again.

At the peak of the parkway (some 6000+ feet), we met some other riders who had been through some of what we had ... had a few good laughs, they took our picture, and away we went ... heading South towards the end of the parkway.

Just as we were entering Asheville, North Carolina, we stopped for the night. We had the most amazing pizza and beer at a family pizza place. I wish I could recall its name, but it is the first Asheville exit you hit (when going South), taking a right once you exit. It is on the left hand side, two shops away from a hotel.

Over all, this was a good, hard ride. I wouldn't suggest this ride to a novice, nor would I suggest this ride to someone who just wants to loaf along. This isn't a loafing ride at all. It requires lots of concentration and focus. This ride, I covered nearly 1500 miles. Rubber side down, chrome side up!

New York Manhattan NYC [December 2003]

New York City, Manhattan is an energetic, crazy place. There is a lot to see and do here. You must be absolutely ready for the frenetic pace of this city, otherwise it will wear you down. The city prides itself on the lyrics, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” and that is true.

Don’t rent a car. Take a cab in from either JFK or La Guardia if you plan on staying on Manhattan. The parking and driving situation is atrocious. Once you are there walking the streets, you will understand why most New Yorkers don’t own cars. The public transit is incredible.

BIG TIP: The absolute best way to see Manhattan is to not stay in Manhattan, but to stay in New Jersey at the Marriott Courtyard on Washington Blvd. While not the only reason, staying at the Courtyard in New Jersey is very cheap. However, its real value is in how close everything is while not keeping you plunged in crazy city 24-7. Staying here also lets you fly into the cheaper airport that servers the area, Newark! Best advice, fly into Newark NJ airport, stay at this Courtyard. While at this hotel, you have 10-15 minute public transportation to both Times Square and the World Trade Center. In addition, you can take the New Jersey light rail to Liberty State Park to see the Statue of Liberty. In any case, when you stay at this hotel, you are across the street from a mall and adjacent to the PATH train. That is your golden ticket into Manhattan.

TIP: If you want to see the Statue of Liberty up close (e.g. visit the actual island), you have two choices: 1) catch the Ferry in NJ or 2) catch the Ferry in NY. You absolutely want to catch it in NJ. The NY one is the more famous and is PACKED! We took the NJ one over to the island and just laughed at how packed the boats were from NY. We all visited the same island, they just had standing room only while we could spread out over the benches on the boat. :)

TIP: Unless you want to dress up for a Broadway play, we suggest you go to a matinee. We went to see “Chicago” at the 2PM show starring Patrick Swayze as Billy Flynn. The cool part about going to a show at this time is that people don’t all dress up. You will see 75% blue jeans and sweaters/button downs. Perfect if you are just touring the city for the day and don’t want to change clothes. As far as the show, Swayze was just okay. The other actors really did an awesome job. The star was a bit self conscious. However, he did evoke cheers from the female crowd as they recalled his “Dirty Dancing”ness.

TIP: If you want an up close view of the World Trade Center, take the PATH train from NJ (if you follow my advice previously, you are all set). The train actually goes right through the center of Ground Zero giving you a very somber view. The train gets very quiet as it passes through.

The Empire state building is only cool to visit if you want to see the view from the top. Unfortunately, on your way lots of vendors try to push their wares on you. One particularly annoying group says you have to have your photo taken. This is BS, and we just pushed our way through telling them no. They actually put their arms out to stop me. We kept pushing through. I certainly understanding needing to make a buck, but that was a bit over the top for me. Once at the top of the building, you get views of New York that are quite incredible. Keep in mind that your biggest claim to fame on this marquee is “I’ve visited the tallest building in NYC.”

The subway system in New York is great. Lots of weirdos to not make eye-contact with. There are also the street performers; some good some bad. I never put money in the cups of beggars …. But a surprising number of people do. TIP: Stay on the N and R trains, below 96th street and you will be safe and fine. We never felt like our safety was in question. TIP: Pulling your money out in NY is not a good thing, so when you buy your subway card, only buy one for $20 and use it until it runs out. You only need to buy one and you can use it between groups of people. Swipe it through, then hand it to the next person in your party and go through the gate.

TIP: When you leave to head back to the airport, ask your hotel to have a car service pick you up. It costs within $5 of a cab and is a fixed fair. That is, if you take a cab … a meter is running so if you get stuck in traffic, you are going to pay. If you take a car service, the fare is set (ours was $35 from the Courtyard hotel) regardless of the traffic. On a business side, when the fare is fixed the driver has extra incentive to get you to the airport more quickly! If you want a ride from Manhattan, the classic car services in the city are Carmel and Tel Aviv.

There is a tremendous amount to do in NYC. Wear walking clothes and be ready for an adventure. You can explore the highlights of the city in 3 good days, and this includes time to catch a show. When you are done, maybe you too will say, “I love NY!”

BillAndVal.com - US Travels

Trips Taken - Our Travels - United States

Edisto Island, South Carolina [June 2006]

Gatlinburg Tennessee [Jan 2006]

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina [July 2005]

Natchez Trace, Alabama Mississippi [May 2005]

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina Virginia Georgia [May 2004]

New York Manhattan NYC [December 2003]

Florida

Hawaii

Maryland

Texas

Saint Patricks Day Parade - Boston

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Texas

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