Virginia, Maryland, Carolinas, Florida

It was muggy the next morning when I set off on NC 18 towards Wilkesboro, where I got on US 421 east. That road merged into I-40, and I followed it through Winston-Salem. I-40 eventually joined I-85 and I stayed on that until Richmond, VA, where I got on I-95 North. The rain that had been threatening all day hit in Richmond in the late afternoon and I rode through a downpour almost until Fredericksburg, where I found a cheap motel. There were good back roads that I could have taken, but I've found that in the east you really can't make very good time on them, what with a small town every 10 miles or so. I'd made an appointment for a new rear tire and a minor service at Morton's BMW in Fredericksburg for Wednesday morning, and I wanted to be there when the shop opened in the morning.

The Royal Motel in Fredericksburg was a dump, even by my very low standards - I probably should have checked out the room before I checked in. The next morning Morton's got right to work on the bike. I had breakfast while they did the service, then returned to the shop and read in the waiting room for an hour or so until the bike was done. They didn't have the Metzeler Z8 to match my front tire, but the Michelin Pilot Road 3 has a good reputation, so I was happy with that. They also found that the paralever bushing was loose, so they tightened that and replaced a burned out license plate bulb. I was out of the shop at noon and got back on I-95 north to I-495 to US 50 and by 3:30 I was at my friend's house in Shady Side, MD.

The next day we drove into Annapolis and walked around and had lunch. I'd only been to Annapolis once before many years ago and then only to have lunch at the yacht club. It's a great old town with interesting shops, restaurants, and bars and it was nice to have a down day and walk around.

The next day I retraced my route to I-95 and stopped at Morton's again to have them tweak the throttle body balance. It seemed to me that there was just a hint of vibration, and after they made a slight adjustment the bike was perfect - well, as perfect as a bike with 111,000 miles can be.

The weather was warm and dry and I-95 isn't a bad Interstate as those things go. I rode through North Carolina and stopped just over the border in South Carolina to take a picture of South of the Border, signs for which I'd been seeing for the last 100 miles. A long time ago South of the Border was a small place to buy alcohol - the county just over the border in North Carolina was dry. Now it is a huge tourist trap. I took a picture and got out of there.

The next day I got off I-95 and headed for Beaufort, South Carolina. I walked around the restored downtown area, very upscale, and found a place to eat, then headed south out of town, stopping to take a few pictures of old, southern mansions, complete with Spanish moss in the trees.

I also stopped at the entrance to the USMC Recruit Depot at Parris Island - much less intimidating than it was in 1968 at 4:00 AM when I first saw it.

Back on I-95 I soon crossed the border into Florida and found a motel south of Jacksonville. The next morning I got on Route 1A and rode north along the beach for awhile before turning around and riding into St. Augustine.

 In St. Augustine I and walked around for an hour or so taking pictures, then got back on I-95 and continued south.

Someday I'd like to ride US 1 all the way down the Florida coast through all the beach towns, but I'd have to allow at least a couple of days for that. As it was I turned off I-95 at I-75 and rode south on the toll road to avoid the traffic on I-95. I found a motel in Florida City near Homestead and planned for an early start the next morning to head for Key West.