So today I will complete the circle part of my tour of the USA… but first what about Kitty Hawk?
Well I don’t wake up until 9.30 this morning so by the time I get the bike packed etc. It’s 11.30 and too late to go back to the Outer Banks.. so sadly I miss out.
Portsmouth is less than 50 miles away and I make my way there crossing over the state line back into Virginia, my home state 😉 well that’s what it says on my number plate!
I hope to stop at a Starbucks for breakfast and to check out my emails to see if I can drop the bike early. The shipping agent is in California so they are 3 hours behind me. He probably won’t get back to me until this afternoon; if I haven’t heard from him by 2pm I’ll have to give him a ring.
No Starbucks or anything else really… it’s way too early for Maccy D’s.
Soon I arrive in Portsmouth, but rather than go straight to the dealership I try to find a coffee shop to get something to eat… I’m really hungry now.
Well, well, I didn’t really see Portsmouth when I was here before and am very pleasantly surprised to find the old part of the city…
I also spot a very nice art deco cinema..
another church, Presbyterian this time.
I look down one street and can see the harbour right at the end of the street…
It seems as though the ship is going to come up the road at any minute doesn’t it.
I also manage to find a small coffee shop where I can plot up and wait for a response from the shipping agent.
I hear back from the agent at about 3pm and it’s all ok to drop the bike early.. yay. It’s getting late now so I need to get over to Bayside HD and get the valuation done, so I’ll sort out my change of flights later.
I arrive at Bayside and park exactly where I left from on the 9th August, completing a full circle of the USA… exactly 9305.4 miles.
I am chatting to one of the salesmen and showing him the mileage on the counter, unfortunately I hold the button in slightly too long and zero the counter… bloody hell, 7 weeks of making sure I didn’t touch it and now it’s gone. Lucky I remember the number so I can just add the rest of the mileage to it, but what a pain!
I go into the shop and meet up with Rick the guy who sorted it all out for me. He seems genuinely pleased to see me and has been following my blog. It’s really great to see him again and he is most helpful as usual. He arranges for the bike to be valued as if they were going to purchase it from me as it stands today. I also need a notarised bill of sale for US Customs and he organises that for me too.
Eventually it’s time to get back on the road. I am heading to Lewes in Delaware to catch a ferry over to New Jersey. Lewes is about 170 miles away and Rick advises me on the best route. I don’t think I am going to make it all the way as it is getting very late and I don’t want to ride in the dark, but I will try to get as far as I can.
We say our goodbyes and I remind Rick that if he is ever in the UK he must look me up. We get a photo together before I leave…
What a great guy… thanks so much for everything, the tour would never have happened without you.
Rick also presents me with a bandana, its a special edition with all the Harley engines on, I will treasure it… thank you.
So I make my way out of Portsmouth towards Virginia Beach and Highway 13. I come to a toll booth, I have to pay to cross the Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel… $13! Wow, that’s a shock, however the bridge/tunnel is 23 miles long so I suppose it’s fair.
It starts with a bridge then becomes a tunnel and just before the entrance to the tunnel there is a viewing platform with a restaurant and souvenier area.
There is also quite a lot of information as you can see.
As I am heading back to the bike, I hear the sound of something metallic hitting the ground… it’s one of the badges from my ride vest.. lucky I heard it or that would have been another thing lost!
Looking a bit worse for wear… that’s what getting run over by a truck does for ya.
I enter the tunnel that then becomes a bridge again and another short tunnel and then an even longer bridge… whew!
I emerge into East Virginia and it is now getting really dark. I stop for petrol and decide to get my evening meal at the Stingray cafe. It is really good, I have a pork chop which is very nice indeed. While I’m there I decide it is now too dark to continue… cold too… so I get a hotel for the night just 500 yards from the cafe.
Tomorrow it’s on to Lewes and Atlantic City hopefully… well see how it goes.
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