Over the years, I have been on many motorcycle trips with my wife,
daughter, and friends. On this page you will find
a review of our lodging accommodations and some of
the trip highlights.
To review a list of all of the motels my brother Ken and I have patronized since 1992 on our annual trips, click here.
With some of the States at least partially
opening up after two months of COVID-19 frenzy,
Paige and I decided to do an overnight in Terre
Haute, Indiana. It was her first overnight on
the K1600 Grand America. It wasn't so much about
the final destination as it was about the roads
to and from the destination. After some
wonderful roads in the morning, we stopped at
Upland
Brewing in Bloomington for a quick
refresher. Arriving to Terre Haute early
enough in the day to enjoy a
sushi dinner and a stop at
Terre Haute Brewing for a couple of to-go
crowlers, we took it easy for the evening at the
hotel. After a decent
breakfast at Denny's where we actually were
able to dine-in, we headed home on the backroads
with some really nice scenery highlighted by a
morning stop at
Tulip Trestle. We dodged thunderstorms
on the way home and made it back safely with
daylight to spare. The HGI in Terre Haute
is in the downtown area and some of the
surrounding streets were under construction and
blocked off. The area is not the best in
the world, but we were able to walk around town
some and enjoyed our stay.
Based on a weather forecast that looked stellar,
Paige and I targeted Southeastern Ohio for an
overnight. Riding great roads throughout
the day and anticipating a few good breweries
near our destination seemed like the thing to
do. While we ejoyed the ride on Saturday,
the weather was overcast. The breweries
were still in a COVID-19 induced panic, so the
experience was less than expected, although we
did have a
nice dinner at
Jackie O's Brewpub. To top it off, we
rode home in a very chilly rain on Sunday.
Oh well.....the hotel was decent and we spent
some time that evening with some other bikers
out front trading stories.
After cancelling our West Coast trip with the
Burkarts out of concern for COVID-19
restrictions, we settled on a 5-day Southeastern
adventure. It would be our first
motorcycle/sports car trip with Paige and I on
the
BMW Grand America and Don and Lisa in their
newly aquired
Porsche Boxster. The first day
included some very good West Virginia roads with
stops at the
New River Gorge , the ghost town of
Thurmond, WV , and some
nice little waterfalls. The hotel was
a basic older Hampton Inn, but it was located in
the same parking lot as a Texas Steakhouse and
Saloon where we dined that night.
Although a bit chilly in the morning, we enjoyed
some great weather and some great roads on our
way from Beckley to Asheville. Highlights
included
Route 16 in VA,
Shady Valley, Iron Mountain in TN, and a
good portion of the BRP in North Carolina.
Upon arrival to the hotel, we ventured off into
town for a pre-dinner beer at
Bhramari Brewing Company. We returned
to the hotel for a roof-top
dinner that was nearly ruined when another
customer decided the restaurant was an acceptable
place to puke. The cooked-to-order hotel
breakfast the next morning was a great start to
the day.
With a foggy start in the morning, we passed on
the BRP and began our adventure for the day.
After some nice roads, we decided to stop at
Brasstown Bald for a break. Unfortunately,
Don's Boxster decided to stop for a break as
well.....dumping all of the antifreeze in the
parking lot. After some frantic phone
calls to find a place willing to tow and fix the
issue, we
loaded up the Boxster and the Burkarts rode
in the tow truck to Gainesville, GA for repairs.
Paige and I continued our ride including
lunch at Turner's Corner and a stop at
Tantrum Brewing. We would meet up with
the Burkarts (in a rental car) in Helen.
The German-themed hotel is nice with a covered
parking area. There are
many restaurants and things to do within
walking distance of the hotel.
As the Burkarts set off to retrieve their
Boxster in Gainesville, Paige and I rode the
planned route with the goal of hooking back up
with the Burkarts as Deal's Gap. We
stopped for a breakfast sandwich at
Cooper's Creek Store in Suches, GA and
continued on to
Deal's Gap to grab a brew and a sandwich.
While we were enjoying lunch, we got word that
the Burkarts would not make it and would just
meet us at the hotel in Knoxville.
It
also started to rain. We sat it out
and eventually
rode the Dragon before reaching our
destination. The Hampton Inn in downtown
Knoxville is a nice launching spot to walk to
dinner. We dined at
Not Watson's
Kitchen and Bar with the Burkarts before
calling it a night. The covered parking
garage at the Hampton made it easy to unload and
also to get going the next morning as we headed
home.
Don and I left on a Wednesday and would be
meeting the wives in Denver on Friday morning,
so we had plenty of time to make it to our
destination. We picked this Hilton Garden
Inn for the first overnight. We arrived
with plenty of daylight remaining, so we Ubered
to East
Forty Brewing for a cold one before Ubering
back (with the same driver as it turns out) to
have a rather pedestrian meal at
Saints Pub and
Patio. The parking lot at the hotel
was under construction, so we were unable to
park in our preferred spot under the awning.
The cooked-to-order breakfast in the morning got
us started on the right foot.
After spending most of the day on non-Interstate
roads in Kansas, we arrived to the Hampton Inn
with time to spare. We again Ubered to
dinner. This time we ended up at
Brues
Alehouse Brewing Company on the Riverwalk.
We had a very nice dinner seated outside within
view of the river. The hotel itself was
nothing special, but we resumed our normal
under-the-awning parking practice at this place.
We met the wives in the lobby around 10:00AM.
Only one room was ready, so we dumped all of the
luggage there and walked to
Station 26 Brewing for a beer before walking
to Chick-fil-A for lunch. We did not spend
much time in the hotel as we all attended the
Rockies/Reds game in the evening. We
ended the night in the hotel bar for last call.
We checked all of the non-motorcycle luggage as
we would be back to this hotel at the end of the
wives' stay before they returned home.
I have stayed at this motel two times
previously, so I knew what to expect. Upon
pulling into the parking lot, my wife said
"Seriously?". Her first impression was not
overwhelming. However, the owners are
great, the rooms are clean, the prices are
reasonable, and it's really the only game in
town. As it turns out, we had a great
time. Don and I walked to
Zach's BBQ
and brought back dinner. We
sat outside and enjoyed some social time
before calling it a night.
After donning our rain gear for the last 30
miles into Lake City at the end of the day, we
arrived at the Alpine Moose Lodge hungry and wet
late on a Sunday afternoon. The
accomodations at this place were less than
satisfactory. I had stayed here in
previous years on trips with my brother.
The new owners are nice, but the motel is not in
the shape it once was. The rooms are
spacious, but lacking.....things like missing
hair dryers. The price was right, but we
would not stay here next time through Lake City.
After a chilly start in the morning as we left
Lake City, we ended up cruising into Ouray after
dodging hail and rain on the Million Dollar
Highway. We had a really difficult time
locating the entrance to the condo, but once we
did......were very happy with our choice.
The entrance and exit from the small condo
complex is a bit challenging on the motorcyles,
but it was nice having a garage for the two
nights we stayed. We cooked breakfasts and
dinners duing our stay. The condo was
immaculate. Although the price seems high,
it really boils down to $170 per couple per
night. Money well spent.....
Back to the starting point of our Colorado
adventure as the wives would prepare for
departure the following morning. We
retrieved the luggage that had been left earlier
in the week. This time, Don and I decided
to park our motorcycles at the front of the
hotel next to the curb...not under cover, but
better than parking in the "regular" parking
lot. We walked to
Blue Fin Sushi Bar and Restaurant for a
nice dinner and a
farewell toast. After dinner, I
decided to take a
ride on a horse parked out in front of the
restuarant. Following the cooked-to-order
breakfast the following morning, Don and I
headed East with our sights on a two-day journey
home while the wives Ubered to the airport for a
two-hour journey home.
There was nothing exciting about our stay at
this Hampton Inn. We arrived after dark and
didn't even venture out. We shared a couple of
beers while cleaning the bugs off the bikes
before calling it a night. It had been a long,
mostly boring day and we had much of the same to
look forward to the following day.
Back on the road with the Burkarts in 2018, we
had decided to get away from the July heat in
Cincinnati and head north to Michigan for a few
days. The Homewood Suites in downtown was
our first overnight stop. We took
advantage of the location and walked to
Grand Rapids Brewing Company for dinner.
We then walked to
Founders
Brewing for an after-dinner drink.
Paige and I took our laptops to the lounge at
the hotel to catch up on work before retiring
for the night. This hotel sits in an older
building with real hardwood floors. Pretty
cool....
We had planned our trip to coincide with the
annual
Cherry Festival in Traverse City. This
Hampton Inn was a great landing spot. We
could walk across the street to the beach and it
was only a short Uber ride into town where we
enjoyed the festival and visited
North
Peak Brewing Company for lunch. After
an amazing aerial show by the Blue Angels and
others, we walked to
Workshop Brewing Company to get out of the
heat for awhile.
Aside from being forced to park on the street,
this was a great location. We were able to
walk to numerous breweries and restaurants in
the downtown area. I don't particularly
care for the Home2 Suites chain, but this
checked pretty many of the boxes.
Overall.....not bad.
Following a grand ride in Southern Kentucky and
Northern Tennessee, Don, Jeff, and I landed at a
suburban-Knoxville Hampton Inn. Continuing
the practice of leveraging our Hilton Honors
points, this place fit the bill nicely.
This is a new Hampton Inn with all of the normal
amenities.
Having targeted catching a baseball game at
Smokies Stadium, this Hampton Inn was the
perfect choice. After a short walk back
from dinner, Jeff and I walked several hundred
yards to attend the baseball game. Very
nice.
After missing an entire year of traveling with
the Burkarts, we were back in the saddle and
headed to the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Our first day out was pretty light. One of
our objectives for the trip was to leverage our
Hilton Honors points. We didn't waste much
time. After stopping in the late
afternoon, we made a quick stop at the
U-Pick 6
for a drink and a six-pack to go. We then
walked across a major highway to dine at Quaker
Steak and Lube. The Hilton Garden Inn was
very nice. As usual, we parked our bikes
out in front under cover.
We targeted Skaneateles for two reasons --- we'd
been to this town in 2006 and loved it.....and
we were going to visit our friends Walt and
Shawn Bird for a
dinner party. The motel was absolutely
awesome and our little get-together at the Birds
was even better. A storm blew through late
in the evening and left us without power at the
hotel until about 530AM. In the morning,
we wandered across the street to the local
greasy-spoon (Hill Top Restaurant) for
breakfast. Despite being attached to the
bowling alley, the breakfast was great.
This makes three times in three years I have
stayed here. This time I stayed with my
daughter Erin as part of our overnight weekend
trip to the Deal's Gap area. Other than
Robbinsville being a dry county (nice Mexican
restaurant, but no Margaritas!), this place is
always a safe bet. The owners are gracious
and very accommodating for motorcyclists.
We ended up at this Hampton Inn even though our
reservations were for the new Hampton Inn in New
Hartford, NY. Long story short....we showed up
at New Hartford and they were not open yet! The owner happened to be on site and treated us to
pizza and wine while they contacted the nearby
Hampton Inn in Utica to transfer our reservations.
This guy went so far beyond expectations, I don't
know what to say. By the way....the Utica
Hampton Inn was nice enough and close to a number of
dining options and a liquor store.
This place was nice enough and within walking
distance of dinner, but the layout of the hotel
was very confusing. It seemed like it took
us 10 minutes to get to the lobby. And we
were on the second floor so that made it even
worse. The price was not all that
appealing either. And on top of al that,
they would not let us take chairs out to the
patio to relax with our wine in the evening.
This was not one of our better stops on the
trip.
We had wine and pizza (again) for dinner since
there was nothing much within walking distance.
Don and I dodged the rain for a trip to the
local liquor store to buy the supplies for the
evening. Beer is not cheap in Canada.
Wine is not so bad......
I had stayed here with my brother in 2005, but
the four of us put a new twist on the 2012
visit. We rented the house for two nights.
Very reasonably priced, we dined on lobster for
two consecutive nights and saved literally
hundreds of dollars on dinners. Breakfast
is included in the price of lodging. Great
place and great people working the motel and
restaurant!
After making it on as the last passengers on the
ferry, we targeted an early arrival so that we
could dine on Prince Edward Island mussels at
the dock. We were not
disappointed......dining outside with a cold
beer and a bucket of mussels. Oh
yeah.....the motel was family-owned and very
clean. We had adjoining rooms and a
protected parking area for the motorcycles.
Good deal all around.
This hotel was in the process of being remodeled
or had just been purchased. The layout and
decor was very unusual for a Hampton Inn.
Since it was the 4th of July, the hotel set up a
cookout and provided food and drink. We
passed. Don and I made a run to the liquor
store and were relieved to be paying USA prices
again.
We ate dinner at the seafood place right next
door. Nothing to write home about, but not
bad. We had ridden to the beach (about 12
miles each way) before dinner. Not much
around the hotel except the restaurant.
But.....there was the prerequisite liquor store
within a couple of miles.
We rolled into town in late afternoon with
temperatures approaching 100 degrees. We
thought the pool would provide some welcome
respite, but it was an outdoor pool! We
settled for a trip to the liquor store (go
figure) and dined on pizza in the lobby.
Our second year in a row at this hotel with the
boys from work, the
price is a bit on the expensive side, but was
the only place in town that had three rooms this
particular weekend. We like the upper
parking lot that lines up with the second floor
rooms. My room mate and I had to switch rooms
since our toilet was not working. Not
good....
I had stayed here with the wife in 2006 and
recommended it for the second night of the boys'
trip this year. Robbinsville is right in
the heart of the
Deal's Gap area with miles and
miles of good roads to ride. The owner
allows motorcycle riders to park their bikes
under the overhang when it rains. See
picture #2 using the link above to see how that
is executed.....very handy. The motel
itself is a bit outdated, but clean and
reasonably priced.
Don and I headed west for a two week West Coast
trip. We were scheduled to pick up the
wives at the Denver airport in two days, so we
figured we would take our time and log (2) 600
mile days. The first stop was literally
within sight of the Kansas Speedway and was a
relatively new Hampton Inn. There were
plenty of restaurants and shopping within
walking distance. We ate at
Granite City Food and Brewery.......very
nice.
On the far western side of Denver, this place
was in the middle of a business district and did
not fit the standard look Hampton Inn. We
secured a covered spot to park the motorcycles
and walked to dinner. There were several
dining options within walking distance, but we
opted for carry-out pizza and a bottle (or was
it two?) of wine.
After an
early morning ride through the mountains, we
picked up the wives at the Denver Aiport around
noon and headed west on I-70. We rolled
into Moab around dusk. This was a nice
Hampton Inn, but we had to ride to dinner since
the hotel was at the northern end of town and a
bit removed from all of the action. Our
dinner at the
Moab
Brewery exceeded expectations.
After an exhilarating ride through the
canyons in Utah, including
Mokie Dugway, we ended the day with a
stretch on I-15 with an 80MPH speed limit.
That was nice. This Hampton Inn was built
differently than most in architecture and style,
but very nice. We treated the wives to the
"pizza and wine" dinner option that Don and I
had successfully tested a few nights before in
Denver. It worked in Utah as well as it
worked in Colorado.........
After two nights in Edna Valley at Don's niece's
house (including
wine
tasting tours in the valley), we headed
into
Pismo Beach for breakfast before pointing
ourselves north to the bay area. Don and his wife
stayed at Lisa's brother's house while Paige and
I headed to the nearest Hampton Inn to use more
points. This Hampton was near the airport
and you could tell --- planes taking off and
landing all evening!
We walked from this Hampton to the local
Bennigan's restaurant where we met the supposed
owner. He bought us a round of tequila.
I guess it doesn't really matter if he was the
owner or not.
After riding in the fog, rain, and mist all day
long as we rode along the
coast, we headed inland to Cottage Grove,
OR. This was one of only two nights on the
entire 13-night trip where we did not have
advance lodging reservations. The wives
were tired and cold by the time we stopped.
After a quick not-that-good dinner across the
street, we hit the hot-tub for a warm end to the
evening. The continental breakfast in the
morning was not all that great and was terribly
overcrowded.
We made a bee-line for our Seattle destination
so we could park the bikes and sightsee.
The staff at the Hilton Garden Inn let us check
in early. They put us on the shuttle to
the
light rail which took us into downtown
Seattle for an
early dinner and a casual stroll
around the
Public Market. We ended the
evening by putting the wives on the shuttle to
the airport (they were headed home) while we
closed the bar at the hotel with couple of cold
ones. From here on out, it was just the
boys.
After a chilly morning start, we
stopped for breakfast at a
local joint that
looked really bad, but served up some good grub.
We rolled into Butte, MT late in the afternoon
without lodging reservations. There was
really nothing that caught our fancy either
amenity-wise or cost-wise, but the Comfort Inn
was the best of the bunch. We pulled
another
pizza-and-wine dinner option in Butte and
called it a night on the early side.
After a REALLY chilly morning start (40
degrees F), we decided to get off the super slab
and revisit
Beartooth Pass in Wyoming. We had done
that with the wives several years ago. We
had heard the pass had just opened the week
before. Nice decision. Nice ride.
After a really nice
dinner in Buffalo, we hit Gillette around
dusk. The Hampton in Gillette is your
garden variety Hampton. We walked to the
local liquor store for some adult beverages and
exchanged stories with the Harley guys from
Minnesota.
After a fairly boring and short day of riding
highlighted by a stop at a
McDonald's where I found out I would be
spending most of the summer in Charlotte, we
ended up at one of the few motels in the area
not affected by flooding. We walked to the
local Japanese hibachi restaurant where we dined
and drank to excess. The Hampton was not
memorable one way or the other..... I guess that
is not bad.
I think we may have saved the best for last.
The
happy hour at the hotel was unreal.
Very impressive. Dinner at
Alexander's (via the hotel shuttle) was also
very impressive. Finally.....the evening
ended with schooling some of the locals in
cornhole. A great end to a great
trip............
With the October weekend forecast for sunny
skies and highs in the upper 70s, the wife and I
decided to make it a romantic getaway weekend.
The route to Marion, VA went through Hazard KY
and some
wonderful roads and
scenery. The
lodging for the evening was first class in every
sense of the word. The historic hotel
along with the gourmet restaurant and
friendly
lounge made for an extremely gratifying stay.
The rooms were on the small side (even though we
had the best one in the house) but they were
immaculate and well maintained. Thumbs up!
After a successful and enjoyable trip with the
group from work last year, we decided to expand
our trip to three days / two nights for this
year's trip. Our first night's stay was at
a MicroTel Inn that was clean and nearby to
numerous restaurants.
Although this is the typical "enter through the
lobby" type of motel, the rooms on the second
floor walk right out to the rear parking lot
through a central door -- eliminating the need
to use the elevator or stairs.
Six out of seven nights on our 2010 motorcycle
trip to the Southeast with the Burkarts would be
courtesy of Hilton Honors points. Although
most Hampton Inns are very similar, there are
certainly differences in location,
accommodations, amenities, and staff. This
particular Hampton was a bit hard to find as it
sat behind a strip mall with not much signage on
the main highway. The nearby Longhorn
Steakhouse provided a pleasant setting for
dinner and drinks after we checked in and
changed clothes. We set the pattern on our
first night out that we would not ask to park
the motorcycles under cover at the front
entrance. We just did it.
We almost could not find this one -- it sits
behind a motel where the tenants pay by the
week. The Hampton itself was nice, but the
surrounding area left quite a bit to be desired.
Due to lack of any appealing restaurants in the
area, we ordered pizza and ate it with the
Burkarts in the suite that Paige and I had
somehow acquired. This is an older
Hampton Inn with an outdoor pool.
We had prepaid for this Hilton Garden Inn and
had taken advantage of the $135 package that
included two made-to-order breakfasts along with
the room. The staff was very friendly and
accommodated our request for a 10:00AM check-in
so that we could visit friends and spend the day
at the beach. The only complaint with this
hotel was the paper-thin floors that meant we
listened to the folks above us walk the floors
in the middle of the night.
Unlike some of the other Hampton Inns on this
trip, this one was easy to find. However,
it was pretty much right in the middle of
nowhere. We stayed here two nights to
accommodate a day-long trip to the Outer Banks.
When we arrived back at the hotel on the second
evening, it was raining so we ordered pizza for
the second time on the trip. We ate in the
breakfast area while watching the large screen
TV. Very nice!
This Hampton Inn had to be very new. There
are no rooms on the first floor, but the
accommodations more than made up for that.
The room setup was very unique for a Hampton Inn
but both couples agreed that it was appealing.
The beds faced the window rather than the
typical "sideways" arrangement that is normally
seen. We took advantage of the very nice
indoor pool and hot tub after returning from
dinner (walking distance) at a nearby
Applebee's. Highly recommended!
After a long day of riding some very nice roads
in VA, TN, and NC.....we arrived at this Hampton
Inn close to 8:00PM. The check-in was
quick and, after a quick change of clothes, we
rode half a mile to Ruby Tuesday's for our
"farewell to the this year's trip" dinner.
This hotel had a very small breakfast area, but
we beat the crowd (as we always do) so it was
not an issue for us. Nice location.
Four
of us from work decided to take an overnight
trip and slay the Dragon at Deal's Gap.
Two of us had been to Maggie Valley before, so
we knew this place was right in the middle of
all the action and was biker-friendly to
boot. The rooms were clean and the
refrigerator kept our brews cold while we sat on
the porch and socialized.
We
reserved a condo at the Massanutten Resort
through our affiliation with Hilton Grand
Vacations. The two-bedroom condo was very
nice and made our week-long stay very
pleasant. We were able to cook breakfast
and dinner each day and sit on the deck to watch
the nightly thunderstorms. The negatives
included a parking lot with not a single foot of
level ground and the second story condo with two
flights of stairs to negotiate with all of our
gear each day.
We
used Hilton Honors points to secure lodging at
this Hampton Inn on our return from the condo in
Massanutten, VA. It had rained off and on
throughout the afternoon on our way to
Charleston, but the last five miles to the hotel
was one of the hardest rainstorms I had ever
ridden through. We were soaked.
After a short recovery time in the room, we
walked to the Quaker Steak and Lube located only
a hundred yards away. The location was
nice as there were several restaurants and
stores within walking distance.
This
was certainly the best of the bunch in Hazard.
We walked to the nearby Applebee's for dinner.
As usual, I parked my motorcycle under the
awning for extra protection.
After
we found evidence of a mouse, we switched
rooms. This is an older Hampton Inn but
was pretty decent (mouse turd
notwithstanding). I took advantage of the
overhang outside the entry to park my
motorcycle. We didn't spend much time at
the hotel. We had ridden all day touring
the covered bridges in the area and dined with
Erin and Jeff at the local sushi place.
Taking advantage of some decent Fall
weather, Paige and I did a little getaway to
Northwestern Ohio, stopping along the way for a
mini-covered bridge tour. This was a decent
Hampton Inn within easy access of Route 2 and
numerous retail and dining options.
On
our way to Colorado with the Burkarts and Webers,
this was our first night's stay. We had
planned on logging about 750 miles and had set
Salina, KS as our goal. We made it with
plenty to spare, even stopping for a leisurely
dinner in Topeka. The motel was very basic
and housed a number of truckers, but it served
the purpose. We were in the lobby when the
continental breakfast opened at
7:00AM.....nothing special at all, but it was
good enough to get us rolling towards Colorado
with a little something in our bellies.
We
had reservations for a cabin that could sleep
all six of us. The two-bedroom,
two-bathroom accommodations were awesome.
The cabin was secluded and very well
maintained. We spent two nights at the
front end of our trip here and would spend two
nights on the back end of the trip also.
We took full advantage of the gas grill and full
kitchen as we prepared breakfasts and dinners
each night. We would recommend this cabin
to others without hesitation.
I
had stayed here with my daughter Erin on our Colorado
vacation in 2004, so I knew this place would
make the cut. We were given three rooms
right next to each other and were not disappointed.
The rooms were nice and clean and the price was
reasonable.
After
riding through a thunderstorm from Telluride all
the way south to Cortez, we selected this place
based on location and price. We were
within a short distance of restaurants and the
liquor store. We were the first people at
the free continental breakfast in the
morning......fortunately! The lobby was
pretty cramped when others started showing up
for breakfast. They had a nice pool, but
we didn't have a chance to try it out.
Overall.......not bad.
This
motel was selected as "Inn of the Year
Finalist - 2008". I'm not sure
we figured out exactly why, but the location was
decent and the price was reasonable. The
free continental breakfast was above average
including a nice waffle maker.
Jeff
and Marilyn tracked this place down while they
were driving when we decided that Columbia, MO
would be a good landing spot for us. There
were not many rooms available in that area, so
this was not our first choice based on price,
but it worked for us. We arrived after
dark (again....not our first choice) and all we
did was drink a beer and hit the sack. The
inside hallways made it a bit of work to get all
of our luggage in and out, but we managed.
We
decided on an overnight trip since the October
weather was so nice. After touring parts
of Kentucky during the day, we ended up in
Corbin around dinner time. The Knights Inn
was the only motel
in the area with the "park at your
door" setup, so we decided to stay.
We checked out the Jacuzzi room (extra $40), but
the crap around the filter, standing water in
the tub, and a few flies hanging out in the room
was enough to convince us to just take the
regular room. Paige was not too happy with
the overall accommodations, but gutted it out.
Although there are a couple of nice restaurants
within walking distance (Sonny's BarBQ and
Cracker Barrel), we would not recommend this
motel to others.
I
stayed here in 2003 and 2004 with my brother, so
I knew this would be a decent destination on our
couples' trip with the Burkarts. Cozad is
a full day's drive from Cincinnati hauling the
street bikes, so we made reservations and set
our course for Cozad. We split a room
since we were just going to catch a few winks
before hitting the road early in the
morning. This was a nice place with an
on-site restaurant that served us a nice big
breakfast to start the day.
I'm
not sure who gets the credit for picking this
place, but what a find! The cabins were
immaculate. The price was right (about $90
per cabin), and the locale was
breathtaking. We used the gas grill to
prepare dinner two different nights and even
used it once for breakfast. We sat outside
at night, drank beer, and looked up at a sky
full of stars. These cabins (we rented
both of them for the two couples) were the best
deal in Lander. Only a few miles outside
town, we would recommend this place to anyone.
We
made reservations at this place because the
cabins looked appealing and Cody was a great
launching spot for a couple of day trips that
were on the agenda. While we were right
about Cody being a good starting and ending
point each day, we were not so correct about the
cabins. They were small and not
well-finished. We had to sit in bed to use
the sink to brush our teeth. We've had
worse accommodations, but these cabins left a
little to be desired. The good points
include a nice owner, free ice, and wireless
internet, so the experience was not ALL bad.....
2007
- Nebraska City, Nebraska
- Apple
Inn (no longer in
existence) ($65)
We
used the AAA travel guide to find this motel
after we decided where we would stop for the
night on the way home to Cincinnati. We
arrived after dark and didn't do much other than
gulp down a couple of beers and head to
bed. The prices were reasonable and the
room was clean. I guess you can't ask for
much more than that.
I
had stayed here with the "boys" in
2005. We had hoped to get a cabin by the
creek, but when we rolled into town, we
knew that wasn't going to happen. The
'Thunder in the Smokies' rally was in progress
and there were no vacancies in town except for
the two bedroom apartment we rented for $170. It was nice and not a bad
value. We enjoyed the deck in the
evening.
Not
the most scenic place in the world, and the
smoking room had really been smoked in, but
the price was hard to beat ($45) and the host
was nice and full of advice on the local
dining prospects.
We did an overnight trip to visit Erin at BGSU. Aren’t all Hampton Inns created equal? Once again (as I do at all Hampton Inns) I parked the bike overnight on the front porch. One of the maids told me that she thought my BMW looked like a big gray elephant with the cover on it.
This nice little place was right up the road from the Dragon (Deal’s Gap). The owner let me park my R1150RT underneath the overhang outside the room to stay dry overnight during the thunderstorms. The restaurant right next door served some very good barbeque.
This was our first night out on our belated honeymoon trip. The Burkarts were riding with us on their Gold Wing. We found a little town in New York with some decent restaurants and a hill-top motel with a view and nice clean rooms. No complaints.
We pulled in about the same time as a group of Harley riders. Before we got settled, Paige and I took a ride on one of the big HDs. Quite interesting and a bit of fun, but I’ll stick with my BMW. The beers started flowing shortly afterward and it turned into quite a night in the motel courtyard. The next morning, I attended Mass at a nearby church with Lisa while Paige was taking her shower and getting ready for the day’s ride. Don skipped Mass and instead decided to worship the porcelain god in his bathroom.
This was a clean motel with a nice pool that we found quite refreshing after riding all day. A grocery store that sold beer across the street and restaurants within walking distance made this a fine choice.
Another place with a pool........and this one even had a laundromat in the same building as our rooms. Paige and I were in the lucky number 31 room. We’ve stayed in better places, but there was a liquor store across the street (evening refreshments), a diner down the street (breakfast), and some good scenery within a 20 minute ride. We enjoyed a bottle of wine poolside with the Burkarts as the sun set and hung out until the mosquitoes got the best of us.
It was perfectly sunny when we pulled into the parking lot, but by the time we headed out for dinner, a cold fog had rolled in and it felt like winter. We split a room with the Burkarts at this place to save some bucks. We spent the savings on a delicious lobster dinner in town. In the morning, it was chilly but sunny. The owners here were very friendly.
Without a doubt, this was the crappiest place we stayed the entire trip. We once again bunked with the Burkarts to save some money. The room was dirty, smelly and the restaurant was a joke. I owed Paige an apology after staying at this place. It was after spending the night here that I figured out she must really love me.
After the previous night’s fiasco, any place we stopped would be an improvement. This motel did not disappoint. Don took credit for selecting the Bird’s Nest Motel and. at this point, officially acquired the nickname “Birdman”. After a baby bird landed in his lap three nights ago at dinner, staying at the Blue Bird Motel two nights ago, eating dinner at the Blue Bird Diner that same night, and riding a Gold WING.........Don sealed his fate by selecting the Bird’s Nest Motel this night.
Seeking a launching point for a mid-afternoon arrival back home the next day, we selected Clarion, PA as the place to sleep. We pulled in as dusk was approaching and didn’t have much time to shop. We selected this the Super 8 and used my BMW Owner’s
discount to save a few bucks. Paige found a mess in the bathroom, so we had to change rooms. We had the free continental breakfast in the morning and hit the road at 7:00AM
We selected this place because it was Don and
Lisa’s 25th anniversary and we wanted to do
something memorable. This place cost about $200
per night, but it had everything. We sat in the
hot tub, drank beer and champagne, and toasted
the Burkarts until the wee hours of the morning.
This place has seen better days. The motel was
nearly vacant, but the guy running the desk
would not negotiate. There was some interesting
activity in the parking lot as the night wore
on, but we never saw anything that seemed
illegal.
I think we got the last two rooms in town as there was a motorcycle rally in progress. We were within walking distance of Joey’s Pancakes in the morning, so that was a good thing. The rooms were not very spacious, but the hosts were
accommodating and everything was clean.
We stopped here so we could attend the Lookouts game. This place was within a short walking distance of the stadium. What a pleasant way to spend the evening.....
Not much, but it was in the right place at the right time. I stayed here alone on my way to meet my daughter Erin at the Colorado Springs airport. She flew from Cincy while I drive my buddy’s pickup truck with my Concours in the back.
This place had a nice hot tub. During my stay here, somebody obtained my American Express and Visa credit card numbers. I’m not sure if it was a worker or a dumpster diver, but it sucked.
2004 - Pueblo, Colorado - Hampton Inn
The first night in Colorado with Paige (she was the
fiancée at the time) and we used some Hilton Honors points for a free night. Aren’t all of the Hampton Inns the same?
This motel was right in the middle of town and within walking distance of restaurants, bars, the hot springs, and the souvenir shops. The room was small but first-rate in cleanliness. The owners were very hospitable and the prices were extremely reasonable.
2004 - Glenwood Springs, Colorado - Hampton Inn
Blah, blah, blah. It was a Hampton Inn again. The part I hate is hauling all of the equipment through the lobby, onto the elevator, and up to the room --- only to be repeated in reverse the next morning.
