Cigar Weekly

What a great time of the year to combine two of my favorite pastimes: Cigars and motorcycling. There is a long-distance ride sponsored by the Southern California Motorcycle Association, known as the Four Corners Tour and the blueprint is very simple. A rider makes his way to the “Four Corners” of the United States: Blaine, WA, San Ysidro, CA, Key West, FL and Madawaska, ME within 21 days, completing detailed documentation at each of the corners to prove he was there (post office date stamp, picture, gas receipt, etc.). The ride last year was a load of fun, so thought I would repeat it this year and ensure that I smoked a nice cigar to commemorate each of my “Corners.” With this mission in front of me, I rode off to my first corner on Thursday, May 22^nd. This year I decided to travel counter-clockwise, beginning in Washington and then completing the route in Maine. There are many great things about living in Texas, but the challenging part of this particular ride is that it took four days and over 2,500 miles just to get to the starting point!

 

The ride up to the northwest was just the basic highway route, but this time the weather really made it interesting. The original plan was to make it from Houston to Amarillo, and then head north from Amarillo through New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming, but the weather forecast altered my plans. There were reports of snow and tornadoes in Colorado, so I stayed west on I-40 from Amarillo to try and stay south of the bad stuff. The wind was blowing like crazy (gusts to 52 mph according to my weather band radio) and there was a bit of rain, but I certainly made the right choice. In the news that night, there were tornadoes which touched down near Denver with several deaths reported.

 

After stopping for fuel in Gallup, NM the next morning, when I got back on the road the rain had turned white and was sticking to my windshield. Holy Cow – it was snowing! The ride was pretty smooth until the altitude increased approaching Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff is over 7,000 feet, so it came as no real surprise that the cars coming my way were covered with snow. Yep – the higher I rode the heavier the snowfall. The roads were not slick, just wet, but the snow was coming at me so fast that I had to pull off twice to clear the accumulation from my windshield. The temperature was in the mid 30’s, so the heated gear sure did feel good and I was toasty warm all except my toes. Flagstaff reported 3- 5” of snow that day, but west of Flagstaff, the elevation decreased, the snow stopped and I was able to get back to a normal ride.

 

The next morning, north of Las Vegas on Hwy 95 it was just breaking dawn and I saw a light way in the distance that I assumed was a gas station. It was in the low 40’s, and felt even colder, so I figured that would be a good place for a cup of coffee and a warm up. When I got there, what I saw were several buildings and trailers a few hundred yards off the road with a lighted sign that said “Shady Lady Ranch.” Well I was partially correct. It was a filling station, but they did not sell gas! A bit farther north on the opposite side of the highway was a similar looking set of buildings and a huge gravel parking lot with the sign reading “Playmate Ranch.” Interesting forms of entertainment in Nevada! I stopped in Tonopah, NV for fuel and could not believe the sign in front of the local high school: “Tonopah High School - Home of the Muckers.” The “Muckers?” - I have to believe the person who came up with that one is no longer employed by the school district. Can you just imagine the fun that opposing athletic teams have making comments about that mascot?

 

Just past Reno, in Susanville, I took Hwy 89 through the Lassen National Forest and the Lassen Volcanic National Park. This was an unexpectedly great stretch of road. There was virtually no traffic and it is basically a two lane park road through dense forest and volcanic rock formations. The road was curvy with a lot of ups and downs extending for almost 80 miles. It would have been really great had it not been raining, but was still a nice ride. The smell of the pine trees was neat and it was a great route. The road exits the park on I-5 which I took north up through Weed, CA past Mt. Shasta.

 

The plan was to ride north through Oregon and into Washington, up through Seattle and to the actual “starting point” of my 4-Corners Ride at the Canadian Border in Blaine, Washington. The good news is that the rain stopped an hour or so before Blaine, so I came into town under bright blue (dry) skies. I did the paperwork, got the required receipts and took the necessary pictures to prove that I was there. I considered spending the night in town, but because it was such a rare event to have clear skies on this trip I decided to try and get in some dry miles.

 

 

After a quick cup of coffee at Big Al’s I retraced my route south on I-5 toward Seattle, where again the skies opened up. I rode on to Centralia, WA where I called it a day. That evening in Centralia, I opted for a Punch Rare Corojo Magnum to signify the formal start of the Four Corners Tour. After several long days in the saddle under a wide variety of weather conditions (mostly cold and wet) it was great to relax at the motel with a flavorful cigar. A wonderful way to close out the day.

 

The next day was Memorial Day and I hoped to get in a good day with some milder weather. The temperature was pretty cool and I had my electric gear plugged in which felt good when the cold rain started falling at about 6:00am. The scenery really was nice and there is a good variety of elevation changes providing some fantastic views, with a lot of nice sweepers to keep it interesting. By noon I crossed the border into California and the rain continued. At the end of the day, in honor of Memorial Day, I opted to fire up a CAO America as my evening cigar. It just seemed like a cigar which fit perfectly with the day of remembrance.

 

The next day called for a bit of strategy. I would be riding through Los Angeles so needed to plan my departure in time to attempt to avoid the nut cases as they drove to and from work. Upon checking into the motel I asked what time I needed to leave in order to avoid Los Angeles rush hour. The desk clerk said I should be on the road no later than 3:00am. Well, not being one to question local wisdom, I rode out at 2:45am. It was actually a good ride, up over the 4,000 foot mountains at the outskirts of the city, down into the madness. No kidding, by 4:30am the traffic was building and it was a hectic ride, bumper-to-bumper at 80 mph, with 9 lanes of traffic. What a fun way to start the day! Fortunately, I made it through LA and also through San Diego without incident and arrived in San Ysidro at the Mexican border. Once again, I got my picture at the Post Office (in the parking lot, not on the bulletin board inside), got my official gas receipt, had a quick breakfast and headed out of town.

 

 

My route then took me via I-8 eastbound, up over the mountains from California into Yuma, Arizona. Once I started the descent, the temperature rose dramatically. It was hot through Gila Bend and exceeded 100 degrees as I connected with I-10 near Tucson. The scenery along I-8 and I-10 out that way is really very good. A lot of rock formations and scenic mountain skylines make for a great ride. The Texas Canyon, between Benson and Wilcox, Arizona is fantastic. The huge boulder formations and nice views off into the horizon, with the setting sun bringing out the vibrant red colors were beautiful. I stopped for the evening in Wilcox and finished a good day with a cigar and a libation. There was no smoking in the motel and the pool area was not open, so I pulled a chair out of my room at sat in front of my door. It was actually very nice, as I poured a hefty several fingers of Chivas 18 year and fired up a Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Torpedo to celebrate having completed the second “Corner” of the ride. Some folks have asked how I transport my smokes when traveling for extended periods on the bike when space is at a premium. I am easily able to get a dozen or so sticks in my 15-count Cigar Caddy by Otter Box and I keep my assorted torches, cutters and a spare punch in an empty Crown Royal velvet bag. The accessories are always easy to find in my saddlebag and the Cigar Caddy keeps the smokes fresh and protected.

 

The next day, for the first time since leaving home, I did not need my rain gear at all. What made the ride difficult, however, was jumping over two time zones. I know it is only a mental thing, but leaving at 5:00am and having it be 7:00am where I am actually heading, drives me nuts (some folks would say that it a very short drive). The day was uneventful and I enjoyed the scenery in New Mexico and West Texas as I approached the Texas Hill Country. After a stop in San Antonio to have a Harley dealership check a few things on my bike, I made it into home in Spring, TX for the night and a leisurely following day at home with my wife.

 

Sunday morning, June 1 I got a very early start back on the road and it was a long 834 miles from Spring to Lake City, Florida. Not a lot of scenic riding on this segment, just a lot of miles on I-10 and then south on I-75. It was very hot and the only saving grace was no rain and a wide variety of Waffle Houses. The next day I made good time as I could feel myself getting closer to my third “corner” in Key West. It was a pretty straight shot down the highway, but I did take Card Sound Road in Florida City onto US-1 in order to bypass some construction. This route was recommended by several brothers of the leaf on the CW forums and proved to be a real time saver. This route carried me past Crocodile Lake and I was very glad there were no mechanical problems here. How would you like to get a flat tire in an area with sharp-toothed critters just waiting in the bushes? The series of bridges between the mainland and Key West provided some fantastic scenery. The clouds and the endless shades of green and blue in the water made for some beautiful views. I rolled into Key West around 1:00pm and took care of the obligatory paperwork, gas receipts, a picture at the “Southernmost Point” buoy and a trip to the Post Office to mail off the required documentation.

 

 

After relaxing at the pool for a while I checked out some of the downtown sites and stopped in the Sunset Cigar Shop to visit with the owner, Steve. He had recently opened a companion store, Grumpy’s Cigars, on Duval Street which is very nice: Leather couch and chairs, plasma TV and a very nice selection of cigars and accessories. The shop has two Cuban rollers (Raul and Saul) who really turn out some quality sticks. I enjoyed one of their very own hand-rolled selections which had been rolled the day before and spent an hour or so there catching up and swapping stories with the owners and some of their customers. I had one of their Churchills with Dominican filler and a Connecticut shade wrapper. It was a mild smoke, but with a ton of flavor. There is always an interesting array of folks just walking down Duval Street and it was a fine way to enjoy good company and cap off a good day after my third “corner.”

 

 

If you are ever in Key West, stop by and check them out. They also have a mail order business and you can shop with them on the Internet. I have not mentioned much about my food along the trip, but dinner that night was at the Conch Republic Seafood Restaurant and the seafood was excellent. Sampled their famous conch fritters for an appetizer and had the grilled dolphin (sorry, Flipper) with island jerk sauce and for dessert – Key Lime pie – of course! Everything was delicious. My pre-dinner smoke at Grumpy’s was very enjoyable and to double my pleasure, I fired up a post-dinner selection of a Perdomo ESV 1991 maduro which was excellent. A perfect ending to a perfect day and three corners down, one to go!

 

The next morning, I got an early start to get across the Keys before the heavy traffic, and then rode the Florida Turnpike up to I-95 north. Once north of Fort Lauderdale, this is actually a pretty good highway. Crossing into Georgia, then up through South Carolina, the scenery improves and you are in the midst of rolling hills with a good amount of trees. Although I had not been there in a number of years, my destination for the evening was Maurice’s Piggy Park BBQ in Columbia. In case it is not obvious to you all by now, I am a foodaholic. I absolutely love finding out of the way unique eateries or those which for whatever reason have received some acclaim, and if at all possible, make my way to them. This place is very well known and you may have seen it featured on the Food Network or the Travel Channel. Depending on your BBQ experience, be prepared. In South Carolina the meat of preference is pork and the sauce is mustard-based. It looks a little funky, but tastes pretty darned good. The waitress looked a little funny at me when I asked her to take my picture with the sampler platter, but I left her a good tip.

 

 

 

The following day the weather was ugly to put it mildly. This was the day that airports were shut down along the eastern seaboard and there was another series of tornadoes in the Midwest, with my route of travel being right through the middle. There were tornado watch advisories issued for a wide swath from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic and it rained a good part of the day and the temperature went from hot to cold to hot again, with strong wind mixed in for good measure. Even though the road was interstate, this is some of the best scenery you will ever see on a super slab. The rolling hills and forested areas of North Carolina and Virginia are simply spectacular. I also traveled through West Virginia and Maryland, and tried not to blink as I might miss them. I touched three states in a span of about 30 miles. As I entered Pennsylvania the mountains got higher and the altitude change brought darker clouds, fog and more rain. As the rain continued and I approached the New York state border, I decided to call it a day in the little town of Milford, PA, then on the next day to Portsmouth, NH for the night before my final ride corner in Maine.

 

This was the final leg of the “official” Four Corners ride. The highways were very lightly traveled as I headed north up I-95 into Maine. There was a bit of rain, but then the skies cleared and the scenery here was a real treat. The road snakes through some nice hilly terrain and there are forests and lakes everywhere you look. I stopped at the scenic view pull-off for Mount Katahdin, but fog obscured the peak. There are a ton of farms and apparently there are a lot of potatoes grown in Maine, as evidenced by the road signs. There were also a lot of “Moose Crossing” signs and I kept an eye out for them as a moose versus a motorcycle is no contest. The road narrowed when I picked up Route 1 in Houlton and the highlight of Route 1 is that there are several Tim Horton’s Doughnut shops along the route. It is a big chain in Canada and I guess because of the close proximity, there were a few along this stretch. If you think Dunkin' Donuts are good, Tim Horton’s will absolutely bring tears to your eyes – they are great! I arrived in Madawaska and completed the final pieces of paperwork. I visited the Chamber of Commerce and the Four Corners Park monument which has been under construction for several years. The city is putting on the final touches for its formal grand opening and dedication ceremony this summer. I found my personal “Finishers Brick” from last year and it really is a fine looking little park and monument to commemorate this town’s location as one of the stops on this tour. There are benches, fountains and flags and it is very well done. The townspeople are justifiably proud and folks stopped me on the street and reminded me to check it out while I was in town. The mileage from the start of my tour in Blaine, WA was 6,396 miles, for a total of 9,363 since initially leaving home.

 

 

After a great steak at the Lakeview Restaurant in St Agatha (just about 10 miles outside of Madawaska), I relaxed on the deck of Martin’s Motel and enjoyed a celebratory cigar to signify the completion of the “official” portion of the trip. As this had in some ways been a beast of a ride, my selection for this session was a Gurkha Beast, a fitting smoke for the formal conclusion of a fantastic ride. This was an awesome smoke and by the time I managed to complete it, it was well past dark and I was ready to call it a day.

 

My mid-day destination on the following day was to meet up with brother of the leaf Josh (aka “Industry” on the CW site) who resides in Randolph, ME. He found out through my postings that I was making this ride and as he was “on the way” invited me to stop by and fire one up. After meeting him at his house, we picked up coffees and had a very enjoyable mini-herf for an hour or so on the bank of the Kennebec River. The Rocky Patel Edge Missile was peppery and spicy and it was a lot of fun to meet a fellow CW member. We had a fine time introducing ourselves and swapping a few stories. He brought along a nice selection of smokes and I was able through his generosity to re-stock my travel-dor for the ride home. From there I rode south past Kennebunkport and after a late lunch for a great lobster roll at Day’s Seafood, I spent the night in Portsmouth, NH after a very nice day on the road.

 

 

 

The only real “incident” of the trip occurred at the motel in Portsmouth. I asked (this was my first mistake) the desk clerk if I could have a cigar by the outdoor pool. The manager from an adjoining office overheard my question, spoke up and said smoking was not allowed in the pool area. No problem; after unloading my gear, I went to the pool area, lifted a lounge chair over the pool fence into a small patio area and fired up a Partagas 1845 Black Label. There were no people in either area, so there was no way I was disturbing anyone. A few minutes later the manager came outside and informed me that I was not allowed to smoke in either the pool area or the patio area. I told him that there were not any “No smoking” signs posted and I was entirely alone, but I offered to sit at the side of the parking lot to finish my cigar if that would be okay. He then told me that it was their policy not to allow any smoking within 100 feet of the motel property. By that time, I was getting ticked off and assumed that if this was actually the policy that he would have told me that up front; I figured he was making up his “policy” on the fly. I said fine and put out my stick and said that he was a disgrace to the New Hampshire state motto “Live Free or Die.” As a personal protest I will not be back to that motel or any other location in their chain.

 

In the days that followed, I wound my way down through the New England states, spent a night at my son’s apartment in NYC and had a great dinner at Parilla in the West Village. Then rode through New Jersey, Ohio and Kentucky with a night at my daughter’s house in southern Indiana where I also got to visit with my 7 month-old grandson! I was born and raised in Southern Indiana and it is always fun to go back and ride through the farmlands with corn and soybean crops starting to flourish. It really is a pleasant mental trip back to the good old days. For Father’s Day she gave me a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto which I safely tucked away to save for the upcoming Sunday. It was time to get on the road again.

 

The next day began with a ride over I-64 through Illinois and then I-55 south through Missouri which showed some of the recent devastation from the flooding and wind. I did not have to make any detours, but there was severe flooding in much of the farmland and many rivers, especially the Wabash, were over their banks. The Mississippi was really spread out and certainly looked like its “Big Muddy” reputation. Like the previous day, this ride featured a lot of farms and fields of the Midwest with a good variety of crops. My noontime destination was a visit to Neely’s BBQ restaurant in Memphis. You may have seen the Neelys featured on their Food Network TV show or seen the restaurant featured on the Travel Channel, and it is a good place for some serious Memphis BBQ. I would have stopped at the Rendezvous downtown if I wanted ribs, but I was in the mood for pulled pork and Neely’s is awesome. Even though it took me out of my way by approximately 30 miles, it was well worth the side trip. After putting down all of that chow, it was a challenge just to stay awake on the scooter for the remainder of the day.

 

 

I retraced my path back to the interstate and called it quits for the day in Texarkana, AR. I went to sleep thinking of the final ride segment tomorrow and in recognition of my final night on the road, fired up a Camacho Triple Maduro and watched the sun set. This is an awesome cigar with one of the most attractive bands around. It looks rather intimidating, but the taste is wonderful and it never disappoints. It certainly (by my taste) would not be considered “mild” but is not overpowering at all and is indeed tasty.

 

The final leg was uneventful, and provided a good opportunity to relax and reflect upon the journey of the past few weeks. After a nourishing breakfast at a Waffle House, I booked it on home and made it in before the Texas Gulf Coast afternoon thunderstorms hit.