The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.
On Friday there was a misty rain going on. The TV reported that the Albany area had been hit by severe storms and many people lost power. Not so here although the ground was wet and there were puddles galore.
We decided to take the trikes north to the Lone Bull again for breakfast. When we returned to the motel, our parking space was filled by an SUV. One thing you always try to do is get a room on the ground floor and a parking space just outside the door so you can keep your eye on your bike. When you can't, something seems to be wrong with the universe. The universe was all better at 3 p.m. when the SUV left and I quickly jockeyed the two trikes from their widely separated locations and back into that perfect space.
We reserved our room for next year. Yes, we will be returning for our 16th consecutive year.
We got a reservation at Mario's for 5:30 p.m. It's our favorite place and it's within walking distance. The remaining time was filled by me walking Canada Street again both before Mario's and after Mario's taking pictures and videos. Here they are.
Bikes coming up the hill to near the center of town.
Beach Road poured many walkers onto Canada Street.
Two Boss Hoss motorcycles traveling together.
A couple of sharp motorcycles.
Two trikes with canvas roofs.
And here is a video of these trikes in motion. (This video may load slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)
Get ready, get set, GO!
Here's an old Harley-Davidson with a 1938 NY plate. Some old bikes are better preserved than people of the same age.
This couple was just sitting on their bikes watching the street scene -- a popular pastime at Americade.
Parking confusion at Duffy's Tavern and Convenience store, just one block from our motel.
I found this limited edition Suzuki parked three doors down from my room.
There were very few places to sit down, relax, and just watch what was going on. These folks utilized the existing benches, stone walls, and even wooden partitions around flower beds to take a load off their backs, legs, hips, and even knee replacements. I even saw people with folding chairs lined up in front of stores and at curb side.
Also seen at Duffy's were two riding beer coolers using a bar stool for a seat.
I took a video straight across Canada Street as the light changed to green.
You can walk downhill a block toward the lake and get away from the sounds of motorcycles. Here's a video taken as I panned from the lake, past a concert, and up the hill to the motorcycle scene.
More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.
An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.