Phase 2 - Paula’s B-Day Celebration

Despite waking up on Friday morning in rough condition, we packed our bags and jumped on our motorcycles for my first tour on my own bike. I was a bit nervous and anxious, but excited at the same time. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and since my new bike came with the touring cases I just had to put them to good use.

Our destination was Litchfield and we planned a scenic ride just about the entire way. The only hairy part was driving through busy Enfield and getting over the CT River, but once we got by that it was smooth sailing. The weather was perfect for riding and the scenery was beautiful. One of my favorite parts of the ride was Rt. 20 through Barkhamsted. What a ball that was on a bike.

We stopped in Norfolk for a lunch break where I had the best turkey & cheese sandwich of my life. I also got the chance to stretch my legs and stroll around with my camera.


Next we headed South to Litchfield and checked into our inn. By this time my back was really hurting and I couldn’t wait to lay down, if only for a few brief (but blissful) moments. I decided that my driving for the day was done and instead I opted for a stress-free ride on the back of Karlo’s bike. It was then that I realized all that I miss by driving my own bike. I really didn’t get the full experience with all my attention on the road. There was so much to see off the road and I really enjoyed taking it all in as a passenger.

First we went to the Town Green where there was some lovely, but super expensive shops. That is one lesson I learned - Litchfield is pretty to visit, but don’t even think of shopping there. I fell in love with a leather jacket and Karlo wanted to buy it for me for my birthday. We both agreed on what we were willing to spend, and when we saw the price tag . . . we were a grand short! So, needless to say all of our shopping was of the window variety. But we still had fun. The people were the most friendly folks we ever encountered in CT. And that was everywhere we went for those two days. Such a nice change of pace to have such lovely human interactions. We strolled around, ate expensive ice cream, and took more photos.

Then we went to a nature preserve and took a long walk along this big boardwalk that surrounded a pond. I was so incredibly happy that I sprung for new black Keen boots to wear in place of my huge, heavy motorcycle boots. My feet were so happy.

More cruising through the area and a few more pit stops for photos.

Then is was time for dinner. We picked a very casual place where we wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable dressed the way we were. Up until know I couldn’t believe the warm and friendly reception we got everywhere, despite the fact that we traveled via motorcycle, which is usually NOT the case. I didn’t want to blow it now with our casual clothes and helmet heads. Although the helmet head didn’t seem to be a problem for Karlo because he mostly wore a sombrero!

Stay tuned for part two of phase two . . .