It's amazing how a few years of separation can inspire a whole new outlook on things previously unnoticed. Having grown up in Annapolis, Maryland, I was aware of the region's deep historic roots. But, like most teenagers, my coming of age concerns centered on girls, parties, and bikes. The Eastern Shore was that place across the bay you had to ride through to get to Ocean City and the beach for the girls, parties, and bikes.

Our shakedown of colonial American history begins in Elizabeth City, NC, just on the other side of the swamps and tidal flats from Jamestown, VA, the first permanent English colony in the New World. Along the way, we're crossing some of the greatest bridges on the East Coast, bridges that span the waterways that opened up this new country for exploration. Along the way, of course, we wouldn't mind a few great roads to keep us entertained as we cruise the early fall weather on a pair of shiny new Moto Guzzis.

As the days of my retirement drew closer, the most asked question by my co-workers was "What are you going to do when you retire?" My standard answer, "It's not what I'm going to do but what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to take the interstate anymore." After years of racing back and forth across the country on the interstate to fix airplanes, it was time to take it easy and enjoy the countryside along the two-lane blacktop.