Friday, June 26, 2009

Eat Breakfast with Locals!!





Every morning when I am out of town riding, I find a place to eat breakfast where I can chat with locals. Locals know the best places to visit and ride in their own respective areas, plus they are a blast to chat with. A couple of hints when it comes to finding a good place to eat breakfast with local persons. First, never pick a chain restaurant. Second, if the restaurant looks nice then pass it by, the sketchier the better. Third, the restaurant must have a table bar where patrons sit at the counter. You will never be able to strike a conversation from a booth or separate table. These are the three golden rules to finding locals to chat with during breakfast. Once you sit down at the counter, just order your meal and start talking to the person next to you. If you have followed my rules above then I will guarantee you a good informative conversation with indigenous folk of the area you’re visiting.
So two days ago while in Maine, I was talking with a bunch of locals at a really cool dive restaurant. I spent about an hour just hanging out. Of course they gave me some great information that I used on my trip to Bar Harbor. Well right before I left, this guy named Charlie says, “Watch out down there in Bar Harbor. There are a ton of Flatlanders down that way”. I thought about it for a few seconds and replied, “What’s a Flatlander?” Charlie says with a laugh, “You are of course but you an OK Flat Lander. It’s the rest of them we have to worry about”. I left the restaurant with everyone saying good bye and smiling. It was a perfect start to the day. At least I was a cool Flatlander!! My advice is to throw yourself out there when riding. Meet new people and have some fun outside the box.
FYI, Wikipedia Defines Flatlander as “A derogatory term used by people from areas in the Appalachians (primarily people from Vermont and the rest of both Northern and Southern Appalachian New England) use to describe people that aren't from their area or that aren't from the Appalachians and live on low land.” Now I know one more derogatory term to throw in the old insult box….

8 comments:

  1. lol flat lander :) great post. i love eating at the counter too and pretty much eat out exclusively this way. but im single so i find its just great company...

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  2. I really like those kind of places but for some reason have not been to one in a long time. I might have to get myself back into doing that. Nice photos, looking forward to seeing more.

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  3. I made a trip to Bar Harbor in the 70's. You're bringing back old memories. If you get a chance take a ride up 'Cadillac Mountain'. The ride and view are worth it.

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  4. I was looking at your pics again today and had to pull out my old photographs. It's so similar to the one I took in '76 without the help of GPS's & cell phones. I had to use old technology - Ask the locals. So I know where you're coming from.

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  5. We have ridge runners and flatlanders here in Pennsylvania. My experience has shown me to keep a closer eye on the ridge runners...

    Great post and pictures. I wish I were riding somewhere that moose were an issue.

    Steve Williams
    Scooter in the Sticks

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  6. mq01- I am glad that you liked the post and I agree the company is usually great at the lunch counter.

    Danny- Glad you liked the photos. I ride alone ofter and I would be pretty board if I did not put my self out there and speak with folks while on the road. Good luck!

    Scribe816- I did get up Cadillac Mountain but unfortunately the fog was heavy so my view was dim. That just gives me another reason to go back. Good memories are a intangible gift that keeps on giving!

    Steve, thanks for stopping in! I have seen 3 moose in Colorado but have not yet seen any since moving to the East Coast. I had a great trip to Maine and would suggest going out that way to get your Moose Fix.

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  7. How great. I remember on our trip to Charleston your wanting to hit all of the diners you could find! And I also remember thinking how neat it was to find you sitting in a rocker on the porch of one place just chatting away with an older man who lived nearby. You have a great gift for connecting to people, no matter who they are or where they are from - not many people are lucky enough to have that skill...

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  8. People in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California refer to folks from elsewhere as "flatlanders" too. On the long straight roads of the flatlands people never learn how to drive a car properly on the winding roads of the mountains with those sheer drop-offs at the edge of the road. Apparently flatlanders are easily spotted by their turtle-like pace around the curves.

    I doubt that motorcycle people suffer from that problem.

    Doug

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