Tuesday 8 April 2014

Reunited With Our Harley's

Whoever said US Customs Officers can appear 'scary' and 'unhelpful' at times to us foreign visitors were wrong!   We woke early, excited to be collecting our bikes today from a bonded warehouse near Orlando International Airport.  However, we first had to deal with US Customs and effectively 'import' our motorcycles.  After getting a taxi to their offices via a Home Depot to buy a hammer and crow-bar ('wrecking-bar' in American) to be used later to get the bikes out of their crates we arrived at around 9am.  Get this, by 9:20am all paperwork was completed by the most helpful Officer we had ever met in all our travels to the USA.  To top it all he even phoned up on our behalf a representative from Virgin Atlantic Cargo and talked them into driving the 3 miles to pick us up and take us back to their warehouse.  What fantastic service!

At Virgin Atlantic Cargo we completed all remaining paperwork and paid our $50 import duty and within 15 minutes of arriving our crates were being delivered to us.









Jon soon set to work dismantling the crates with brute force and gusto aided by an electric screwdriver lent to us by the warehouse staff and the hammer and wrecking-bar from Home Depot, thus saving ourselves some $800 in forward agency services by this DIY approach! 




Finally  at around 12:15pm we were OFF!  Riding our bikes for the very first time on American soil.  We headed back to the hotel and within 15 minutes of leaving Virgin Atlantic Cargo Centre we ran into the most incredible tropical rain storm.  The rain was coming down so hard and so dense we literally could not see a thing.  It was indeed a very scary experience to be having 15 minutes into our American Road 'riding career!'  We pulled off the road almost immediately into a office parking lot and sheltered in a doorway.  We were so wet that had we jumped in the hotel swimming pool with all our clothes on we would probably have got out of the pool dryer than we now were huddled in the office entrance!  We did note the size of the Florida storm-drains, they were huge and looked like they could have consumed the flow of the River Thames back in London.  Now we know why!


23 comments:

  1. Welcome to this side of the pond!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome to America! It sounds like you're ready to ride. Can't wait to follow along and see the sights along the way. What a grand adventure. Ride safe and have fun!

    Cheers,
    Curt

    Live Free. Ride Hard. Be Happy.
    www.curtcarter.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Curt for your welcome. We are so looking forward to discovering the real beauty of America.

      Delete
  3. Odd...I thought Crow-bar was an American expression. I only heard "wreaking bar" when I was in Belgium years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Robert, you could be right. I'll have to defer to the technical genius in our team of two "JG" for confirmation...

      Delete
  4. Just remember, always look Left, Right, then Left again before crossing the street!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Say that again Radar. Riding the bike is the safe bit…. walking to the bars across the street from our hotel is a risky business!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thanks Mark - btw had a great rum last night, not seen it in Blighty. It's by Bacardi called 'Anejo'

      Delete
  6. Well done both of you! Looking forward to seeing your update tomorrow. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Baby X. I think our demonstration of how well we were prepared with all our laminated documentation did the trick at the customs office!

      Delete
  7. The scariest part of your trip should be over, you've got your bikes again and they are in one piece! Have a great ride, be safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Doug. I'd agree totally with you, also because on the ride back from the Cargo Dock we ran into the most torrential rain storm I've ever been experienced on a bike. I guess that's normal for Florida though. We had to pull of the road because we couldn't see a thing - that was scary!

      Delete
  8. Awesome. So glad you got some friendly customs agents. That makes the start of the trip so much more pleasant.

    Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Trobairitz , hopefully this will set the scene for the trip ��

      Delete
  9. Welcome to the USA! May your ride be safe as well as awe inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Arizona , hope you enjoy the blog

      Delete
  10. John:

    Welcome to North America. Remember, keep on the Right. Don't rush and enjoy the scenery.

    bob
    A weekend photographer or Riding the Wet Coast

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bob, and yes we will do our best 😄

      Delete
  11. Great to see.Have a fantastic time
    Alex

    ReplyDelete
  12. Reading this takes me back to when I was doing the same thing. I must admit to some pangs of jealousy as you start your trip, for it will no doubt be wonderful. The places you will see and the people you will meet will stay with you for a very long time, so like others have said, take your time and take it all in. Like many, I am looking forward to reading more about your travels. Best wishes, Gary.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Gary, we would be feeling the same it were the other way round, we've already seen some fantastic sights, ridden some great roads and met some lovely folk, even the Customs official at Orlando International, who went out of his way to make our import challenge very easy !!

    ReplyDelete