Rich has been building this for Megan's chickens. We are spending Christmas here and then over to Clarksville, TN to visit the Wilsons. Yesterday we went to the aquarium and saw Nimbus the white turtle. We also explored Fort Macon. It was a beautiful day-sunny but windy. We had a nice lunch at Queen Anne's Revenge on Front Street in Beaufort.
We did 9 states and 3,164 miles in 19 days. It was a great experience. We saw so much and met a lot of nice people along the way.
Back to reality-the packs are unpacked and the laundry is done. Back to work tomorrow. We're going to have to start playing the lottery regularly.
It will be strange to get in a car tomorrow!
Warning! Do not stay at the Howard Johnson in Bartonsville PA. It was so bad that I asked for a discount (and they gave it to me).
We drove 14 miles today to the campground and it is just what we were hoping. We have a fire going and have spent the day doing nothing which is always a part of a good vacation.
We will be heading home tomorrow. It really has been a great vacation.
Hindsight is wonderful. We should have stayed in Lancaster for tonight but we didn't. We left a cloudy Lancaster and quickly ran into rain. We were hoping to camp but after an 1.5 hour wait in Dunkin Donuts, we started looking for hotels. Surprisingly the Poconos do not have a lot of hotels. We finally found a Howard Johnson's that was probably very nice 30 years ago.
The roads in this area are awful and the rain makes it even worse. Even with the full rain suit on, after a couple of hours, the water makes it way in.
We are headed to the campground tomorrow morning and the plan is to sit and relax. (Hopefully it will stop raining and the campground is nice!)
We left Harrisonburg VA @ 8 am this morning to beat the heat and miss the afternoon rain. We did both but boy was it humid.
We went for a walk this afternoon and saw an Amish horse and buggy. It looked so out of place in the parking lot next to a truck.
We have rain predicted for everywhere tomorrow so we still haven't decided where we are headed.
Stay tuned!
Miles : 220
Due to the forecast, we are staying here again tonight and heading to Lancaster tomorrow. It looks like rain all day Friday everywhere. So at least we will be within a days drive to home.
We left early this morning and did a loop on 30 to 250 through West Virginia. We found a geocache in Brandywine, WV. So on this trip, we have added NC, TN, KY, and WV to our geocaching map.
Rte 250 was a ride we did last year and Rich wanted to do it again. We did it and kept ahead of the thunderstorms.
Miles: 124
After talking to another motorcycle person in the hotel lobby last night, he recommended we do 311. We wish we could thank him! It was a beautiful ride and if we had an itinerary, we would have missed it. We were on the road by 8 to beat the heat. No thunderstorms today but boy was it hot. We went through Douthat Park which was nice too. We wish we had more time to stop and sight see.
When we stopped for a water break, a guy came over to talk and suggested we stop at one of the oldest covered bridges in the country. It was on our way so we did. It just happens to be in Covington, VA so I had to find a sign and send it to our friend Jeff Covington.
We made it to Harrisonburg VA by 2:30 today. Not sure where we are headed tomorrow.
Miles: 190.
We packed up the camping gear this morning with every intention of camping on the Blue Ridge Parkway tonight. It was hot and humid even at the higher elevation. We stopped at the Peaks of Otter Campground and after checking the weather, talking to people, and with no flush toilets, we did the smart thing and headed for the nearest hotel!
This time we made it before the skies opened up on us. It has gotten to be a game now with the afternoon storms-all part of the adventure!
Nevertheless the riding was great on the Parkway. We saw a lot more deer today then on the rest of the trip.
We woke up to fog but thankfully by the time we got to Big Walker Lookout it had burned off. The views were unbelievable-you can see for miles.
We left there and headed to Mount Airy, NC-home to Andy Griffith and Mayberry. We had lunch at Barnies Diner and then walked down Main Street. Everything was Mayberry. We saw squad cars, Goober's tow truck, and the jail they used in the show. It really was fun to step back in time. We had an ice cream from Oapies Candy Store.
Of course we dodged another thunderstorm at Walmart where we bought some chicken, asparagus, and fruit for dinner. Yes, we finally camped! We have carried all the camping stuff for over 2000 miles, we had to use it. It was good to cook dinner. Unfortunately, it was so humid.
The Wi-Fi wasn't very good because when I did this last night it wouldn't post.
We got an early start and did back roads through KY that were great. The sun actually was out! All was well until lunch time. We were getting on the bikes when Rich popped the lense out of his glasses. I tried to put the screw back in but it was stripped. A trip 12 miles back to a Walmart vision center where a nice optician fixed his glasses.
Of course, by that time a thunderstorm had developed so we waited until it passed. Back on the road, we kept stopping to wait out the rain. One stop we found had an overhang and a nice older guy that we talked to for quite awhile.
We were hoping to camp but when it is raining, a hotel is the answer!
Miles: 259
Well it wasn't sunny but at least it wasn't raining (until the ride home). We mapped out a nice loop that dropped back into TN and then into KY. Great roads but so many closed businesses and poor areas. SR700 was an especially nice ride.
We rode through the Daniel Boone National Forest-that is where the bridge picture was taken.
We ended the ride at KFC in Corbin, KY. There is a museum/restaurant where Colonel Sanders started it all. We were good and had the grilled chicken which was surprisingly good. The history and displays were interesting.
Miles: 145 today.
We left Robbinsville NC this morning in our rain suits. We rode 157 miles today with 130 of them in the pouring rain. We did ride the Moonshine 28 in NC which was really nice. It was the road that the moonshiners ran moonshine back in the day. We then did the Tail of the Dragon again because it really was a quick way to get to TN.
We rode straight through to Williamsburg KY. We have decided to stay here for tomorrow night too. Tomorrow we are going to the restaurant/museum of Colonel Sanders and ride some of the backroads of TN and KY. Hope it stops raining.
The picture below is of Rich taking off his rain gear when we got to the hotel.
We were starting the Tail of the Dragon (318 curves in 11 miles) at 8:30 AM. I almost chickened out but we came this far- I had to do it. I'm glad I did it! It wasn't as scary as I thought and I couldn't believe it was over by 9. We now have t-shirts that we survived the Dragon.
Unfortunately as we were headed to the Cherohala, it started to rain. It was foggy so there weren't any views. The event that made it worth the rain was that we saw a bear. It ran across in front of Rich and over the guard rail into the woods.
Due to the rainy forecast, we've decided to head to Kentucky tomorrow morning. We'll see how far we get.
We had the best night's sleep in that little cabin! We made coffee and oatmeal with our little cook stove on the picnic table.
We then headed to the Blue Ridge. It was a beautiful morning for riding. We hit rain in the afternoon but we stopped and took a picture of the last mile marker- 469. We did the whole thing from Front Royal, VA to Cherokee, NC. Some parts better than others but it was all fun.
We are now at Phillips Motel in Robbinsville, NC. If you look closely at the picture, the red awning is for motorcycle parking. Everyone down here really caters to bikers including wash stations and rags at the motels.
We reluctantly left Blowing Rock this morning. What a nice little town. We also found a geocache before we left.
We had a nice ride on this section of the Blue Ridge. Lots of tunnels-we lost track of how many. We took our time so consequently we didn't make Maggie Valley or the Wheels Through Time Museum but we have plenty of time to still do that too.
We had lunch in Hendersonville at Tupelo Honey. I had peach rosemary lemonade and it was fantastic.
With thunder storms predicted for tonight we opted to get a cabin instead of a tent. It was a good thing because we rode the last 20 minutes in the rain. It didn't last long. We cooked mac and cheese on the picnic table. Our cabin overlooks a pond and it is so quiet except for the bullfrog. It's a complete change from where we stayed last night!
After talking to some people here, tomorrow we are headed to finish the Blue Ridge and stay in Robbinsville. Let's hope the weather cooperates.
Brian headed home today and rode straight through to miss the thunderstorms. Gail and Joe are also home safe and sound.
We rode the Blue Ridge again today and although it was nice, we liked the section between Staunton and Roanoke the best.
We found a beautiful place to stay called the Homestead Inn. We walked to dinner at the Glidewell Tavern and were treated to bluegrass music at dinner. This is a beautiful town. We will be sorry to leave tomorrow as we are heading to Maggie Valley to go to the Wheels through Time Museum.
7/8: 234 miles.
I'm still figuring out how to do this. It didn't work last night so I'm trying it again this morning. Gail and Joe headed home and Brian, Rich and I headed to the Parkway for cooler temperatures and some fantastic riding. The twists and sweepers are just unbelievable along with the views. We decided we liked the Blue Ridge better then Skyline. Most of the time, we were the only ones on the road. It was over 100 degrees by afternoon in Salem and Brian found a short loop that went up into the mountains. We came out on top by a beautiful winery. Here are some pictures of our day. The sign was at Jimmy John's where we had lunch. Mileage: 170
We were on Skyline Drive by 8:15 this morning. Driving up into the mountains escaping the heat below was wonderful. Wednesday and Thursday were just sooo hot. The views were fantastic and it was so nice and cool. Gail took some great pictures and when I get a few minutes (and the IPAD from Rich), I'll post them.
We had a delicious lunch at Weasie's Kitchen in Waynesboro. It wasn't fancy but it was obviously a favorite of the locals. The coconut cream pie is highly recommended.
It's been fun having Brian join us. We will be sorry to see Joe and Gail head for home tomorrow. Brian is staying with us for another day of riding.
We will be leaving Staunton and heading to Salem VA tomorrow on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
7/6: Mileage: 135.
We (Joe & Gail Vernali) had a beautiful ride this morning through the Lancaster Amish country on our way to York.
We were headed to York to see the Harley factory but to Joe's BIG disappointment they were closed.
The temperature is almost 100! Lots of water breaks.
Rich had trouble with his chain so now thanks to the nice people at Loudoun Motorsports he will be back riding soon. Brian Vernali is meeting here and then to the hotel for (hopefully) a much needed swim.
It's all a part of the adventure.
We delayed our start by an hour waiting for the rain to clear. The first hour was great then the heat kicked in. Nice lunch stop at the Delaware Gap by the water in the shade. It was high 90s when we reached Lancaster. Headed right for the pool.
Mileage for 7/4: 306.
Rich is hard at work getting the bikes in tip top shape for the trip.
We have everything together. Now to make it all fit. :)
We couldn't have had nicer weather. We met some great new people and had a nice mix of bikes. We had 23 bikes ride into Rhinebeck! Here are some pictures from the day. Rich and I rode 210 miles for the day.
