On Saturday, June 30th, Suzanne and I left for our trip through West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, TN, and back home on July 8th. We rode up I 59 to 75, then to 40, 81, and finally to I 77. First day was all Interstate, just to make time...a little over 500 miles into Princeton, WV. From there, we made our way up two lanes to Northeastern WV, then over to Front Royal, VA for the second night. WV is a beautiful state, and one I'm going to explore more in the coming years. From there, we rode The Skyline Drive, where we met Gary (d00d), who accompanied us through a good portion of the park and got us started on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The third night was spent at The Peak of Otter...what a beautiful place to stay!!! We had a few cocktails, some great food, saw some deer grazing on the lawn by the lake under our balcony, then had a good Southern Breakfast before continuing our travels down the BRP into Blowing Rock, NC. Blowing Rock is a neat town to visit, with a artsy type downtown, and good places to eat and drink. Ridgeway Inn was our motel for that evening...highly recommended. Quaint, with free wine and cheese in the evening, and free breakfast...
After leaving Blowing Rock, we continued down the BRP, visiting and having a great lunch in Mount Mitchell State Park (highest peak East of the Mississippi). After leaving the SP, we spent our last night on the BRP at Mt. Pisgah Inn. What a GREAT place!! At about 5300 feet, no need for A/C, and a great restaurant. Many others on two wheels were staying there as well. That was a great place to spend July 4th!! We then continued down the BRP, getting off to spend our last three nights in Maggie Valley, at Rocky Waters Motel. Rocky Waters is a nice Mom and Pop motel across the creek from the main road through MV. Very clean, quiet, and bike friendly. Friday, we rode the Cherahola Skyway, had lunch in Tellico Plains at the Bistro by the River, then slayed the Dragon. Saturday, we rode through Smokey Mt NP, into Townsend, then up on the Foothills Parkway, and back to do the Dragon once again. From Deal's Gap, we rode into Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forrest, and did a two mile hike into Virgin Forrest....one of the last remaining stands of virgin timber in the Eastern US. We ate well, drank well, and had a very scenic and relaxing trip, which we both needed badly. Sunday, we took our time getting up and rode two lanes all the way back into B'ham, arriving at around 4PM, welcomed by our starved for affection dogs. All totaled, we rode 2230 miles in 9 days, just taking our time and soaking in all the wonderful sights along the way. The bike ran flawlessly. Just had a memorable and relaxing trip, with only a total of 3 hours in the rain for the entire trip, most of that on the first day.
First pic is of the bike loaded up in the driveway....
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Topic: TC and Diva's Vacation '07 (Read 7962 times)