Country Inn & Suites Wytheville

... the Blue Ridge Parkway was very interesting and beautiful. We drove across the border into North Carolina and stopped at “Nancy’s Candy” factory and outlet store. I had to buy my favorite peanut brittle and licorice allsorts. Unfortunately it was Saturday so nobody was working in the factory. I would have liked to have taken the tour and seen them make the 42 different types of chocolates.

... the Blue Ridge Parkway was very interesting and beautiful. We drove across the border into North Carolina and stopped at “Nancy’s Candy” factory and outlet store. I had to buy my favorite peanut brittle and licorice allsorts. Unfortunately it was Saturday so nobody was working in the factory. I would have liked to have taken the tour and seen them make the 42 different types of chocolates.

... further yesterday than we have been traveling in a day, so we got here late last night. We had planned on riding our bikes down the Virginia Creeper Trail but decided this morning that we were going to hang around the campground and relax today. It has been a beautiful day here with nice warm breezy weather. We plan on making it home sometime next week.

The pictures are random... some are of the PA countryside.

... get off the Parkway as often as possible.

We eventually made it Grandfather Mountain. On our first attempt to visit this park we were turned away because of extremely high winds (80+ mph), but today we were lucky. They were only having 60+ mph winds. LOL, but seriously. They were not allowing motorcycles all the way to the top for safety reasons, and while we were both not happy with this we soon realized that ...

I slept at a truck stop in Abingdon last night, and started walking US Highway 11 (North) this morning. I caught not one ride and have walked the whole way here to Marion. I'm exhausted and very hungry. I'ts already after three, and someone here said that they're expecting an ice storm here tonight. I'm too tired to continue walking anymore today, so I guess I'm here for the night and its nasty weather.

Going out to breakfast in the Super 8 lobby this morning I had a look at the bike and its cover and thought, "Hmm, couldn't have rained... what's that spotty stuff?" Dang, upon closer inspection I saw what I didn't want to see. Little crystals. Yes, it is cold. I can't wait for the sun to melt the things and get on the road again. The last 1000 miles will be the longest, I guess. It was about 10:30 when I packed up & was successful at coaxing BB into waking up. He was not that happy ...

... our first gas pumping experience, which went fine ($100 for 1/2 a tank). Two hours later, we decided to stop in Natural Bridge, Virginia, for a stop at the local zoo. We saw, up close!, mountain lions, tigers, three tiger cubs, black bears, and snakes (very exciting for Rebecca's boys, Harmond, 6, and Warner, almost 4). There was even the experience of feeding a female elephant, Asha (who sucked feed like a vacuum cleaner out of our hands, leaving them ...

... go out to dinner as a change from our standard rations of milky soup but first we had to wait for Tom who had not yet recovered to return from hospital. It turned out to be a 5 hour stint in the hospital courtesy of the nurse who seemed intent on redecorating her room with Tom's blood. Eventually a pale Tom and Mother Olly returned to find four desperately hungry individuals staring out of ...

... forward to spending time finally in more populated area of America. Show Your Support for EyeRide for Sight! For every $25 donation, EyeCare America can provide sight-saving care and valuable eye health information to someone in the US. Visit this link to make a donation and support EyeCare America's commitment to the preservation of sight! https://secure.eyecareamerica.org/onlin edonate

... different now. Another world! I stop at Mickey D's, cheese bacon biscuit, coffee, satisfying fare. And entertainment too. Little lady standing at the counter, ordering food. Crippled hubby waiting to be waited on. Sneaks over to the condiments, grabs 20 packs of cream (or more) stuffs his pockets full. Who knows what it's like, at home? Keep driving. Antitetam to right. If it were a summer's day I'd make the turn and get my passbook stamped, but not ...