TravelStream™ news feed for member a3dennert on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/a3dennert en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:07:18 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/34/1254936896/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/34/1254936896/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/34/1254936896/tpod.html Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:07:18 -0400 Halloween Horror Nights - Orlando

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Orlando, Florida, United States

For years I have wanted to go to Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios in Orlando (http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/), and this year I finally did so. Accompanying me was my friend Michelle, and her friend Carrie. We departed on Saturday morning (the 17th) and returned the next day.On arrival in Orlando we checked into the Wingate hotel (http://www.wingateorlando.com/)and then went for a late lunch / early dinner at TGIF (http://www.tgifridays.com/home/welcome.aspx). Our hotel was within walking distance of Universal Studios so "walk" we did.We arrived at the park around 5:30pm and were confronted with thousands of departing visitors as Universal Studios was shutting down in preparation for their HHN event. The doors to HHN would open at 6:30pm so we wandered over to NBA City right within City Walk (http://www.universalorlando.com/OverviewPages/Nightlife/citywalk_nightlife_overview.aspx#) where they were having a 2-4-1 happy hour.I was really excited about experiencing HHN, but to make a long story short it was "just" OK. Many of the rides were closed down, infact only 4 rides were open. We only went on The Simpsons ride (http://www.universalorlando.com/Theme_Parks/Universal_Studios_Orlando/Attractions/the_simpsons_ride.aspx#) and the Revenge of The Mummy ride (http://revengeofthemummy.com/) as the rest of night we spent visiting the haunted houses. The haunted houses were well done, but I was laughing my way through them more so than being frightened (the alcohol probably helped). The park closed at 2am, and after 8+ hours on my feet that was just fine with me.In closing I am glad I went and experienced HHN 2009, however I am told by religious HHN annual goers that this year was a dissapointment in comparisson to prior years. The place was packed !!!  Waiting lines topped 2 hours, and the only way around that was to buy an express pass that costs an additional $75 over the $50 admission fee - ouch !!!!Oh by the way .... I definitely do NOT recommend young children to attend this event. Universal Studios recommends 13 years as the minimum recommended age.That's all folks.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/33/1254319884/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/33/1254319884/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/33/1254319884/tpod.html Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:24:28 -0400 Orlando Weekend Getaway

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Orlando, Florida, United States

Rusty had received an offer to stay at a bluegreen resort in Orlando named The Fountains (http://www.bluegreenonline.com/explore/resortDetail.aspx?ResortID=14). The resort has a 75,000-square-foot pool with two twisting water slides, a zero-entry pool, and interactive water fountains, which the kids loved.Immediatelly after work I picked up Rebecca and Chris from their school and we drove up to Grandma and Grandpa's where we met up with Rusty and Hubert. We had dinner there and then made our 3 hour treck up to Orlando. The kids managed the trip well thanks to a portable DVD player and Spongebob Squarepants :o)  On arrival at the resort we were accomodated in a very nice 2 bedroom suite.Saturday morning Rusty attended a three hour sales pitch from the resort (part of the offer terms) while I took the kids to breakfast and thereafter it was pool time. We spent the entire day at the pool, and the kids loved it. There was a small water fountain park built within the pool and two moderate sized water slides. Well after almost seven hours of being in the pool we all looked like prunes. During lunch there was a three year old alligator being displayed to the resort guests. While Hubert and Rebecca where reluctant (at first) to hold the gator Chris grabbed right on to the poor animal. He wanted to bring it home and keep it as a pet  :o)We settled on having dinner at the Olive Garden, and we were all terribly dissapointed with the quality of the food. This is the second bad experience I have at this restaurant. Anyway, as we were ready to leave the restaurant a torrrential rain came down that was set to last for a couple of hours. I had to swim out to the car and then drive it up on the sidewalk along the main street where Rusty had to run the kids out one at a time. Kids thought this was hilarious. On the drive back to the resort all three kids started dozing off - it was a long day for them.Sunday morning we found ourselves back at the pool till noon when we had to check out of the resort. After a quick lunch we made our way back south. Once again "thank you SpongeBob".That night was the first night Rebecca and Chris stayed with me at my new home. The place was still a mess as I had boxes lying all over the place and furniture still not put in their place, but the kids were really excited to be staying there. Rebecca was already planning where her High School Musical poster should go and where she wants her things placed. Chris just wanted to play with his cars, but then told me "Daddy, your house is pretty". How sweet is that?  :o)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/32/1245988800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/32/1245988800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/32/1245988800/tpod.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:52:26 -0400 June 2009 - Bahamas Cruise

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Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas

Ever since grandma and grandpa treated Moira, Rusty and I (plus our kids) to a 3 day Bahamas cruise last year (http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/11/1216673820/tpod.html) Rebecca, Christopher and Hubert keep asking when will they get to go on "Grandmas big boat" again   :o)So Rusty and I decided now is the time to do so again. Prices are good and summer time is here. We booked our cruise on Royal Carribeans Majesty of the Seas that sails 6/26 through 6/29 from Miami. We made stops in Cococay (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?portCode=CCA), and in Nassau. Grandma and Grandpa decided to join us at the last minute, which we were very happy about.Departure day was overcast and rainy, but that did not stop the kids and I to enjoy the pool and the view from the top deck as we left Miami. That is until the lightning started coming down around us and then it was time to take cover.The kids enjoyed the onboard camp "Adventure Ocean" at which they played, painted, had a "everybody's" birthday party, and pirate night. They also loved the pool and the self serve ice cream machine that offered you all the ice cream you could eat - and they had allot of ice cream - LOL.Cococay was great. This is Royal Caribbeans private island on which they have a nice beach, all types of amenities for young and old. An all you can eat bbq lunch buffet is served on the island so there is no need to go back to the ship until departure time.In Nassau we briefly walked through downtown and then got back on the ship and I enjoyed the pool with the 3 kids while everyone else took a siesta. Downtown Nassau is nothing special - shops, shops, shops, and we had thought of going to Paradise Island, however after a full day on the beach in Cococay the day before we opted to skip it this day.The ship was packed to capacity. Food was good, Amenities were good, Service was good, Drinks were great, but pricy, the onboard gym was very good, and the seas were smooth. I speak for everyone when I say that this was another memorable outing.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/29/1244908800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/29/1244908800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/29/1244908800/tpod.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:30:08 -0400 June 2009 - Space Shuttle Launch

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cape canaveral, Florida, United States

We (my brother and I plus our kids) purchased tickets to witness the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-127) on June 13th   (http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/) from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (http://www.ksctickets.com/maaclavifrke.html), and we booked a 2 night motel stay at the Super 8 motel in the Cocoa Beach area. I have never seen a live shuttle launch and with the shuttle program now coming to an end I decided now would be the time to do so and how cool will this be for the kids to see and feel. STS-127 is the 29th shuttle mission (Endeavours 23rd) to the International Space Station.We departed on Friday the 12th and we rented a minivan to make the drive more enjoyable for us all (especially the kids) who got to enjoy some movies for the long haul up and down. We experienced horrible traffic departing the Miami area and made it to our motel 2 hours behind schedule at 10pm.The launch was scheduled to take place at 7:19am and we were required to be at the Visitor Complex by 5:30am. This meant a 4am wake-up call, which went suprisingly well considering that the kids had gone to bed so late the night before. My friend Peter and his eldest son Alex joined us on this trip.On our drive over to the Visitor Complex we stopped at a Mini-Mart (convenience store) to pick up some food and drinks for the kids, and this is when we learned that the launch had been postponed due to a hydrogen leak on one of the shuttle's external fuel tanks. How dissapointing !!!! The launch had now been rescheduled for June 17th.So we headed back to the hotel where we all caught some more zzzzz's and later that day we went back to the Space Center and toured the facility. The kids enjoyed themselves with all the rockets that were on display. After spending a few hours there we all went back to our hotel and enjoyed the pool for a few hours before heading out to dinner, where the kids had breakfast for dinner (I-HOP) and loved it  :o)The next day (Sunday) we departed early back home, but made a stop in Boynton Beach to visit Grandma and Grandpa, where Grandma took all the kids (including me) to the pool.So although I am dissapointed that we did not get to see the launch we still ended up having another fun filled weekend. I am still going to try to make it to a future launch - lets see if I have better luck then.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1221238920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1221238920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1221238920/tpod.html Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:04:43 -0400 June 2009 - Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains

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Luray, Virginia, United States

June 18, 2009We were up at 5am today and at the airport by 6am for our 7:45am depature (on USAir http://www.usairways.com) to Richmond, Virginia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia) with a change of plane in Philadelphia. We arrived in Richmond right around 1pm and on our way to grab a taxi to drive us to the motorcycle rental shop we came across CMC, a limousine company, (http://www.cmclimo.com/) with a super cost efficient transportation deal so we ended up taking a limo ride for cheaper than what a taxi would have cost us - love it !!!On arrival at the Eagle Rider rental shop (http://www.eagleridercva.com/) we met with the owner who hooked us up with everything that we needed. Customer service at its best. We ended up departing on the bikes at around 3:30pm.We had thought that we would be able to ride from Richmond to see the Luray Caverns (http://www.luraycaverns.com/) and then head South to get as near as possible to Grandfather Mountain (http://www.grandfather.com/), but we arrived in Luray around 6:45pm and the caverns close at 7pm, plus Rusty was not feeling well so we naturally chose to call it the day and we checked ourselves into the local Best Western (http://www.bestwesternvirginia.com/hotels/best-western-intown-of-luray/) where I am now updating my travel blog  :o)We rode a total of only 150 miles today, but rode through some beautiful scenic roads and while crossing through the Shenandoah National Park (http://www.shenandoah.national-park.com/) we found some awesome curvy roads. We are hoping for lots more of those over the next few days.Well thats all for today. I hope the weather tomorrow will be as nice as it was today - sunny sunny sunny.Roads we travelled today:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=37.57363,-77.483139&daddr=Jefferson+Hwy%2FUS-33+to:N+James+Madison+Hwy%2FUS-15+to:luray,+va&geocode=%3BFTbGQgId7Npb-w%3BFQYsSQIdWgxY-w%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=14&via=1,2&sll=37.586486,-77.490005&sspn=0.033327,0.053043&ie=UTF8&ll=38.115111,-78.101807&spn=2.117607,3.394775&z=8
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245733259/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245733259/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245733259/tpod.html Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:03:37 -0400 June 2009 - Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains

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Richmond, Virginia, United States

June 23Well - this is it. Our final day. Not much to say really. We woke up late - used the business center - had probably the best breakfast we have had this entire trip. The Holiday Inn Express actually serves a fantastic breakfast. I had two full bowls of fresh blueberries - yuuummyyyy.Anyway - we hit the road and chose some non-highway roads to get back to Richmond, and the roads we chose were once again great ones. Hardly any traffic, lots of beautiful scenery, and lots of twisties.We made it back to Eagle Rider right on time at 3pm. After waiting for our scheduled flights (change of flights in Charlotte, NC) we finally made it home by 1:00 am.Another great trip, and I could not be happier than having spent it with my brother. Thanks Rus !! When is our next ride?p.s. no pictures were taken today - not sure y not, but none taken.Roads travelled today:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Tiffany+Dr,+Waynesboro,+Waynesboro,+Virginia+22980&daddr=Irish+Rd%2FVA-6+to:River+Rd+W%2FVA-6+to:Pump+Rd+to:I-195+S+to:37.580229,-77.490692&geocode=FS7ORAIdTKRL-w%3BFe4eQQIdaMVP-w%3BFSTsPQId3tdd-w%3BFbI3PgIdL7xf-w%3BFW5yPQId_Ndh-w%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4&sll=37.563358,-77.486572&sspn=0.065043,0.153637&ie=UTF8&ll=37.591927,-77.685013&spn=0.260071,0.614548&z=11
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245732750/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245732750/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245732750/tpod.html Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:45:51 -0400 June 2009 - Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains

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Waynesboro, Virginia, United States

June 22We had spent the night at the Hampton Inn off of I-81 (http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=DBLVAHX). Our destination today was the Natural Bridge (http://www.naturalbridgeva.com/), and within 90 minutes we reached our destination.Considering that the only natural bridge that I had known prior to this trip was the now "former" natural bridge of Aruba (former because it collapsed) I have to say that this was an impressive site. We spent about an hour there and then looked at the map for some nice curvey roads to spend the rest of the day on.Our choice of roads proved succesful, but upon crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway on US501 we got stuck behind two Flintstone cars (appeared to be moving on foot power). Because the roads were extremely curvy it was next to impossible to pass these cars, but I could only take so much, so after what appeared to be a lifetime (i.e. 7 minutes) I passed these cars and was loving life again. The only thing is that I left Rusty behind and assumed that he would remember to meet up at our next planned road highway change. Well after waiting there for about 15 minutes and he did not show I decided to back track and see what had happened. Well to make a long story short we both had assumed that the other had a mishap (gone off the road), so while searching all the curvy roads we all of a sudden passed each other in opposite directions and had a sigh of relief.We continued our ride and ended the day in Waynesboro where we checked into a Holiday Inn Express (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel/waybr). This was our final night on the road. Tomorrow we ride back to Richmond where we have to turn in our bikes by 3pm.Roads travelled today:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=I-81+N&daddr=Lee+Jackson+Hwy%2FUS-501+to:VA-24%2FVillage+Hwy+to:Monacan+Trail+Rd%2FUS-29+to:E+Main+St%2FUS-250+to:38.063703,-78.928785&geocode=FY1PNQIdlmMw-w%3BFaqVOwIdyopG-w%3BFeovOQIdILRJ-w%3BFXrCQwIdTO9Q-w%3BFc7MRAIdAIFM-w%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4&sll=38.071744,-78.902521&sspn=0.032298,0.076818&ie=UTF8&ll=37.40071,-78.865356&spn=2.085853,4.916382&z=8
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245732846/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245732846/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245732846/tpod.html Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:11:27 -0400 June 2009 - Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains

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Dublin, Virginia, United States

June 21Following a decent nights rest we entered Chimney Rock Park and made our way up to the Chimney Rock formation. After we parked the motorcycles we had to proceed about 500 feet through a man made tunnel in the side of the mountain that lead us to an elevator that took us to the top of Chimney Rock. There we had a magnificent view (for miles and miles) of Lake Lure and the Hickory Nut Gorge.Today is fathers day and I was overjoyed to receive a call from my kids Rebecca and Christopher. While Christopher wished me a "Happy Mothers Day"  :o)   Rebecca asked me when were they finally going to get to go on Grandmas Big Boat - LOL. I also received a few calls from some of my dearest friends (you know who you are), and lots of text messages. Thank you all for starting my day off so nicely. It's nice to have so many good people in my life. Happy fathers day Rusty and thanks again for sharing this special adventure with me. Hope we have plenty more in our future.We departed Chimney Rock by taking Highway Alternate 74 West (same way we came in), and by the way there are some 10+/- miles of amazing twisties on this road right around the town of Bat Cave, and once again we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway heading North.We once again stopped in at the Switzerland Kafe, and this time we met with a fellow motorcycle rider who had recommended to us to take a loop around Little Switzerland and swore to us that we would not regret it. Well let me tell you that he was right. Yeeeeehhhaaaaa the twisties were amazing. Turns out there are so many super roads to ride on along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway is very nice on its own, but for twisty lovers you MUST 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 they were right. The winds were fierce. We had to park a few hundred feet below the summit and hike up through the woods. The sound of the wind slamming against the swinging bridge at the summit was erie. When we reached the top we were amazed by how intense the winds were. Parents were holding on their kids for dear life - seriously - if not they would have blown off the mountain. Rusty and I bravely walked across the swinging bridge, and then back again, and then that was it. As my dad likes to say "Poppetje gezien - kastje dicht". Loose translation would be something like "Ok, we've seen it - now lets go".From there we opted to take some alternate roads and make our way as far North as we could towards the Natural Bridge. We ended up spending the night in Dublin, VA.Again we had great weather today. When we got back on the Parkway following our departure from Chimney Rock we climbed high into the mountains where we found ourselves today driving through the clouds. At first it was really exciting, but not before long the cloud coverage got thicker and thicker to the point where we could not go any faster (safely) than 10 mph. Do you have any idea how excrusuating that was .... 10 mph !!!  LOLThe roads we travelled today include: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Chimney+Rock,+North+Carolina&daddr=NC-9%2FNC+Hwy+9+to:N+Main+St%2FUS-221+N+to:37.048601,-80.71106&geocode=FdPNHAIdANQY-w%3BFQRjHgIdYNIY-w%3BFXRhIwIdkJ0d-w%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=3&sz=9&via=1,2&sll=37.035447,-81.24939&sspn=1.048006,2.458191&ie=UTF8&ll=36.938916,-81.252136&spn=1.049337,2.458191&z=9 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245728471/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245728471/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245728471/tpod.html Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:50:15 -0400 June 2009 - Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains

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Chimney Rock, North Carolina, United States

June 20We departed Bluffs Lodge early and made our way South. Our goal today was to make it till the Southern most point of the Parkway, which we did and then made it all the way back to the Ashville area where we were hoping to run into our cousin Saskia who was spending the night there for work. Regretfully we could not touch base with her and we ultimately decided to make a side trip East to go see the Chimney Rock formation.Southbound at mile marker 334 we made a stop in Little Swizterland at the Switzerland Kafe (http://www.switzerlandcafe.com/) for lunch. This has to be the best place we stopped for a bite to eat on the entire trip. The service was fantastic and the food was superb. Try their Banana Chocolate Chip Cake - you can thank me later  :o)The final 50 miles of the Parkway were the best ones we had ridden. Incredible views around every corner and just turn after turn after turn, but regretfully this section off the Parkway is also the most travelled (for all the reasons I just mentioned) and that meant ofcourse that we had to speed up and do allot of passing. Ha ha ha - just kidding - we actually did slow down ..... once in a while ..... to a miserable 55 mph (I'm kidding - really I am).Well before we knew it we had reached the end of the Parkway at Cherokee, NC. Just like that it was over. No "Thank you for traveling or visiting the Parkway" - nothing. So we opted to just turn around and head back North. We settled in for the night in Chimney Rock, NC, (http://www.chimneyrockpark.com/).We rode in excess of 360 miles on this day and the weather was fabulous the entire day.The roads we travelled include:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=45338+Blue+Ridge+Pkwy,+Laurel+Springs,+NC+28644-8356+(Doughton+Prk+Bluffs+Lodge)&daddr=cherokee,+nc+to:chimney+rock,+nc&geocode=FRM9KwIdwiMo-yGyfeVY6Sf-XQ%3B%3B&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=35.755428,-82.65564&sspn=2.184261,3.394775&ie=UTF8&z=8
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245717363/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245717363/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/a3dennert/12/1245717363/tpod.html Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:32:06 -0400 June 2009 - Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains

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Cherokee, North Carolina, United States

June 19We started the morning off at 8:30am and found ourselves at the Luray Caverns (http://www.luraycaverns.com/) by 9:30am. The Luray Caverns has been renowned as a spectacular natural wonder. The caverns were first discovered in 1878 by a tinsmith and a local photographer. It took us about an hour to self guide ourselves through the labyrinth of corridors. Stalactites, stalagmites, and columns by the thousands all dating back millions of years. Truly a spectacular view.On our way to the Parkway we had to pull over and change the rear tail light on Rusty's motorcycle which had gone bad. This was accomplished in a matter of minutes when we found a Auto Zone store.From there we headed South for our main objective the Blue Ridge Parkway. Other than 15 minutes of a light but continuous rain we had fantastic weather. I was impressed to find how little traffic we encountered on the parkway.Majestic views to be seen around every bend, but all those nice curves kept us from wanting to slow down and look, which we ofcourse did do ..... once in a while. The 75 mph speed limit on the parkway was very nice and kept the curves interesting. Did I say 75 ??? What was I thinking .... I am sorry ... I meant 45 mph, and believe me that we never exceeded the posted speed limit. No sir .... never  :o)We started the day in Luray, Virginia, and ended the day in Laurel Springs, North Carolina, at Bluffs Lodge (http://foreverlodging.com/lodging.cfm?PropertyKey=74). Bluffs Lodge is probably the best place to stay on the parkway itself. It is motel-like, but very rustic. Lots of hiking trails surround the property. The room was o.k., but clean and serviceable. There is no a/c available, but we did not need it with the temparature being in the high 60's. The setting was beautiful; there was a really nice terrace to sit and enjoy the view; a fire place on the open terrace to enjoy (a nice fire is built around sunset); and a park ranger tells stories to all guests sitting on the terrace. Very very nice. This is one place that I plan to visit again and again - it makes for a perfect base to explore the surrounding areas.We had planned to visit the Natural Bridge (http://www.naturalbridgeva.com/) and Grandfathers Mountain (http://www.grandfather.com/) this day, but I had overlooked the mile marker exit for the Natural Bridge by about .... ooohhhhh ...100 miles or so, and at Grandfathers Mountain we were told that the observation deck (mile high swinging bridge) was closed due to extremely strong winds (80+ mph). So we rescheduled to visit both on our return trip (Northbound).On this day we ran into various wildlife on the road: wild turkeys, ground hogs, squirrels galore, two deer, and a possum that actually played possum on us by laying frozen in the middle of the road as we approached it.  Geeezzzz  :o)   Shortly thereafter we stopped at Otter Creek Recreation Area for lunch, and wouldn't you know it - they were having a special on canned road kill !!!  Really  !!!! Ha ha ha
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