Metamorphosis: Skeptic to Motorcycle Momma in 30 Days

[/i]
DAY 17 - Mechanicsville, Virginia to Virginia Beach, Virginia

We spent the night in Mechanicsville, near Richmond, and then proceeded on to Virginia Beach (with a rather major detour to "Colonial Williamsburg") to see our friend Linda K. and her daughter Lindsey. We left Mechanicsville and headed southeast on I-64. About 45 miles into the ride we saw the highway sign saying "Colonial Williamsburg - 4 miles". Well, we had both seen television shows about Williamsburg, so we decided to make a stop there. We really didn't know what to expect and were very surprised to see the huge volume of cars parked in the visitor center parking lot. Once we got into the center we learned that Williamsburg was the gateway to some amazing American history. We only had an hour to stroll around the historic, restored colonial village, and we tried to make the best of it, but there is just too much to see. It's definitely on our "must do" list the next time we make it back into this neck of the woods.

Here are a couple of photos from Williamsburg.

Yes, you can rent them and ride around town.


A very active tourist stop. We almost had to commit a crime to get this picture.


We continued on down I-64 and soon found ourselves traveling under the Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel. What a trip that was! We followed some excellent instructions and were soon enjoying the company of Linda and Lindsey. Linda was very kind and helpful in getting our laundry done (much needed and OH SO appreciated), letting us wash the bike, and showing us around town. We spent the evening at the beach -- really a beautiful place, and a real tourist destination. They are trying to keep the beach a "family friendly" place, so you will chuckle at the "no swearing" sign.

The sign:


The day’s route…



DAY 18 - Virginia Beach, Virginia to Roanoke, Virginia

We were able to get ourselves packed up and headed out of town by 10:00am. The goal today was to get to Roanoke, Virginia via the Blue Ridge Parkway, riding through the Smoky Mountains. All I can say is WOW -- this is one of God's little corners in the world. Really beautiful. The road is perfectly kept, the sights are postcard perfect at every viewpoint and, in truth, they can only be appreciated via a personal visit. We only rode the Blue Ridge Parkway about 50 miles, but planned to spend most of the following day on it heading south to visit our youngest son and his family. So far it’s been a most excellent adventure.











The day’s route…



DAY 19 - Roanoke, Virginia to Newport, Tennessee

As I mentioned before, sometimes it's about the destination, sometimes it's about the route, and sometimes it's about the ride. But rarely is it about all three. Unless you’re talking about the Blue Ridge Parkway. One guy we talked to said "I've got 300 miles of some of the best motorcycling roads in the country, what's not to be happy about?" I couldn't agree more. I wasn't riding one of California's techno-twisties with my big touring bike, nor was I speeding down the superslab trying to get from point A to point B. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a destination unto itself and a joy to ride on a touring bike -- or any bike for that matter!

Some of the road we saw:




And a view of the Blue Ridge:


Not a California twisty, but we did do quite a bit of up and downs as we rode from "Gap" to "Gap".


My navigator, photographer, route critic, and much better half thought I needed to be in this shot for some reason.



We stopped at Mabry's Mill, which is still a functional original mill dating from the early 1900's. We were completely impressed with the inventiveness of Ed Mabry and his use of the water wheel that powered the sawmill, jigsaw, and gristmill.

The Mill.


As we were walking up to it, the mill the wheel suddenly started spinning very fast. They were giving a demonstration of the lathe inside.



A shot of the "sawmill".


All of the tools and mill were controlled by a series of belts and pulleys that were moved around to the various tools. They could gear up or down -- quite a transmission!



After our walk around the mill, we continued to Blowing Rock, which took us off the parkway to get gas, and then onto I-40 into Asheville, North Carolina. After 10 hours of riding, we arrived in Newport, Tennessee (which is close to Knoxville). The last hour of riding was spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic as there was a dead deer accident followed by a flatbed 18-wheeler that lost his lumber load. What a (stinky) mess, but we got an opportunity to talk to a trucker next to us on the CB for quite some time.

The day’s route…



[i]