| Blue Ridge Parkway Trip Sept 7th - 14th, 2002 A Daily Journal by Fran Hill |
| Day 1 |
| The anticipation for this trip had been building for almost a year�I couldn�t believe when the day of our departure finally came. Saturday dawned sunny but with a typical September chill to the air, so we put on layers of shirts, sweatshirts, leather jackets and chaps for the start of our trip. We had a questionable start when our navigator, Robin, was unable to locate her sunglasses (we informed her they were on top of her head). This was the person who was supposed to be leading us all the way to North Carolina and back! A good laugh to start the day. We left Derry at about 7:00a.m. It was chilly on the highway, so I am glad they talked me into putting on my chaps. We cruised down the highway at a steady 65 mph and made good time. We stopped at a McDonalds in Massachusetts for breakfast and then were on our way. At a gas station in Connecticut, we met a Harley rider and discussed our trip and motorcycles. He was very envious of what we were doing and wished us a safe trip. We stopped for lunch at a little diner in Mayfield, NY. Our waitress, an older woman was so impressed that 4 women were making such a trip. She said she could never imagine doing anything like that, but I think I saw a little wistful look in her eyes. Every time we told people we were headed to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to Cherokee, NC, I had a hard time believing we were actually doing it! We crossed the Hudson and Delaware Rivers�. a first for me since I have never traveled much out of New England. Since I was used to seeing rivers like the Merrimack, the Hudson was HUGE! I found out why Andi was enjoying the ride so much. She has a CD player stuck down the front of her shirt with earphones on under her helmet. While the rest of us had to listen to the sounds of traffic, Andi was singing to her tunes! This did not last too long� she dropped the CD player at one of our stops in Pennsylvania and broke it! Not sure how she is going to survive with no music. We made it to our first motel stop in Allenstown, and unloaded all the gear off our bikes. Robin and I had a room by the outdoor pool, while Andi and Gail were in another wing. We had all been looking forward to a swim after a long day on the bikes, but Robin and I noticed the pool was empty for the season�course Andi and Gail did not know this yet. We could not pass up the opportunity for a practical joke�so Robin called them up and said we would meet them at the pool for a swim. We hid behind a tree with the camera and waited. Sure enough, here comes Andi all decked out in her flashy swimsuit and �pool shoes�. We got her good �.she had wondered why people were looking at her strangely when she walked out in her swimsuit and towel. To top it off, they had left both room keys in the room and were locked out. We had a tasty meal at the motel restaurant, then off to our rooms to rest up for day 2. We phoned Andi and Gail and Andi answered it with �Gail�s Whorehouse�. I replied �This is the front desk calling.�.Andi actually believed it for a moment�.. A good laugh to end the day. Total Miles � Day 1 - 355 miles |
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| Rest Stop in the Poconos |
| Starting out |