Day 8 – Weeeeeee!!!

What a beautiful day today was. Sun, bright blue skies, 70 – 80 degrees depending on your location, so we could not ask for a better forecast.

Well Lori did it, she put her big girl panties on and rode 16 different ZipLines down a mountain from station to station without one little whine. I was surprised, but since it was her idea to ride this thing, I guess whining was not an option. We rode the first two or three trainer runs and the fourth was the first long run that you could actually make some speed. The fifth run Lori was zinging along, got herself spun around backwards and didn’t know when to apply brakes. She also forgot how to straighten out, so she came in hot and fast and the guide did a full bear hug to stop her from impacted the safety pad in the back. She giggled and then the guide showed her again how to straighten, and all was good from there. It was a hoot and I would love to go back when they have the 1800 foot run done sometime in the near future. Our longest run today was only 527 feet and I think maximum height above the ground was 100 feet. If I had to guess, max speed was around 30 mph. I would recommend everyone give it a try, if you ever get a chance. I will post the video from my helmet cam when I get home tomorrow or Saturday.

After the Zip fun was done, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway and then hit the road to meet the Cassarly’s and to see the Motorcycle Museum that Gary Mace said was a must see. The ride over was an unexpected treat. When I turned south at Crosby Tennessee onto Hwy 32, I ran into a switch back heaven for a motorcyclist. I actually keyed the mike to ask Lori if she was getting motion sickness. It was great and some of these turns were so tight that first gear was required just to contain the speed in the corner. Not sure the distance of the run, but I would guess somewhere between 20 to 30 miles of twists. Now the bad part! This road ended on dirt, oh no!! Lori doesn’t like dirt, so what was I to do? I parked the bike, examined the dirt that I was going to cross and the grade of the road and made the decision to go. It was only 2 or 3 miles of hard packed dirt with only a few steep grades, but once again a piece of cake. The only issue was when an SUV came flying around the corner not expecting to see a Cruiser in the woods and he swerved a bit to give us room. Thanks!

In Maggie Valley, NC we entered the Wheels through Time Museum. What a treat this was. There was 38,000 square feet of nothing but old motorcycles, cars, and junk. The junk was even cool how he had it all laid out. I asked one of the women behind the counter if this was one man’s collection to which she replied, “Yes it is and he does the majority of all the restoration work.” To which I replied, “He must be single.” Got a laugh from her and the wife on that one. Gary was right, if your into motorcycles in any form or fashion, this is a must see and I kept my camera humming the entire time I was there.

We had just sat down outside at a picnic table in the shade when the Cassarly’s came cruising in. We chatted for about 30 minutes or so about our riding in the area and then we followed them down to a restaurant for some goodies. They were eating lunch, Lori and Mark were eating Strawberry short cakes and they were good. We sat around jawing about everything but work, except something about overtime, then we changed the subject. We parted ways about 4’ish and gave each other are standard one finger salutes as is customary in Bay 1 at the FAA and off we went. Lori just doesn’t get our salute, but it sure is fun!

Our perfect day has now come to close as is this vacation and I’m already starting to feel ill knowing that I have to transition back to the real world by Sunday. Ugh! Tomorrow there is a 50% or better chance of rain here, so we are going to get up and just point her north and 6 or 8 hours later be back in Stephens City, Va. :(