Not all who wander are lost... J.R.R. Tolkien

Someone told me it looked like I was getting ready to do a calendar. In thinking about it, its more like a blog. Anyway, here are pics of places we've been, at least pics of the bike at places when I have the camera.

Fall, 2004 with Chris on the Blue Ridge Parkway during leaf season, right after I'd gotten the Virago.

Summer, 2005 Rest stop at a school somewhere in Albemarle or Greene County.

Summer, 2005 On that same ride with Chris, we went by the Ark that's a prop in the movie, Evan Almighty. Right after I took the pic, we noticed the sign that said "No Pictures" so we beat a hasty retreat just as the Picture Police came around the turn... guess is that 1%er in me!

Spring, 2006 Here's the new bike and me about as close as Chris and I got to the Homestead, in Hot Springs.

Summer, 2006 Near a church in Albemarle County, VA, took a ride with Janie through that generally uncharted country for us. We went through Crozet, where we stopped for ice cream and watched two Harleys fuel up.

Spring, 2007 Drove to King George, through Fredericksburg and rode to Colonial Beach with Chris. We had big plans to gamble at the riverboat, but it was limited to OTB in a smokey bar with other losers, so we kept riding. We stopped for ice cream and talked to the golf cart vendor. They dress up the GC's and ride them through the streets in Colonial Beach. Some were pretty cool, all lifted, flamed, with stereos, lights, all dressed out.

Spring, 2007 On the way home I went through Orange VA. Pulled over to snap this one of the bike by this historic train station. Orange is a pretty old town in central VA, lots of revolutionary history. Thought it was a nice site.

Spring, 2007 A big trip late spring was to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway from Waynesboro, VA (milepost 0) to Cherokee, NC (milepost 461.) This is the start at milepost 0 near Waynesboro.

Spring, 2007 I did the trip in two days, got to Laurel Springs just at the VA/NC border the first day. One issue in riding the parkway is planning for gas, food, and hotels. Its limited access, and even when access is available, the distance to get to places is part of the charm. This is Mabry Mill, VA. There are vendors here with sodas and ice cream. Tshirts and other souveniers were also available, but no gas.

Spring, 2007 The second day it rained off and on. A Wisconsin couple on a dressed up Road King took this pic of me at this sign.

Spring, 2007 Later that day, a group of old Goldwingers from Florida took this pic as I came through a tunnel. The southern part of the BRP has a bunch of these tunnels and is higher than than the northern sections, but scenery, scenery, scenery everywhere!

Spring, 2007 Got to the Great Smoky Mountains that afternoon. (The sign is enhanced in the bottom right.) There is one road through the Smokies. At the top, the mountains lived up to their name, see the smoke? I took this pic during a lull in the rain, fog and lightening! By the time I got to the bottom on the other side near Gatlinburg, it was raining hard. I was glad to be back in civilization, although the rain cut short my touring of the Redneck Riveria. The next day, off to the Dragon and home. Check out that trip on a different link.

Summer, 2007 Wade's Mill in Rockbridge County, VA. This was on the scenic route to the wife's family reunion. Found lots of reasons to stop on that trip!

Summer, 2007 Same trip, this is the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia.

Summer, 2007 Coming back to the resort from the bridge in the evening, I got to admire local wildlife. Little stealthy bastards, I thought of draining some antifreeze for them to sip on, but figured the other tourists who were admiring the roadcrossing death mongers wouldn't appreciate my public service!

Summer, 2007 One day I was buzzing through Charlottesville, VA. Traffic was tight at the UVA students were returning. As I pulled up in traffic, I popped over the curb and parked quickly, then snapped this pic of the bike and Jefferson's Rotunda. Came out ok, its now my wallpaper on my office computer.

Summer, 2007 Chris and I were invited to tag along with his buddy, Ray, to a Moto Guzzi rally in Maryland. We rode along for a three day adventure to the rally.

Summer, 2007 As part of the rally, we took a ride/tour through the Antietam (Sharpsburg) battlefield.

Summer, 2007 As is typical of the "War of Northern Aggression" Northern battlefields, there are many monuments and markers to note the presence of the different corps and regiments that fought here. (As I undertand it, after the war, families and towns would raise money and commission these monuments to be placed on these hallowed grounds. The Southern battlefields don't have as many of the monuments. First we lost. Second, there wasn't as much money and, third, the Union monuments and monument people probably weren't very welcome in the South.) It was inspiring to think of the bravery and valor, while also sad to think of the terror and pain that these markers note.

Summer, 2007 This is the Lower Bridge over Antietam Creek. Now it's known as Burnside Bridge in honor of the Union General that took the bridge in a significant and bloody battle.

Summer, 2007 On the way home from the rally, we pulled into Harper's Ferry. This is as far as we got as there was a fee to enter. So we motored on and stopped into Charlestown Slots and Races to give our money to them instead.

Spring, 2008 On Memorial Day weekend a couple of us rode to DC to Rolling Thunder. Millions of bikes, beautiful day, it was a good ride.

Summer, 2008 We (GHB or Chris) who has a Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe left on a Saturday and took Rt 11 to Roanoke, then got on a minor road, I think 221 that paralleled the Parkway to Boone NC. It was beautiful weather. Near the NC border, it got very hilly and rough, all the hills were filled with Christmas trees. Tree farming appears to have become a booming business down there.

Summer, 2008 We landed in Boone NC, about dusk and found a hotel. We sweet talked the desk girl into parking the bikes under the covered entrance, near a nice fountain. It was very picturesque. We toured around Boone that evening, ate at the Daniel Boone house, which was family style country cooking, a landmark down there. Boone is a college town, home to Appalacian State University, and a cool city.

Summer, 2008 The next morning we hopped on the BRP and were in and out of rain. The sky cleared just as we got to the Lyn Cove Viaduct. This is a big bridge sort of thing with a curve in it. It spans a boulder field on Grandfather mountain. They didn't want to built the road through the boulder field, so they did this engineering feat of the times over the boulder field. We continued down the Parkway. There are lots of tunnels at the southern end and spectacular, although for us, gray vistas. At Mt. Rodgers, the Parkway was closed so we took a very curvy switchback-y road back to civilization. That road made GHB on his RSTD very nervous, but he took it easy and survived.

Summer, 2008 At Maggie Valley, we stopped by the Wheels Through Time museum. It was just closing, but we hung around long enough to be shrunk so I could stand next to this chopper. Ultimately, we rolled on through Gatlinburg, then to Pigeon Forge and met the wives, who'd traveled the superslap in the cage.

Summer, 2008 The next day, we took off on the bikes to Robbinsville, then rode the Dragon's Tail to Deal's Gap. We missed the brainless youth on the sport bikes as it was Monday. - they infest the area like flies on the weekend it is said, dragging knees while their buddies wait with stopwatches. I barely got out of second gear as I took all eleven miles and 318 curves very carefully! Got safely to Deal's Gap, the destination, bought some t shirts and stickers, then rode the Cherahola Parkway which is 50 miles of parkway-like road. It went to 6000 feet and got cold, but it was pretty. As the our ride went on, we stayed mostly lost as we wandered our way home around the Dragon and back to Pigeon Forge.

Summer, 2008 On the way home from the Smokies trip we stopped by Bristol Speedway.

Summer, 2008 This pic is just after we arrived home from the trip - and, we know!

August, 2008 A Sunday ride with the B&C to "Falling Spring Falls, Alleghany County The most difficult thing about getting to Falling Spring Falls in Alleghany County? Negotiating by car the long climb on curvy U.S. 220 heading north out of Covington." (Ok, but its a hoot on the bike!) "About nine miles north of Covington, the waterfall itself is easily viewed from the roadside near the small parking area. Because the falls are created by a spring, there's always some flow here. The water in the creek seems to have a unique, greenish hue. The fall itself is a drop of about 150 feet off an overhanging ledge, a rare type of fall in a state where most falls are cascades and slides." from the Roanoke Times website: (http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/hiking/wb/xp-44228)