From New York to North Carolina

The morning we left New York two things made me very sad.  One was leaving the grandkids. And two, it was raining. 

We knew we were riding out of the rain by afternoon and the weather looked great for our time in NC.  Still, there was that 100 miles we did on the Jersey turnpike.  Andrea loaned me her rain boots and my cheapy ten dollar rain pants did just fine.  Plus Wally was out in front!    He told me later that with me on the bike and pulling the trailer he was actually a little nervous.  I’m glad I did not know that at the time.    This part of the the trip I had been dreading…440 miles on the bike and on the interstate.  I had my iPod and did a few episodes of Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  That helped a bit.  The trees along the New Jersey turnpike were absolutely stunning.  And so were the tolls we paid.  Can you believe it cost 25.00 at one toll boot??  Nine for the motorcycle, the rest for that that tiny trailer behind it!

Just as I was thinking we were almost to Staunton, VA, where Wally’s aunt and uncle live, we ran into a traffic snag.  About a two hour delay of bumper to bumper traffic.  We were sure there must be a terrible accident but all of a sudden, it broke free and we were on our way. 

This is Uncle Harold and Aunt Lucy, two hidden gems in the Godby family.  I think I met them once at a family reunion years ago.  Then we were reacquainted at Wally’s Dad’s funeral.  Uncle Harold is the eldest in Gramp’s family.  We had a great time with them.  They fixed us a feast of fried pork chops and held it for us until we got there, two hours late.  Then they stayed up chatting with us until midnight. The next morning, Uncle Harold fried us eggs and bacon for breakfast.  Awesome hospitality from these two!

This day on the motorcycle I was looking forward to, riding the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Uncle Harold took us down several back roads to access the Blue Ridge, saving is a lot of miles and time.  If you are tired of the leaf photos, feel free to exit here. 

I had always wanted to see the Smoky Mountains in the fall and I was not disappointed! 

 

It was good to get to Kenny’s in Newland, NC.  And a good sign that we are getting close was the Christmas trees growing all over the hillsides! His county is the Christmas tree capital of the world.