A day of rest, and relaxation

This morning, we slept as late as we wanted.  Turned out that was around 8:30.  We made our way down to the lobby area and out to the boat dock for a ride on the resort's giant boat around Stonewall Lake.  We were there first, an hour early, and just chilled out.  That was about an hour, and so nice and relaxing.  The lake is secluded and beautiful, without even houses on the shore.

We decided to head to the nearest town for an early lunch, the town of Weston.  We ate cheap, had a little ice cream treat, then decided to head a little further out to a local winery.  Oh, and did I mention that I was the Babe on the Back?  Lol, we have an awesome front row parking spot at the resort and didn't want to lose it.  So Khaleesi stayed put, and I hopped on Mufasa with David. It was REALLY fun, his Mustang seat is the BOMB.  I wish like crazy that MY Mustang seat on my bike felt that good, but it just doesn't.  The ride over to the winery was tiny, windy, and so much fun; I was seriously missing riding my own!  But I just squeezed my honey tight and held on.




After sampling the offerings, we purchased a bottle and 2 glasses to bring home; the lady even gave us a piece of wine cake to eat during our tasting!  Very good, but very sweet.  We got "home", then changed to go to the pool again.  The pool is indoor/outdoor with a hot tub both in and out.  Since today we were in earlier in the day, the sun was out more so we stayed inside more.  The water is heated and feels absolutely, completely, 100% PERFECT. 

Went back to the room to relax for a few, then decided to rent a golf cart to ride around the course.  Yes, they let you do that!  18 holes of golf ... David and I do NOT play, but we can appreciate a beautiful course.  We must have seen about 50 deer; lots of bucks, too.  And lots of geese!  Nothing else, though.  The golf cart tour was like a golf wildlife safari, lol.  So that was great, took up about an hour.

Went BACK into Weston, right across the road from our lunch spot.  We took the best, most fun roads!  We took the "long" way for our evening jaunt and passed about another 50 deer.  Luckily, they all stayed out of the road, and we enjoyed "taco Tuesday" at the local Mexican restaurant.  Came back the interstate to mitigate the wildlife risk, and got packed up for the ride home tomorrow. 

Taco Tuesday!

So, so, so sad to go home tomorrow.  Unbelievably grateful for the time we've had, just thankful to God for a safe and fun trip so far.  Hoping for a slightly more interesting ride home tomorrow in the sense of NOT being on the interstate so much!  BORING in the sense of making it home safe and sound :):)

The top of the golf course

Out of the Eerie and into the spectacular!

Yesterday had a 1% chance of rain ... you already know where this is going!  We got up an hour earlier so we could get the heck out of dodge and get to the resort ASAP.  So we happily left our massive room with nothing in it but a bed and headed down to the creepy underground parking garage; and saw the rain just a fallin'.  :(  David checked the radar and we watched it as we waited for our window.  After about a 20 minute delay, we pulled out onto the soaking wet roads and managed to find our favorite breakfast spot; Cracker Barrel.

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast since we were waiting for a 2nd cell to pass over, and then hit the wet roads again for the drive south to Roanoke, WV.  The ride really isn't a whole heck of a lot to document.  We pretty much wove back and forth from the interstate to Hwy 19 all the way there.  We started out on 19, and even though I was actually enjoying the ride, David was getting antsy b/c the speed limit not only kept dropping down to 45 and below, but we also kept getting behind some big trucks.

The ride was not really fun if I'm being honest!  It was hot as heck; I was drowning in my own sweat.  We drove down through Pittsburgh, and I was not that much of a fan.  There was this really awesome park we saw pictures of that we wanted to go to, but parking was $13.  Seriously?  $10 to park at Niagra Falls, and you want $13?  Nah.  We went back and forth over a few bridges.  David's GPS was giving him some trouble and we had to do some turning around a few times.  My bike was whining and blowing hot air all over my leg, so I was beginning to feel cranky.  We parked just outside of PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and enjoyed walking around for a few minutes.  Again ... hot as heck. We mounted back up and hit the interstate.

TONS of road construction, lots of grooved pavement, lots of pot holes, and boring, straight riding.  Lol, like I said, not that much fun!  The interesting thing about this vacation is the fact that I'm actually driving.  When we go on vacation, I do not drive, pretty much ever.  So the fact that I'm staying right up with David and tackling all these crazy city interstate interchanges is pretty cool.  We did our last stretch of 19 after waiting out another pop up shower at a gas station; it sucked.  We got stuck not only in school traffic, but also behind a bus.  As SOON as humanly possible, we jumped back on the expressway for a final book it to the resort.  Finally, we arrived!

This place is magnificent.  We checked in, jumped in the pool, soaked in the hot tub, enjoyed a gourmet meal at the on site restaurant, and enjoyed a drink outside by the fire.  Pure heaven!  Turned into bed around 11:30, anxious to see what the next day would bring.

First Saturday, take 2!

277 Miles today, mostly in Ohio.  We've never touched tires to Ohio, so definitely a different experience today!  We enjoyed a generous breakfast at our hotel, then rolled north on Interstate roads.  I'm telling y'all; you'd better keep your eyes open.  The interstate has way too many killer pot holes.  Some of them, I feel a motorcycle would very probably suffer some real damage, possibly even wrecking.

277 miles today

All was just fine, and the first 100 miles clicked on by.  Then we saw the Indian dealership!  We darted off the interstate, circled around to the store, and enjoyed our little break browsing bikes.  We even got to lay eyes on a Jack Daniel's edition bobber.  Just like the Elite, that bike is much more beautiful in person.  The attention to detail is really spot on.  I hate the black/gold color combo, but if presented with the opportunity, I'd definitely own one!  We picked up a pair of dealer shirts, then began the task of skirting/dodging the light rain in the area.

David kept one eye on his map and one eye on the radar, and we managed to miss all but the very lightest of drops.  Our legs got a little wet from the wet roads, but overall we stayed dry.

Light rain didn't affect us, but got Khaleesi FILTHY :(

Ohio is flat with a hand full of rolling mountains.  The rain dodging adventure allowed us to take in the local towns.  Such beauty!  Many neighborhoods of picture perfect vintage homes all lined up along a tree lined street; like something out of a storybook.

A much needed pick me up!

The Scout performed beautifully.  If anyone is wondering whether a Scout Sixty can handle all terrain, I'm here to tell you it CAN.  Yesterday was 90% mountain roads, both up and down.  I was easily able to maintain speeds of around 70 mph with no issues.  Being passed by semi trucks was no big deal, and we cruised in comfort now for 2 days.  They key is to set up your bike to fit YOU.  I've changed the seat, windshield, and the handle bars.  I've gone through 2 sets of tires now, and currently am on my 3rd front one (the front tire seems to wear more quickly).  This Michelin tire makes a WORLD of handling difference.  148% better than the stock Kendas AND the Dunlop I replaced the stocks with.  She turns smooth as butter and glides through the curves simply by you thinking about them!  Very happy with my current set up.  Stock pipes/exhaust system.  Pipes will be the LAST thing I go with, after floorboards.

688 miles ridden thus far in 2 days.  No, we're not iron butting it, but we're pulling some pretty serious miles for us.  Currently in Erie; I am NOT impressed with this city.  We walked a little bit and we both felt very uncomfortable.  The hotel is worth exactly what we've paid for it.  It's not nasty, but it's not half as nice as the one we stayed in last night.  We'll be here tomorrow night as well.  Looking forward to skirting the lake tomorrow up to Niagra; hoping for a safe and smooth ride.   Praising God for the smooth, easy ride to date.  Again, traffic was non existent.  No complaints at all!

Day Zero

Originally, our vacation plan was to go check out West Tennessee.  We've been to Nashville a few times, but never to Memphis or beyond.  And we've never ridden the bikes out that way, so we started looking.  One night in Memphis turned into 5 nights not in Memphis!

David and I are so in tune, we both said instead of Memphis maybe ... Michigan!  But as the hubs began to investigate that idea further, the trip morphed into Niagra Falls.  And Lake Erie.  We've never seen ANY of the Great Lakes, so excitement quickly began to set in.  The toughest leg would be the first one; we both had to work, and we had to skedaddle about 8 hours north into West Virginia.

This morning dawned the coolest it's been since about April.  It felt GREAT!  David's bike was loaded down last night, and he was going to meet me at my work and we'd just hit I-40 from there.  One MAJOR difference with this vacation vs. others we've done is the fact that we're riding to a destination PLACE vs. riding to destination ROADS.  Last August, it was the Back of the Dragon and the Snake.  In April, it was the Diamondback, the Devil's Whip, and the Sidewinder.  This time it's places, and we kind of have to get there the most efficient way since we're covering the most miles we EVER have in a single trip.

So as soon as David pulled into the parking lot, I finished up and jumped on the {new and improved} Khaleesi.  She now has reduced reach handle bars and a new front tire.  WOW, what a difference!  That tire has made the handling so smooth and controlled; the bars are sooo much more comfortable; as I lie here blogging, my back isn't even tired.

We took I-40 out to I-81.  Tennessee turned into Virginia.  We got off the Interstate onto Hwy 119.  Virginia gave way to Kentucky and the landscape turned to massive rock encrusted mountains.  As our tires hit West Virginia, road construction became the norm, but amazingly enough we hit virtually no traffic.  We pulled into our fabulous hotel just after 8:00.  A lightening quick check in got us up to our room in no time.  I traded my boots for my sneakers, and we stepped outside to walk up the sidewalk and soak in the absolutely perfect weather.  This hotel is VERY similar to our one from last year; it's a beautifully preserved and restored historic hotel.  We walked down to a local Parkersburg brewery and enjoyed a KILLER burger.  411 miles today, a personal record for both of us!  Now to enjoy a nice rest and arise tomorrow for the day's adventures!