Father's Day Weekend Getaway

[Bud2rat]

We left on Thursday morning, heading out to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. The day was perfect for riding. As we headed north on Route 52 toward Pilot Mountain/Mt. Airy area, we pulled in to an overlook for the ladies to view Pilot Mountain. As I switched off the bike, the HD (Harley Davidson) switch broke, leaving me stranded and frustrated. So, I called AAA to see about getting a tow to the local Kaw dealer. Guess what, AAA said that the plan that I have does not cover motorcycles. But the Good Lord above was looking out for me. As I was talking to AAA, a roll-back pulled up. I hung up from AAA and talked to the driver about hauling my rig in. The charge $50. The driver carried me, wife and rig to Worth Kawasaki in Mt. Airy. The mechanic looked the bike over and finally agreed with me that the switch was bad. Then the bad news, no switch and no HD dealer around to get a replacement. However, the mechanic said that he could get the bike running if I didn't mind having a toggle switch mounted on the handlebars. I stated "Not a problem", need to have running so as to be able to finish out the trip.

We left the dealer and continued north to the Parkway. Made it to the Parkway and headed toward Meadows of Dan, Va.(population 1284) There is a bikecamp located about 3/4 mile off the Parkway called Willeville Bikecamp. I have been using this facility for 5 years. It is top notch and the owner is also a rider. There are some great roads in the area.

We got up Friday morning and rode up to Mabry Mill for breakfast and to do some riding. We rode in to the little town of Floyd, Va so the ladies could do some craft shopping. We left Floyd and headed back to the Parkway to find the local winery, Chateau Morrisette. The ladies got to do some wine tasting and then we decided to have dinner. The food was exceptional and the service top-notch. This place was remarkable. After dinner we headed back to the campsite to settle in for the night.

Saturday, we decided to ride south on the Parkway to Laurel Springs and some food at Osbornes on the parkway. This place is a motel/bar/grill that caters to motorcycles. Again, the food was excellent. We rode the rest of the day going through several towns and finished up back at the campsite for some good ole fashion grilling out. I grilled the steaks, while the ladies and the rest of the riding group had a surprise for me. Since it was Father's day weekend and my birthday, they had a small cake with candles. They came up to the pavilion singing "Happy Birthday". Saturday ended on a good note.

Woke up Sunday morning, the ladies started breakfast, while the men started packing up for the trip home. One of the riders came over and sat down at the picnic table, he stated that he didn't feel well.(heart condition) To make a long story short, we ended up calling the Rescue Squad to come and check my friend. They decided to carry him across the mountain to the hospital to be checked out by a doctor. After waiting for an hour or so, he called and said that he was feeling fine, however, the doctor wanted to run some test on him. After another hour, he called and said that they were releasing him. Me and my riding buddy headed to the hospital to pickup my friend. He ended up riding bitch on the back of a Goldwing. Upon returning to the campsite, we finished packing and headed for home. Everyone made it home safely.

I would like to say a special thanks to my wife (Karen), my best friend and his lady (Tommy and Janet), my new friends (George, Tommy and Kim) for a very memorable weekend. I have been doing several road trips a year for the last 6 years and this was one of the better ones.