Northeast or Bust; Day 4

We departed our motel in Independence, VA at 7:55.  It was a brisk 61 degrees.  We rode to Galax, VA and then Hwy 89 took us to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The point where we got on the parkway was the southern most access point in Virginia.

We took off northeast on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is 45 mph or less all the way.  The scenery was beautiful and there were few other vehicles we had to deal with.DSCN7918 (2)

We met an interesting couple at one of the scenic overlooks.  It was an elderly couple and two of their grown daughters.  The mother was sitting in the car while her husband and daughters were checking out the scenery.  Chris approached her and struck up a conversation.  At the same time Larry started talking to the husband, who was wearing a WWII veteran cap.  He was indeed a WWII veteran.  Chris learned the following: Ulysses and Lorraine Dawson (the old couple) met in the 5th grade.  They married when they were 17 and 19 and have now been married for 69 years.  They raised 9 children.  Chris told Ulysses she had never met a couple that had been married for 69 years.  Ulyses said, “we just fought it out.”  Ulysses is 88 years old and Lorraine is 86.  Below is a picture of Chris, Ulysses and Jamie.DSCN7930

The north terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway is at Waynesboro, VA and from their we hopped directly onto Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park.  This was another pretty drive, but even slower – 35 mph.  Leave it to the federal government to screw up a good ride by limiting speeds to 35 mph.

We stopped for the night at the Big Meadows Lodge on Skyline Drive.DSCN7949We booked rooms at the lodge and it took forever for the clerk to check us all in.  We immediately put our names in to eat at the restaurant and waited 40 minutes to be seated.  Then it took forever to get our food.  It was dark when we finally made it to our rooms.  Another efficient operation of our federal government.

We rode 299 miles today and all but 20 miles or so were on the Blue Ridge Parkway or Skyline Drive.  The high temperature was 79.

For pictures from today click on the following link: https://goo.gl/photos/1fqUadWp5MtPwTt98

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