c'est fini.....THE RALLY

After twelve states, six presidential museums, twenty five days and 4560.7 miles we were bound and determined to get "good seats" at the rally...... so we slept from only midnight to 2 a.m. and headed down to the mall, spread our blanket amongst the sleeping patriots, and waited. Dan and our friend, Eric, took a walk up to the steps of the Lincoln memorial to view the sunrise (which was pretty anti-climatic as there was a low cloud ceiling at that point and the day just gradually grew lighter....no stunning sun bursts).
Suffice it to say that it was an amazing event and there were MORE than just a few tens of thousands of people. The crowd was bigger than the 9-12 rally that we attended last year. Here is a little snippet of the rally.....

Day 23-24 Arriving DC

Montecello vs Mt Vernon:

Jefferson vs Washington.......well, as I said, I really like TJ's house. Very cool design with underground passage (all the support rooms were underground....the stable, the ice house, the house servants quarters, the wine storage, beer storage, kitchen with the line of burners and the clockwork mechanism with weights and pulleys that turns the rotisserie), the inside shudders that come out of the window frameworks, the bedroom with the canopy bed next to his writing desk with the windows overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains, the entrance with the museum-like quality of his keepsakes from Lewis & Clark (as well as other artifacts from around the new country)

GW, on the other hand is situated on the bluff above the Potomac River and therefore has access to cool breezes and FISH! He has grand sloping meadows, vineyards, orchards, and the coolest 16 sided barn. He has a grist mill AND a distillery (and don't think Dan didn't take detailed photos of THAT for recreation in our someday-Montana-ranch), and even though we were too hot and tired to stand in the hour long line to tour his house..........we both picked Mt. Vernon as a place to live.

The day we went to Mt. Vernon was our last day on the road and we needed to get into town in a timely manner to meet the truck and say good-bye to the Victory and the Triumph that had so faithfully transported us across the country. The first hour of our ride out of Portland and the last hour of our ride into Washington, D.C. were the most stressful of the whole journey. (just another reason we are trying to move out of Portland and to Montana where the pace is slower)

Just as the truck pulled away with the bikes, our daughter arrived in the cab from the airport. Our son missed his flight from Dallas, but did join us later in the evening wearing his new cowboy hat. Glenn said "bring your kids" and although they are not "kids" anymore (21 and 22 years old), I am so glad they came to hear Glenn's message and see that there are indeed conservative people out there from their generation and they can go back and spread the word to their peers.......the country needs to be "restored" not "transformed."

reflections

1. Boiled peanuts are icky.
2. When you take the back roads, you can go for DAYS without seeing a Starbucks.
3. Lightening bugs should be on the endangered species list.
4. The Blue Ridge Parkway should be charging a "lift ticket" for all the "runs."
5. There is far too much corn going un-harvested.
6. The Indian Reservations need more "stimulus" money to repair their roads!
7. There are a lot of people flying American flags in their yards/on their porches, but it would make me happy to see more.
8. Rain hurts when it hits you in the eyeballs at 45mph.
9. Des Moines, Iowa is my pick for "medium sized" clean and wholesome city. (awesome fair, too!)
10. DuBois, Wyo is my pick for "small" city.
11. When you spend much time in the south, your inner voice starts talking to you with a drawl.
12. You get random travel advice from friendly folks at EVERY gas station. ( it's good to meet the local Rick Steves out there)
13. The restaurants inside of state and national parks serve very bad food. (Acadia Park in Maine is the exception...POPOVERS!)
14. Disappointed in the number of people that said, "the what rally?" Perhaps America is not as awake as I hoped.
15. It had been about 20 years since I had been bitten by chiggers, and I hope I go another 20 before encountering them again.
16. Dan says he doesn't feel the need to go home cuz when I am with him, he IS home. (isn't that a sweet reflection)
17. Never wet down your Harley "air conditioning vest" and then decide to do a cave tour! BRRRRRR.
18. If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, I'd hire him as my architect. (loved Monticello!)
19. It isn't possible to cross the U.S. in August without stopping at least once at a Dairy Queen.
20. People are generally extremely nice, especially if you smile at them and ask them how their day is going.

Day 19-20-21

We've been busy on the carnival rides.....After the tail of the dragon, we rode the Diamondback at Little Switzerland, and the Snake at Shady Valley. And those are just the sections with names. After the Diamondback (about a 15 mile loop), here's what Dan said, "We got screwed! We should have done it the opposite direction! Let's do it again!" so we turned around and did it backwards. And then he wanted to do it AGAIN! But I was having indigestion from over-eating at the wonderful little restaurant up in Little Switzerland so we stopped at 2 "runs" and got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway.....which is also a great rolling, twisting road.

Here are some photos of twisty roads, rainy rides (only one in three weeks so who can complain?), and fireside picnics.

Day 18, Saturday's ride

Today we saw the world's largest 10 Commandments (that little pink dot in the middle of the archeway is me)..... right before we started the climb up into the mountains and rode along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a lot like riding the tail of the dragon, but with the curves spaced out a bit more.

There is a reason they are called the Smokey Mts. There wouldn't be any more smoke if they'd been on fire! But not on fire......drenched in humidity! The temperature was in the 80's but the wind-chill factor as we rode at 5000-6000 ft altitude was about 68 (we actually used our grip heaters). We pulled into Black Mountain, NC as the sun went down and were told that it had rained here all day. We didn't ride through ANY rain! YAY!
Also, included in these photos: the dam that Harrison Ford jumped off (ok, maybe it was a stuntman.....or just a dummy) in the movie "The Fugitive." Also, a photo of a store we stopped in because we had been passing signs that read "boiled peanuts" and it was making Dan hungry. We bought some peach-brandy jelly.
all for now......

day 17: Tail of the Dragon

I love this little motorcycle inn. It is called Chetohala Motorcycle Resort and it is 4.4 miles outside of Tellico Plains, TN. Two guys run the place, Alix and Buck. It is like being home. We raid their refrigerator (we have a tab!), and use their internet, and share beers, and Alix cooked steaks for us last night. They told us of this little store a mile from here where Billie cooks the best breakfasts. It looks like a run-down gas station and general store (well, in fact it is), and inside you will find the kindest, sweetest, Christian folks and three small tables in the back. If you don't finish your omelet Billie gives you hard time (Dan did of course) and when I told her it was the best oatmeal I had ever had she said, "honey, I won't even tell you what I put in there......well, ok, I will....I use a half stick of butter with brown sugar to soften the raisins first!" Breakfast costs about $2.50 a person. She won't raise her prices because "then people can't afford to eat here!" She pointed to her daughters and husband and said, "they won't let me have no money cuz I just give it all away!" In came big Dave, a local mountain guy, who as Billie said "he's special....always has been." He was wearing a pair of overalls and had a new pair in his hands (that Billie had given him for his birthday) and he asked her if she could hem them up a few inches. Of course, she will oblige. What wonderful people we have met. Today they will be at the Murphy, NC flea market selling the t-shirts that they were printing in the store there while we ate breakfast. When we leave here in an hour or so, we will drive through there and I will warn you all, you may be getting a NC t-shirt for Christmas! I have to buy some because I just loved Billie and her family.
We spent yesterday riding "the tail of the dragon." 318 curves in 11 miles. We did it THREE times, it was SO FUN! It was like Skyline Blvd x 1000! I will add a video here, but warn you that nausea may occur from watching this......

Day 14-15-16

Tuesday-Wed-TH:

At least the states get smaller the further east we go so we are clicking off the states faster. We have now made it to Tennessee and we found a motorcycle inn. Perhaps I will get some photos of it to add later. (It is late and we are in a little cabin with only one outlet....but at least there is internet!)

We did a tour of Mammoth Cave this morning (in Kentucky) and that was very cool!

But the biggest problem right now is.......CHIGGERS! OMG, I had forgotten those evil little pests. (if you don't know what those are, google it....but beware, it is NOT for those with a weak stomach) They must have gotten on me at the campground in Indiana.

Tomorrow we are doing some fabulous and famous motorcycle roads in the smokey mountains. Probably back here to the same inn tomorrow night.

to bed now YAWN