So the last couple of days I've been busy doing the work that I was hired to do here for Andy...
I'm finished and both systems are running great and he's ready to work. Good news! Now back to vacation!
Today, my sister Mary (I call her "Sis") flew into Asheville NC around 2:40 EST... I drove the Goldwing from Deep Gap to the airport to pick her up so that we can go riding together the next couple of days.
We're going to ride the Goldwing up the Blue Ridge Parkway together and it's gonna be fun! Don't know how far we'll drive, but I'll keep you posted here.
It took a little longer to get to the Asheville airport from Deep Gap than I had planned but she was fine with the timing and ready to ride!
When I arrived at the airport, we put her things into the side compartment of the Goldwing and took off headed back to Deep Gap for our nights stay before our leave tomorrow morning.
It was a nice sunny warm day... we did lunch at the Ryan's restaurant close to the Biltmore and then filled up with gas closeby.
Since Andy and Cathy had planned a large dinner for the two of us back in Deep Gap, we wasted no time in getting back on the road and heading north. It's a good 3-4 hours ride via the parkway back to Deep Gap.
Things were going great... weather was nice, not too hot, not too cold, beautiful scenery, bike was running great... no complaints.
Then we noticed that to our left the sky was getting very dark... I turned around and pointed the sky out to Sis and told her that unfortunately we had to go in that direction to get back to Andy's.
Sis said "no problem, we can make it"... and we blew off any idea that there would be rain.
We were both dry and comfortable until we hit Old Fort NC... There the clouds opened up and started to pour on us... No problem, both of us said, we can take it. It doesn't look like it's gonna last that long.
So we continue on through the pouring rain until it gets so bad that I can't see but a few feet in front of me... I know this is a problem, so I'm looking for a place to pull the bike under for protection from the rain.
Nothing... there is nothing I can pull under. We're in the mountains and the homes there are miles apart from each other.
I'm just about to give up and turn around to head back to Old Fort when I see a house with a carport to my right... We were on a one-way road so I couldn't just stop and turn around to get there, so I waited for the next turn-around point.
As I pull into the turn-around, I notice an old barn with one side open in front of us... Great! we'll drive in there!
So we drive the bike into the barn and both of us are laughing our heads off. It was a gusher!
The rain was coming down so hard that Sis said her husband Tim calls this a "Toad Choker".
While we were waiting for the rain to slow down, I opened up the storage compartment of the Goldwing and grabbed the trash bags that I carry in there... I had asked Karla to buy some new thick ones for me last week... (thank you Karla!)
Why Trash Bags?
They make excellent rain suits and they don't take up much space. Pull out a trash bag, open it up, punch a hole in the bottom for your head, then punch a hole on each side for each arm... works great!
"We'll never forget this" I said... Sis agreed... both of us still laughing.
After about 30 minutes the rain was starting to slow down... Sis noticed a sign that was tacked on a tree just next to where we had pulled the bike into.
The sign read "Beware of Dog".
Oh my God! We're on someone's property and they've got an un-leashed dog protecting the premises and probably the only reason it hadn't found us was because the rain had been loud enough and hard enough to cover up any trace of our presence... Oh Shit!!!
Time to get the hell out of here!
We backed the bike out of the barn and both of us got on as quickly as we could and took off like a bat out of hell!
To hell with the rain, we had our Garbage Bags on!
Eventually, the rain completely stopped and we had a very peaceful and enjoyable ride back to Deep Gap.
Along the way we could see the fog settling over the mountains as we rode... We saw 2 rainbows but before we could stop the bike and take pictures, they were gone... too bad!
As we drove into Deep Gap, the rain started up again. Now that I think about it, EVERY TIME I've EVER been to Andy's it has rained... must be a sign.
After we parked the bike in his back porch, the rain stopped. Thank goodness!
We were just in time... Andy and Cathy had cooked steaks, homemade baked bread, and tons of other great foods for us... We scarfed it up along with some nice Red Wine.
The sun was going down in about 30 minutes and all of us wanted to be on the front porch when it happened...
Sundown is an event that is celebrated with reverence at their house... And if you ever get the opportunity to see it, you will see why.
They have the most awesome view of the sunset that I've ever seen... (even better than the Oasis in Austin IMHO).
We took some pictures... here are a couple:
<a href="/images/ss2s.jpg"><img src="/images/ss2s.jpg" width=50%/></a><br />
<a href="/images/ss1s.jpg"><img src="/images/ss1s.jpg" width=50%/></a><br />
Gotta go to bed... tomorrow Sis and I leave and head north taking the Parkway up to Virginia.
I'm finished and both systems are running great and he's ready to work. Good news! Now back to vacation!
Today, my sister Mary (I call her "Sis") flew into Asheville NC around 2:40 EST... I drove the Goldwing from Deep Gap to the airport to pick her up so that we can go riding together the next couple of days.
We're going to ride the Goldwing up the Blue Ridge Parkway together and it's gonna be fun! Don't know how far we'll drive, but I'll keep you posted here.
It took a little longer to get to the Asheville airport from Deep Gap than I had planned but she was fine with the timing and ready to ride!
When I arrived at the airport, we put her things into the side compartment of the Goldwing and took off headed back to Deep Gap for our nights stay before our leave tomorrow morning.
It was a nice sunny warm day... we did lunch at the Ryan's restaurant close to the Biltmore and then filled up with gas closeby.
Since Andy and Cathy had planned a large dinner for the two of us back in Deep Gap, we wasted no time in getting back on the road and heading north. It's a good 3-4 hours ride via the parkway back to Deep Gap.
Things were going great... weather was nice, not too hot, not too cold, beautiful scenery, bike was running great... no complaints.
Then we noticed that to our left the sky was getting very dark... I turned around and pointed the sky out to Sis and told her that unfortunately we had to go in that direction to get back to Andy's.
Sis said "no problem, we can make it"... and we blew off any idea that there would be rain.
We were both dry and comfortable until we hit Old Fort NC... There the clouds opened up and started to pour on us... No problem, both of us said, we can take it. It doesn't look like it's gonna last that long.
So we continue on through the pouring rain until it gets so bad that I can't see but a few feet in front of me... I know this is a problem, so I'm looking for a place to pull the bike under for protection from the rain.
Nothing... there is nothing I can pull under. We're in the mountains and the homes there are miles apart from each other.
I'm just about to give up and turn around to head back to Old Fort when I see a house with a carport to my right... We were on a one-way road so I couldn't just stop and turn around to get there, so I waited for the next turn-around point.
As I pull into the turn-around, I notice an old barn with one side open in front of us... Great! we'll drive in there!
So we drive the bike into the barn and both of us are laughing our heads off. It was a gusher!
The rain was coming down so hard that Sis said her husband Tim calls this a "Toad Choker".
While we were waiting for the rain to slow down, I opened up the storage compartment of the Goldwing and grabbed the trash bags that I carry in there... I had asked Karla to buy some new thick ones for me last week... (thank you Karla!)
Why Trash Bags?
They make excellent rain suits and they don't take up much space. Pull out a trash bag, open it up, punch a hole in the bottom for your head, then punch a hole on each side for each arm... works great!
"We'll never forget this" I said... Sis agreed... both of us still laughing.
After about 30 minutes the rain was starting to slow down... Sis noticed a sign that was tacked on a tree just next to where we had pulled the bike into.
The sign read "Beware of Dog".
Oh my God! We're on someone's property and they've got an un-leashed dog protecting the premises and probably the only reason it hadn't found us was because the rain had been loud enough and hard enough to cover up any trace of our presence... Oh Shit!!!
Time to get the hell out of here!
We backed the bike out of the barn and both of us got on as quickly as we could and took off like a bat out of hell!
To hell with the rain, we had our Garbage Bags on!
Eventually, the rain completely stopped and we had a very peaceful and enjoyable ride back to Deep Gap.
Along the way we could see the fog settling over the mountains as we rode... We saw 2 rainbows but before we could stop the bike and take pictures, they were gone... too bad!
As we drove into Deep Gap, the rain started up again. Now that I think about it, EVERY TIME I've EVER been to Andy's it has rained... must be a sign.
After we parked the bike in his back porch, the rain stopped. Thank goodness!
We were just in time... Andy and Cathy had cooked steaks, homemade baked bread, and tons of other great foods for us... We scarfed it up along with some nice Red Wine.
The sun was going down in about 30 minutes and all of us wanted to be on the front porch when it happened...
Sundown is an event that is celebrated with reverence at their house... And if you ever get the opportunity to see it, you will see why.
They have the most awesome view of the sunset that I've ever seen... (even better than the Oasis in Austin IMHO).
We took some pictures... here are a couple:
<a href="/images/ss2s.jpg"><img src="/images/ss2s.jpg" width=50%/></a><br />
<a href="/images/ss1s.jpg"><img src="/images/ss1s.jpg" width=50%/></a><br />
Gotta go to bed... tomorrow Sis and I leave and head north taking the Parkway up to Virginia.
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