In Search of Bourbon - Day 5

We went to bed Sunday night expecting rain all day Monday. We heard rain overnight Sunday into Monday. Heavy rain. And thunder. But when we woke, dressed, and left the rooms for breakfast Monday morning, we were greeting with a mere drizzle. We walked across the parking lot to JB's for breakfast where Shane, Andrea, and I opted for French toast with bacon and eggs, while Chris had to be the oddball and get pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Our new MSTA friend from Georgia arrived for breakfast about halfway through our meal and waved. By the time we left JB's the drizzle had ended but the skies were still quite threatening. We put on our rain gear and prepared for a wet ride north on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Except...

...it never rained.

Ever.

At all.

Not a single drop.

Not that I'm complaining! We had a wonderful ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway. The skies were blue, with friendly, puffy, white clouds, and the views were spectacular. Of course, because I was expecting rain, I didn't get to photograph any of it; my camera was safely stashed in the top case where it would remain dry in the nonexistent rain. Once we stopped at Mabry Mill, I liberated my camera and resumed my backseat photography.

Boo you, government shutdown...boo you.

How are we supposed to pee???

Shane: "So, uh...Chris...you got those Charmin fresh wipes in your side case?"  

"This is gonna require removing my jacket."

"Government shutdown be damned! I'm off on a mission!"

Meanwhile, I got back to taking photos at Mabry Mill.

We kept our rain gear on after departing from Mabry Mill. Despite the clear skies we'd seen on the Parkway, we still weren't convinced that we wouldn't encounter rain. Not after what we'd seen in the forecast the night before. 100% chance of rain! There had to be rain, right?!? RIGHT?!?

Wrong.

Our ride remained dry as we continued north on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Roanoke, VA. We left the Parkway and went in search of lunch. We found a Firehouse Subs where this time I was the oddball. Chris, Andrea, and Shane all had the Turkey Bacon Ranch Sub; I chose the Chief's Salad.

The Chief's Salad...nom-nom-nom!

After lunch, we rode to the Colony House Motor Lodge, which was our destination for the night. Except it was only 2 PM. Nevertheless, we were able to check into our king suites on the backside of the hotel. We didn't get the miles in that we'd planned for Monday, but we still had a great ride. With a good part of the afternoon ahead of us, we pulled chairs out of our suites and sat outside chatting, Facebooking, and oh yeah...beer drinking! Chris and Shane walked to a bottle shop and picked up a six-pack so we could do some more porch sittin'. While we were outside, I noticed a hawk in the tree.

Yes, that's a squirrel's tail you see...attached to a squirrel...in the hawk's talons.

Quite the handsome raptor!

About 5 PM, Andrea and I headed into our respective rooms to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. Meanwhile, Chris got a little snap-happy taking pictures of the bikes.

The Concours looks weird without the side bags. 

We picked up a little dirt and debris on the Parkway.

Menacing in the front; weird in the back.

Another dirt and debris shot.

And Shane's FJR.

Shortly after 6, we headed across the street to Red Lobster for dinner - which is the biggest perk of staying at the Colony House! Say it with me...cheddar bay biscuits! We had a great final dinner together Monday evening. But the trip wasn't over...oh, no! We still had Tuesday's ride to look forward to, and it promised to be a good one. We returned to our rooms just after 8 PM with plans to meet for breakfast at 6:30 AM again (ugh). Mileage for Day 5 was just about 150 miles; total miles to date was 1,460.