Mel & Trinity

Every time I think this trip cannot get any better – life throws me a little surprise and it does!

I woke up in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, on Wednesday feeling very emotional after my previous post – talking about my nephew, Andrew.

I had spent an incredible day on Grandfather Mountain but he was constantly on my mind. It was a fantastic day though, particularly as I got to see deer, black bear, an otter, bald eagle, and a cougar called Trinity! 🥰

The best photos of the day are provided on my Facebook page

By chance I ended up in a little town called Blowing Rock that night. I loved the town as soon as I rode into it. I didn’t have a place to stay so I pulled into the parking area of the Azalea Garden Inn to have a look at what was available. The log cabins looked really cute so I popped into the office to see how much they cost as I couldn’t see that on their website. It was a very reasonable $97 so that was that.

Once I dropped my things off I headed into town. The town is small and unbelievably cute! I walked past this little shop on the corner of Main Street and Maple Street, called Take Heart, that really spoke to me. They have a prayer tree next to the store where you can leave a prayer or well wish. They provide the paper, pens and little waterproof bags in front of the store free of charge. It was such a beautiful initiative that I wanted to pop in and say hi to the owner the next morning.

Below are some photos of Take Heart and it’s wonderful custodians.

I was putting on a brave face when I walked out the door on Wednesday morning. I had cried in the shower – something I did a lot in my youth – a time in my life I worked hard to forget.

I walked into Take Heart and immediately spotted Sherry. She has a glowing smile and thick, dark, curly hair.

After a few minutes of walking around we got chatting, along with the two other ladies that work in the store. They were so sweet! We eventually walked outside to take a few photos and I stood speaking to Sherry.

Sherry had spent some time in Africa and she was telling me about her experience in Kenya where she went for lunch and met a priest in a cafe. He asked her, ‘Africa will either make you or break you – what has it done for you’?

As she spoke I couldn’t hold back my tears. Although Cape Town is my favourite city in the world, Africa definitely broke me. I had come to realise that I wasn’t just crying over Andrew but because I was holding onto some pain from my youth and Andrew was triggering that pain. Although I never took to drugs, I spent most of my teenage years not caring whether I lived or died – I just wanted the pain to stop.

Sherry stood and spoke to me and then gave me a big hug (two in fact). She was so gracious! I was so grateful for her kindness but also feeling embarrassed at my reaction. After writing my prayer for Andrew and hanging it on the prayer tree, I walked away.

It felt like this little town was embracing me because I just kept bringing me wonderful people that wanted to talk – firstly, a fellow GS rider from Toronto, then an elderly gentleman whose dad was English and we were talking about English tea, then the lovely ladies at Azalea Garden Inn. It was lunchtime before I hit the road.

My first stop was 250m up the road at the gas station. There I met Darryl, who was riding an Indian. He invited me to sit with him and eat the fried apple pie I had just bought, which I did. We spoke for about 30 minutes before he asked me where I was heading, which was Roanoke, Virginia. I needed to pick up oil for my Scottoiler there.

‘I have a friend that lives in Roanoke’, he said. ‘If you want, we can ride out there together’? So we did.

I let Daryll ride in the front and set the pace – I wanted to chase me some Indian! 🤣 He pointed out items of note as we rode, including stray branches and the occasional pothole. I’m so used to riding alone that I forgot how riders look out for each other. It was lovely!

Motorcycle riders always greet each other on the road. In the UK and South Africa it will be a tilt of the head. In the USA, Canada and Europe, where you drive on the right-hand side of the road, riders normally point two fingers down to the road with their left hand, which means keep two wheels on the ground. It’s a tradition, I understand, was started by Harley Davidson. We know we’re vulnerable on the road so we wish each other safe travels. It’s a beautiful gesture and one I never get tired seeing.

Daryll took me to his favourite country store where they make homemade goodies, including Moonshine sauce. This made me laugh as it reminded me of my fantastic weekend with Amanda and Dustin in Knoxville, where I drank Moonshine for the first time.

From there he took me to see the Roanoke Star – a 88 foot star that shines brightly over the city and has a fantastic view. We then went to pick up Laura and the three of us went out for dinner. We had a great chat and they gave me some suggestions about places to visit on my trip, one of which was Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.

It was a great night and I felt incredibly blessed to have met Daryll that day. He was my knight in shining armour. Thanks again also for dinner Daryll! 😘

Below are some photos of my time with Daryll.

I had a slow start to Thursday. It was around noon when I headed out to find Frontline Eurosports – the BMW dealership that stocks Scottoiler oil. As my luck would have it, they had run out. Damn! Mike, who was assisting me, called ahead to find out what other BMW dealers had stock and that where not far out of my way – that would be in Dullas, Virginia.

I had been thinking about buying new motorcycle gear as mine’s getting a little tired, so I took the opportunity to try on new jackets and helmets. I really like the BMW Rallye jacket! It’s heavier than mine but it’s so cool. Maybe I’ll finally need to hit the gym! I’m also still toying between the Schubert’s E1, Klim Krios Pro or the Arai XD-4. As I’m likely to spend more time off-road going forward the latter two are now more of an option. I’ll check this out again when I get home.

Mike was an absolute sweetheart and spent loads of time helping me and explaining things to me even though he knew I wasn’t going to buy anything. Before I left he gave me a stainless steel water bottle. I gave him a huge hug! I felt so happy by the time I left.

I hit the road heading to Shenandoah National Park via the Blue Ridge Parkway. I stopped at a number of the lookout points along the way – they never disappointed.

At about 3pm I was getting hungry so I stopped off at the Peaks of Otter Lodge for a late lunch. There I met Alain and his friend from Quebec City – two fellow riders. Alain is two years from retirement and has always wanted to ride around Europe. I’ve ridden through most of the countries in Europe now so he was keen to chat. He gave me his number so hopefully we’ll get a decent chat in when I get to Quebec City.

Below is a photo of Alain (right) and his friend, whose name I sadly can’t remember.

By the time I reached Shenandoah National Park that night it was 7pm. I was running very low and fuel and the nearest campsite with space available was 87 miles away. I wasn’t going to make that.

I went online to see what was available nearby on Booking.com which is my trusted first choice when booking accommodation. There were a number of choices – I picked the Residence Inn in Waynesboro.

The room that I booked was a studio, which just happened to be the one on special. It was fantastic! All that I could think was, I wish my family were here, so I sent them a message to tell them that. It read something like, ‘Where are you people? Someone seriously needs to get their ass into gear and join me on my next tour’. My sister thought that may need to be her, particularly if it involves beer. 🤣 That made me happy as there is nobody in the world that can make me laugh like my sister.

I had an early start on Friday – keen to see Shenandoah National Park before heading to Dullas to collect my oil. I’m not sure why I didn’t check but I actually thought it was Saturday.

I had a wonderful day in Shenandoah National Park. The park is so beautiful and peaceful! The Skyline Drive runs through the park, which is similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 35 mph speed limit is strictly enforced in the park though so I had to concentrate on keeping my speed down. Boy that was though! In a way it was quite nice though because I stood up on the pegs and leaned into the wind for a lot of the way. I felt like a bird flying through the sky – it felt so free.

Below are some photos of the park.

About halfway through the park I stopped off at one of the visitors centres and asked about the hikes. There was a 6 mile hike starting from Fishers Gap Overlook, which included two waterfalls, so that was now the plan. I could do that and be back on the road by 2pm.

I parked Trinity, put on my walking shoes and hit the trail. I was only about 200m on the trail when I saw an elderly gentleman signaling me to slow down and look to the right. Low and behold there was a black bear walking up the side of the hill about 30m from us. How fantastic, albeit slightly frightening! This is how I met Tom.

Tom and I walked together on the trail until we reached the first waterfall. He is local to the area and has been visiting the park for 65 years. He told me all about the history of the park and his love of botany. Tom was so lovely and very interesting to listen to. I was kind of sad when we parted ways but it did allow me to pick up the pace.

Meet Tom.

The rest of my hike, albeit without Tom, was fantastic. The hiking trail was a little tricky at times as the rocks in part were quite sharp and I was wearing barefoot running shoes which have pretty thin soles. They were okay but not the ideal footwear for the trail. They are small and light though so great for taking on the bike.

Below are some more photos of Shenandoah National Park.

I was pretty knackered by the end of the hike so I was happy to hit the road. I finally reached Motorcycles of Dullas at 4.15pm. I bought the oil and then lingered in the store checking out the various bikes and accessories and enjoying the aircon. It was hot outside!

I had considered heading into Washington DC for the night but was chatting to my friend Gordon from Florida via WhatsApp and he advised me against it. His messages were hilarious! I particularly loved the voice message that said, ‘Attention Melanie. Do not go into DC. I repeat, do not go into DC’. Gordon is such a character!

I gave it some thought and then remembered Darryl and Laura saying Harper’s Ferry was nice. I had a look on Google Maps and it was only an hour away. Perfect!

I was about to leave BMW when I realised that I didn’t have the attachment that I needed for the Scottoiler. As it turns out they don’t sell those separately so Chris behind the counter gave me the lid off a bottle to use as a funnel. Great!

Just as well I tried to fill the Scottoiler before I left BMW because it wasn’t working and I was messing oil everywhere. Their workshop didn’t have the attachment either but one of the mechanics had a plan and came back with what looked like a huge syringe with a tube on the end. Apparently they use this for gear oil. It was perfect and allowed me to transfer the oil into the Scottoiler. The next refill is going to be interesting though, I thought.

Finally, I could hit the road. I reached Harper’s Ferry just after 7pm on Friday. What a quaint little town! Once in the town I pulled off on the side of the road to look for hotels. As I was only going to be there for the night I wanted to be near the sights and restaurants. I looked at Booking.com and there was a place in the Historic District. It was more expensive than the other places and I also wasn’t sure if there would be parking for Trinity so I thought I’d go and have a look at it first. This is how I met the DC / Ohio gang.

I was following Google Maps which took me up the hill to a big house. ‘You have arrived’, it said. I was not so sure. This looked like a private property. There were a bunch of people on the porch so I wasn’t sure if it could be the right place or not. It could be a small hotel. 

‘Are you lost’, Jamie said. I’m not sure. ‘I’m looking for the Town Inn’, I said. They didn’t know where that was. ‘Come and join us for a beer while you figure out where you need to be’, Jamie said.

I eventually left the big house in Harper’s Ferry on Sunday around 4pm with a heavy heart. I may not have arrived at the Towns Inn but I arrived exactly where I needed to be – at a house filled with beautiful souls. I have never felt more welcome!

Please visit my Facebook page where there photos of what we got up to, including a lot of eating, drinking, talking, laughing, playing games, exploring and finally kayaking/canoeing in Maryland.

The gang are mostly from the DC area, while Jamie’s mom and stepdad, Maggie and Tom, drove down from Ohio.

Meet the gang (Carmel, Eric with little Kareena, Bart, Jamie, Jenny, Tom, Maggie, Kevin, Dave and Seema).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4wJ-IH5sZ/

(Sorry folks, WordPress keeps crashing and won’t let me make changes to or add new the links)

I had always joked that I was going to start a motorcycle group called Mel’s Angels. It may not have been what I had in mind but it appears I found my angels this week.

It’s been such a blessed and wonderful week. My heart and soul are rejoicing!