Sunday, August 24, 2014. Day 3 of this 24 day adventure and I am already tired of being on the motorcycle. The long days of 6-9 hours of driving has lead to back pain and irritability. I told Matt that we couldn’t spend another day on that bike unless we did something active because my well-being and sanity was being affected by being confined to my tiny space on the motorcycle. We had lunch at “The Mill” and headed towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. During our 8 hours in the park, we managed to hike 5 miles to Abrams Falls and see a bear! Our first one ever! Headed to Shenandoah National Park via the Blue Ridge Parkway in the morning.
After a day of driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we found ourselves coming to a stop in Natural Bridge, Virginia, where we decided we would camp for the night. Camping was a long night. It was like once we got in the woods to sleep, I instantly became affected by all this outdoor time and my sinus’ clogged up and of course I couldn’t breathe well. We made it through the night, but barely. Monday was spent in Shenandoah National Park, where again the scenic drive makes being on the motorcycle for so many hours a day at least tolerable. If I had the chance to do it again, I would likely just suggest that people visit Asheville, NC and take the free drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway and not necessarily go to Shenandoah (which is a park you have to pay to go into). To me the Blue Ridge Parkway was a nicer drive than Skyline Drive in Shenandoah. I suppose I have become spoiled to seeing wildlife in all the national parks we have been to, so when I came to both of these, and have seen minimal wildlife I’ve been a bit disappointed in that. I mean, ok, we did get to see a bear, which has been at the pinnacle of our national park scavenger hunt for several years, but it’s nice to see just the “regulars” out and about enjoying nature as they should. We wrapped up our day at Shenandoah and headed to Dunkirk, Maryland where we stayed the night with our good friends, Pam and Chris Schiele. After an amazing seafood dinner at a local favorite of theirs we headed back to catch up on each other’s happenings and relax. Laundry first thing in the morning and then headed to Philadelphia, PA for some sightseeing and cheesesteaks of course.
