As we all know, 2020 was an unusual year, to say the least. With many travel restrictions coming, Mary and I managed to take a few trips worth mentioning, and accomplished some tasks. They are, in no particular order:
Since all of the motorcycle-related events had been pushed to next year, oldest son, Roger, and I wanted/needed to get away. Last year’s father/son camping trip to North Carolina’s mecca for motorists the world over, the Tail of the Dragon, was a success, we wanted to enjoy that part of the country again. He wanted to explore the magic of the Blue Ridge Parkway and I wanted to include another twisty road, The Snake, in our itinerary. The plan was to camp as much as possible, but the campgrounds did not have electricity for Roger’s CPAP machine. The campground on the BRP was virtually empty and peaceful. During the ride the air was fresh and the scenery beautiful, as we experienced some of the 469 miles of this wonderful road built on top of the Appalachian mountain range.
On the way home we both must have been a little homesick, so I suggested that we rise early the next morning and start the day in the dark but with no heat or traffic. We were enjoying the cool air by 4:30 and were making good time on I81. During lunch we hinted at trying to travel as much of the 700+ miles left as we could but at that point it seemed too hard to achieve. At the end of I81 we connected with I88, a deserted stretch of road ending in Albany. We encountered a few stretches of rain and I guess it was during one of those that I decided to make it all the way home. It was 9:30 at night that we pulled into our driveway after a little over 700 miles of wonderfulness. We were both feeling accomplished coming home a day early, surprising Mary. Roger blurted out to her: “Dad’s still got it, Mom!”.