October 15
I rousted up out of my room about 7:30 to find the kids up and ready for school, but Eric and Linda nowhere to be found. I chatted with the kids about how they liked Alabama over Alaska. Bryce said that he could get away with a lot more in school in Alaska! (They attend one semester in each state each year…first semester in Alabama, second in Alaska). Close to 8, Linda appeared, and ran the kids to school (Huntsville does not have a school bus system, much to my surprise). Eric got up as I took my shower and brewed a big pot of the flavored coffee that he loves (he always has a big assortment), and we chatted over coffee until Linda got back and fixed us an eggs-and-bacon-and-toast breakfast. I told them that they had become true Southerners, since they were buying Bama brand jelly. We walked outside into temps in the mid-40’s, prepped the bikes, made a few pictures, and hit the road.
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The goal for the day was to get to the twistys of north Georgia, stop by the Two Wheels Only motorcycle resort, ride some of the excellent roads in that area, and then position ourselves for a run to Greensboro, NC the next day. Our route took us down Hwy. 72, crossing the Tennessee River at Scottsboro, then crossing Sand and Lookout mountains on our way west into Georgia. For those of you from the western US, these “mountains” are really long ridges, running roughly north-south, with elevations gains of maybe 1,000 feet. Hey, in Alabama, that is a mountain! The slopes yielded some nice sweeping turns and a few sleepy little towns that we blasted through. On the way, we passed DeSoto State Park, where Lana had taken me a year ago as she showed me around her childhood home (she grew up in Ft. Payne). Once we got into Georgia we had our choice of several small, interesting looking roads, so we picked kind of randomly and wandered around. 140 to 108 to 53 to Dahlonega. There we stopped and gassed up, and discussed lunch. It had been a long time since breakfast, and we were both hungry, but I was not sure if TWO would be serving lunch on a Thursday. Eric was willing to go see, so we headed up 19 to 60, and Eric got his first taste of north Georgia twistys. As we were coming off the ridge into Suches, we passed a blue FJR, the first one other than mine that I had seen on the road. We arrived at TWO around 2, to find no lunch being served, but there were some muffins and brownies out, so we made do with that. There was going to be a vintage Japanese bike rally that weekend, and a few folks were already there…we saw a Honda 650 turbo, and a Kawasaki in-line 6. GT (one of the owners) also had his MB5 out front. As we were looking around, a guy rode up on a 650 V-Strom, and we talked to him a bit about the bike (he was very happy with it). After Eric made some pictures we headed west on GA 180, also known as Wolf Pen Gap road, which is one of my favorites. It is tight, twisty, and challenging. From there we headed to the Richard Russell Scenic Byway, GA 348, and rode it to the end. By now it was probably around 4, and it would be getting dark soon, so we needed to make plans for a place to stay. We had not asked if TWO had rooms for the night…I asked Eric if he would like to backtrack and ask. Ride those roads again? Of course! So we made our way back to TWO, only to find that they had been booked for months. No problem, I said, we will just head north up 60 to Morganton or Blue Ridge…there was bound to be a room there, and it was a great road. We buzzed out into the fading light, swooping through the curves, having a ball.
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We arrived in Morganton right at dark, and saw no hotels at all. No worries, I thought, Blue Ridge was just a few miles east, and I knew there were hotels there. Sure enough, we saw three, so we pulled into the Days Inn. Not many cars in the parking lot, no sweat. There was a long line checking in, and only one frazzled desk clerk, so we waited about 15 minutes to get to the desk, only to find that they were full! She called the other two hotels in town, and all she could find was a room with one king bed. I began to regret leaving my camping gear in Huntsville. Homophobia being what it is, we passed, and checked the map. Blairsville was 18 miles away…so we headed there. By now it was fully dark, getting cold, and we were hungry. I decided as we rode that if we could not find a room in Blairsville, that we would grab a meal there while we looked over the map for other options. The first thing we saw in Blairsville was a Holiday Inn, so we pulled in. Full. “You won’t find a room for 100 miles”, the desk clerk said. “There are fall festivals in every town in the area this weekend, and everyone has been booked for a long time”. This wasn’t sounding good. But I have learned that if you keep talking to people, they will sometime come up with ideas, and it worked this time. “There is a bed and breakfast in town”, she said. “It may be kind of expensive, but it is nice”. She made the call for us, asked if they had rooms, then handed to phone to me. I found myself talking to Peggy, the innkeeper, and she had rooms…and one of them had two doubles! Perfect! The $150 price didn’t faze us. “I am not at the Inn right now”, she said. “I am at a restaurant with the rest of tonight’s guest, and we are about to eat. Have you had dinner yet?” This was getting better all the time. She gave me directions and said “I will meet you on the front porch”. A few minutes later we were pulling up in front of The Catfish Corner, a local place that no tourist would ever find, with a tall, slender woman waving wildly from the porch. I walked up first, and she introduced herself with a big hug! She swept us inside a crowded, noisy dining room filled with locals, and introduced us to the other two couples staying the night, and her significant other, Ron (I never caught if they were married or not). Everybody was friendly and talkative, and we had a wonderful time and a great meal. After dinner, we all headed back to the B&B, which was a house built in 1865 by a doctor that had been a medic during the Civil War. Peggy showed us our room, and we settled down into huge, overstuffed chairs in the sitting room with Peggy and Ron, cracked a bottle of Amaretto, and talked until 1AM. Could this have turned out any better? Peggy and Ron are the perfect innkeepers…friendly, funny, and interesting. It was a magical evening.
If you are ever in Blairsville, GA, look up Peggy Davis at the Reid Sampson House, 147 Rogers Street, Blairsville, GA, 30512, 706-835-2469 or 770-921-8187. Take a bottle of Amaretto, and tell Ron to stay off the roof. He will know what you mean.
Stats: 322 miles, moving average 47.4, moving time 6.47, average speed 25, maximum speed 85