21st July 2018
The motel last night wasn’t very good.. the wifi was just awful. This morning I go down to the reception office for some coffee and cereal. I comment to the landlady about the wifi and she asks me if I tried going near the window.. I mean seriously?? I shouldn’t have to stand next to the window to get a wifi signal. She asks if I have a good signal here in the office, well I do, but I wanted it in my room last night I say. She then mysteriously disappears and I don’t see her again at all.
Time is a running out… I cross over the state line into Virginia, so Nite Nite North Carolina and Very good ta see ya Virginia.
I am continuing on the Blue Ridge Parkway today as far as Roanoke. I am sad that I am not able to complete the whole way, but you never know, maybe I’ll be able to come back again in the future.
The scenery is much the same as the previous two days, so I won’t bore you with more of that.
I stop for lunch at Fancy Gap….
at a Diner called the Pitstop. The food is good and I have a chance to FaceTime and catch up with home. I was served by a young woman, who was a bit strange I have to say… she kept coming over and asking if everything was ok, but not looking at me directly only staring at the wall and when I asked for more milk for my coffee she didn’t seem to understand me until I repeated it. She then took the little jug and brought it back with a tiny amount of milk in it… all very strange!!
Further on a stop at Smart View Overlook
and meet up with this group of riders from West Virginia.
They have ridden the parkway many times, so much so that I suggest they call themselves the Ridge Riders Club.. haha.
What a really lovely bunch of guys, we spent a good half an hour chatting and taking photos, I really enjoyed meeting them.
Back on the road and I spot two deer running in the woods, but they didn’t venture out onto the road… can’t say I blame them…. still no bucks.
I also note there seems to be this stuff hanging in some of the trees… I’m not sure what it is but its reminiscent of the mangrove trees in Florida.
My final stop is to take a photo of this… Buffalo Mountain..
I also see loads of yellow butterflies and am able, at last, to photograph them.
There is a large black one too, but unfortunately I can’t get a shot of it… bah!!
All along this stretch of the BRP there are wild rhododendron bushes, I bet this is spectacular when they are in bloom, but unfortunately I think that has passed now.
All at once I arrive at the turn off for Roanoke where I have decided to leave the BRP. I find a Starbucks, naturally, to have a coffee and explore where I am going next. I decide to head for Lynchburg, but the motels are a bit pricey. I find a motel just north of Lynchburg in Madison Heights so am heading for there.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the BRP and as I said previously, strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys nature and beautiful scenery.
Comments