Tuesday Morning, 9/7/10 I arrive at Bob Evans at 7:20 to find Curt waiting for me in the parking lot. It is a typical September morning in Ohio,,a cool 56 degrees,, the air damp and cool. Over breakfast we discuss our plan, route 23 south to route 52 all the way to Charleston SC. We are riding down to see the USS Yorktown. With breakfast over we are on the road by 8:00am. An hour and a half, and 90 miles or so later we are riding through Ceredo WV. We are in coal country, and the smell of coal hangs thick in the air . We round a corner and see a coal mine and a yard full of rail cars fully loaded with coal. Riding south on 52 we are following a couple of coal trucks, the dust coming from the trucks is so bad we have to stop and take a quick break. Curt forgot to put his windshield on his bike, and it is showing. His face is covered in black soot, looks like he has been working in the coal mine. With our break over, and Curt cleaned up we are back underway. This is a great ride, two lane road through the hills of WV. In Welch WV we have a quick lunch at a fast food joint, top off and are back on the road. Going through the mountains of WV and into Virginia. We stop on Big Walker Mountain in Virginia. to take a break and get some pictures. Two hours later we arrive in Fancy Gap, get dinner and a room,,this has been a great day.
DAY TWO 9/8/10
I wake at 5:30, turn the television on to check the weather. No cable, well I wonder outside and get a cup of coffee from the gas station across the street. Looking at the sky I see some stars and patches of no stars,,hmm partly cloudy. . The Lakeside restaurant opens at 7am, after breakfast we head south on 52 towards Mt. Airy NC. From Mt. Airy route 52 goes east to Winston Salem, then back to the west. We opt to go south on route 601 to Salisbury NC where we pick up route 52 again. Just south of Salisbury I tap my rear break and notice something does not feel right, I glance down at my right foot and see my sock covered toes. OK,,I knew my boots were worn and needed replaced,,but I thought they had one more trip in them. Pulling into Rockwell NC I see a Wal mart,,time to go shopping. As I walk through the store my boot is floppimg open with every step exposing my sock,,LOL,,people were looking at me like I was some poor homeless man.
With my boot crisis solved we are underway, today is a short ride. Riding south on 52 through Florence SC we stop at a red light, when we hear from behind us,,,HEY CHILLICOTHE!!! We look around to see a guy hanging out of a delivery truck waving at us,,we wave back and try yo figure out ,,who is this guy?. At the next light he pulls along side us and tells us he is from Chillicothe too,,he just moved to SC a few months ago,,he saw the county sticker on our license plates... We stop about 50 miles short of Charleston in the town of Monks corner, find a room and walk across the parking lot to Little Pappy's for dinner. Steak and shrimp,,, my favorite, and yes it was good.
