Day 18 (Sept 21) - Almost Heaven West Virginia and Virginia

After a couple days off the road enjoying family in WV, today I got to a few of the many wild, wonderful motorcycle roads that WV and VA have to offer. I got a little wet early in the ride, but before long I was enjoying great rides -- wonderful curves in tunnels of beautiful fall colors with almost no traffic. The route I took doesn't look efficient for getting from A to B -- but it wasn't intended to -- it was just fun and beautiful. I even added in a section of the well-known Skyline Parkway in the Shenandoah National Park. After most of the day on curves, I jumped on an interstate for the final 60 or so miles to stay at Deb's sister/brother-in-law's place in the rural suburbs of Richmond, VA.

The most humorous moment of the day was my lunch stop in a small Virginia town called Monterey where I found a great little cafe. When I walked in, a few folks looked at me a little oddly -- and I just dismissed the glances as disapproval of either the big yellow "School Bus" that I just parked -- or my obvious motorcycle apparel. When I sat down, I rubbed my forehead and off came a piece of black tape that had previously been holding wire INSIDE my helmet. Instantly I knew the reason for the odd looks. It had to be the motorcycling equivalent of leaving the restroom with toilet paper stuck and trailing from your shoe. It did give me a good laugh wondering what the restaurant folks must have been thinking. After all, it's not everyday that one sees black electrical tape used for a forehead injury!