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Finally we are home. It was a long wet ride from PA. for me anyway.
This was another fantastic trip. It started out great, then kind of sputtered at the end. Riding the Natchez Trace Parkway was definitely something I always wanted to do. It was worth the effort to get down there. Would I recommend it to any one? Sure as long as you don't expect it to be like the Blue Ridge Parkway. The "Trace" is much straighter and since it's not on the ridge of any mountains, it's not as scenic. That said it's still a must ride road for any motorcyclist.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is much better in my opinion, because of the twists and turns it makes, and the beautiful vistas everywhere. Unfortunately we didn't make it the whole way to the top because of the rear tire on Sue's bike, as detailed earlier in the blog. I hope you all enjoyed reading along, and we loved reading all your comments. Hope to see all of you soon, Love Sue, Frank & Luigi.

Last Day

Hello,
We stayed in Roanoke VA for 2 nights because we needed to wait for a motorcycle dealership to open up. The rear tire on Sue's Beemer had worn out to an unsafe amount. Unfortunately none of the bike shops had the right size tire. It would have been unsafe for Sue to ride. The only choice we had was to rent a truck. With Sue's bike in the back, Sue and Luigi went in the truck,and I rode my bike. We stopped in Hagerstown MD. to fuel up, and when Sue went to fill the truck, gas started to spill out from underneath. The hose going to the fuel tank had split wide open. Sue called Ryder, and they sent out a mechanic from Fredrick MD. That's about 45 minutes away. The mechanic was very good. He showed up on time and quickly fixed the problem. After a hour and a half we were back on the road. The 3 of us made it as far as Harrisburg PA. We should be home tomorrow afternoon or early evening.
Bye

For Mom

Riders Enjoying the BRP

Day 11 & 12

Last we spoke (text) the three of us spent 2 nights in Maggie Valley N.C. We rode north up the BRP and stopped at the Linn Cove Viaduct. Eventually we ended up renting a cabin in Glendale Springs N.C. What a nice place, literally right of the Parkway. No internet service so we couldn't update the blog. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a motorcyclist heaven. Non-stop twisties and beautiful views mile after mile. Today we stopped in the town of Galax VA. where they were having a BBQ contest. Folks from all over the state come to compete in this contest. Awesome!!!!
Tonight we are staying in Troutville VA. just outside of Roanoke.
Bye for now.

Day 9 & 10

The three of us left Pigeon Forge Tenn. two days ago and rode through the Smokies on rt 441.
Unfortunately, there was some kind of truck accident and caused a lot of traffic. It was very slow going, so by the time we reached the Blue Ridge Parkway, we decided to stop for the night. We found a great cabin in Maggie Valley N.C. We also decided that this would be a good time to take a break from riding the bikes for a day. What a great little mountain town Maggie Valley is. Very motorcycle friendly, and right off the Parkway. The wi-fi is very slow here, so I will add more at another time.

Day 9

Hi All,
The three of us are in Pigeon Forge Tenn. We came across rt 70 instead of taking the interstate.
What a pleasant surprise that was. It runs over two mountain ranges and over the Center Hill Lake. Very twisty and very scenic. Sorry no pictures. Tomorrow we will go through the Smokies on our way to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
C-YA

Another Video

Day 8

We left Tupelo Miss. this morning under very gray sky's, but we never hit rain. In fact the farther north we went the sun came out and the road dried up. We stopped at the 20 mile overlook (nice but you can't see for 20 miles) then stopped at the Colbert Ferry Site. This is on the south side of the Tennessee River. When travelers on the Trace reached the river they had to use Colbert's Ferry. He would charge them 50 cents back in the early eighteen hundreds. Those poor folks had no choice if they wanted to cross. Now there's a bridge thank God. The bridge is a mile long. Then we took what's left of the Old Trace Road, it's a narrow 4 mile loop heading in one direction. We made it to the end of the Trace and are now back in Nashville.
Talk to you soon.

More Pictures

Day 6 & 7

Hi All,
First of all, Sue, Luigi, & I Did ride to the end of the Trace in Natchez last night, but the hotel's router was down so I couldn't update the blog, sorry. Yesterday we stopped in the town of Kosciuszko Miss. They had a small museum honoring him. In case you didn't know Tadeusz Kosciusko was a military engineer, & designed a lot of forts for the American Revolution. It's also the town Oprah was born in. Then later we stopped at the Ross Barnett Reservoir, which is huge! Unlike at home they allow boating, fishing, & swimming there. It was very hot yesterday so we all jumped in the water to cool down. Boy, did it feel good!!!! Eventually we made it down to Natchez. Natchez is a neat old city that reminded Sue & I of Savannah. We went down to the Mississippi River this morning to take some pictures, then we got back on the Trace heading North. Today we stopped at Mount Locust, which was at one time one of the oldest inns on the old Trace. It was also a plantation at one time too. Then we stopped at several differant places along the way while on our why North. Today was a little cooler then it's been, so we were much more comfortable. We made it back to Tupelo for tonight, and we are actualy staying at the same hotel we stayed in on Friday night.
See ya'll later.

Some Pics.

Day 5 The Trace

Hello All

Frank, Luigi, & I, started out in Nashville,TN passed through a short part of Alabama today and are now in Tupelo Mississippi.Three states in one day!!!!We rode about 200 miles of the Trace today. We saw many historic sites like the grave site and memorial of Meriwether Lewis & the small cabin he died in under mysterious circumstances, while governor of Louisiana.(Lewis & Clark) We also visited a spot on the Trace were 13 confederate soldiers are buried just a short walk off the parkway. I was surprised their graves are adorned with new flags and flowers...after all the time that has passes.
We crossed the Tennessee river and the mile long bridge. We met a very sweet retired teacher and previous superintendent of the a small school district in Alabama working at one of the info booths. She made sure to tell me it was an elected superintendent position! She has written several books on AL history so she was more than willing to spend time talking about the TVA damming of the Tenn.river and its major impact to the economy. She claims they are still growing business even in today's tough economy.
It was another scorcher today, temps in the low 90's. At least while on the trace there is plenty of shade at the many stops along the way.
Luigi is doing well. We stop quite often while on the Trace and have stopped all along the way about every 70 miles for a rest and water break. He loves the different hotels each night..jumping from bed to bed..wondering what food mom is bringing back to the room that he is sure to get some of.
TTYL,
SQ,FQ,LQ

A Great Website

Howdy again,

We found this website while researching the "Trace", and thought you all would like it.

http://scenictrace.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

see you all later.

Day 4

Howdy,
How you all doin' up there? We made it to Nashville. Tomorrow we start the Natchez Trace Parkway. We are very excited!!! WOW is it hot down here, the thermometer on the Harley read 100 degrees today. We also rode through a quick rain shower but it actually felt good.Sue just walked over to Cracker barrel to get our dinner, in fact she just got back so I gots to go!!
You all have a good day now you hear!!

Day 3

Hello
Sue,Luigi, & I are in Kingsport Tenn. We've been riding rt 81 since PA.
We can't wait to finally reach rt 40 tomorrow outside of Knoxville.
At least rt 81 is really nice through the southern part of Virgina and what we have seen so far of TN. We will probably stop somewhere around Nashville tomorrow night.
So far we've ridden about 730 miles. I know, not much in 3 days but Sue says she gets to much buffeting with the cage on the back, if we go over 65 mpg. That's alright we are saving a lot of gas!
Sorry no new pictures yet, I'll take some tomorrow.
Bye for now.

Day 1 & 2

Hi Everybody,
Sue & I are in Staunton VA. We spent our first night in Frackville PA.(Scary place) Right down the road from a prison.We had no service there so we could not update. Luigi is fine on the bike, and as you can see he made a friend at a rest stop in Western N.Y. His friends name is Joey, and he is from Scranton PA. So far, slow going but at least there is no rain.
That's it for now. S.Q. F.Q. L.Q.

We're at it again!

Hello All,
Sue & I are about to go on a bike trip again.
We are headed for the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Like last time we hope to update this blog, so if you want, you can follow along.
We will be leaving Monday July 6th.
Please check back anytime after that.
Thanks hope you enjoy!