Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 10 (final): Sweetwater, TN to Nashville, TN

Waking up on our 'floating cabin' was great.  Such a soft bed, and Lauren got out of bed first to make coffee while I stayed horizontal and wrote my notes from Day 9.  We made omelets and hit the road.
My jacket still smells like gasoline, but luckily it was warm and sunny enough to just wear flannel.

Lauren had a bus to catch so we had to jet down the highway.  But an hour or so westward, she realized that we crossed a time difference, and actually didn't need to rush anymore!  We stopped for gas and got lunch at a cozy restaurant called Rose's Garden and had fried catfish, fried squash, dried okra, and blackberry cobbler.  All in all, the bill came out to $19!- hahaha, what?!

Back on the road, we made it to Nashville with time to spare so we went to a thrift store and bought me a shirt to wear at the wedding's rehearsal dinner.
I dropped Lauren off at the bus station, but it was too rushed to be sad/difficult.
The ride from the bus station was uneventful, and then I was parking in the driveway of our Nashville AirBnb, my final destination.  I guess that's it.  I return the bike to the local Eagle Rider's tomorrow.
Hmm.

This trip was enormous.  I'm sure the reality of it won't fully hit me for years to come.
Absolutely incredible.
Thank you God.

Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 9: Suches, GA to Sweetwater, TN

Ouch!  Waking up on cold gravel is painful!  I gave Lauren my sleep pad last night, so the cold morning was a little rough.

The mountain roads were crazy twisty-turny, and that was first thing in the morning.  We found our way to a little bit more of a main road, and in less than 2 hours, we had gotten to Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort!!

So cool!! It felt like that was the destination of the road trip.  So many cool motorcycles- both racing and touring- and a few shnazzy cars too.  We took some pics, got lunch, people watched for a bit, and then hit it.
Tail of the Dragon!!!

I wouldn't say it was much harder than some of the other mountain roads we had already covered, but the difference was that it lasted for a while longer.  318 curves in 11 miles at approximately 15mph!  It was nerve-wracking and I was hyper-focused.  No room for error.  And we got to the beautiful lake at the bottom!  Wow, made it :)  Felt like I earned a badge or completed a rite of passage.
From there, we knew our directions and flew for about an hour down the main roads.  Lauren was loving the speed and we got up to 100mph at one point.
We arrived at Craighead Caverns/The Lost Sea Adventure, and were put on a tour right away.  This was one of the best caves I'd ever been in.  Huge.  But THEN- we got to the bottom and there was a LAKE!!!  I think the guide said it was about 40acres wide and about 70ft deep in the middle.  There were lights under the water and they illuminated the cave ceiling too.  There were even partially blind/albino rainbow trout in the water!- what?!  The water was rich with mineral, and when you put your hands in and rubbed them together, it felt like moisturizing hand lotion!  This underground lake was Top 3, possible THE TOP, coolest things I've ever seen.  I was floored.  Absolutely incredible.

We got out and it was 5:40pm.  Again, we flew on the motorcycle, noticing how we had been doing back-and-forth between 'peaceful scenery' to 'speed racer'.  We got to Euchee Marina and our 'FLOATING CABIN' with about an hour left before the sunset.  Beautiful.  We're getting desensitised to "wow!" moments here!  This makes me want to get a house boat on a lake.
We drove for gas and groceries, but I must've taken my eye off the nozzle, because gas sprayed over all of us!  Holy shit.  Scary.  We wiped down, and washed clothes and showered at home.  Yikes.  That was one of the very few negative things that happened among the numerous positives of this trip.
We made homemade ragu sauce, pasta, drank a 6-pack of Bell's Oktoberfest, watched Netflix, and passed out.
What a day!

Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 8: Atlanta, GA to Suches, GA

Picked up Lauren at the airport this morning!!  Damn- I actually went to the international terminal and made her find me.  Whoops.  I blame the airport signage though.
We hit the road out of Atlanta traffic and were soon in the high trees.

We came to a beautiful lake and stopped to walk around and take some pictures.

But when we came back, I dropped the bike trying to back it out of the gravel parking spot.  Luckily Lauren wasn't on the back at the time.  Also, I'm glad the bike had big crash bars so the bike didn't get damaged.  It was so heavy that both Lauren and I couldn't pick it up, and a came over and quietly helped us get the bike upright.  And then... I dropped it again!  The stranger quietly helped again, but I was mortified, and really off my game for a while afterwards.
From Dougs suggestion, we made it to Wolf Mountain Vineyards and enjoyed some wine with lunch, and a spectacular view.

Afterwards, the roads got really twisty-turny.  "Double-black diamond" level, I'd say.  We found a quiet stream and took a stroll.  Eventually, we found our campsite by a beautiful lake, got groceries, set up the tent, and tried to build a fire, but the wood was wet and wouldn't catch (even with gas-tank gasoline soaked towels! ha!).  So, we ate a can of chili beans for dinner, and peanut butter and chocolate squares for desert, and it was delicious :)
It was freezing overnight and we could hear wolves howling through the mountains.

Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 7: Jacksonville, FL to Atlanta, GA

Very interesting day of riding today!
With the GPS broken (since after DAY 2), I've been writing directions on my forearm.

It's been hot enough down here to wear short sleeves.  It wasn't long after I left Jax that it felt like I was in serious swamp-hick country.  At one point I was using the bathroom at a gas station and the other guy in there started talking to me about the automatic hand-dryer (I think), but I swear I couldn't understand A SINGLE WORD in his maybe 5 sentences!  haha!  It like I was in a foreign country.  The roads were long, lonely, and not super interesting, but it was nice.  I was anxious though because I wasn't sure of distances, just which roads to turn onto.

I started passing cotton fields in Coffee County, GA, and got out to touch some soft puffs.
I saw a storm approaching, and casually pulled over to get my rain gear, but then it started raining immediately and I had to rush to change!  After I started riding in the rain, the jacket ripped.  I hope I don't need it again.
Traffic coming into ATL wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.  Doug and Susan look great- I like them a lot.  Dolores, the french bulldog, is adorable.  We went out for sours at Orpheus Brewery, and then delicious BBQ afterwards.  We hung on their balcony, overlooking the city skyline before going to bed.

I'm waking up at 6am tomorrow to book tomorrow's campsite, print directions, and get to the airport to pick up Lauren!

Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 6: Charleston, SC to Jacksonville, FL

Man, what a great time hanging with the Wrights in Charleston!  I packed up after a big breakfast, and found my way south on 17.  There was some car dealerships and urban sprawl for a bit, but then just long quiet road through the coastal marshlands.  Kinda scary to think about breaking down out there.  Very pretty though.
Got to Savannah and immediately started seeing the moss-covered, low-hanging trees I was hoping for.

I rode aimlessly through town for a bit, until I saw a big church, parked, and happened to be just in time for a Latin mass at the Savannah cathedral!  After mass, I was really hoping to find a good quick spot for a shrimp po boy and sure enough, after a 10minute walk: Savannah Seafood Shack!!  It was like finding that oasis in the desert. Ha!  In hindsight, this makes me appreciate not having a smartphone to tell me where everything is.  I got my po boy with hush puppies, delicious, and was back on the road.
Highway down to Jacksonville.  The huge bridge coming into Jax was a little scary on the bike.  Chris and Allison have a great house by the beach.  She's so pregnant!  We hung out with Nola the boxer for a bit before Ubering to a music fest on the beach!  Music, weirdos, clouds of pot smoke, beer, food trucks... it was great!  Got a burger and then a beer at Green Room Brewery.
Big, fun day!

Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 5: Rest day in Charleston

No riding today.

We had coffee and breakfast, and then went to the beach with the dog and kid.  Dog beach!  You can let them off their leash, and Madeleine will chase her ball nonstop.  Tucker is cute, splashing in the water.

Got some sandwiches, and then Ben and I checked out 2 Blokes Brewery and Ghost Monkey Brewery.
Came back home, cleaned up, and went to a 1yr old's bday party.  There were about 10 1-2yr olds running around, and parents doting and watching.  I was trying to crack some jokes at the beverage and cupcake areas, but quickly found out that the humorous things about the party were lost on everyone- I was the only single guy/person there!
From there, Ben and I went to two different Edmunds Oast Brewery locations, met up with Will, and then went to Lewis BBQ!  We pigged out.

Then Revelry Brewery.
Then a house party of Ohio State football fans watching the game.  A bunch of the guys there were still kinda college fratboy douchebags, but it was still fun mucking around.  I got to hang with Steve French too!
Big day.  Going to bed in 'meat-sweats'.

Motorcycle Road Trip, DAY 4: Easley, SC to Charleston, SC

Oooff!  My head is still buzzing even though I arrived here in Charleston hours ago!  That bike is LOUD!!
This morning we made breakfast at the lake house, and then took the kayaks out.  Lake Saluda is gorgeous and seems to still have a bunch of properties that have not yet been turned into massive mansion estates on the water.  Rusty and I paddled out for about an hour and finally arrived in front of Debbie's place.  She was a ton of fun and then even offered to put the kayaks in her pontoon boat and drive us back across the lake!

So, I didn't hit the road until late today after an adventurous morning.  This meant that I was absolutely ripping the throttle east on 26 to make it to Charleston at a reasonable hour (hence why my ears and head are still ringing).  I almost crashed today.  I was coming into an off-ramp too fast- I wasn't going to make the turn and had to hit the brakes pretty heavy.  Stupid mistake- I was just in the mindset of getting to my destination quickly.  It's not a good way to ride.  I should remember that and allot more time for each days journey.

So happy to be in Charleston now!  I love it here at Ben and Kelly's place.  Theres Madeleine (one of my favorite pit bulls), and now young Tucker!!  He's adorable, but seems like he worries too much for a 1yr old, hahaha!
I will rest up here until Sunday.