Ride Report - Charlotte on Charlotte

[malibu_dan]

I had pinged my buddy--yes I call @red bud a buddy. Sometimes I call him my favorite leprechaun, but I don't want to offend anyone's sensitivities; not worried about his, just the rest of y'alls. He said he was coming up to the area for a visitation, he had lost a riding friend when someone crossed the double yellow and hit him. I hate that kind of news, but was looking forward to seeing Mark for breakfast, even if it was not the best of circumstances.





This was the second recommendation in town for breakfast, the number one spot wasn't open on Sundays, so...



Ready to tackle a day in the mountains after a hearty breakfast!



...to be continued...

[Fjrwillie]

My Spyder's name is Charlotte. Yes, it's a literary reference--and a movie we all cried at (admit it, it will make you feel better to be honest). However, she can't read. So, she wanted to visit the town that's her namesake.

Okay, that's not true. The trip is to go pick up a new (to me) used trailer from a bloke named Jerry, yes over in Charlotte. It all kind of happened quickly, first a buddy asked if I wanted to go to a Rally in Maggie Valley. Room was already paid for, and his wife bailed on him (foreshadowing). Speaking of domestic disturbances, see below... more on that later.



But the tale really revolved around me finding a trailer to pull behind Charlotte used... in Charlotte. Seemed like fate. Rally in NC. Trailer in NC. Charlotte... you get the idea. Feels like kismet. So, let's tear the Spyder apart and rewire stuff, and I don't know. It just seems every time a trip is on the horizon, the bike has to look like this a few days ahead of time!



...to be continued...

Title says it

[malibu_dan]

So, baby-girl wanted to stop...



At this antique mall place.





But apparently, no one buys antiques on a Sunday in the mountains.



Lots of historicalicular towns up here in dem hills.



Don't think this tractor would have fit in the trailer anyways...



Well, let's jump back on the scooter and check out the waterfalls--I bet they're open!

...to be continued...

[malibu_dan]

During the early morning hours of November 6, 1977, after five days of torrential rain, the dam that held back the waters of Kelly Barnes Lake broke, and 176 million gallons of water surged over the 186 foot falls, crashing through the Toccoa Falls College campus below in the space of a few minutes. Most of the college personnel who lived in the path of the flood were asleep at the time, and 39 of them were carried to their deaths in the raging waters of Toccoa Creek. The dam was not rebuilt. A quick check of the skies to make sure no rain...



This is one of the few buildings that survived the disaster of 1977.



I wonder if the trailer is buoyant enough to float the Spyder to safety...



Gate must be to keep out the skinny dippers at night.







I don't get it. Why is it called "thumb face"?



Our first glimpse!



Some folks claim that Toccoa Falls is the tallest free-falling waterfall in the Eastern United States, though at least four others are taller, including Crabtree Falls in Virginia which is a 1000 foot cascading falls, including one drop of almost 400 feet.



We almost had the place to ourselves...



not counting this guy.



But within moments that all would change.



Oh, no, here they come. "Look Earl, it's a waterful!"





Let's get out of here.

...to be continued...

[kngfsh27]

I see a member of your family getting a degree in electrical engineering.

[malibu_dan]

I see a member of your family getting a degree in electrical engineering.

Hmmm, engineer? Might work. She needs to make good money, as she gets her expensive tastes from me. Her mom (and her brother) are the frugal ones.

[malibu_dan]

Time to bring it home! Thanks for following along with us.

"Okay, baby-girl, we can hit one more show-stopper on the way home. Do you want to go to Helen, GA and drink while watching drunk people tube by on the lazy river--or do you want to go where the real bikers go, and stop by Two Wheels of Suches, GA?"

Her choice...



I'll let the pictures speak.





"Yeah, so? I like fried pickles, and not those sliced ones. Wedges, baby!" (paraphrased)



Time to motor on. She said she was happy with her choice.



Okay, one last stop at an overlook. A spot shared by all those who love Aimee!



...that's all for now, until the next trip...

[Rattlebars]

Wonderful read. Thanks. From Youngstown Ohio to Greenville and back I rode and drove by Jimmy's peach many times both with the old skin and now the new on it. My grandaughter always said it looked like a butt crack with the old skin. The new skin with the leaf accents was needed to dispel that legend.

I do hate the 85 corridor between Charlotte and Greenville. Terrible road and not a place you want to be @ 4pm. My truck lost a fuel pump passing Gaffney. After a tow and the week long repair ($15000) and some crazy remarks about rust from the jobber who had never been above the Ohio river I got to drive that corridor 2 extra times. Now that I have my house in Taylors SC, I won't ever drive that road again. Instead I take 81 through Asheville.

Your daughter looks like a peach herself in the best sense of the word. Thanks for sharing.

[ARtraveler]

Great report.

[easysuper]

What a great story, thanks for sharing, our kids grow up so dang fast. My son is now 45 and it seems like yesterday he was 10. He got me back into riding after I had quit for a number of years. This Fathers Day He and my granddaughter went on a week long ride down the Oregon Coast and was a special treat for me.