Blue Ridge Parkway - Day 2 - July 3, 2022

The morning began well. Our bikes were in the parking lot and had not been disturbed. I had a criminal at my door in the evening, and he never came back to rob me. All in all, it was a good start. The only trouble was the rain.

We pulled into a gas station, and as is typically the case, Buttercup engaged a local in conversation. The local reported that where we are headed has such bad wind and rain, that he nearly had to pull off the roadway. Not good for motorcycles. Looking at the radar, the really bad weather was passing beyond our path. We just needed to wait to let it move out. We elected to stop and wait at the only breakfast place in town - Wendys. 

Of course, when we arrived at Wendys, the dining room wasn't open. Our workaround was a "walk thru" rather than a "drive thru." This pic is of Magellan and Buttercup patiently waiting in the line of cars to place their order. 

Just like the "Old Man and the Sea:" now that you've caught the fish, what do you do with the fish? For us, this meant where do we eat our breakfast? The answer is the wet picnic tables of course:

We walked out to our bikes, and an Old Veteran pulled up on a trike: leather vest, leather bandana, few teeth, smoking a cigarette, service and MIA pennants. I don't have a picture of him, but he was riding a Harley trike. 

He was a nice old guy, and was seemingly a little lonely. Buttercup asked if he wanted to ride with us, and he did - for about 30 or 40 miles. We saw him pull off into a gas station when the rain clouds were on the horizon. He was just a nice old guy.

From there, we made some large loops following the Country Music Highway:

I didn't know that Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle were sisters. 

We ended up at Loretta Lynn's childhood home in Butcher Hollow (aka Butcher "Holler"). When I say this was remote - it was really remote. And the area was incredibly impoverished. 

While we could make it to her homestead on paved roads, the final climb up to the house was very steep, with very large stone. There is no way our bikes could make it up there. So we stayed below, and took some photos:

This is a pic of us on the road below:

On the road to Loretta's house was her brother's general store. It was very down-home, and was managed by a very nice guy:

This is a picture of Buttercup's thumb:

Notice the two models on the porch. 

This is a pic of the inside:

And of course, how could you leave without a Moon Pie:

On the way to our hotel, we passed Daniel Boone National Park:

Tonight, we are in Morehead, Kentucky. 

In Kentucky, they have "dry" counties where no alcohol is sold, wet counties where alcohol is sold, and "moist counties" or "limited" counties as defined by the State of Kentucky where there is a hybrid approach. Since the availability of alcohol is by local vote, you can have counties which are dry - as in the county where we are tonight. But local municipalities like Morehead can opt in for alcohol hence the description "moist" or "limited." 

Of the 120 counties in Kentucky, 11 are dry, 53 are wet, and the remaining 56 are "moist."

A study of about 39,000 alcohol related traffic accidents in Kentucky found that residents of dry counties are more likely to be involved in such accidents, possibly because they must drive farther from their homes to consume alcohol, thus increasing impaired driving exposure. The study concluded that county-level alcohol prohibition is not necessarily effective in improving highway safety. So there.

We drove 230 miles today, about half in the rain, and saw some beautiful countryside. Tomorrow, we are on our way to Cherokee, North Carolina.