Chapter Two of the Vacation Chronicles!

Here we were, on the road for the second half of 2500 mile motorcycle adventure.

We followed our new Pennsylvania friends, Brad and Val, across the state of Arkansas, through a corner of Missouri, down across Tennessee, a small corner of North Carolina and into the mountains of northern Georgia, This took the better part of two days with a whopping 480 miles the first day. For me, that was the first time we traveled that far on the Harley all in one day. Luckily we avoided the rain and only had to deal with strong winds the first half of the day. Day two found us racing to get up and on the road ahead of another rain storm.

We didn't quite make it! We soon drove out of it but still watched the skies around us. I love this photo of the Tennessee hills as we approached Chattanooga. Thank goodness for our rain gear and the Weather Channel radar iphone application!

Here's our fearless leader, Brad on his 2009 Harley Davidson Screamin Eagle Road Glide.

And here is courageous Val, on her 2005 (?) Screamin Eagle Ultra Classic. They've ridden all over the country and been in just about every state. We met several women who ride their own bikes this past week. I certainly do admire them, but I know it is something I would never try. Life is so much less stressful when just riding along in the passenger seat!

Our final destination, Copperhead Lodge! Located just outside Blairsville, Georgia, this is a resort community dedicated to motorcycle enthusiasts. It was a great location for the CVO Harley Ribfest. Of course many of the same people were here that were in Eureka Springs, but lots of others too.

Isn't this a beautiful fireplace with the motorcycle rock work?

This photo was taken from the back deck of our cabin one morning. There were several other cabins back in the trees behind the lodge. Where we stayed, we were treated to an automatic alarm clock, courtesy of the chicken farm next door! The lodge houses a small restaurant too. FOOD PHOTO for those of you who look forward to them! This was D's prime rib dinner. One of the funniest moments of the trip occurred when Dennis asked for his potato. It was so small that he didn't see it on his plate next to that big hunk of meat! (You had to be there. It was much funnier then!)

Ribs for the Ribfest were provided by "Hogbreath" but Eddie tended the smoker and did a fine job!

We didn't want to try to keep up with the large group rides on the twisty, curvy roads in the area. But we enjoyed riding with Val and Brad and even stopped and shopped in a couple little towns. We did manage to find the larger group having lunch at a small German restaurant in Helen, GA.

Of course we battled the raindrops just about every day. Even as we headed out Sunday morning and stopped at the site of the kayaking events of the 1996 Olympics. One last group shot with Val and Brad. Another vacation is history. But we've got fond memories and new friends. We enjoyed riding with and getting to know our Pennsylannia, Texas and Iowa friends and many others. We hope to cross paths with many of them again at the next CVO Harley event!