Today was a bit of a break for us as we attempted to disconnect for a little, enjoy some scenery, and take a very windy road north. This did require some delicate planning as there are some tunnels (not trying to decapitate Nelly) and it is not the most efficient way to travel. Our GPS repeatedly tried to get us off the Blue Ridge. Silly technology thinking we wanted to be efficient.
Only a few miles in did we come across a significant accident that required us to turn around and regroup to a new path to enter the Parkway. A fine start indeed. Thankfully, the views along the way were pretty worth it.
The biggest challenge with traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway is that it takes deceptively long to drive. Not only are there many overlooks (which if you are like Mike and Juan, you stop at most of them), but it is also very windy and the max speed is 45 MPH. We did our best to enjoy the road and stay committed to it while we could. Some stormy weather at Mt. Mitchell and a road closure a bit further down gave us enough inspiration to cut some losses and start going a bit more directly to our campground. This spared us from rolling in at an “unreasonable” hour.
This was a bit of the calm before the storm as we mentally prepare for a breakneck pace of 5 gatherings in 3 days (and a stop at Mike’s house for his mom’s birthday!). Wish us luck, enjoy some photos, and be well!
PS: We will be releasing more of the interviews soon, so keep checking back here and on Instagram for updates on that front! We’ve got lots of cool stuff to share.
M-n(elly)-J