Buena Vista
Riding
out of Lusby was like learning to ride a bike all over again. My anxieties about saddlebags being buckled,
bungy cords coming off, yada yada started all over again. So before getting on the US4 and riding over
the tall Patuxent River bridge, I pulled into a KFC parking lot and did a
complete inspection, again.
While
doing that, Al Scroggs, a young man and his wife stopped by in their car and
Semper Fi’d me. He served in the Marine Corps
and told me about his father or uncle (I forget the exact relationship) Frank
Walton who was an enlisted pilot in the USMC.
I hope to hear from him so we can stay in touch and I can confirm the
names.
With
Sophia totally pre-flighted I headed over the bridge into VA towards
Fredricksburg. East of the burg I took
US20 south towards Orange and skirted east around Charlottesville to get onto
I-64 towards Afton/Waynesboro where I would connect to the Blue Ridge Parkway
(BRP). After tanking up with fuel I
headed to the BRP starting point and
found a closed up motel/gas station/restaurant area where a fella by the name
of Ron was selling caramel popcorn that he prepared on site out of the back of
his Van. Ron was making a killing and
sold the last of his big bags at about $10 a bag (I think). We got some photos taken of us. Then it was off to the entry of the BRP…no
sooner did I turn onto it then there was the big welcome sign.
Riding
the parkway was a mixed bag of emotions.
Overwhelming vistas from almost every lookout point which seemed to be
located at every other mile. Lush
greenery all along side the road, and a good road at that…all seemed to be well
maintained. The road is a narrow 2 lane
road with no passing zones and speed limit set at 45. I entered the BRP around 4:30 PM so after
about an hour of riding and stopping for photos I realized there was no way I
could make it to Fancy Gap before nightfall.
I couldn’t remember if the Otter Creek campgrounds were before Buena
Vista or vice versa but whichever showed up first was going to be my stopping
point. Fortunately it was Buena Vista.
Bailing
off the BRP to BV was easy and right at the entry to the town was the Buena
Vista motel. The place was old style and
clean and at the reasonable price I’m willing to pay. The owner, an Indian gentleman, gave me a
discount and graciously marked restaurant locations on the town map that he
provided for me. After checking the room
out I headed into the night towards downtown and found the Mexican restaurant
closed but the Canton Chinese restaurant still open. This is a family owned restaurant and the
son/daughter had the duty for the night in the brightly lit but empty
place. I was warmly welcomed with hot
tea that I ordered and the thoroughly enjoyed the spicy kung pao chicken
dinner. This dinner was equal or better
to the CA restaurants and made to be authentic Chinese.
This
is a very quiet location….I’m gonna sleep well
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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