It was mostly cloudy in the morning and mostly sunny in the afternoon. Despite the sun, the temperature was about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the prior day – a welcome relief.
Day’s distance: 381 miles
Total trip distance: 7,382 miles
As mentioned in my prior post, I changed my travel plans to avoid Myrtle Beach over the long weekend. Instead, I decided to head up to the Mt. Airy area early.
Trivia: Did you know that Andy Griffith, of Mayberry fame, was born in Mt. Airy? I didn’t, at least not until I pulled into a gas station there and saw a rack of ‘Beyond Mayberry: A Memoir of Andy Griffith and Mount Airy North Carolina’ books in paperback and looked up Andy’s history on wikipedia, confirming his birthplace.
Deciding to travel almost 400 miles and not leaving town until after 10am, I felt a bit of pressure to make some miles. Despite the GPS estimating the trip to take six hours, I knew it would take at least eight, including stops for fuel and food.
My route took me across three state lines but the interstates weren’t particularly scenic until reaching Virginia and beginning the climb into the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Before arriving at the campground, I stopped at a roadside food trailer (shack?) for dinner. I had picked up a few more Mountain House (dehydrated) meals for use, but anytime I can try local food, I usually do so.
The campground I chose is a motorcycle-only camp, and this was going to be my first experience at such a camp. I arrived a little after 7pm and set up camp in the field along with the twenty or so others.
Every night, there is a campfire where most of the campers gather. I found the other riders friendly and open at tonight’s campfire. I look forward to some local area rides and at least one more night here.