I was up and about reasonably early and retired to the library with my I pad to catch up on a few bits and pieces - the library being strategically located next to the as yet to open coffee shop. An hour later when it did open, the service was hopeless, the staff surly and unhelpful - it makes you wonder.
In absolutely direct contrast the staff in the dining room (breakfast) could not have been more pleasant or gracious, as was our waitress at dinner last night (a lovely Jamaican girl, a long way from home). At last night’s team meeting, in deference to what should have been a fairly short day, Doc very kindly extended our departure time from the usual 8:30 to 9:30, a real bonus for those night owls who find mornings difficult. Again, the forecast was for a cold morning but the sunny spell just before departure nearly fooled a couple who’d worked up a sweat loading bikes, etc, into removing a layer - once underway that would prove a big mistake. Into the hinterland of Virginia then Western Virginia, and a morning of spectacularly beautiful scenery, the painters palette of brilliant vivid reds, yellow, purples, browns and greens beyond description, even more so than in previous days. Wayne and Tina experienced a very close encounter with a deer that emerged from the bush, and ended up running beside them (at pace) - Wayne managed to divert it with a timely wave of his hand, and disaster averted. A bit further up the road we rounded a corned to find a tree trunk blocking most of our lane - fortunately everyone managed to avoid it, but not to have done so would have been lethal. We stopped in a wee town (actually just a cafe with an adjoining hairdresser, both for sale) called Durban, about as far removed from civilisation as you can get (no cell phone coverage), once a thriving community centred around the long since closed Pocahontas tannery. The young waitress quickly arranged coffee ($1.00) and tea ($0.80) for our mob of 18, certainly with more efficiency and personality than her peer at the much more salubrious venue earlier. I suggested that rather than cause the accountants in our midst angst that we settle on $1.00 each for everything, with a decent tip to make it all worthwhile, and so it was. In addition to the menu items, perhaps a little unusually for a diner, they also stocked a range of Remington ammunition- always handy to know. Our resident “Trainspotters “ hit the jackpot - as well as the few gems of rolling stock about, they came across a steam engine - talk about as excited as 8 year old boys! So, another absolutely stunning day on the bikes, scenery that defies description, great roads, great company. We have now arrived in Morgantown and I’ll soon check out what this place is famous for, but based on the conference in progress in the hotel relating to drug abuse in the community p, I suspect Hillbilly Heroin may be a problem. Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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