Blue Ridge Parkway Cruise

[FloweryBranchCruiser]

Thu-Sun, Sep 8-11, The Great American PT Parkway Tour. This is a multi-day event to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is a bonus day up front for those that would like to come across Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park. This year, rather than ending in Cherokee, we will cross the Smokies to Gatlinburg for our final evening together.

Wednesday, Bonus Day. We will leave Front Royal at 9 am headed across Skyline Drive. Along this path are many scenic views including Skyland, the highest point in the Shenandoah National Park. The total length of Skyline Drive is 105.4 miles as we end in Waynesboro.

Thursday, 1st Day of tour. Leave hotel at 8 am headed onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will stop at Bedford VA to visit the National D-Day Memorial (www.dday.org) and have lunch. We will have a guided tour of the memorial that is $5 per person. Lunch will be at Old Liberty Station (www.oldlibertystation.com) where prices are quite reasonable. We will then finish up our cruise for the day by going to Mount Airy NC (yes, Mayberry) where will spend the evening enjoying each other's company. Dinner will be on your own at any of a number of local establishments and you will be free to explore Mayberry. Total Parkway miles for the day is 199.5. This is our longest day.

Friday, 2nd day of tour. Leave hotel at 9:30 am headed for Boone NC. Along the way we will see a number of beautiful sights. Once we arrive in Boone, we will check into our hotel and then head for Lenoir NC to see the traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial at Lenoir Mall. Total Parkway miles is 103.6. Those who choose not to go to Lenoir can have dinner in Boone (there are lots of choices). For those traveling to see the wall, we will have dinner there.

Saturday, last day on the tour. Leave hotel at 8:30 am. After a stop at Linville Caverns (www.linvillecaverns.com) for a tour ($5 per person), we will circumnavigate around the only remaining portion of the Parkway that is not open yet from last year's devastating storm. Our exact route will be determined just prior to the event when we can be sure of exactly what roads are still closed. We will wind our way back to the end of the Parkway in Cherokee and turn right. We won't be staying in Cherokee this year due to the large motorcycle crowd there that weekend (hotel rates nearly tripled). Instead, we will go an hour over the Smokey Mountains to Gatlinburg where we will stay at the Homestead House (those who have gone on Becky's fabulous Cruise the Smokies will know this place). We will have a dinner together somewhere to culminate our week together.

OK, this year there will be a $25 registration fee per car that will include your dash plaque, event mug and tons of printed info. T-shirts will be available via CafePress once our logo is finalized.

Hotel info:

Front Royal, VA, Bluemont Inn, 540-635-9447, $53 plus tax, Tuesday night, Sep 6

Waynesboro VA, Quality Inn, 540-942-1171, $$61.27 includes tax and continental breakfast, Wednesday night, Sep 7

Mt. Airy NC, Comfort Inn, 1-800-672-1667, $64.90 includes tax and continental breakfast, Thursday night, Sep 8

Boone NC, Comfort Suites, 1-888-854-5959, $89 plus tax includes deluxe continental breakfast, Friday night, Sep 9

Gatlinburg TN, Homestead House. 1-800-233-4663, $67.50 includes tax and continental breakfast, Saturday, Sep 10