Road Trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and Knoxville, TN June 19 thru June 27, 2004
Ken & Tina, Wayne and Anita, Tommy and Kathy, Brad and Kim, Tommy and Tammy left from the Shell station in Raceland around 7:00 in the morning. Brad and Kim, friends of ours from Thibodaux led the way as Road Captains. They did an excellent job getting us there safe and sound with little if any back tracking.
First night we stopped just this side of Atlanta for the night and had dinner at "O'Charley's" - great food with reasonable prices.
Tommy and Tammy went on by themselves and the rest of us rode on to Myrtle Beach on Sunday morning arriving late that afternoon. There was plenty of sun and fun to be had by all on Monday, with a band playing at the Cabana bar all afternoon. Kathy and I danced most of the afternoon. Wayne kept sneeking canned beer on the patio. (Big No, No) Checked out a few restaurants while in town including "Crabby Mike's" and "Thorny's". One thing to keep in mind, you can't buy packaged liquor on Sundays and the Harley shop is closed on Mondays in Myrtle Beach.
Left Tuesday morning for Knoxville where we finally hit rain, surprise-surprise. Ordered pizza and hung around the pool that evening.
It rained most of the day on Wednesday, so we decided to make that day the day we attended the "Honda Hoot". Nice rally, but I think I prefer "Biketoberfest" and "Daytonna Bike Week". Ate dinner at "Ruby Tuesdays" - great food.
On Thursday the sun came out again so we chose that day to ride through the mountains. We headed to Pigeon Forge from Knoxville and rode the National Park Road over the mountain to just outside of Cherokee where we picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway and rode to Maggie Valley. Had some great BBQ and checked out the "Wheels Through Time" Harley Davidson Museum while in Maggie Valley. A must see for the Harley enthusiast. Rode on and took the Smokey Mountains Foothill Route to Gatlinburg. Too many people and no place to park so we decided to go on to Pigeon Forge to the Apple Barn for a snack. Caught the 5:00 "Comedy Barn Show" - good wholesome family show, but we all thought it was a bit pricey.
On Friday it rained again, so we desperately tried to rent a couple of cars so we could go on to Dollywood for the day. That took a while and we managed to get to Pigeon Forge in the early afternoon, still raining. Ate at the "Alabama Restaurant" and we decided not to attempt Dollywood with all the rain and most of the day gone, (the cars had to be back for 9:00 p.m.) Took in the "Dixie Stampede Show". Plenty of food and great entertainment. Checked out a couple of souvenir stores before heading back to Knoxville.
Started heading back early Saturday morning, with on and off rain during the day. Stopped in Meridian, MS for the night and headed out Sunday morning for home.
A good time was had by all with no mishaps. We managed to avoid the occasional ladder falling in the middle of the Interstate. Wayne made it home, although we weren't too sure. His bike was making some strange noises since Myrtle Beach. Stopped in two out of three Harley Davidson dealers to check it out. He made it home, but I think it's going to cost him a pretty penny to get it repaired.
Tina