Great Weather & Sweet Donkey Stop | Blue Ridge Parkway Trip | Updates From The Road | Day 5

Blue Ridge Parkway trip starts right now on Motor Travel USA. So it's about six o'clock in the morning on day five of the Blue Ridge Parkway trip. I'm hearing blowing rock and the haze and fog has lifted, thank God. It does look like some rain is in the forecast so I wanted to head out early. Hopefully beat some of that because I do have a long ride ahead of me today. The radar detector is off because I'm going to be in Virginia and that's illegal but everything is just about packed and I'm ready to go. I'll see you out on the road. Just been riding for a little bit but saw the moon out and thought I'd stop here. There are a lot of people on the Blue Ridge Parkway for this early in the morning. I wonder if it's just people commuting and using the parkway to go to work or something. And then the opposite side, look at that view. Good morning. Just spectacular. Again the sky is on fire. Actually really nice the weather right now. I'd say it's 50s or 60s. Back on the road. First thing in the morning is just spectacular. So many picturesque places. It's probably going take me 15 hours to drive today if I keep stopping but just had to take a look at this. Through is gone. The weather is awesome. Let's hope it stays that way for today. It's gorgeous right now. Just wanted to stop for some coffee now. Those Dunkin Donuts I got yesterday. Just the original. Some nourishment and a granola bar. All right. Yum yum. Yum. That wasn't too bad. Tastes a little sweetened. I don't really like sugar in my coffee but it wasn't too bad. I'd totally get it again. I'm sure the pumpkin spice is probably going to be a little sweeter. But yeah, that was good. Now back on the road. Morning's going great so far. With all the cars in that one section that must have just been commuters. I haven't really seen anybody else on the road except workers from that point. But it's been a great morning. A lot of wildlife out so I had to slow down. Roads are awesome. The fog's gone. Roads are dry. Couldn't ask for anything else. So this northern North Carolina and Virginia area is a lot different than from Blowing Rock South all the way to Cherokee. This is more like rolling hills, pastures, farms. Kind of low in the valley. Whereas Blowing Rock down, we're pretty high in the mountains. Pretty sharp curves. So that's what makes the Blue Ridge Parkway so awesome as well, in my opinion, is the variety. It's not just one type of road. It's so many different things wrapped in one. But really, no matter where you are, even if you're close to Asheville or Roanoke, it feels like you're in the middle of nowhere. Like I don't hear any other engines, any industrial equipment. All I hear are birds and bugs and nature. So nice. Another beautiful spot. Looking over the clouds. Some fog started to roll in and some rain clouds, but nothing yet. The weather is still beautiful and I continue on. I'm at the Mabry Mill right now. I'm not going to stop here. I just had to check the GPS because I thought the GPS was messing up, but it didn't. I've got a little bit more way to go. Never really stopped here. Except for this. Do that another time. All right, back on the road. I did make it here and the GPS was telling me the wrong way. I trusted my instincts and turned around. Jane's Country Kitchen for some late breakfast. See inside. Crazy tom-tom. So that was excellent. I've eaten here before. Jane's Country Kitchen near Meadows of Dan. Wheelville Motorcycle Campground is right down the street. So if you stay there, which is a cool place, you can always come here to eat breakfast and lunch. Not sure if they're open for dinner. But yeah, the GPS was crazy. It wanted, it kept saying turn around when possible and then turn around when possible. So I don't know what was going on. Usually it's pretty reliable, but every once in a while it messes up like that. Now I got to get some gas and continue on, but the weather is awesome today so far. All right, all gassed up in Meadows of Dan. Ran to the convenience store really quick to pick up a couple things. My next stop is Roanoke, Virginia. See you in a little bit. It's heating up a little bit. It's like high 70s now. I'm looking out with no rain. I really thought from the forecast yesterday I was going to get rain and even this morning the radar was showing there's a lot of rain and clouds out to the west. It has been absolutely stunning and beautiful today. Stopping for a little break and continue on to Roanoke. So I did a little google roulette and found this sweet donkey coffee. It's in Roanoke. A little cafe coffee shop. Let's go in and check it out. That was a great cup of coffee. They did a great job. I wish I was hungry for lunch because I'd like to try it out. Just coffee. So if you're ever in the Roanoke area, stop by Sweet Donkey. Amazing cappuccino. Like really good flavored coffee. All right, back on the road. And I made it to the hotel for tonight. The Natural Bridge Hotel. It's right near the Natural Bridge Park. I wanted to check that out so I'm staying here for the evening. So I'm all checked in. This hotel is really nice inside. Really nice lobby. I didn't know what to expect. I'm located over there somewhere. So I'm gonna go check out the room. See you in the room. So in the room, it's a cute little room. Looks like two beds. Maybe full size beds. It does have a refrigerator and a TV. Bathroom. Oh wow, it's a huge shower. I made it just in time to the hotel. Starting to rain right now. Better when I'm checked in than while on the road. Actually, it feels good though because it did warm up a little bit. So the rain has stopped for now and I'm gonna go check out the restaurants here at the hotel. Feeling like a good meal tonight. Let's go check them out. Well, that was good. Had some chicken marsala, some broccoli, as you probably saw. In a few minutes, I'm actually gonna go over to the Natural Bridge. They do a nighttime show with lights and music. Gonna go check that out. Good roads. Couldn't ask for anything more. I'll see you tomorrow.