Sun. 26 Jun. - Marietta to Gatlinburg pt. 2 ...

I enjoyed the coffee, and eventually we leave,re  fill up the bikes with Gas and make our way north towards Highlands where we'll have our lunch stop.

Along the way we leave Georgia (GA) and enter NC (Nort Carolina).

The road is now "much less travelled", scenic, and we're getting up towards the smoky mountains.

We're in the Nantahala National Forest now, and at the Bridal Veil Falls (Google it) we  make a brief stop for photos...

Futher up the road, in the town of Cheokee, theres the "retail therapy" stop at the local Harley Davidson merchandise store. Mrs. K and I buy ourselves a Tee shirt each.

Just as we're leaving Cherokee, bound for the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, the heavens open (innevitably). Fortunately we're able to pull over to a picnic shelter and take cover there whilst the thunder and lightnig passes over.

20mins, though still raing, the worst of the storm has passed, so we get going (by now we've donbned waterproof jackest/trousers.

As we go, the rain coninues to ease up, and after just a few miles the roads are bone dry, and dry so it is, from there, all the way into our overnight stop at the Two Rivers Best Western Motel in Gatlinburg.

Being a motel, we can park the bikes right outside our rooms, so convienient for bags and so on.

Our room, 484,  is double sided in that it has a front door on two dides - one side being right over the river, the other doior where the bikes are parked.

Chatanooga is very touristy. The tour guide described it as "a bit like Blacpool in it's heyday", and the main strip has more than its fare share of tacky tat shops. We're only here for tonight, and its quite late by the time we get out, so Mrs. K and I just grab a quick snack and explore the shops until we;re tired of it. Even though it's a Sunday most places are still open 'till 10pm.

There's 2 or 3 (at least) "moonshine" places, and quite a few selling Guns and Ammo and big knives and stuff. Why?