Hawai'ian River

My alarm went off at 6 AM as usual. I turned it off and before I can get up, C.E. was up and in the bathroom. This was a first for me this trip. I was not the first one up. C.E. washed and started to get dressed when I finally was able to get to the bathroom. We both got dressed and packed up our bags. We then went downstairs to get breakfast. The Holiday Inn was serving a buffet breakfast and charging $8.95. The continental breakfast was at another station. That is where we went. We had breakfast when Bruce walked in. Chuck came in the Ken. Later, Jan walked in. He told us that he didn't sleep in late, he just didn't feel like coming down. After we all ate, we went upstairs and got our bags to load up the Motors. After we loaded the Motors, Jan rode with me across the street to a Credit Union. I needed to get some money. Being Saturday, the Credit Union was closed, however, the drive through was open. I was there at 9 AM when it opened. I asked for money and they wouldn't give me any. The lady asked me if I was a member. I told her that I was, however, in Phoenix. She told me that she could not access my account so she didn't give me any money. I hate her! The others arrived and waited for me. I was done with that lady and we left at 9:09 AM. with Ken leading.



We rode for 35 miles. It was overcast and at 9:53 AM we stopped in St. Albans at a Harley shop. Actually we had passed it and Bruce was dancing on his Motor so that Ken would make a u-turn and return to the Harley store. Ken did and we returned to the Harley store. We had been riding on US 60 which was running next to the Kanawha River. I was curious as to the name of the river and I looked it up as the Harley boys were inside the store drooling over the new Harleys. It was funny that after we made the initial stop, parked our Motors in front of the building, entered and made a pit stop, the Gold Wing riders went outside and sat on their Motors. Why not, we don't need anything from the Harley store. One by one the guys were coming up to me and asking for the name of the river. I told them the name and they went on their merry way. Bruce asked me and I told him. He told me that that was a Hawai'ian name. I told Bruce that Kanawha was not Hawai'ian that it was American Indian. I had to laugh. Bruce went in and bought a Harley shirt. We left at 10:22 AM.



Ken led us for another 78.2 miles and we stopped in South Charleston, WV at 10:28 AM. We stopped for gas. We left at 10:41 AM.



It was my turn to lead again. Jan was behind me, then C.E., then Chuck, then Bruce and Ken. The next section of the road was called the Midland Trail. It was a trail used in the 1700's by animals only. Humans and their wagons could not utilize them. Then President Washington ordered that the trail be improved for human use. It is now part of US 60. We rode this road and it had beautiful landscape. We continued for 42.5 miles and I pulled into the Kanawha Falls, or as Bruce would call them, the "Hawai'ian River Falls." The "Hawai'ian Falls" were in a little town named Glen Farris. We spent some time here looking at the falls, doing a little hiking (to the falls), and taking pictures. It had warmed up a little so we all took off and packed our jackets. We left Bruce's Hawai'ian Falls at 12:29 PM.



It was time to have lunch and I figured that I would stop at the first Subway that we came across. After riding 2.4 miles, we entered a small town named Gauley Bridge. The first building was a gas station/mini-mart/Subway. I made a quick turn in and we entered and had lunch at 12:32 PM. After we were served our lunch, we went into the dining area. It was pretty cool because the one wall was all window facing the Kanawha River (Hawai'ian River). As we ate, we looked out to the river. It was very serene. At one point, Chuck told us that he saw a fish jump out of the water. (I'm sure that Bruce thought it was a Hawai'ian fish, a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a) Someone said that the fish was probably like the Moose that Chuck saw on our Four Corner's Ride. We finished lunch and left at 1:40 PM.



We continued on the Midland Trail, aka US 60. As we were riding the speed limit was 55 mph. We quickly came up to a 90 degree turn that went from 55 mph to 25 mph with a railroad track cutting across the street. Talk about a strong pucker factor! Jan told me later that when he noticed the turn, he saw me just prior to the turn and then I disappeared. It WAS a quick turn. The rest of this ride was awesome. There were many curves and twisties, hills and valleys. Fortunately for us, there was a black Chevy Tahoe in front of me which kept me from going faster. I even made a 2 minute 15 second video of part of this ride. I didn't want to make a long video. It was hard enough to make the curves and twisties operating the Motor with one hand and also operating the brake with the same hand, while the other hand was operating the camera. It was an awesome ride and, unfortunately, the ride ended and we rode into the town of Reinelle after riding 37.0 miles. We made a pit stop and some of us changed our shorts! No, I'm just kidding. We talked about our next stop. It was getting late and if we stayed on US 60, we would go slower and through many other small towns. We opted to get on the interstate and get into Virginia as soon as possible. We left at 2:41 PM.



We returned onto US 60 and soon after I pulled onto I-64 after about 16 miles. We rode I-64 and were able to ride 75 mph. The road was very smooth and not very much traffic. After riding for 46.8 miles, I pulled into the Virginia Visitor Center at 3:30 PM. It was a welcomed stop. We were tired. As Jan put it, we came down from the adrenaline rush of the 37 miles curvy ride. We took a break and looked for a Best Western that we could stop at in Lexington, VA. I put it in the navigation system and away we went. We left at 3:57 PM.



We were on I-64 and enjoying the ride. It had gotten cooler and we all had put on our jackets back at the Visitor Center. It was a good thing because it got down to 61 degrees. As we were riding in the inside lane just prior to entering Lexington, there was a Highway Patrol car parked in the median facing us. As I passed the car, I noticed that the Officer was on a cell phone. We all passed him and Chuck got me on the CB and told me that the Officer had gone after a car that behind us. Better him that us! The navigation system got us to the Best Western at 4:46 PM after riding 56.3 miles. Jan, Bruce, C.E. and Ken went in to "make the deal" and soon came out. They didn't want to deal. The price was $159 a night. No thanks! We rode to the other side of I-64 where there was another Best Western. They only had one room left. The clerk at this Best Western called another motel for us, but they were full. She told the guys that 3 miles down the rode were 3 more motels. We left at 5:06 PM.



We rode for 5.4 miles and came up to a Day's Inn, Travelodge and Economy Inn. We stopped at the Day's Inn at 5:12 PM. Ken and Bruce went to the other two motel to see how much they charged. Too much! We "made the deal" at the Day's Inn. When Jan and Bruce returned, all but Chuck and me entered and the clerk sweetened the deal with a lower price. Sold! We check in. there was a restaurant on the grounds. We went to our rooms, unloaded our Motors and tucked them in for the night. Soon we walked back to the restaurant and had dinner. After dinner, we were sitting at our table and Chuck started playing with his phone...again. He found the App. for pedometer. He decided that he was going to go exercise and have his phone/pedometer count the amount of steps he took as he and Ken walked across the street to the gas station/mini-mart to buy some beer. Yup, that's right...beer. We all returned to our rooms and a few feet from our rooms was a picnic table on some very green grass and a small hill with plenty of trees and foliage. We had the beer and some laughs, at each other's expense. That is what it is all about. Good friend, good times.



Today we rode only 229 miles. As C.E. put it, "these back roads slowed us down quite a bit." We may have only ridden for 229 miles but, the were fun miles. Those roads with curves and twisties make it well worth it. If you haven't noticed, we have passed the week mark. This is our 8th day. Tomorrow we will be in Virginia Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. So, until tomorrow...