On the road to Boone

This morning brought another cloudy cool day. All of us are ready to see a bit more of the sun!  We decided to go to the main dining room for a hearty breakfast, before getting on the road. We pulled out of the hotel parking lot about 7:30, much earlier than the previous day. We really wanted to finish out day much earlier than yesterday. Dinner at 9PM is a bit too late for us.

We gassed up before getting on the interstate for our 10 mile drive back to the parkway. As we were pulling out, the rain got started!  While John put in the gas, I had been busy putting a new coating of RainX on the windshield.  That was a good decision!

Soon, we were back on the parkway. I saw large areas of Trillium, most of it wasn't blooming. We saw another wild turkey and a small herd of deer were observed grazing along the roadside. This morning, the fog and mist was very thick, so we crawled along for about 8 miles. We stopped at the Mabry Mill and enjoyed a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.  The mill still produces grits and buckwheat flour. It is now run by the National Parks Service. The mill was able to saw lumber, grind meal or flour, or operate woodworking equipment.

Mabry Mill - on the Parkway

We continued our drive in the light rain, driving in and out of the low clouds. In some places, there was zero visibility. This has probably been the worst weather we've driven Miz B in - ever!  As we climbed in altitude, we again saw snow along the roadway. Amazing how much colder it is up on the parkway as opposed to down on the valley floors.

We got off the parkway near Mt. Airy - Home of Andy Griffith. The town is what the Andy Griffith Show was modeled after. We enjoyed a great lunch at the Snappy Lunch. It definitely was snappy!  Almost no wait time and very cheap!  A fun place to have lunch. Then it was next door to Floyd's Barber Shop.

John Cockerill waiting for his haircut at Floyd's.

Gentleman in the tie is the character Griffith based Floyd on!  He is still cutting hair!

John at Floyd's Barber Shop

Fay and Bill Prince pose with Barney in Mayberry.

Soon it was time for us to continue our journey on the parkway. We gassed up and made our way back. The weather down off the parkway had been much less rainy, but we soon discovered that it was still foggy and rainy on the parkway.   Our group of 4 doubled for the next 30 miles, as 4 other Model A's joined us.   But, once we pulled over for a quick stop the others went on down the parkway.

The sun made a welcomed, yet brief appearance about mid afternoon. It made for much faster travel.

We arrived at our mile post to exit for the city of Boone. We were only 10 miles from our hotel and we all were ready to quit for the day.

After checking in, we drove the few short blocks to the historic Dan'l Boone Inn for a family style supper of fried chicken.  It was delicious!

We decided to meet at 7:30 in the morning for breakfast then to get back on the Blue Ridge Parkway to head for Asheville in the morning.