2015 Maggie Valley Motorcycle trip
Day 7
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July 1
Donna is smiling so the weather must be good.
 It had been raining earlier this morning but the skies have been clear for a while. The weather girls say we will have a window of several hours of decent weather. Today we are going to Cherokee to do some shopping...but first we hang out on the deck. Socialize. Check the computers.
 Our first stop today will be Bearmeat's Indian Den just outside Cherokee. I remember riding by it but I'm a little fuzzy on exactly where it is. John knows where it is so he is leading. It'll be fun to follow for awhile.
Despite a clear radar there are still some dark clouds floating around.
 There's something I've disliked about my last few cameras but I don't know how to explain it. In this picture Mike looks like he is about 200 feet in front of me. In reality he is about 40-50 feet. The camera adds in extra picture on the sides and makes everything look far away. I'm not sure what the official term for this is, but I don't like it. I want Mike to look like he is 40-50 feet in front of me like it is in real life. Does anyone have a solution for me? What is the camera term I'm looking for?
The orange car body is from one of Bill Elliott's IROC Camaros.
Mike gettin' him some curve. 
 Bearmeat's has a lot of authentic Indian-made souveniors. Not the usual 'made in China' authentic Indian stuff like most of the stores in Cherokee have. I bought some stuff here for Mom & Dad for helping watch Buford. 
 From Bearmeat's we moved on to downtown Cherokee, parking at the visitor center. Each couple went their own way to check out the shops.
I've always liked the Beetle convertibles but I have mixed emotions about the new style. It's not as cute. On these shopping excursions I pretty much follow Donna around while she shops. I enjoy it. I like to watch her pretty blue eyes dart around while she looks at stuff. She is looking for gifts for her kids and herself. From the visitor center we headed east down one street, crossed over, and back down the other. Donna enters every store with hope that she'll find something cool. I enter every store and think to myself they have the same Chinese crap the last store did. They must all order from the same 'Indian souvenoir' catalog. I know Donna will be looking for purses and Minnetonka moccasins so I help her find them and keep track of the prices. Over the course of the day she found gifts for her kids. She bought a dreamcatcher for Shanon who has been watching the house and Buford. She found a 'sassy' shirt she liked and a ponytail holder. She got some moccasins half off. She found a purse she liked but decided to wait. I carry her bags so she can concentrate on shopping. It takes two hands to shop...ha! I found a strap for my sunglasses. Near the end of the loop we met John & Debby outside the Subway and had something to drink. No food though, we'll be having leftovers later for lunch. Eventually we all met back at the visitor center. I think Pat & Christy covered the most ground.
A Mustang GT fire marshal's car? Nice.
Debby offered to carry the dreamcatcher in the trike trunk but it didn't fit. Donna had to hold it. 
Eastbound and down back to the house with dark clouds following.
 On the way to the house we experienced sprinkles and drenched roads just as we reached the curvy part of US19. We took it a little slower. Curves and wet roads don't mix. Back at the house we had leftovers for lunch and more strawberry pie. We sat on the deck and waited for the rain to pass. The weather girls announced a clearing would be coming soon. We decided to ride to a few of the bike shops to look for helmets. John & Debby's helmets are a few years old and have become uncomfortable. They hurt the top of their heads and pinch their cheeks. Donna has lost weight this year and her helmet has become floppy. We'll see what we can find.
The rain moved off and at 15:55 we wiped off the bikes and headed for the bike shops.
 Our first stop was at Smoky Mountain Steel Horses. They are an Indian dealer and had several beautiful Indians on display. They had a decent selection of helmets. Donna tried several on and the Bell 500 series consistently fit her best.
 She also found a stylin' pair of sunglasses. She has problems with the temples of sunglasses being pushed into her head by the motorcycle helmet. These glasses had wraparound temples that fit her head perfectly.
 John has been enamored with the Polaris Slingshot ever since he saw one on a business trip. They had a couple here so he got to sit in one. He and the service manager talked about them for a long time.
 Our next stop was the Waynesville Cycle Center...the local Honda dealer. It ended up being a pain to get there. Instead of a median the highway is divided by guardrail. Every so often there is a place to do a U-turn. When the GPS announced 'we were here' we were still in the right lane and a long line of cars kept us from turning. We had to punch it and go to the next crossover. Mike was still fighting with traffic and had to go farther down the road. This wasn't the greatest shop. They didn't have a very good selection of helmets or bikes. At one point Donna got a scowl on her face and said "Oh no." It was pouring outside.
We piddled around until the rain was pretty much over, then we headed back towards Maggie Valley.
 Maggie Valley, NC. 17:48, mileage 80,463 - Along the way Mike pulled alongside and pointed to his gas tank. Understood. We bought some pop and snacks while we were there.
 On the way back we stopped at the Leather Shack. They had a much better selection than the place we stopped at the other day. Donna found a lighter holder with her name on it. No purses though. She is regretting not buying the purse in Cherokee. That evening we ordered food from Snappy's Pizza and had it delivered. It was great and the portions were HUGE. Donna and I split a calzone and she couldn't finish her piece. We also received some bummer news tonight. Christy found out today that she had the opportunity to attend her daughter's upcoming swearing-in ceremony for the Air Force. To be there on time her & Pat would have to cut their vacation short by a day and leave early in the morning. We didn't want them to go but we understood. They will take off at 4:30am tomorrow morning. That evening they backed their bike into the garage and hooked up their trailer. We spent that evening on the deck reminiscing about the trip. The weather report for tomorrow isn't good so we will have to play it by ear.
60 miles. Click here for the next day's adventure.
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