Day 10 - Monday, June 25, 2007

And then on to Tennessee.

Monday morning, we managed to get the bikes all loaded up and drove down the treacherous gravel driveway one last time. We went out for breakfast mainly because we didn't want to have to do dishes that morning and then hit US-74 west towards Chattanooga. This is a very scenic highway that follows the Nantahala River. There are a lot of rafting companies along the way and plenty to see. We stopped, of course, at the Tennessee line for pictures. Although this wasn't our first trip over the state line, it was the first opportunity we had for the picture thing since the other time we crossed, we were on the Tail of the Dragon and it didn't exactly lend itself for pulling over for pictures. We continued on west, then following the Ocoee River, again another white water rafting area, and on into Chattanooga. We drove staight to the Harley dealer only to discover that THIS dealer is closed on Mondays. What luck. :-( After getting somewhat lost and driving in a little mini-circle in eastern Chattanooga, we lunched at Subway and drove to our motel. As soon as I got off my bike, I realized I had left my purse at the Subway. David was kind enough to "volunteer" to go back for it and we checked in. This motel was the nicest chain motel we had been in all trip. The staff was friendly and helpful, the rooms very nice, and I had negotiated a good deal early on when we expected to be renting out 4-5 rooms. They honored my original price even though we were just two couples by then. After a swim in a pool the temperature of bath water, we did the two-up ride (sissied up) for dinner. For weeks, we had been looking forward to a place called Sticky Fingers, serving Memphis Style ribs. Sticky Fingers wasn't far from our motel but too far to walk. We got on the bikes and had only gotten a few blocks when the skies dumped buckets of water on us. That was bad but then the lightning and hail started. We made our way back to the motel, dried off, and called a taxi to take us to Sticky Fingers. One bite of the ribs and we knew we had picked the right place. They were definitely Memphis Style with that slow cooked flavor that goes all the way to the bone.

Highlights: scenic US-74; Sticky Fingers