Tuesday, Sept. 16

Today starts off with fog – and lots of it. We aren't too concerned about it at the moment, thinking that by the time we are finished visiting the motorcycle museum, it will have burned off.

On top of the agenda for the day is a visit to Wheels Through Time, a motorcycle museum in Maggie Valley. This museum is unique because the motorcycles on display can actually be started.
Life is a Holiday
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entrance

We have breakfast and pack up, only to travel half a mile to the museum. At the front gate is an old fire truck and some kind of old trike. There is a bridge that crosses a creek in front of the building. It is an ordinary steel building, but next to it is an old-fashioned garage. Out front is a pavilion and picnic area, and next to the creek is an old streamline trailer and picnic tables. We are among the first to arrive.

There is so much to see here. We spend a long time just looking at all the items on display in the lobby. At the front door is an old Harley with sidecar.

There is a nice display on the history of women in motorcycling, titled "The Girls". Each area has a different theme and year. There is a "chopper graveyard". There is even an old garage set up with parts and tools from the early 1900's.

There was a large group on a tour, and the curator would start a motorcycle at various displays. The drawback to that is the building would fill up with exhaust fumes. This made Ellen feel ill, and gave us both a headache.

I was having so much fun that I didn't realize we had stayed here way past lunch time. In fact, I believe it was 2pm when we went outside for fresh air and watched the ducks swim in the creek.

But unfortunately the fog never burned off. It hung around all day. It was so thick you couldn't see very far at all. I could see Ellen was thinking of what we should do. We rode back to the Comfort Inn because there was a sign I wanted a picture of. It said "Life is a Holiday".

When we pulled into the parking lot, Ellen suggested that we stay here again tonight. The heavy fog would have made riding unsafe. I agreed whole-heartedly. With that, we checked back in, got the same room, and unpacked the bikes.

It was good to have some time to relax. I did a load of laundry, and we went over the map and discussed the next day's ride. We decided there was no time for us to ride the Tail of the Dragon – this would wait for another trip. I'm really glad we got the chance to see Wheels Through Time before it closed. Thank you, Ellen, for making a stop here.

The journey continues!

by Rosie

P.S. - There's a National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA – perhaps we can plan a ride there. There's also the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Dayton, OH. Anyone interested in a road trip?
garage
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