Day 5: Going strong...good food helps

Relatively speaking, I got a late start today, at 7:45.  My first stop of the day was breakfast at Mabry Mill which I _KNEW_ was actually there because I had called the night before to see what time they opened.  Mabry Mill is an old grist mill and the most photographed site on the parkway.  I have heard that other states use images of the mill on their postcards because it is so photogenic.  There is a restaurant there, more to the point.  The french couple from the previous day raved about the food, including the crepes.  Let's face it, if a guy from France likes the crepes, the food has to be good...right.  YES.  It was only a 2 mile ride from Meadows of Dan and I got there at opening as their first customer.  Nice place, sign by the door requiring shirt and shoes.  They didn't blink at the sight of me in cycling clothes, it's a common stop for the tourists.  The food was excellent, the serivce was great and the tab was cheap.  If you're in the 'hood eat there.

I fully loaded up my belly, not expecting a place to stop for lunch again and was out of there by 8:45.  I planned on learning from yesterdays' bonk and take frequent breaks today, whether I needed them or not.  God was listening to my requests today.  When I needed a break, I found a shady spot.  When I needed water, I found a picnic area.  When I needed food...well, 2 out of three isn't bad.  Another day of macadamia nuts and pepperoni.  I gotta find some cheese in town tonight.  God also provided a rhythm section today.  About mid day I started hearing a clicking noise from the front wheel.  I stopped,  took the wheel off checked it...seemed fine.  Smooth bearings, no play.  Beats me???

Passed 3 neat places today, as well.  First was the Chateau Morrisette Winery.  My wife and I are very fond of their wines, having found them at the Virginia Wine Festival a few years back.  Their labels include a picture of a labradore retriever and when we adopted our yellow lab, Quita, 9 years ago, we gave her original owner a bottle of their wine as a thank you gesture.  I didn't stop there because it was a good 5 miles off the beaten path and it was only about 9 in the morning.  What would I do at that hour?  Buy a case of wine to take with me?

Next was a hillside with a huge treble clef sign made out of shrubbery.  My first guess was some sort of band camp.  I did a google search later on and found out it was the site of a music festival held every year.  I missed out on FloydFest by about a week this year.

Lastly, was a beautiful cathedral right on the parkway.  Around noon I could hear the bells tolling (which I first mistook for yet another noise from my bike).  That turned out to be the Syon Abbey in Copper Hill, VA.  A reminder to me that I needed to go to church Saturday night, lest Father Dan refuse me communion in the future.

I had a couple of "hills" to climb that day.  Inspired, I started singing "Climb Every Mountain" from the sound of music...at least the words I could remember.  I decided that what I needed tonight was a good steak house with a good bar.  God listened.  After my last hill, I had a blistering decent into Roanoke for about 6 SCREAMING miles.  It was a blast.  I arrived at my hotel feeling like the king of the mountain (ignoring the fact that I would have to poke my way back up the the Parkway the next morning).  And wouldn't you know it;  right next to the hotel was a steakhouse  :)

One last bit of business before my steak dinner (and a manhattan). I did a google search for an ABC store and a department store.  Found both about 2 miles away.  After a shower, I stripped the bike of the bags and ran out for some more miniatures to ease the pain in the evenings from the ABC store and detergent, cheese sticks and fuel from K-Mart.  Tack on another 4 miles for the day.

This is the view of Mabry Mill that you see on every BRP website in the known blogosphere.  In addition to the mill, there is a blacksmith shop that is still in use as part of the park system.

This is the site you don't see, the restaurant.  Odd, because it's what everyone talks about.  No one says 'Oh, you MUST see the blacksmith shop!"

The grounds for FloydFest.  No, not Pink Floyd.  More like country/bluegrass/folk music.

Apparently, some of the old log cabins were put to use again when the CCC built the BRP back in the 30's.  

This one looks more like a stable than a cabin, now.

The Syon Abbey.  Syon is an old spelling of Zion, referring to Jerusalem..or is it the last refuge of man from the machines in "The Matrix?"

Wallpaper shot of the day.  First time I've had a vista in 2 days.

Darn!  The only non-smoking room on the ground floor they could get me was with a king size bed :)  Did I mention that God was providing for me today?

39 MPH average, 272 miles traveled so far.

59 miles on the odometer today, but you can add 4 more for the booze run.