Thursday, October 6, 2016 | Ursula Peter / Ted Goslinga | North and South America
. Safe ride or flight back home. It was a pleasure guiding you.
Last riding day back to Washington brought us back to the Blue Ridge Parkway again und the Skyline Drive.
We returned one bike at Morton`s BMW, unloaded the broken Adventure, turned in the support van and took care of the luggage.
breakfast in the lovely Georges Boutique Hotel
Cesar is getting ready
Nice to see Jeff and Hannah again at Morton`s BMW
good looking policeman on a good looking bike. I was glad not having him met on the Blue Ridge Parkway
We are constantly going north. Today we hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway again, but we will do some detours. Our destination is Lexington, the Georges Boutique Hotel.
It turned out to be the day of special characters
The theme of the day
the tourguide is fixing his tankbag.....
...... and also the mastermap and the briefing room is well prepared
.... and yesterday we bought permits. The yellow ones are allowing us crossing the double yellow line. Makes life much easier
we stopped in Sparta at the Sparky Coffee House
Guys whenever you end up in Sparta - this is the place to go
I expected another cup of this brownish warmed up water - but... the guy has a coffee grainer, coffee from a microrostery and a coffeemachine like in Italy
who knows what that is???
also something from the last century
we had to mark this place with an Edelweiss sticker
thats the guy - the best coffee brewer in whole America. He is 28, retired since 6 years, running the coffee place for fun. We told us a bit about his life philosophy
Whoever stops in Sparta - make sure you don`t miss the Sparky Coffee House
even Cesar was happy with this kind of coffee. Unfortunately he nearly ruined the guys vulcano lamp afterwards
Pumpkind fields forever..
Our lunchplace Mabry Mill
we was a character as well
the last lookout at the Blue Ridge - but hold on, FAQ: "where is Cesar???"
....ok, here he is
Ted waited for us on the terrace of the Georges Boutique Hotel with the boot beer - cheers on another good day
The Georges Boutique Hotel in Lexington - another hidden treasure.
The group told me to say warmest regards to girls booking the hotels. The group loved the variety, the special locations as well as the qualitiy of the accommodations. Thanks a lot - great job
the husband of the woman at the lobby worked as a tourguide for backroads. He will check our e-bicycle tours and maybe they will join in
Special regards to Viky - looks like you are getting replaced. I mean I haven`t yet his creditcard no. but....
Lexington is a little city in the Shenendoah Valley of outstanding beauty. A pity that we have to leave tomorrow.
Dinner was in an Italian restaurant - and it was delicious.
The Reunion is over. We saw the guys for breakfast, most of them riding back home, some stay a little bit longer in this riding paradise.
The group slept in today, Cesar was happy. After a short briefing we took our way on the Blue Ridge Parkway direction north.
one of the plenty lookouts on the Blue Ridge. The day of the yellow double line starts.
America is a rich country and has a lot of yellow paint. They could save plenty of money to do only single lines with some breaks inbetween instead of double lines
What can you do - you have to deal with it.
Coffee stop at Little Switzerland
This picture is for Craig Whitfil
Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock is our accommodation for tonight.
and after a long day, the show goes on - working on the routes for tomorrow 
Clear sky, perfect temperature and awesome roads waiting for us. We doing a big loop around Gatlinburg and of course the "Tail of the Dragon". A picnic will took place as well some surprises are prepared.
Picnic preparation starts at 6 am.
You can use a bathroom in lot of different ways
cut apples, add raisins and cinnamon and the rest is done at the picnic - the whole thing is called "Kaiserschmarren" and is an Austrian specialty
Jim our "sweety" has a try
the crew - Rainer, Ursula, Oli and Ted
the whole group
Rainer and Frank
Rainers luggage is so heavy because there are a lot of surprises in. Here is the first!!!
We call it "Eierlauf" - 2 competitors have to do a run with a raw egg. Who drops it is out
The winner is Joanna Pertulla
And you know who showed up incidentally at the picnic spot? Dean Splitgerber - he was on the Tuscany Tour 2 weeks ago. He knew that we are round and looked for us. What a pitty he couldn`t join us riding. Thanks Dean for showing round. Great pleasure to meet you again.
this is no joke
next stop was "Deal`s Gap" the beginning of the "Tail of the Dragon"
the "Tree of Shame"
Stan Smith from Alabama says hallo to Angela. He enjoyed the Ultimate Alps Tour
some crazy guys are on the road
The famous "Tail of the Dragon"
some impression....
Team Edelweiss at the "Tail of the Dragon"
Yes we had some issues, but in the end all worked out well
It was a busy evening. We had to celebrate Kirk Jordan`s birthday. Of course a cake and candels but also a little beer stein from the Octoberfest. Happy birthday Kirk
After the passenger`s competition at the picnic it was the driver`s turn. The plan was to do a "Snailrace", means who is the slowest rider. For some reason we had to skip coffee in the afternoon. So the competion for the drivers was "Fuchsn".
Through a coin - who is closest to the yellow thing??
And this time Robert Pertulla won (he helped us a lot today - thank you Robert). One couple - two vouchers, wowww
and last not least it was the turn of the group who rode to the Reunion from Washington. They had to answer difficult questions. F.e. "once in a blue moon" - what does a blue moon mean? Why has a Porsche the ignition on the left side?? Or - what is written on Jim licence plate? Which city is Ted from? How many curves are on the "Tail of the Dragon"? and so on. We nearly run out of questions because they knew nearly everything.
), Joanna Pertulla and Robert Pertulla, the lucky couple.
Our CEO Rainer Buck is well prepared for a good ride as well as for some secret highlights, so are the 3 tourguides - Ted, Ursula and Oliver. We really looking forward
We welcome our guests in the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa
You can see these Edelweiss t-shirts everywhere
we have all kinds of motorcycle from all over the US and Canada. The excitment starts tomorrow with a ride to the Deals Gap and the Tail of the Dragon. Some surprises are waiting for you as well.... so stay tuned, more tomorrow
After a short welcome briefing - every guest became a t-shirt and the brand new stickers - we went to the Park Grill Restaurant in Gatinburg were our dinner took place.
What a nice evening we had downtown Ashewill in Isa`s Bistro. A super friendly girl from New York who served us amazing food and Rainer took care of the wine. It couldn`t be any better.
A chilly morning with clear sky - perfect to start the day with. I was heading directly to Gatlinburg.The group had a great day with the highlight in Maggie Valley.
What an awesome group!! This type of luggage we tourguides love
See- same thing. Real motorcyclers. The biggest suitcase is maybe that from our boss - but what can you do? I think the reason for that is there are some surprises in
we continuing south along Pisgah National forest to Grandfather mountain.
we started the day with a light breakfast and something brown, called coffee
briefing in one of our suites
a morning in Virginia
the Olde Mill
Welcome to North Carolina
we crossed the street and said goodbye to Virgina - we enjoyed the riding
Nancy and Wally
Patricia and Mark
Frank on his new RT
CEO Rainer Buck is joining the Reunion group as well. See how happy he is to flee the office?
Country road....
somewhere in North Carolina
petrol talks
the swinging bridge for the die-hard amongst us.
Hotel Indigo Asheville - beautiful rooms. That`s how it looks like before the suitcase explodes
actually there were some snacks standing on the reception desk.....
Some of us had a try When they realised it was too late
could have been the starter for our dinner tonight
of course it was not... we were at Isa`s Bistro downtown Asheville and the food was awesome
Comment from our boss: Angelika and Kerstin (and maybe I) should work a little bit on the cheesecake!!
Cheesecake at Isa`s - a must have - absolutely!!
Pouring rain in the morning at the 200 South Street Inn Hotel in Charlottesville. What a special handpicked hotel. Thank to our hotel booking girls in Mieming. Cesar recommended to stay here.
But 260 miles were ahead of us, heading south direction Blue Ridge Parkway. We skipped the Natural Bridge and stopped first in Bedford.
The highlight of the day - the D-Day Memorial of Beford. The community suffering the highest per capita D-Day losses in the nation.
The Memorial honors the Allied forces that participated in the invasion of Normandy. Who knows all the flags??
very informative guided tour
Eisenhower`s speech to the troops of the "Mission Overlord"
Only 6 of the Bedford boys came home after July 6th, 1944. A mishap saved their lifes.
representing the landing at Omaha beach. They brought even original sand from France.
some of us were more intersted in the t-shirts some guys were wearing
Nancy, Mark, Patricia, Wally and Frank
an original aircraft - can you see the black and white stripes at the tail? The original D-Day colours.
All D-Day vehicles had these black and white stripes on.
Edelweiss coffee stop in the Virginian countryside. Cesar and Denisse are in the relax mode
Jim - the druzer
this guy rode all the way from California to the east coast. He in on his way since nearly 4 weeks with tent and sleeping bag and will not be home before end of october. Lucky you!!
our hotel for tonight in the middle of nowhere - the Olde Mill Golf Resort. We had rooms so big, the whole would have fit in in one.
Patricia and Mark enjoying the view and of course a drink
And the tour is on! This years ride brings us on the first riding day to an authentic American place: the new Market battlefield sanatorium. Along beautiful roads we headed southwest, the main direction for the next couple of days. A nice coffee stop and a good lunch brought us finally at the New Market Battlefield museum and grounds.
And since the day became weatherwise better and better, we can speak of a very nice first riding day
The 2016 Edelweiss Reunion is on the start. Related to jetlag I woke up at 5 am, fit as a Nikey (as the Germans say) had breakfast at 6 am, and because of a lack of the other tourguide I decided to explore a little bit the beautiful capital of the US.
I think this part of the blog is more for our European clients, office staff and maybe other tourguide collegues, because I presume that most of our riders probably know their capital.
Good morning America, how are you??
Buying a ticket for the metro is as complicated as in Munich. You need the exact amount of money for the ticket. A nice women from Eritrea helped me out - thank you
If you leave the metro at "Federal Triangle" you come out at the old post office from the 16th century
The Treasury Department - right next to the White House
The White House - good morning Mr. President
Secret Service everywhere
Despite the atmosphere is relaxed, a lot bicycleriders and runners
Street is blocked, maybe Mrs. Obama has to buy pretzels for breakfast
Washington Monument
if you think on Washington, you probably think of this 3 km long meadow, with Lincoln Memorial at the one and Capitol Hill at the other end. The Washington Monument is the center of the National Mall, the heart of the city and probably in some perspective the heart the whole US.
American ducks strolling along. I thought of my 3 chickens at home - they would love it here
The National Museum of African American History and Culture - the newest one in the row. Design by an Ghanese architect who kept the whole building in nearly black colour to comemorate the African continent. The design was required to reflect optimism, spirituality and joy but also acknowledge and incorporate "the dark corners" of the African American experience.
Lincoln Memorial at the western end of the Mall. Looks like some Italian immigrants helped designing it. Abraham Lincoln is buried here and looks peacefully down over the "Reflecting Pool". On the steps Martin Luther King hold his famous speech "I have a dream". Definitely one of the highlight of Washington D.C.
Smithsonian Castle and Museum- established in 1846 "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge," is a group of museums and research centers.Termed "the nation's attic"[ for its eclectic holdings of 138 million items, the Institution's nineteen museums, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. The Institution's thirty million annual visitors are admitted without charge.
Last not least - Capital Hill - since 1800 the Congress is meeting here
So that was my little excursion downtown Washington. The tour starts tomorrow! Stay tuned....
Welcome briefing in teh Residence Inn in Arlington Rosslyn
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