Day 5 - leaving the mountains behind and heading east

 May 25, 2022 – I’ve got to begin with what happened last night.  Zoey had been feeding the ducks and geese and some kids came by and were laughing at her.  Then we turned the lights out around 9:30 or so and suddenly we heard something hit the glass door on the patio.  We also heard people talking and laughing.  We got up and looked and it was a walnut so we assumed the wind (which there wasn’t much) had blown it over so we tossed it out in the yard and went back to bed.  A few minutes later we heard a couple of loud bangs and we looked again and this time there were 3 rocks on the porch and one was as large as the palm of your hand.  We called the front desk and asked if they had security and the guy said no but he would come down and check the yard.  Of course there was no one but he said if it happened again to call him and he would call the Cherokee PD.  This morning the geese were at the porch railing honking like crazy for Zoey to come out and feed them.  She certainly made some friends.  Then Don was taking things out to the car and left the door open and one of the ducks comes walking right in.  Breakfast and gas and then we pulled out at 9am.  Zoey and I left with only a sweat jacket for her and a long sleeve shirt on me.  It started getting colder with temps dropping to 59 then fog heavy enough to make the windshield wet.  We made our first stop in an hour and a half and right away I pulled out my heated jacket and our leather jackets.  My jean jacket and heated jacket were in the bottom trunk and to my surprise they were wet!  The trunk has never leaked but the rain was so hard the other day.  Bill said his bottom trunk had leaked too.  I put the heated jacket on plugged it up and figured the heat would dry it – which it did.  Zoey rode on the bike most of the day; even went to sleep for a few minutes.  Then for our second stop to eat lunch at 12:30 she decided to get in the van and really go to sleep.  I think we covered about 279 miles today; some mountains, some fog, and finally just some hills by the time we reached Danville.  All on major highways with speeds of 60 to 70 mph.  Temps never did get above 68 all day.  Everyone decided to go to a restaurant just 6 tenths of a mile from our hotel.  I decided I’d walk it with everyone as long as I had my cane, which I carry in the trunk of the bike.  I made it there and back but bringing up the tail of the group.  Of course Zoey didn’t go to an Italian Restaurant – there is a McDonalds 1 mile from the hotel so we made a stop and she stayed in the room, ate her dinner, watched TV and took a bath.