This year the boyz accommodated the fact that I am going to Spain in July for Annie and Lara's wedding celebration and rather than make two trips to Europe or try to coordinate two activities in one trip, we are heading to the Carolinas on a Backroads trip rather than VBT, our usual trip company.
The trip is called "North/South Carolina Bike Premier Hotel". We begin in Greenville, South Carolina and end up in Asheville, North Carolina. On the way, we spend a couple of nights in George Hincapie's hotel and end up at the Biltmore.
https://www.backroads.com/trips/BSNI/carolinas-biking-tour
The fact that the trip is domestic meant quite a few things we didn't have to do: get Euros, make sure our passports are up to date and most importantly, setting up the blog. Thanks to Marilyn who asked me on the way to the airport if I was planning to blog, so I set it up in the airport and I am getting around to the first entry now that we are at the end of our travel day.
The first thing to report is that Walter and I were both pulled out of line at the Syracuse TSA for further inspection. A very nice TSA lady unpacked my bag and swabbed the bags with my Scratch sport drink powder. Multiple TSA agents swarmed Walter and confiscated his container of Powerbar powder. It was so suspicious that they took him into the private room (which I had never noticed before). It is a frosted glass cubicle right outside the TSA line and three or four agents took him in and closed the door. I didn't want to be associated with him so I left. He showed up at the gate a few minutes later but he said they gave him another pat down only this time a "front of the hand" pat down. (Lucky Walter!) They also threw his stuff back in his bag unlike the agent who repacked my bag exactly the way it was when she unpacked it.
Here's Walter in our hotel room trying to make order out of the mess.
Aside from some minor delays, we arrived in Greenville and checked into our hotel. Mike was waiting for us in the lobby. Greenville is an up-and-coming small southern town and they have a thriving downtown with a lot of attractive public space and boutique shops.
This mural is in the lobby of the hotel and captures one of the ways in which it has become a destination spot.
When I asked the guy working the front desk about the mural he said breathlessly that some cyclists even come to Greenville and ride to Asheville!
Stu joined us again and we walked the riverfront to a restaurant called The Husk. Many of the downtown buildings are repurposed factories and this restaurant was a great example. Here we are at a corner table on the second floor.
We walked around a bit after dinner. I was particularly interested in the fact that the Red Sox single A team is in Greenville. They're called the Greenville Drive.
They have a replica "Green Monster" but the rest of the park does not really look like Fenway.
More about Greenville later but it is time to get to bed so we'll be ready for the first day of riding. Unlike the VBT trips where the first day is really just a day for bike-fitting, we have the option of riding 27 miles with 1400' of climbing, a pretty normal day for us.
Well! That was an "eventful" start to your trip!
ReplyDeletePoor Walter! I guess the sports "powder," should be left at home, who knew!
You guys are going to have a blast!
Remember to "hydrate," we will be waiting to hear about the next adventure!
Walter does look pretty suspicious!
ReplyDelete