Thursday, May 25, 2023 - We drove for two hours to the Peek of the Mountain RV Park in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. The weather was great and the roads were fine. This is where we plan to visit with Lorrayne and Brian Graham.  We drove over to Lorrayne and Brian Graham's RV site. They have purchased five acres of land and have been working to make an RV pad on the site. They have full hook-up capability with sewer, water, and 50-amp power service. It is located on a hillside with great views of the Great Smoky Mountains in the distance. Brian and Lorrayne had just returned from a trip to visit some friends and family members. Since it was Thursday, we decided to head for the town of Rutherfordton to a restaurant called the "Copper Penny" where it was "Prime Rib Night." Complete prime rib dinner for $18.99. The food was great and we had a great time visiting with each other. After dinner, we decided to go visit with mutual friends Donny and Karen. Donny Most and Karen Barron have a beautiful log home built into the hillside with a garden below and great views of the surrounding forests. Donny also extended his deck to create a great space to sit and visit. Along with their dog, "Bailey," Donny and Karen have adopted a "tortoise-shell" kitten that they adore. It was great fun visiting with Briand and Lorrayne and Donny and Karen.

Friday, May 26, 2023 - We have decided to ride a rails-to-trails bike path near Rutherfordton. It is a 13-mile long paved path with minimal gradients. It also has very few road crossings that allows us to keep cruising along. We rode the 13.6 mile distance and then turned around for the return trip. On the way back, we decided to stop for pizza at the Fly Boys Pizza Restaurant. This trail starts about five miles north of Rutherfordton and then moves to the south to Foster City. Grades did not exceed three percent that made it pretty easy to ride. The trail is also about 12-feet wide and excellent asphalt all the way. It is a fantastic trail and an asset to the community. The pizza lunch was great and then we rode the final three miles of the trail back to the start point. It was a great ride and great chance to visit with Brian and Lorrayne.

Saturday, May 26, 2023 - Today I worked on the blog photos until about 11:00am when we decided to go for a four-mile walk. It was supposed to rain, but the wet weather held off until into the early evening. We walked the Thermal Belt Rail Trail for two miles and then back so as to avoid cars. After returning home, we both took a short nap before getting up to prepare a beef stew dinner for Lorrayne and Brian Graham. They arrive at 4:00pm and we ate at 5:00PM followed by playing the game of "Spinner," with conversation, into the evening.

Sunday, May 27, 2023 - It rained during the night, and it was nice and cozy in the RV. The rain is projected to continue through the day, so this is an opportunity for me to upload more photos to the blog.

Monday, May 28, 2023 - We drove over to Lorrayne and Brian's RV to meet up with them for a drive to a hiking trail. We drove to the town of Chimney Rock where we walked over the Flower Bridge there. When a new bridge was built over the Broad River going into Lake Lure, they left the old bridge and planted flowers all the way across it. It is very beautiful bridge that is covered with flowers. Be sure to see the phot gallery to see what this bridge is all about.

We then drove through Chimney Rock to a trailhead about ten miles out of town. We started the hike and then, before we knew it, we were climbing up the mountain side. We climbed up to a waterfall that was very pretty even though there we very little water coming over the edge. We climbed about 900 feet in elevation, and that was a chore. Lots of steps but good footing, even after the rain the previous day. The trip down the hill was much easier, but we were all pretty tired when we got back to the truck.

Tuesday, May 28, 2023 - Today we took a four mile hike along the Thermal Belt Rail Trail. It was a fast walk and we did not get rain until after well into the late afternoon. WE then drove over to Lorrayne and Brian's RV to have dinner. Lorrayne made stroganoff and it was very good. We then sat outside of their RV and enjoyed the calm, cool evening. We had great conversation. We bid them goodbye since we would be off to the Winston-Salem area tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - Today we drove for two and a half hours from Rutherfordton, NC to the Salem Breeze RV Park about ten miles south of Winston-Salem, NC. The drive was fine, but getting out of the RV park was a little bit of a challenge.