Travel

We ended up having a fantastic trip! It was actually the most absolutely flawless vacation we've had in 35 years of vacationing together.

The weather was perfect, as we define perfect, obviously a subjective thing It was the last two weeks of May, weather was warm (low-upper 80's with a couple of low 90's days) but very mild humidity. It only rained twice (both times in the evening after we had checked in to our night's lodgings) and both times were wonderful thunderclap-filled downpours which had fully cleared by the time we arose next morning, leaving the skies clear and fresh.

The car we rented was very comfortable, lodgings and meals were great, people were friendly.

Anyway....suggestions I would make off the top are:

1. Try and time your drive for the best wildflower and azalea/rhododendron blooming. Spring broke a bit early and we missed the most prolific period; still, we saw lots of flowers, and the variety and amount of rhodies and azaleas was incredible. The season varies according to where you are on the Parkway, and there are sites on the web that will give you a heads up; for instance: http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/ is one, but there are several.

2. Check for road closures. The stone walls built by the WPA/CCC are being restored/repaired in places. There were a couple of small sections that were closed and necessitated relatively short detours, primarily down toward the southern half, in the Linville Falls area.

3. Speaking of falls...be sure to plan for time to make some of the hikes to the various waterfalls along the way. A few are visible from the road, but some of the best are short hikes off the road, although some can be strenuous (I can't speak for the section below the Linville Falls area; we traveled North to South, and exited the parkway just below Linville Falls in order to visit friends in the Seven Lakes area of North Carolina). Linville Falls is gorgeous, and well worth the hike. The road up to, and around, Grandfather Mountain has several beautiful falls that run along the road and don't involve any hiking, and Grandfather Mountain is also cool.

4. Be prepared to take your time. The max speed limit along the BRP is usually 35 mph, and they mean it. I'm told it can be fairly crowded, depending upon the time you travel. We drove it just before schools got out for the summer, so we missed the heavier vacation traffic. Be prepared for motorcycles, as it's a popular ride.

5. There are some places on the BRP to get fuel and food, but you'll generally need to exit the Parkway for those commodities. IIRC, you travel in an RV, so maybe it won't be an issue for you.

6. Don't forget Skyline Drive in Virginia; we enjoyed it every bit as much as the BRP.