Four-hundred-and-thirty miles. That is how far away my Chesapeake home is away from Fontana Village. Add another eleven miles and you have the distance between my home and the Tail of the Dragon–one of the best motorcycle riding spots I have been to in my twenty-two years of life. Driving straight through would take approximately nine hours, but we were hauling a trailer with a Durango and stopped for gas about three times along along the way. Taking into account our brief food/cigarette/pee breaks and the one-way trip totaled out at around eleven hours.

We got to the Fontana Village Lodge around 5:30 PM on Thursday evening. Once there, they directed us to the campsite, which was a mile-and-a-half down the road. The fog from the Little Tennessee River and the square lights from the top of Fontana Dam hailed us and we quickly met our campsite. There were only about five surrounding occupied campsites all with steady campfires going.

It took us an hour to set up our air mattress and borrowed tent, but only minutes for us to call it “Home, sweet home”–at least for the weekend. Around 7:00ish, we unloaded the bike, suited up, and took a two-mile ride to the cabins where dinner was held. Having strolled in late, there was no place to sit, but new-found friends welcomed us up to their cabin.

From that point on, we were introduced to one wonderful, fun-loving, and exciting person after another. We all had the same objective at this big meetup–ride all day, party all night. And that’s just what we did.

I cannot say anything more than I absolutely loved being at the R1/R6 forum convention. Fontana Village and the Great Smoky Mountains are so breath-takingly beautiful and the resort is filled with a courteous and dynamic group of staff members that I have already decided that we have to go back next year. I could not think of a more amusing way to spend vacation time! There was so much to enjoy–the mere 72 hours that I stayed on the resort were filled with overwhelming scenic views, thrilling rides, and the presence of wonderful people and potentially life-long friends! We shared a lot of stories, laughs, and screams! It makes me feel like I am part of an extended family and I only just met most of you guys!

Thanks to everyone for making this such an awesome experience. I have not left vacation mode or come back my 9-5 job life yet (hence the blog posts from work). See you next year.