Miata Mailing List: September 1996, Message #0086
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   From: Michael.Opalak@xcellenet.com

Subject: Atlanta to Canada, Day One

   Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 00:19:42 -0500



As promised, here is the first installment in my travel journal for my trip 

with my copilot Stephanie from Atlanta to the 1000 Islands of the St. 

Lawrence River via the Blue Ridge Parkway.



We left Atlanta bright and early at 7:30am, traveling north on highway 19, 

after stopping at Chik-Flit-A for some biscuits.  Within an hour we were in 

the mountains.  It was quite foggy and cool up there, about 65 degrees.  The 

trip started with a bang as we raced a guy in a red '82 RX-7 through the 

mountains north of Dallonegah.  We reached the border of North Carolina by 9:

20am.  Finally at 9:35am the sun popped out from behind the clouds and it 

warmed up.  I was amazed to find the highways of the Appalachians lined with 

constant flea markets and  yard sales.  Apparently everybody has something 

to sell up there.  By 10:05am we had reached the Nantahala area of North 

Carolina, which is the center for white water rafting, canoeing and kayaking.

  At 11:05am we reached the Great Smoky Mountain National Forest and 

proceeded along its twisting, crowded highway.  The forest is incredibly 

green and lush for this time of year.  Traffic kept out speeds down to about 

35mph.  At 12:15pm we reached Gatlinburg, Tennessee and realized we were in 

Tennessee.  We weren't supposed to be in Tennessee for this trip.  After 

consulting the map we realized that we had somehow gotten off of the Blue 

Ridge Parkway at some point.  With some creative routing we were back in 

North Carolina by 1:00pm and stopped for lunch at 1:30pm in Clyde, NC at the 

local Burger King.  Steph demonstrated her knack for meeting people by 

accidentally using the men's restroom in the restaurant.  She went on to 

demonstrate for me that a woman can rip out a belch as well as any man can.  

I could tell this was going to be an educational road trip.  By 2:15pm we 

were back on the Parkway and heading north.  We made a gas stop at 4:00pm in 

Marion, NC.  The smell of pine on the Parkway is simply amazing.  This has 

to be one of the most kept up highways in the country.  Everywhere you look 

is fresh cut grass and flowers.  Nothing but a twisting two lane road in  

beautiful rolling country side.  We continued on through the afternoon and 

into the evening, finally stopping for the night in Roanoke, VA at 8:30pm. 



All day long we ran across eight different Miatas, one red, one BRG, three 

whites and three blacks.  We only got waves back from two of them.



Tomorrow we continue (hopefully) on from Roanoke through Pennsylvania and 

New York tothe St. Lawrence River.  Tune in tomorrow for my next report.



Michael Opalak

'91 A Classic Red

Peachtree Miata Club, Atlanta GA















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