June 25 - Asheville, NC

So, we first hunted up the closest Honda dealer, who didn't stock any Gold Wing parts, but they directed us to the second Honda dealer.  At the second dealer, the intermittent bad switch at first wouldn't malfunction and so they said they wouldn't fix it on warranty.  Does that sound familiar, whether with cars or motorcycles?  I said order the part anyway; I needed it fixed.  Then Norm tried it again, and was able to get it to malfunction, and the embarrassed technician and owner/manager said yes, they'd fix it.  So, if the one-day part delivery works, we'll get it fixed tomorrow and be on our way.

Another problem we did get fixed was to get a plastic cover replaced that had come off Deane's gold Wing.  Whether it came off while riding, and Deane doesn't think so, or whether someone stole it we'll never know.

Anyway, we spent a very enjoyable afternoon touring the "Biltmore Mansion" in Asheville.  What a place!  Built by George Vanderbilt in 1889 to 1895 (yes - six years under construction!), at 250 rooms, it is the largest private home ever built in the U.S..  It had become run down, but has been restored to its former glory over the past several years.

While at the Biltmore Mansion, we had another sample of North Carolina's "mountain showers" (Ashville is in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains).  "Showers" here start innocently enough, but very quickly develop into rain by the bucketful!  We hadn't covered the bikes, and Norm had left his helmet hanging upside down on the helmet hook under the rear trunk.  It had a good two inches of rain water in it when we came back!  So, a wet head for Norm.

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