Not a speck of cloud and everything was as blue as it could be…

The original idea was to drive down south from Watkinsville and have lunch by at Gaby’s restaurant on Lake Oconee. But the Ritz Carlton folks would not let anybody without a reservation come in due to Covid. So, we turned around and landed up in Georgia Butts.

It was busy as heck and the food was nothing to write home about. But the weather was beautiful and the lake was even more so. There was light breeze and we sat under a tree by the lake. The staff was very friendly and almost made up for my dry burger 🙂

We had a bit of a scare when Avi’s bike could not start back up. Gave the old heave ho push downhill and it jumped back to life!

Stopped at Jittery Joe’s in Watkinsville after riding on mostly state highways. The gallery next door actually has Sharmila’s paintings on display – but it is closed today (Sunday).

John got his new motorcycle (his 8th since I met him three years back) today. So, that made it one Yamaha (Tenere), one Kawasaki (Vulcan S) and one Honda (CTX). Start of a very enjoyable ride. Instead of hitting north Georgia, we headed out to the south east today – ultimate destination being Lake Oconee.

John and I had lunch in Jasper, GA on our way back from Carters Lake. Old Mulehouse was a fascinating choice for lunch. Great food and a lot of outside sitting. In fact, you will sit right at the intersection of Main St and Church St (the two main roads in Jasper). We saw a lot of interesting traffic from dilapidated trucks to vintage cars – and of course a lot of motorbikes.

The city bills itself as the “First Mountain City” (that is what it said on the main water tank – see the picture). Very cute town.

If you go thru Jasper, GA in future, do not forget to swing by Old Mulehouse for a meal or cocktail and enjoy watching the traffic go by…

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge mountains (Chatsworth, GA), it is a very quiet and serene lake. I believe there are no private residences on this lake. Fed by the Coosawattee river, this is a man-made lake.

There was virtually no traffic in the lake…

Today’s destination was Carters Lake in Chatsworth, GA. First visit to the lake.

The one restaurant near the marina on this lake that I could find was unfortunately, closed due to COVID. John and I got a good view of the lake and then landed up riding up to Jasper for lunch.

Speaking of John, he has bought yet another motorbike – a Kawasaki this time. If you are keeping count, he has had 8 motorbikes in the three years that I got to know him after meeting him in the motorcycle safety classes. And I am still on my first one!!

Was a great day to ride…

This clip is from the portion of the ride on Birmingham Highway