This is Flat Henry. He recently went on his first motorcycle/camping trip.
Let's start at the start.
My eight-year-old nephew, Henry, read the Flat Stanley story in school. Henry is my sister's son, and he's a cool, cool little redhead.
He and his classmates sent flat versions of themselves to friends and family members. I got Flat Henry. My brothers didn't.
The idea was that Flat Henry would go everywhere with me for a day. I figured that we should go for a ride.
Flat Henry and I set out from my house after I got him suited up in a riding jacket, gloves and a helmet.
Flat Henry and I got a fairly late start on the day, leaving my house at about 11. We grabbed lunch in Anderson, S.C., then headed to Clemson, where the Tigers were in the process of losing the homecoming game.
I figured that Clemson University would be a good stop on this little adventure since the real Henry's parents met on campus. Check out Flat Henry's shirt, though.
The road up to Tillman Hall (the building with the clock tower) was closed, but this nice deputy had let us park by his cruiser and walk up for a photo. Flat Henry posed with him as a thank you.
We left Clemson and headed up SC 28. Flat Henry really enjoyed the curves.
We stopped for a photo op at the SC/GA line.
Flat Henry wanted to take a dip in the Chattooga River, but neither of us had our swimmin' britches, so we got our riding gear back on and headed up GA 28.
We were headed for NC and a famous -- or maybe infamous -- motorcycle road.
On up GA 28 Flat Henry and I went, right on into North Carolina.
We stayed on NC 28 into Highlands, where we took a quick stop for a pic or two.
We headed out of Highlands on NC 28 toward Franklin.
We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. It was a bright, sunny day.
Flat Henry climbed up on this sign for a better view. That boy's a caution!
We headed through Franklin on 28. Flat Henry loved the curves, so we didn't stop much.
A spirited run up NC 28 to its end brought us to a well-known motorcycling destination.
We set up camp and headed over the stretch of US 129 that is famous for having 318 curves in 11 miles. It was Flat Henry's first time there. I've been quite a few times before. We had a decent run over the road despite the fact that there were about eleventy billion bikes in the area. I guess that since they were at the store, they weren't out on the road.
Stay tuned, and I'll show you Flat Henry's custom-made hammock,
Chris
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