Biker Heaven

Museums come in all shapes and sizes, from little local ones operated by individuals to large national facilities. Home in Dartmouth, we have a little museum completely devoted to the “Happy Face”, and in our travels we have visited some that can take most of a day to explore.

In the Town of Maggie Valley, North Carolina I visited one of the best museums I have seen, called “Wheels Through Time”, devoted to the American Motorcycle.

This is an amazing museum with a wonderful collection of vintage and historically significant motorcycles. I spent two hours wandering through the history of the motorcycle in the United States of America. Of course there were lots of Harley Davidson machines, but most of Harley Davidson’s rivals through the years are also represented. Although I know a lot about motorcycles, there were a lot here that I did not know about. There were also sections of the museum devoted to many racing motorcycles from dirt tracking, hill climbing, enduro, drag racing and road courses. There was even one of Evel Knievel machines.

Not only are there motorcycles displayed all through the building, there are also accurate

The wheels time forgot?

depictions of various motorcycle shops through time. They were so well done that I did not realize that in one corner of the museum I was looking into the actual museum workshop where they actually restore and maintain the bikes in the museum. Also significant is the fact that many of the bikes on display are not restored, they have simply been rescued and repaired, so you see them as they were discovered.

While I visited the museum, there were no actual “guided” tours, and they are not really necessary with the detailed plaques explaining exhibits, but there were staff members who would suddenly engage groups or individuals with discussions of significant motorcycles. As well, Dale Walksler, the museum’s owner and host of the TV show “What’s in the Barn?” was always around tinkering and working on motorcycles.

If you are a “Biker” of any sort, this museum is without a doubt a “Must Visit” location. Put it on your “Bucket List.

Have not heard of "Marsh" Motorcycles

Hill Climb Tire

This is not the actual museum workshop

How about a Harley Davidson saw?

Some restorations

A rescue - no restoration

The Chopper graveyard

Back from the war

A Poor Porker

Welcome to the Poor Porker

Driving back from that terrible car show, I drove past a restaurant called The Poor Porker. It was an odd looking place behind a rather ramshackle fence. It was closed when I went by, but based on the name, I thought it must have been a Barbecue spot, and I decided to look it up on the Internet and check out their menu.

Turns out the old expression “What’s in a name?” means nothing in this case and I was completely wrong about what

Nothing in the fridge

the Poor Porker was . . . . . No Barbecue, no pulled pork, no ribs . . . . . beignets.  . . . Seriously, what does “Poor Porker” have to do with Beignets?

The Name did however peek my interest, and I decided to check the place out. It was right off Main St. so easy to walk to, and we wandered down on a tour around town with friends. The place was not open, but you could peer through the fence/hedge. There was actually no actual “Restaurant” building. It was an open lot with a food truck at one end, a sort of garage/barn on one side and a tiny travel trailer with an open side in the corner. Oh . . . and a teepee set up in the middle. Now I definitely wanted to return when they were open.

Play a tune . . .

First, those Beignets were delicious! Puffy delicate fried dough covered with your sweet toping of choice. The place itself reminded me of the Ruin Pubs we visited in Budapest, a strange collection of junk forming a unique interesting setting. You entered through a big industrial corrugated steel gate. In one corner was a hammock and an odd mix of chairs. Scattered all over the lot were quaint seating areas created from disjointed elements. Wooden dining chairs, metal outdoor furniture, kitchen set chairs, children’s toy chairs. I do not think there was a pair of matching chairs in the place. You could sit inside the teepee, inside the travel trailer or under mismatched umbrellas around the yard. There was one half a rusted jeep, a rusting refrigerator, animal skulls on walls and a stack of lumber in one corner. In fact everywhere you looked was some other odd item. If you went back 10 times I think you would notice something different every time.

And OMG those beignets were delicious !

Order your Begnets here

A different spot to sit and enjoy your treat

Nope these are not "porkers"

A jeep, well beyond restoration