After a long day of riding through Blue Ridge, I ran out of light, gas and energy so I peeled off towards the first reasonably priced motel that google maps could find. This led me to Elkin NC, and the Elk Inn. Narinder and his wife manage the hotel and we got to talking. His son, a Nuclear Engineer and his grandson who is in school to become a doctor were his pride and joy, and when he spoke about them he seemed to grow an extra inch and absolutely beamed. "I love America, because it gave us opportunities that we could not have anywhere else."