Tennessee Wake Up, Yet Another State, Another One Night Stand

We had a great night’s sleep in the parking lot. This surprised both of us as we weren’t far off the interstate and it was noisy during the day. I went to bed at 9:30 and didn’t wake up on Friday, Mar. 29^th until 4:15. Solid sleep. It was easy to drop off at that time but when I woke again at 5:30, that was enough sleep for me. Bill slept on until closer to 6:30. We got up, washed and had our morning brew with some toast.

Good morning, Tennessee!

Clemson, our good little sleepy boy didn’t budge until I pulled the covers back, exposing parts of his furry self to the cooler air. It was 7:15 and time to close things up. I was ready first so after reading a couple of blogs in the order they came up on my sidebar, I took the Windex out to clean Black Beauty’s windshield. Inside and out it needed it. That should improve the day’s view!

Fueling up with some cheap diesel at Sam's

Both families were ready to drive across the lot and fuel up at Sam’s pumps. The diesel price was awesome with our member cards at $2.62/gal. We didn’t need much but always good to get cheap fuel when you can. We were on I-640W at 8 under a mixture of sunny and light clouds but at least I caught the sunrise. Why are we going west, you might ask? Well, we came further east to go into Arden, NC for Bill’s model connection, so need to get back on track.

Just some pictures of the drive today

This made us hope for a nice day

 Soon enough, within 7 miles, we were catching I-75N and back on track. After seeing Tupelo and being in the Elvis frame of mind, we have tuned our Sirius Radio to Channel 19. It is wonderful to hear his beautiful voice both in the Suite and on the road. We’ll do this for a few days and then switch back to The Bridge or 60’s on 6. It is nice to have tunes while we’re travelling along as we don’t always chatter between us.

There are a few of these huge beautiful crosses on our winter route

Today, I was more silent than usual (except for singing with Elvis) as I was trying to get another day or two of posts published. Too many pictures……well, no, never TOO many but you know what I mean. I do love looking back on them though so I continue to snap, snap, snap. This wasn’t as pretty a drive but we did have some nice views all the same. The spring green has disappeared as it is too early in this neck of the woods for too many buds yet. In time.

Once on I-75N we could relax as we were on it for most of the trip. Our plan was to stop at Lexington, KY. Yesterday, that was the plan. After doing the extra hour yesterday, it shortened today’s drive. When we crossed into Kentucky around 9, we stopped at a very crowded Information Centre but we didn’t feel that there was room to open our slide safely. Therefore, we didn’t make ourselves a coffee. We stopped for fuel at a Shell station around 11 and bought one and had one of our snack bars that we keep in the truck.

Sorry for the blur but we've mentioned weird town names before
This one made me plug my nose, just in case

We were going to be at our destination around 11:30 so decided once more to keep on truckin’. Adding another two hours to our day today would still put us at a new destination early in the afternoon. So, I found a Cracker Barrel in Forest Park, the north side of Cincinnati. That would get us through (or around) a huge city today and we’d have an easy drive tomorrow to one of our membership parks. We could rest right and proper for a few days.

A bit of a snag up due to construction

but it didn't last as long as we first thought it would

It wasn’t too bad coming through Cincinnati and we caught the bypass I-275W. Too bad we didn’t get on it sooner as the road was quite rough for a while but it was an okay drive missing a lot of city congestion by nipping through at 1:30. We pulled off the interstate and into the Cracker Barrel at 1:45. That’s pretty good for a day’s drive! On Google Earth, I was able to see that in the back, there are spots for RV’s and Buses so we pulled into those.

Time for some water towers - because I can
pretty ones

tall skinny ones

Patriotic ones

The manager was outside and we asked him about spending the night and moving along the back of the property instead. He couldn’t have been more obliging as he welcomed us. Another Cracker Barrel meal. Yay! The remainder of the day was peaceful. I made myself a tea and Bill had a hot chocolate while we ate our lunch sandwiches. We were pretty hungry. The sky is clouded over completely and it is 57F. Not too bad for being this far north.

and some downright friendly ones
Y'all

I’d finished Cradle and All last night and I know that my sweetie won’t enjoy it, so tucked it away to drop off at our park. It sure wasn’t a typical James Patterson story BUT it was typical in the sense that I kept turning the pages! It was quite weird into the religious side of the Virgin Mary. I found a Michael Connelly, one of his later ones with Harry Bosch and got into that last night and then more today. Bill downloaded pictures, read some of his book and then dozed.

This could be (and was a bit) intimidating but also pretty with the skyscrapers

Ohio River? We weren't sure

Into Ohio
So close to home now!

 I took Clemson for a walk around the outskirts of the building and parking lot here, since he made it very clear to me that it was time for his walk! We’ll get back to the regular walking tomorrow. Back inside, he bugged for his supper but we’ve done well at putting him off for a couple of weeks now. He really is close to being on our regular home time of 5 o’clock but that doesn’t mean he is accepting of that!

Looks like this overpass should have a fancy name

I felt tired with a bit of a nagging headache again so went up to the bedroom for 20 minutes. I think the headache is from our irregular eating over the last couple of days. That will also get back on track soon. At 6 we met with Rob and Pat and walked in for supper. Tonight, I ordered Apple Grilled BBQ Chicken, carrots and green beans. The chicken was a little spicy with the southern sauce they used but it was tender and everything tasted wonderful. We asked for biscuits so have 2 for tomorrow morning.

Yum, and no dishes again!

Forest Park is where we found our overnight spot
I didn't get a picture of us in the Cracker Barrel

Bill checked with the Night Manager about how early we should depart in the morning and he said that we were welcome to stay as long as we needed and that 9 am was fine. This is nice because now that we have a short jaunt tomorrow, there is no rush to move. We’ll have time for showers without having to be up out of bed at 6……unless that is what we choose to do. This was a great day and what better to on a cloudy day but travel?

Uh, just let me know when we get there

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments are always appreciated very much.

Up Before the Birds, Another State Line, One More Sticker!

Well, that was indeed a restless night and I’m not sure why. I went to bed alone at 9:30 because I couldn’t keep my eyes open downstairs. I dropped off quickly. Bill and Clemson joined me in bed at 10 so an early night for him too. The rest of the night and early morning hours were a conglomerate of wakefulness, dreams and some sleep. For the last time today, Thursday, Mar. 28^th, we woke at 5:15 and pushed ourselves to get up.

Early departure

On the road before the sun

and enjoyed her greeting

Our discussion last night warranted an early departure and when we heard that the C.B. chef would have hot tea biscuits at 6:05, the boys wanted those for breakfast. Bill and I had our tea and coffee in the Suite and got washed and ready. When Bill asked for 4 tea biscuits like his buddy, the gal at the register gave him 5 and told him he was ‘fine’. No charge. Wasn’t that sweet? We all pulled out of the lot and out of Norcross at 10 to 7 and caught I-85N.

Hot biscuits and jam for the road

The morning sky was black with tiny bright stars and the moon sliver was to the south. Once on the interstate, we moved on out and away from the traffic. At 8 am we stopped for a fuel stop and filled up. The price was not the cheapest but we didn’t worry about it. $3.09/gal at a Chevron. By 8:40 we were crossing yet another state line into South Carolina. This state has special meaning to us.

South Carolina also needs a better state sign

It was 18 – 20 years ago that we met a young university student here on our way to Florida. I began talking to Ilke on an online website (ICQ = I seek you) soon after Bill and I were married. Our second trip to Fl to visit his parents, took us through S.C. and she offered to meet us and opened up her bachelor apartment for us to stay a few days. A very brave step for a young lady. It was an awesome experience, meeting her Turkish friends as they honoured us with a traditional meal.

Since we met this beautiful lady, she met and married Jay
whom we also met in 2004

It was in Ilke’s hometown of Clemson that we decided on our little boy’s name, knowing that we’d never forget this special gal opening her heart up to us. We did not go through Clemson today, it was out of our way. 

That’s okay, he slept as we passed it by anyway. There were many beautiful waterways to our south as we traveled. We followed the gps off I-85N onto US-25. This eventually dropped us to US-276 and then back onto US-25 again.

I'll show him pictures when he is ready :)

Lots of beautiful lakes in South Carolina

At 8:45 am, my phone notification rang, indicating emails coming in. Wha??? I quickly checked my phone and our Bell usage was now available. From that, it appears that we have NOT used up our data. Bell had to have screwed up as we still have 4 gb remaining until April 1^st. LOL If it wasn’t so difficult contacting Bell from down here, a phone call presumably would have straightened this out earlier. Been there, done that, so we avoided the mess and instead lived without it.

It was a gorgeous drive

Coming into North Carolina, I couldn't get a clear shot of their welcome sign

Hopefully, tonight I will be able to post a blog or two. The remainder of our drive proved to be uneventful, which is always good. We drove down and up into the mountains, reaching 2175’ elevation before settling around 2100’. That would explain our temperature dropping from 51F to 46F instead of rising. We jumped the state line into North Carolina at 10 am. We pulled off at a Rest Area, a very busy one, for a nature’s call.

A very welcoming 'homey' rest area

But busy
We had to park in a row along the lane and the State Trooper
was ticketing the semi in front of him
Nice young officers greeted me

Just at the next exit (40) we veered off to find Glenn Willow Drive where the Hobby Express shop is. Bill was to meet the owner to pick up an RC model kit. We arrived around 11 and parked in their lot and alongside the street. Mark wasn’t around and when we texted him, he told of us an emergency situation that took him to Florida. Family emergencies are just that: unexpected and urgent. He would not be back until Sunday unless the situation got worse. We couldn’t wait around.

Parked along the street at Hobby Express in N.C.

Bill was so disappointed that things didn't work out here
but understood Mark's situation

We discussed what our options are with Rob and Pat and we all decided, since it was early in the day, to carry on our journey rather than find a place to overnight here in NC. Back in the vehicles, we pulled out just after 11:30 and headed back onto the highway headed west. We needed to do a bit of back tracking to catch I-75N. This would also shorten our trek tomorrow by 100 miles and that is always a bonus on an otherwise long driving day.

Declining in elevation

down down down

Through Tennessee, a much nicer sign by the way

So, the next move after a rest stop and another fuel stop was to find the Sam’s Club in Knoxville, Kentucky. By 2 pm we took Exit 8 off I-640W and found our destination for the night. The manager approved us staying here and we were as far as we could be from the store. Traffic isn’t too far so it is noisy right now. We can only hope it settles down when we want to sleep or we’ll all be wearing earplugs.

more pretty waterways and lovely homes on the hill

The temperature was a lovely 69F and the sun remained brilliant ball in the sky until it set after 7:30. Today was a beautiful drive and as Pat said, it would be absolutely breathtaking in the fall months. We settled and set up as much as is feasible when overnighting in a parking lot. The day turned into a longer one than we’d originally planned but other than Bill not getting his plane, it was not a disappointment to drive the extra hour.

I'm sure our travelling friends will recognize this sign but
they always make me chuckle
Cows want us to eat 'Chikin', I wonder why

We rested, we read and rested some more and at 4 all four of us walked into Sam’s for a few grocery items. Bill and I wanted a couple of things and came out with just that. We’ll soon be somewhere for more than a night and can do other shopping when we arrive there in a couple of days. I warmed up a dish of chili each and prepared a salad for supper. It was filling, tasty and quick.

Nice easy supper after a driving day

While in Sam’s Club, I let down my resistance and picked up a pack of 3 – 4” pies for us to share. The price was right. They will be a nice treat and last us for a week or two. I am a little overwhelmed now that we have data back just because I’m so far behind in posting. I’m thrilled BUT I have a lot of catch up to do. I’ve still been writing my posts on a daily basis and taking pictures, but it is time consuming. Thank you for bearing with me!

A nice spot at Sam's Club for the night

We’ve enjoyed the day and hope you have had a great one too. We were hoping for two map stickers after tonight but instead we just added Mississippi. We’ll get North Carolina’s sticker on another time. Before too late, we each had a quarter of the little blueberry pie. Bill teased about being ‘rationed’ but it was actually just enough.

Although we didn't walk far, it was warm and there was nice green
space for Clemson

Thank you for visiting.