Two Score Roadtrip, Day 2, May 7th.

 

 

Day 2 did not start as early as I had hoped, but I got a good night sleep. 😊… and that is what matters. I drove from Charlottesville, VA to Cooksville, TN (one hour outside of Nashville). I stopped in Draper, VA on the way. I had planned to stop at “Blue Ridge Mountain Fudge” in Pulaski, and was surprised and confused when GPS took me to a little boutique in Draper—the company had moved!!! Well, it is in this super quaint little spot. I love unexpected surprises like these! I ended up getting lunch and some goodies while I was there. 😊

I had a really beautiful drive through the Smokey Mountains. I listened to Anne of Green Gables the whole way! and The best part is that while driving I came across a "Lover's Lane" and a "Blytheville"!!! It made me squeal with joy! The problem with being on a road trip with just yourself is that you can't very well take pictures as you drive along. Please excuse the scant number of quality pictures. The one below is taken from a rest stop. 

 

When I got to Cooksville, TN I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up some fresh fruits and veg for dinner and the next day’s drive. I was really surprised to be one of the few people wearing a mask. Thank goodness I waited to take this trip until I was vaccinated!!!!

As I was tired and it was dark by the time I finished at Wal-Mart I decided to sleep in Cooksville rather than go on the Nashville as I had previously planned. I found the cheapest place and called it good. I only needed a place for the night, so I didn’t need anything fancy. I was pretty tired when I walked into the lobby to check in to “America’s Best Value Inn”. The stench of musty old building and Punjabi woke me right up. The lobby furniture could have used a good cleaning and there was a mystery stain on the ceiling near the ornate chandelier. My thoughts at that moment were puzzling on the oddity of the chandelier. It didn’t really seem to fit. A few minutes later I opened the door to my ground floor, motel—conveniently only a few feet from where I parked the car. It was clean enough and bug-free. Sadly, even though I had purchased a bowl to put the salad in, when I got to the motel, I realized that getting a fork from this hotel wasn't a possibility. I was starving, but opted to sleep and figure it out in the morning. 

I didn’t notice the light stench of urine until the morning when I was laying on my yoga mat doing PT exercises. At that point I was heading out any way. I know what you are thinking: Ew. Gross. But hey, I was comparing it to other adventures I have had. At least I wasn’t sharing cardboard with a homeless lady at the Paris airport because I couldn’t pay $400 for the fancy airport hotel. And before you ask, yes, that happened. When I was younger, all of my money went to living expenses, and plane tickets. There wasn’t a lot left over for lodging or even food. Before you start to pity me, just know that this made for some really great adventures.  

Stay tuned for even more fun on day 3!

Two Score and nearly a year ago…

For Marian

Well well well, here I have returned to blog writing after a looooooong break. I owe this to my colleague, Marian, who begged me to consider blogging about my road trip. As I was driving I had some many thoughts about adventures that I thought I may as well write them down in a “blog” as opposed to in my paper journal. So… with out further ado… my first blog post in 6.5 years.

May 6, 2021

Two Score and nearly a year ago…

When I was younger--late teens and twenties--I used to do lots of adventuring. Adventures took on a different form when I married Spencer and then after having the kids “adventure” took on a whole new meaning. It goes without saying that “parenthood” is a whole other kind of adventure. 😊 And while I am happy with how my life has shifted and changed over the years, I do miss the freedom to take off and go the way of the wind! With all of that in mind, I had planned to celebrate my 2 scores of life with a road trip. Just me. Having an adventure my way.  And Spencer was fully on board. Unfortunately, my 40^th birthday happened while the whole of America was in quarantine. Experts didn’t know how the virus spread. People were told not to leave home. Needless to say, this was not the time to leave home.

Fast forward nearly one year and two jabs later… and I am off!

First things first. I rented a car. After humming and hawing over which type of car I needed to get I went with the “mystery car”. And I can’t believe how giddy I was to to be getting a mystery car! I think I had secret hopes of getting a mustang or some such car. Little did the lady at the counter know of my dreams for the big reveal. She quite unceremoniously told me I would be getting a compact, Chevy.

The beauty of a road trip vs back packing through Europe on a train is that I didn’t have to limit myself too much in what I could take. In Europe I traveled around with a regular-sized backpack—mostly filled with entertainment. This was before one could carry hundreds of digital books on their phones. In fact, I didn’t even have a phone at the time. I wore pants, a short-sleeved shirt, a long-sleeved button-up shirt and a sweeter. I literally wore one outfit. I just shifted between layers as weather dictated. I packed a toothbrush and face wash.

For this trip, I couldn’t decide what to bring. Was I trying to recreate my youthful frugality? Or was I going to take advantage of the fact that I have a car, and truck space? Well, in the end I was in a hurry and stuffed a bunch of assorted articles of clothing into the suitcase and called it good. I also included a picnic blanket, fold-able chair, yoga mat, and foam roller—all things that I would not have brought with me on a train adventure. But hey, this isn’t a train adventure. 😊

So, I got to the car. The first thing I noticed was the Minnesota license plates and my heart sang! Those who know me should know that I have a special spot for MN in my heart. My mom is from there and I have lots of extended family there, including my grandmother. I opened the car doors and my joy went downhill a bit. It wreaked of smoke and the perfume smell that they use to cover up the smell of smoke. “YUCK!” I said to myself. “Not sure I can drive for 12 days in this.” But, I knew I couldn’t ask for a new one, because they were literally out of cars. So I took it. Amazingly, it was more bearable with the AC on. And a mask. 

 

After packing up, I kissed my kids and dear husband goodbye and headed out! Day 1 was not a long one. I drove to Charlottesville, VA and stayed at my cousin’s house, planning to get an early start for a long second day. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics of Charlottesville. I went to Brian and Amy’s house and we had a really nice time chatting and catching up. Their house is gorgeous! Here is a pic of their backyard. And yes, those are dear. :-) And yes, they own a piece of forest. :-)

 

 

And here is a pic from their front yard. It's so gorgeous! I am thinking if I can put something similar in my landscaping.