Total travel time: about 11 hours
After a quick trip to the Capitol and dropping Roosevelt (my adorable, lovable kitty) off at the vet, Clint and I hit the road bound for Nashville.
We hit traffic on the Beltway and then really bad traffic at Gainesville on I-66 just outside of D.C. After about an hour, we stopped in Strasburg for lunch. At the combo McDonalds/Exxon, Gerty the local octogenarian socialite was busy greeting all the guests, include a friendly “hello” to Clint.
The trip across Virginia was largely uneventful. We realized that I-81 runs across the hypotenuse of the state creating one LONG trip down the state. Traffic was light and moving quickly.
Along the way, we saw the Best License Plate Ever…if your name is Bob. I’m sure we freaked the people out in the Suburban in our efforts to take the photo. It took several tries to get this shaky one.
Also, a shout out to Meg as we sped by Marion, VA. I managed to snap a photo of one of the exit signs. Meg’s mom’s family is from Marion, a very cute small town where her grandmother still lives. (Thanks Meg for the email prompt that we would pass it!)
Our Google Map directions told us to stay on I-81 until exit 1B, where we would merge on to I-40. At the Virginia-Tennessee border, I was convinced that we were supposed to take exit 1B there, although there was absolutely no mention of I-40 or Knoxville. Clint, who was driving, hesitantly obliged and very shortly after exiting we both realized I was VERY wrong. It was a short, three minute diversion, but a funny one nonetheless. (I was convinced we’d hit I-40 at the Virginia-Tennessee border for some reason.)
We crossed into Tennessee somewhere around 5 p.m. and entered the state where every single city, town, hamlet, or village ends in “-ville.” Clint made this observation early and I agreed with some skepticism thinking, “yeah, so there’s Knoxville and Nashville, big deal.” Uh, no. I wish I’d kept a record of all the “-ville” names we passed. It was hilarious after awhile.
Shortly after crossing into the state, we saw a giant guitar-shaped rest stop on the other side of the interstate. The photo isn’t great, but it is definitely worth posting. Seriously. That’s a building. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
What’s more unbelievable is the GIGANTIC cross we passed a few minutes later. This was one of quite a few big crosses we’ve come across so far in Tennessee. Another memorable one was atop a hill, completely lit up. Very bizarre.
Finally at about 8 p.m. we arrived at our hotel in Nashville. The very friendly guy at the desk upgraded our room to a Capitol view on the 21st floor. Very nice.
Stay tuned for another entry tomorrow, more photos and maybe video!
Onward…