We awake in Russellville. Tonight we sleep in Russellville. Huh? What gives?
This morning we started in Russellville, AR. Tonight we are about 450miles further towards home and are staying in Russellville, KY. It wasn’t planned this way however.
The day started fairly normally and after breakfast we rejoined I-40E towards Memphis, TN.
Drive to Memphis, TNCrossing the Mississippi River
Once past Memphis we head towards Nashville, TN stopping to do a little shopping in Jackson, TN and have lunch. Rejoining the I-40E the traffic increases as we get closer to Nashville. I then notice that the Waze GPS app is re-routing us because of traffic issues in Nashville. It does this a few times and then Barb notices that on Google maps in the city of Nashville traffic is a mess! Time to divert.
From Tennessee into Kentucky
Barb determines a route cross-country toward our intended destination, Bowling Green, KY. I take the next exit and avoid the traffic. Barb then tells me that we could actually stop for the night in a town with the same name as where we started, Russellville, KY.
And so here we, ‘back where we started’ as it were. Ha ha ha.
Tomorrow, we head North. We’ll leave Kentucky and head into Indiana. See you there.
Having listened to several train horns at various times in the night, 6:30 arrived and I was up for my morning walk. Lightly showering but 11C so lighter clothing under the rain jacket.
Collegedale is a very car-centric community, or at least the area we stayed in is. Walking was a challenge as sidewalks were far and few between, the inclusion of them clearly being left to the developers should they have felt like it, most didn’t. This meant that I walked in the narrow shoulder facing traffic that was going well over the posted limit in damp conditions. Needless to say, I didn’t last long & hope to put in the remaining distance when we arrive at the state park this afternoon.
After breakfast in the van, we headed out at about 8:30 and travelled through Chattanooga on I-75 before picking up the I-59 towards the Georgia border, a few minutes later we crossed into Alabama where we entered the Central timezone, so it was 8:30 again. But we didn’t get too excited as we’ll lose that hour this coming weekend when the clocks change to daylight savings time.
Eastern Redbud in bloom
Onto Birmingham, AL where we followed the I-465 around the city before heading South on the I-65 towards Montgomery, AL and then towards Pensacola, FL.
The driving today has been easy, lots of construction zones with reduced speeds and few to no workers to warrant the slowdowns, but stress free driving is always nice. The landscape changed a lot, from the mountains of Tennessee to the rolling hills of Northern Alabama to the mostly flat sandy pine tree covered dunes of Florida. Most of the hardwood trees were replaced with softwood varieties and the wild wisteria that hung blooming in many trees in Northern Alabama is not suited to the heat and humidity of the gulf coast.
Wild Wisteria
As I write this it is overcast and showering in Pensacola but warm at 24C. We’re booked in to spend two nights at the Big Lagoon State Park here in Pensacola, FL and so will provide a review of our site, the park and what we get up to in the next couple of posts.
Sneak peek at our destination
Stay tuned, be happy! Spring really is on the way.
Yep, all camping trips begin with provisioning, except this one. It’s day 2 and we’re yet to gather supplies. That changes today!
Had a great sleep parked at the Cracker Barrel in Winchester, VA. Highly recommended. Awake just before 7:00 and out for a 5.5km walk along mostly overly busy roads. Chilly at -1C but it should soon warm.
A restful parkup
Back at the van, Barb has reorganized some things and is feeling much better about where and how our stuff is stored.
After a smallish breakfast at our hosts, we were back on I-81 South at 9:00am. I’m hoping for a shorter day (a little foreshadowing here).
Cherry blossoms
Virginia is a beautiful state. The mountains, farms, forests and valleys all tell a tale of over two-hundred years of settlement. It really is easy to see why it became a popular settling destination.
Although it won’t feel like it to those of you that live north of the US/Canada border, Spring arrived early for us today. The grass here is greening up and in some-places could already be mowed (still on the lookout for that first operating mower). Many trees are budding and the flowering trees are in full bloom. We saw Cherry blossoms, flowering dogwoods (State flower of Virginia) and Eastern Redbud that actually flowers with a purple flower. Daffodils are also in bloom. Yep, Spring is here.
Forsythia in bloom along the roadside
Arriving in Roanoke, VA we decided to visit Camping World and pick up a few bits and pieces for the van and get Propane. Bits and pieces were acquired but their propane system was out of order. They suggested the TSC store next door. Hmmm, I’m hoping they will know how to fill an RV tank.
We drive to the TSC and immediately prune one of their lovely trees with the roof of the van. Argh! Phew, no harm to the van thankfully, but the poor tree had a few branches less after greeting us. As for the Propane, all went well & the dude was quite skilled in filling RV tanks. Yay, provisioning has begun.
Next we acquired water for our tank, we can now flush and wash!!! This is a good thing. We do not drink the water from our tank and instead buy bottled water for safety reasons.
Leaving Virginia and entering Tennessee, I-81 turns Westward towards Knoxville. We arrived during afternoon rush hour… yay! This slowed our progress and resulted in our arriving in Chattanooga at 7:00pm. Not a shorter driving day.
Dinner courtesy of Arby’s, parkup courtesy of Walmart on Little Debbie Lane, Collegedale, TN. the home of the Little Debbie factory.
After the Propane and Water acquisitions of earlier, food provisions have been acquired from Walmart that should last us for a few days.
All for today. Tomorrow we cross into the Central timezone and should arrive in Florida!
