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| Atlanta |
We got off to a great start Sunday morning at 5:43 a.m. and were out of Florida well ahead of “schedule”. We stopped at Magnolia Plantation for gas and rip-off pecan, peanuts and a few sweet treats, and then ate the lunch we’d brought from “home” just outside the cemetery. We had a shared roast beef and cheese roll, along with crisp veggies and a diet coke. The hand-made caramel pecan candy topped off our meal. All very satisfactory.
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| Cherry blossoms |
Trouble hit at mile marker 192 in Georgia. Traffic slowed to a crawl and it took us several hours to travel about 40 miles. We bypassed the freeway at some point, but probably didn’t gain any time. We were perhaps 40 miles from Atlanta and were told the problem was due to road construction in the northbound lanes of I75.
Finally Atlanta. Although we took the HOV lane through downtown, progress was slow. We finally got past Atlanta and decided to go the extra 100 miles to Chattanooga. We limped into the Hampton Inn at Lookout Mountain well after 6:00 p.m.
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| Tennessee morning |
Our second day started with a delay because we stopped at
Cherokee Automotive for a tire check. A guy at a rest stop had remarked on what looked like a roofing nail in the front right tire, and we’d been a little apprehensive about the outcome. Turned out to be a short screw that did no damage, and there was no charge for that peace of mind diagnosis, but we did get off to a late start. Traffic around Nashville was horrendous due to road construction, and we lost time there too, more than wiping out the hour gain as we got back to Central time. We ended the day at the
Baymont Inn & Suites, Rockford, Illinois, totally spent. The Baymont is basic but clean, and the bed was very comfortable.
Our last day was, thankfully, easy and fast. We drove most of the morning through fog, but arrived home shortly after noon. We unpacked, sorted mail and did laundry, but the sun was shining and it felt good to be home! I love Minnesota.
