Road Trip Day 1: Athens, GA to Carbondale, IL (499 miles)

Wake up at 6 a.m. Pack up the last few items and attempt to squeeze them into any little space that we might find, in between boxes, bags, and furniture. Nope…two items do not fit (two large picture frames). Argh…I begin to wallow in a growing monster of anguish (Come on Leasa, Keep Calm & Carry On!) I am simply drained, tired of organizing, packing, and moving stuff, and I am simply ready to be home in Colorado. The heat and humidity has tested my nerves the last few weeks and I am ready to move onto the next life adventure. We stop at Ike and Jane’s for our last red velvet cake doughnut, stop for gas (the most expensive gas purchased the entire road trip--U.S. $3.74/gallon), oil, and air for the tires. Ah, this day has been a LONG time coming. Once we leave the city limits of Athens, a wave of solace rolls over me. Ah!

We drive approximately 500 miles on day one (of three days) with an overnight stopover in Carbondale, Illinois—home of Southern Illinois University. The drive goes very well with several stops to change drivers, stretch, and fill up with gas. As we drive through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois, the pesky little “check engine” light on the car dash remains bright yellow. Yes, we have been dealing with some car issues for the past few weeks, but the auto mechanic swears that little “Lexi” (the hard core 1999 silver Lexus 300RX approaching 200,000 miles) will be okay and will not implode during our 1,500 mile road trip.

In Tennessee, Charlie spots a billboard for wine tastings at the highly acclaimed (snicker) Beachhaven Winery. We decide that forgoing this wine experience would be a sin, so we stop and sip on some surprisingly good Syrah, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. With a bottle of Cab in hand, we pushed on. We arrived at our hotel and immediately got back into the car for dinner. Charlie did some internet searching before our trip and he stumbled on a veggie café in Carbondale, Longbranch Coffeehouse, and when our friend (who used to live in Carbondale) confirmed the delicious fare, it became a destination. Charlie had veggie Thai curry and I devoured the veggie harvest with ginger sauce. Thumbs up for Longbranch! After a night swim we were ready for some shut eye.

Blue Ridge Parkway...Incredible!

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles from North Carolina to Virgina. It is considered to be one of the America's most scenic drives through the mountains. On our way back to Georgia, we decided to drive a portion of the Parkway. Incredible! 75 years ago, as part of the New Deal's work program to employ citizens during the Great Depression, the Parkway was designed and construction began in 1935. In 1987, the "missing link", Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, was constructed and the parkway was completed. The incredible thing about this parkway is that the scenic landscapes were preserved, so in the distance all you see are layers of mountains. Amazing vistas and more butterflies!

Great Smokies...CHEESE!

We stayed in the super cheesy town of Gatlinburg. For some reason, Southerners think it's cool to "bling" out mountain towns with such things as Dollywood amusement park, Ripley's Museum & Moving Theatre, Hollywood Wax Museum, and indoor putt-putt golf. As if the mountains were not entertaining enough...

One night we decided to partake in the cheese and came home with an old-time photo, hill-billy style! I have to admit...it was pretty fun and the photographer helped us "ham it up" as he kept calling me "mama" and Charlie "pa". We chose the moonshine scene, as it was very appropriate! In June, Tennessee moonshine went legal and the first (legal) distillery opened in Gatlinburg.

The Great Smoky Mountains: Vacation!

After two months of studying in a cave...it was time to breathe some fresh mountain air. The weekend after comps, Charlie and I drove three hours north to spend time in the Great Smoky mountains in Tennessee. During the day, we spent our time hiking trails with butterflies dancing around us and wild blueberries and blackberries on the side of the trail. The Great Smokies are different than the Rocky mountains; the Smokies are much older, hence worn down and not as rugged. And, the Smokies sit at a lower elevation (6,000 feet vs. 14,000 feet), so the foliage is different. But, they are still mountains and I am still a mountain girl...thus, I wore a perma-grin the entire weekend.