The Move West

Day 1:

Today was a very sad day. I said goodbye to my mom and dad. I didn't know how sad it actually all was until I saw my Mom crying. It made me not want to leave at all. But, I'm starting a new step in my life with the most special girl ever, Vasilisa! So, we left at 9:30 AM, picked up Vasilisa's newly prescribed medicine, and were on our way.

For some reason, I didn't think out how far we were going to be driving per day and only planned to drive 450 miles a day. This is not smart for how we want to go. Our new plan is to drive 8 hours a day, about 600 miles, in 2 hour shifts with lunch in between the first and second half. I left my good camera in the back this first day because, one, it was already packed and, two, I've seen Northeast scenery before and I'm not too excited to take pictures of it.

Some of the things we talked about on the road included how this was the saddest goodbye we've had, tea tree oil, and stories from college. We stopped in Harrisonburg, Virginia for lunch at a place called Clementine Cafe. It was an artsy bar with a huge beer selection. The food was good and the waiter was attentive, although he only would look at Vasi when he came to the table. Someone had a crush! We made it to Knoxville, Tennessee by 9:30, which was a little late to go to the nicer restaurants, so we went to Applebee's. Not the best but at least we can get something that fits our diets. Our first choice was Pizza Palace, a fast food pizza restaurant with "excellent salads." When we pulled in and saw that it was a 1950's style drive-in we kept driving through and went straight to the hotel.

One of the best changes from this trip from our last trip, in my opinion, is that I can tether my phone to my laptop and use my phone as a modem. This makes booking hotels, finding restaurants and POI's, and changing the route super quick and easy. I wouldn't recommend road-tripping without a laptop w/ internet. It saves a lot of arguments and wasted time from occurring.

Our next leg takes us to New Orleans by dinner time. This should be a lot of fun and I'll have a bunch of pictures to upload. Until then, Vasi and I love you all!