The Road Home

I decided I needed to get up at 6:00 AM so I would have time to get ready, packed, etc before I left for Texas. Mom got up right after I did and she started Mr Coffee so I could have some joe before I left. I skipped breakfast, hoping to get something along the way, if I had time. After I packed the van, had my coffee and said my good byes, I hit the road. It was 7 AM.

I had to let the van warm a bit since it was 33 degrees (1-2 Celsius) and there was as layer of frost on the windshield. I only let it run for a few minutes before I hit the road. I checked the gas gauge and noticed I had about 1/2 a tank so I decided to get $15.00 worth in Sutton, WV. Gas in WV was high ($2.21 to $2.29 a gallon), so I bought as little as possible while there.

The route home was the more traditional, more direct route I had taken before. It runs from Clarksburg to Charleston, west on I-64 to Kentucky, follows the Blue Ridge Parkway and picks up I-65 south. I stopped a few times for gas and a toilet break while in Kentucky. I was getting hungry so I started munching on the home made pepperoni rolls mom packed for me and nursing a water. My cash was tight (I had $20 left and still needed to pay for my camping) so I avoided as many of the extras as I could.

The drive in the cold mountain air was very enjoyable. There was no rain and the traffic was pretty light overall. I made good time and arrived at the campground with a fair amount of daylight left. I found a great place to park the van (flat and secluded) and ate my dinner (a Subway sandwich that I had purchased 8 miles up the road). When I was done eating, I took a short walk to the lake and up to the cabins. I was surprised to see how many campers there were at the park, considering how cool the weather was. The lower campground was almost full.

When I returned from my walk, I updated my travel journal and then got the BRILLIANT idea of typing up my blog entries in MS Word on my laptop (the first time I used it the entire trip) to save time later on. I typed until it was too dark to see and then I changed for bed. I know it was early, but I planned on hitting the road as soon as I could on Saturday.