Friendswood TX to Jackson MS
Friday, August 24, 2007
We started at 8:51 CDT AM and drove 461 miles to Jackson MS, were we spent the night at a La Quinta motel. Along the way we crossed the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. It’s been 2 years since Hurricane Katrina, and 1.5 years since we last drove through East Texas/Western Louisiana, and the area
Jackson MS to Alphraetta GA
Saturday, August 25, 2007
We left our hotel at 8:38 AM CDT, and drove by the State House,
Interestingly the State fairgrounds (complete with stable of horses is only a few blocks away from the State House, with only a library between the two. It’s hard to tell in the photo above but the Fairgrounds are fenced area to the
Alpraetta GA to Stanley NC
Sunday, August 26, 2007
We were up late the previous night chatting with Chitra and Kermit, so we got to a late start leaving the hotel at 11:44 AM EDT. We regret that we couldn't schedule this leg of the trip to be any other day but Sunday, Most of the road side stands were closed and we didn't get to have some hot
Stanley NC
Monday, August 27, 2007
We spent the whole day hanging out with Jerry and Jacqueline. It was Gabrielle’s first day at school, and Kelly was called into work. After school, Winston helped Jerry fix Gabrielle bicycle, and Kelly cooked a delicious dinner, and we had ice cream from a Calf-A for dessert. Did you know that
Stanley NC to Virginia Beach VA
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
We had breakfast with Jerry and Jacqueline at the local eatery, and then got back on the road around noon EDT, we drove 353 miles to get to Virginia Beach, VA. All the rivers and lakes we drove by had really low levels of water, mostly looking muddy or grassy. Which given the level of drought
Virginia Beach VA
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Irene and Bill have a friendly and active puppy, and we spent the day with Kat and the kids getting ready for the school year. Joe stopped by in the afternoon and showed us one of the truck he manages.
That evening we went to Jessica’s high school orientation. Apparently, Winston looks young
Virginia Beach VA to Ellicott City MD
Thursday, August 30, 2007
In the morning, a sumptuous breakfast was prepared and consumed at Joe and Kat’s house, we managed to get on the road at 11:22 AM EDT, and then we stopped just before the tunnel-bridge connecting Norfolk to Hampton. Here Megan got her first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean.
We found it hardest to
Ellicott City MD
Friday, August 31, 2007
Megan’s 100 days old today! We just hung around great-grandparents house all day, and waited for more relatives to show up. Winston’s parents arrived that evening, and Megan has finally met all of her living grandparents.
Winston’s cousins have a Nintendo Wii. It’s pretty fun, and if you play it
Ellicott City MD
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Jeff and Zoe brought Irene to visit us. They also brought a lot of extra Baby clothes that we sorted through and then took back to Texas. Irene’s is about 2 months older and pretty big compared to Megan. We all went out to lunch afterwards, we stopped by the Columbia Mall, were there’s a L.L.Bean
Ellicott City MD to Rocky Mount VA
Sunday, September 2, 2007
We left Ellicott City to begin the return leg of our trip around 9:30 AM EDT, and drove via part of Shenandoah National Park’s Skyline Drive to get to Rocky Mount VA. We decided to get Megan a National Park Passport book which you can stamp at each National Park. We averaged about 10 miles of the
Rocky Mount VA
Monday, September 3, 2007
The highlight of the day was Emmett’s (Bru’s Grandfather) 95th Birthday party, among other desserts there was a Jelly Bean Cake. Apparently a newly discovered dessert in Rocky Mount, but still well enough to be available pre-baked at the local Wal-Mart. Being mostly a German Baptist gathering,
Ferrum, Roanoke & Rocky Mount VA
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
We spent all day visiting Julie’s old professors. Most of them at Ferrum College in Ferrum, VA. We saw Julie’s old dorm which had been remodeled, and visited various old haunts of Julie and Nancy. And here’s a tip if you want to see all your old professors, go when classes are in session. That’s
Rocky Mount VA to Gatlinburg TN
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
After breakfast we took a nap and then we got on the road around 11:40 am EDT, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway until just before the Virginia/North Carolina state line, We averaged 30 miles of the Parkway per hour, and there were fewer overlooks. But we did stop at Mabry Mill and "The Saddle".
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Great Smoky Mountains NP - we saw a wild Black Bear! (he was not too big and actually scrawny looking, kind of like a big woolly black dog, and Winston didn't get a good photo of him), but he walked right in front of the car. Julie was so excited she asked Winston to get out of the car and take
Gatlinburg TN to Little Rock AR
Friday, September 7, 2007
Starting after breakfast around 9:00 AM EDT, we drove our longest single day leg, 588 miles to Little Rock AR. Along the way we made three stops. First we went to the Lodge Cast Iron Outlet store and bought some Cast Iron cookware, Second we drove by the State House in Nashville, TN, and Third we
Little Rock AR to Friendswood TX
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Our final day of driving and second longest leg (513 miles). We left the hotel around 10 AM CDT for home, but we made 3 detours along the way.
First we drove by Clinton's Presidential library, it seemed imposing and pretty big relative to our preconceived notions of libraries.
Second we drove by
Friendswood TX
Sunday, September 9, 2007
We got home just after midnight. And we were glad we went, we had a great time, spent lots of time with many people, saw a variety of interesting things and at the same time glad to be home. Hunter missed us terribly, and Basil and Joules were just ambivalent.
Here are some final thoughts:
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