Second day gets me past the Mississsippi

    I got an early start today (7:30 a.m.) after a quick but pretty good breakfast. I felt a little bit like some OCD type when I asked the server to toast my Ezekiel bread. But I can't eat (and don't want to) all-white wheat bread anymore. With high clouds in Chattanooga at 54 degrees (brrrrr) and the first part of the drive up through some mountains north of Lookout up near Sewanee, it was a pretty drive down the other side to Kentucky.

   But early on I stopped at the rest area about ten minutes from Chattanooga to do some rearranging of CDs and drinks. What a glorious surprise to see such a beautiful rest area! I hated to leave this serene location, but the road needed to be chewed up.

   

   This area is probably spectacular in the fall. I'd like to come back and do some drives around in the mountains again. I could only imagine what it must have been like for the soldiers - on both sides! - during the Civil War to be running up and down or around all these elevations.

   No major traffic issues until I got to the outskirts of Nashville and then several jam-ups occurred. But I didn't really lose much time after all.

   Before long I was past Nashville (which was a lot larger than I imagined it to be) and followed I-24 up near Hopkinsville, Kentucky. This area has rolling hills, wonderful old barns perched on grassy mounds, and while Kentucky is noted for its horses, I actually didn't see any out in pastures near the roadway. I just kept on driving and slowly the miles rolled away. I ended up eating the rest of the steak from last night while finishing up Kentucky / Paducah.

   Then I was in Illinois, but still heading North!!! I was feeling discouraged that after two days of driving I hadn't made much western progress. According to my estimate, it seemed like I could make St. Louis, Missouri, by early afternoon. Fortunately the road work on the lower part of I-57 was not much of a delay factor. And soon I was on I-64 heading west at last!

   I tried to take a picture of the Gateway Arch, but it didn't come out... hard to drive and focus on the camera, too.

   By 4:30 p.m. I was driving into the parking lot of the motel... unfortunately the pool was not heated, even though it is under a roof. I decided I wasn't feeling brave enough for cool water and got settled in. Tomorrow, Friday, I can push to get to Boulder, CO for the night, or split it up into two 6-hour days. I'll decide tomorrow.

    

    

Easy first day of driving

I got a good start at 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday and the drive up I-75 was uneventful. I made it to Chattanooga, TN by 3:30 p.m. Made several stops for gas and just a break in driving and feel like it was an easy day's trip. (The gas in Georgia and TN is about 1.82 per gallon.) On the map, it looks like Chattanooga is a lot farther than it apparently is from Atlanta. I stopped at the Tennessee Visitor Center to get a map and I listened to the woman at the desk trying to explain opening and closing times to a hearing-impaired couple. I asked if I could help. She asked if I knew American Sign Language, and I replied that I thought I could remember how to interpret times of day... so I did, and the couple was appreciative. 

    Well, it turned out that I was telling them when the scenic Ruby Falls cave in Lookout Mountain was open and I decided to go and see it as well. Big surprise was that while down inside on the tour, I saw the couple again coming back up from their visit and the woman recognized me from the center and we greeted each other. A nice circle of connection.

    The Ruby Falls are named for the discoverer's wife, found by accident when he was trying to open up the long-closed main cave which had been used by both Confederate and Union armies as hospitals during the Civil War. (If you click on the link, you can see what I saw and learn all about it from their web site.) It was well worth having some extra time to stop and see this.

    Before I did the tour,  I checked in at the motel. I asked about a place to eat and was recommended to "Modern Dave's" and so before going to Ruby Falls I decided to drive by and see both where it was and what it was. I wasn't impressed by the outside appearance. But it was recommended, and after trekking about underground I was hungry.

    BIG surprise! Dave was the chef, and the kitchen is right inside the front door. You walk in and immediately feel welcome. They have over 50 (!) beers, both national and international, and an impressive menu for a daily delivery. The only thing I wasn't tickled about was the use of a microwave to warm up the saffron rice and beans that came with a top notch steak covered with a Cabernet wine sauce, because the rice wasn't fully warm and it wrinkled the beans. But the delivery was very appealing, as you can see here.

 This was a good find and I can really recommend it to anyone traveling through this area. Now I've got to get dressed and get another day underway. (I'm going to attempt to get past St.Louis, MO today.) Tune in tomorrow for the next update.