Atlanta Bypass

Crossing the Ohio River

Yesterday's day on the road was a snap! We went from deep winter to 20F and set off this morning full of optimism, sure that we would get to Florida -- or almost -- by this evening.

In fact, the journey was glorious through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and part of Georgia. We left Mount Vernon shortly after 7:00 a.m. and an hour or so later, the hills of Kentucky reminded me of spring. A little later, we saw our first green grass and my first robin of the season chirped merrily at the Blue Star Memorial Highway Tennessee Welcome Center. I was almost overdressed in my light fleece jacket.

Robin at Tennessee Welcome Center

We had lunch at McDonald's just past Nashville (The Grand Ole Opry will have to wait, I guess ) and drove on to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which reminded me of South St. Paul in Minnesota. We steeled ourselves for bumper-to-bumper traffic around Atlanta, and sure enough that's what we had. Somewhere around Chattanooga, we entered the Eastern time zone and lost an hour.

AAA steered us past Atlanta on the 285 bypass, so that we avoided I-75 though the heart of Atlanta. By this time, we were beginning to fade, but we had to press on. There was nowhere to go but forward.

After about 100 miles of speeds between 15 and 20  mph, we finally hit wide open freeway (that's what a freeway used to be, long ago) and made it to Macon, Georgia, after dusk had fallen. The first hotel off exit #169 was full, but we landed well at Courtyard By Marriott. A drink never tasted so good.

Catatonic in Mount Vernon, Illinois

Beautiful Wisconsin Countryside

Bob was keen on making it to Paducah, Kentucky, but I'd had enough after driving into bright sunlight all morning, followed by an afternoon assault of heat from the setting sun. Despite a temperature of -10F, we were cozy in a warmed up car and were on the road by 6:30 a.m. The morning was quite lovely, especially as the sun began to rise over Woodbury and I imagined a cold but beautiful day of skiing at Afton Alps a few miles away. The shadows turned a cold blue and the snow shone bright, untouched by anything but the wind.

The dead of winter lost its hold as we drove south. Well into Illinois, snow depth diminished. By 4:25, we were out of the snow belt and the ponds changed from bright ice to shiny dark liquid. Birds gathered for a last feed in the fields at the end of the day and we suddenly felt depleted, strangely un-refreshed after our last rest stop.

We staggered, exhausted,  into Mount Vernon's Comfort Suites at about 5:30. The hotel is new and clean, soothing in the predictability of its services. We seem to be in the heart of the Bible Belt (where is that anyway?) and I feel a little uneasy as I down my Old Crow, a cheap but satisfying bourbon.

St Paul to St Pete

Bob has been studying maps for the last month, anticipating every weather possibility in this crazy winter of extreme cold and heavy snow. He became a AAA member a few weeks ago, and merrily ordered TripTiks from the very personable Emily at the Roseville office. "You can have as many as you want", she said, piling travel books into bags for every state we will drive through. So much for the house decluttering project!

The TripTiks finally arrived last week. One route takes us south on US52, through Iowa. In case threatened blizzard conditions prevail tomorrow morning, we have another route too, east on 94 via Madison, Wisconsin. Either way, we will probably spend Thursday night in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Nearly 24 hours in a vehicle, over three days. With colder than normal temperatures over the entire route, I think it will be awhile before we shed our warm clothes!

Our Bags Aren't Packed ...

...but nearly everything else is done. Our suitcases aren't yet down from the attic, since Bob always wants to postpone upsetting the cat as long as possible. After years of resistance, I've now bought into his strategy. On this frigid late February morning, Minou is purring happily at my feet.

We'll finish last minute preparations the house will be ready for son Chris to take up residence after we leave tomorrow. It's been a long, cold winter!