Apropos of nothing, I contemplated how big a role music plays in some people's lives. Our friends Tom and Eve are always traveling to concerts and need tunes going all the time. On the other hand, I sometimes switch the radio off and forget to turn it on again. I am more focused on words. It takes all kinds.
Heading east on I-40, we stopped at a crossroads for McDonald's breakfast and found there wasn't a McMuffin in the house. The truck was late and they were all still frozen. We had McGriddles instead. The gas was exceptionally high priced and I put this down to the bombing of the Saudi production facilities. We later found the stations here were gouging, since prices varied widely across the state. Speedway, for example, had not raised prices at all while others were up by differing amounts.
Nashville skyline
Many cranes and much building in Nashville
Leaving Nashville on I-40
Stopped for Subway lunch in Crossville Tennessee
If you have a long, steep hill...
...why not put a sharp curve at the bottom?
We were moving slowly by this time!
Kingston Fossil Plant built in 1951 to provide power to Oak Ridge National Lab
Cranes over Knoxville Tennessee
Sunsphere - symbol of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville Tennessee
Should we go back?
East of Knoxville, we left I-40 at the beginning of I-81. We would soon be past the Johnson City exit and back in familiar territory.
State police were still vigilant
The pointy mountain looks like what I drew as a child
Better than being for fighters...
We stopped at the Virginia Welcome Center, where they had a large display promoting motorcycles and the Back Of The Dragon (Va 16 from Marion to Tazewell). Sandy and I had ridden this a few times but it was nice to see. I decided we would make Wytheville, Virginia tonight (about an hour up the road) and made a reservation at another La Quinta.
Virginia is for motorcycle lovers
More civilians hauling military vehicles
Parking area for trucks only
Tractor salvage yard - Abingdon Virginia
Westbound I-81 in Abingdon still restricted and backed up
Clouds in Virginia
But not much cooler
Truckload of Corvettes
Cooling down near Wytheville
Mountain Empire Airport
If we won a lottery...
La Quinta Inn - Wytheville Virginia
We arrived at the hotel in Wytheville around 6:15 PM Eastern. We had lost an hour approaching Knoxville, a problem when trying to make time heading east. After taking our overnight luggage up to the 3rd floor in the elevator, we drove next door to Bob Evans for a half sandwich and Caesar salad each. Then it was back to the room where I did some blogging and bill recording while Sandy perused Facebook to see if anything important had happened.
We enjoy Bob Evans
We would make it to York, Pennsylvania tomorrow, so I booked two nights at the Wyndham Garden York, a large hotel where we stayed two years ago. I even expended a few points for the Wyndham Rewards Go Fast rate, which made it quite reasonable. While in York, I hoped to get an oil and filter change on the Equinox. I had somehow forgotten to get this done before we left Sudbury and the remaining oil life was down to low 20% range. I will call the Chev dealer in York in the morning.
Today's Route (489 Equinox/trailer miles):
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