The Drive

Day 1

I woke up at 6:30am to get ready for Day 1 of the drive to Dallas. You are probably aware this is really early in the morning for me, and it didn’t help that I only got about 4 hours of sleep. The breakfast burritos from McDonald’s helped though.

The drive began on I-64 West, and I drove past Charlottesville (boo). Then I got on I-81, and I passed Blacksburg (hooray!). I wish I could’ve stopped at Tech, but I needed to keep going so I could get as much driving in the daylight as possible. Unfortunately there was a major HAZMAT spill just south of Bristol, TN, and the accident shut down I-81 South. Given my limited knowledge of the Tennessee roadways, I was forced to sit in traffic until the spill was cleaned up. Most of the drivers shut off their cars, and some got out. The woman in front of me had a horse trailer, and she got out of her car to play with her horse. I think I ended up traveling seven miles in three hours. I was not happy!

Traffic wasn’t too bad after the delay. I got on I-40 West and drove through Knoxville where I saw the Sunsphere from the World’s Fair. You may have seen the episode from the Simpsons where Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin go to the World’s Fair in Knoxville only to find out it was held in 1982. The Sunsphere was transformed into the Wigsphere, and I can only hope that’s what happened in real life.

After driving through Nashville, I stopped at a rest area along the highway. I learned that I-40 is the “Music Highway” and each rest area is named after a famous musician. This particular rest area was named after Johnny Cash. I’m sure he would be proud. Loretta Lynn is also a big deal in Tennessee. I wanted to visit the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch, but I had to keep driving.

Fourteen hours of driving later, I arrived in Lexington, TN. I passed Big Beaver Creek and the Beaver School on my way to the Econo Lodge in Lexington. For a two-star hotel it wasn’t too bad. I think there was only one other occupied room out of the 30 or so rooms that they had available. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to check out the pool since it was already dark and I had to wake up early again the next day.

Day 2

I left my room at the Econo Lodge at 6:30am to make the drive to Dallas. I got back on I-40 West to drive through Memphis. I crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas. It was really neat seeing the Mississippi for the first time.

Arkansas was boring. There really wasn’t much to see. That is until I saw the TACO MOBILE in Texarkana. The Taco Mobile was amazing. It was like an ice cream truck except it said Taco Mobile on the side. Delicious and hilarious.

I followed I-30 West into Texas. I was hoping for a giant “Welcome to Texas” sign but I didn’t see one. How disappointing. I did see quite a few drivers wearing cowboy hats though.

After eight hours of driving, considerably less than the day before, I arrived in Dallas. A thunderstorm was waiting for me after sunny skies throughout the entire trip. Welcome to Dallas, I guess.

My apartment is nice, but empty. There will be pictures soon!