The Move – Day 6

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At long last, the drive is over.  Day 6 began in Kingsport, TN, and ended at our destination in Germantown, MD.  We crossed two state boundaries:  Virginia and Maryland.  Once again, we had scattered clouds and temps in the 70’s.  On balance, we couldn’t have asked for better weather for our drive.  We were very fortunate.

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This drive has reminded me just how awesome air travel is.  It’s incredible to think that in 5 hours you can cover the same distance that we just spent 6 days driving.  When we arrived, we didn’t have to start moving into the apartment right away.  Valerie’s sister kindly offered to allow us to park in their driveway and spend the night with them so that we can get a fresh start moving in tomorrow.

Day 6 miles driven was about 407.  Total for the trip was a little over 2,600.

The Move – Day 5

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Day 5 began in Memphis, TN, and ended in Kingsport, TN.  Today was all Tennessee, all day.  We had another good weather day with scattered clouds and temps ranging from low 60’s to low 70’s.  But, the big news is that we entered the Eastern Time zone.  I know, but it’s all we’ve got.

The other big news is that tomorrow will be our final driving day.  The last time we traveled across the US in a vehicle, it was in our motorhome in 2016 and we took about one full year to complete the roundtrip.  All things considered, I think I prefer the one year version to the six day version.

Day 5 miles driven was about 460.

The Move – Day 4

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Day 4 began in Oklahoma City, OK, and ended in Memphis, TN.  We had mostly scattered clouds and temps in the high 60’s.  Quite pleasant for our needs.  We offed Oklahoma, ate all of Arkansas and tiptoed into Tennessee.  However, no time change today.  We remain in Central Time.

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We spoke to my sister earlier today and she gave us the heads up that the I-40 bridge that crosses the Mississippi River into Memphis was recently closed when they discovered a crack in it.  Turns out that it was good information to have but knowing didn’t change the fact that there is only one other bridge to get us into Memphis and naturally, it was very busy.  Google maps navigation gave us a suggestion that allowed us to bypass perhaps 1.5 miles of the backup so only cost us about 15 minutes delay.

Day 4 miles driven was about 480.

The Move – Day 3

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Today we began in Tucumcari, NM, and ended in Oklahoma City, OK.  We had mostly cloudy skies, a little bit of light rain, some lightening strikes visible in the distance and mild temps.  Today’s excitement was crossing into Texas, the fascinating drive through the Texas Panhandle and then crossing into Oklahoma.  For a drive of this nature, we’re really not looking for any more excitement than that.

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We stopped into a Walmart in Elk City, OK, and from that experience, I can only conclude that Oklahoma is doing a great job of vaccinating their people.  Most of the employees were wearing a mask but NONE of the customers were.  I can only conclude that they are all vaccinated since unvaccinated people would be wearing a mask.  Right?

Day 3 miles driven was about 380.  This puts us about halfway to our destination.  Downhill from here.

The Move – Day 2

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Today we started in Holbrook, AZ, and ended in Tucumcari, NM.  The only “notable” events were crossing into New Mexico and therefore, losing an hour with the change to Mountain Time.  Very exciting.

Entering New Mexico

Just east of Holbrook, Interstate 40 passes through the Petrified Forest National Park.  Of course, you can’t really see anything from the highway but, fortunately, we visited the park back in 2013.

Day 2 miles driven was about 430.  This includes 20 miles driven in an ill-advised detour attempting to bypass a stretch of I-40 with construction in progress.  Didn’t work out.