Entries this day: Leaving_Memphis

Leaving Memphis

12:18pm CDT Tuesday 1 October 2002

I've had so so so so so much fun here in Memphis, from trampoline to hot tub, concrete wall balancing to Southpark, Amelie to Sliding Doors, rabbit to dog to cats to cat burglar.

I'm leaving today; I think I have all my stuff out of the house; I don't know exactly where I'm going next.

12:44pm

Okay. This part of the trip may be the Kinko's Tour. From a Kinko's in Memphis I just found a Kinko's location in Nashville, right off I-40. That's where I'll go next. Not sure how far it is to there.

12:53pm

$1.359/gallon for gas. 996.9 mile traveled since Dallas.

2:25pm

Chillin' at a parking area now. Been listening to my Eminem mix tape that Janette got for me.

About 108 miles from Nashville now I think. 90 miles traveled so far today.

2:44pm

Okay. I just caught up on livejournal. Not so impressed with how Calder quit work, but it's a pretty surprising story. Annie's entry had something funny in it that I forgot, and I hope Colleen finds balance, and all the rest of my peeps as well.

3:14pm

Woah.

I got an email today from Jimmy who paid for me-an-Tanner's lunch on my last day or so in Tulsa. When he wrote me, I hadn't written about it on my site (unless he's just silly and couldn't find it), but I'll look when I get to Kinko's in Nashville and write it if it's not there.

I'm at a rest area on I-40. I stopped because I had been wracking my brain to figure out who had written me the email and then I finally figured it out so I stopped driving.

3:47pm

HAhaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 56.5 miles west of Nashville I just passed by an exit for Bucksnort.. Bucksnort!! I probably shouldn't drive with my knee and type at 65 miles per hour, but there's not much traffic. Plus.. Bucksnort!!!!

4:48pm

Traffic in Memphis now.

5:11pm

Made it to the Kinko's in Nashville that I had targeted from the Kinko's in Memphis. Let's see where to next..

Um, the restroom.

5:34pm

Okay, weird, but whatever. This Kinko's doesn't have ethernet access; only dial-up is available. They allow first 30 minutes free and then $12/hour after that. I talked the guy into giving me free access to their computers.

So, after traveling east on I-40 for 200+ miles, my next plan is to travel east on I-40 for 200+ miles. Way exciting!

not.

But hey it's been fun to drive from overcast not quite flat Memphis to drizzly foggy not quite mountainous Nashville. Plus I got to see a sign for Bucksnort! And some signs for Loretta Lynn's restaurant. Oh yeah I'm sure she's in the back cookin' up eggs or serving them. Better go there quick to see her!

5:59pm

Got some gallons of gas for $1.289 per gallon. 210 miles driven today so far.

Oh, and I noticed a greater percentage of women with lots of makeup on.

7:05pm

Raining pretty effectively now. It's not a cold rain, but definitely wet and not too warm. I'm at a rest area and have just slid all the way down the pebble sidewalk on my Adidas sandals. Not in one slide, but yeah.

While in the rest area, I overheard a woman ask for a nearby campground. It's apparently $12 or $13 per night, but I will probably just sleep a few hours and not even really get out of my car.

7:35pm

Well, it quit raining and I'm glad for that. Super hilly and dark and damp and foggy getting to this camp place. I'm parked at the laundry room area, and I'm not sure if cars are supposed to park on these wooden decks off the road, but it sure does look that way. Wednesdays are free to use the facilities. I did go through a gate that could be closed (at 10:30 pm?) so I hope it's not when I want to leave.

Potty now and then sleep.

9:48pm

Yahaa! Awake and now go.

10:02pm

Made it past the gates and now I'm out of the park area. Thank you Edgar Evins State Park!

12:54am CDT Wednesday 2 October 2002

I drove past Knoxville and didn't know it because I was talking to Wende. I did notice a city, but didn't realize it was the city I had been looking for until I noticed no more signs indicating how far away it was. Now I'm in a Holiday Inn looking for internet access to look up a Kinko's. I tried a Super 8 first, but they had no internet access at all.

Fun names that I've passed that I remember:

Pigeon Forge
Douglas Dam

There was another but I don't remember it now.

I've driven around 400 miles today.

1:11am

440 miles. I didn't find internet access at Holiday Inn either, nor even an employee at the desk. So I'm just parked in the back to take a nap.

5:47am CDT Wednesday 2 October 2002

Awake. Talking to my dad to get phone numbers of his fam to see where I'm going to stay next.

5:56am

Gottem. Thanks so much, dad! My phone charger is worth the $5 I paid for it; I'm using yarn from the Tulsa Rally worship to hold it securely in place on my phone so it will charge.

6:01am

Just talked to Becky (my dad's younger sister); now I know where to go: Barbersville.

Sure is foggy outside.

6:46am

Adding to the list of fun city names: Jonesborough (sister city to Jonesboro AR of course)

I'm wearing sweat pants and my hoodie now. I seem to have left my jacket in Memphis.

8:08am

100+ miles driven today. 550 miles since Memphis. Just passed an exit for Saltville, VA, certainly a sister city to Sugarland, TX.

8:36am

Just stopped to P and get a few gallons of gas at $1.299. 571 miles since Memphis. Sweat pants and hoodie off and into the back seat.

8:43am

Big hills mostly coated in trees, looking like a model railroad mountain covered in lumps of shades of green. Rocky outcroppings form a wall on either side of the highway unless I'm driving by a big valley looking over a grassy tree coated plain. No flat ground here. Sky is mostly cloudy with bits of sun peeping through. Sometimes in the median of the freeway a blanket of white, pink, purple flowers decorate the ground. Nice.

Groseclose is the next winner of the funny names contest!

9:06am

Dammit I just stabbed my straw into a red Gatorade juice box, slurped a few slurps and then for fun blew into the straw, inflating the box and then it squirted juice out the straw onto my shirt and shorts! D'oh! and Hahah that's pretty funny in a not so funny way. At least it's a dark shirt. Not that I won't wear a well stained shirt.

9:13am

Turned north on I-77, went up a big hill and then through a tunnel through a mountain! Wow!! Now truly we just went under the "top" of the mountain, about a mile or a tad less of actual tunnel. Wow. I think it's so exciting to me because I remember being amazed and impressed to go through tunnels (that same one??)

9:29am

Another tunnnel!! "East River Mountain"

10:55am

Okay mr tollman I'm out of money! Since I got on highway 77, three times $1.25, incuding two Sacajawea dollars and the dollar that Janette gave me in my box o' goodies.

11:36am

310 miles today; 754 since Memphis. Eminem blasting. I can rap part of some of the songs. I forget which ones. I'm tired. Stopped at a rest area now.

I grabbed two more Sacajawea dollars out of the zipper bag on my bike in case this damn tollway never ends.

At the rest area, they have free maps and a brochure from a glass blowing company, which made me think of Hillary.

1:03pm

Have arrived at Barboursville about 20 minutes ago. Yikes. What a small town. Half of the people I see know half of the people they see. One makeup girl in a small Camaro type car looking depressed in the passenger's seat, didn't even look up when her boyfriend got in the car. Barely looked up when they drove off with another sporty car with huge engine. High school age or so.

One girl behind the counter at this BP is so thin that I immediately think she's anorexic. She has eyebrow piercings and long sleeve everything. Doesn't make eye contact with me as I walk up to the counter, even to see if I need help. (I didn't, I just wanted to see how thin she was. wow. please eat something.)

Called Becky who should be here soon.