November 29, 2022 - Departure Plans Changed Because of Weather

Our plan was to leave at 8:00 a.m. for a seven hour drive day. The weather indicated a major storm could affect our travel so we left at 6:30 a.m., hoping to get ahead of it. I’m not real fond of hooking up the trailer in the dark but I did it this morning so we could get on the road. A bonus for setting out in the dark is getting to watch a nice sunrise as you drive. Kelly took this picture around 7:00 a.m. while driving down I-55.

Traffic was not bad. There was one spot near Nashville where traffic slowed to 10 mph for three miles for no reason that we could see. South of Nashville I pulled off to head into a Cracker Barrel for lunch. We stop at Cracker Barrel often because they usually have RV parking in the back. When I pulled off the highway at this location it was apparent there was no way I was going to get on the lot. There was a driveway next to the car parking. I thought maybe it led to RV parking in the back. As I pulled in I quickly realized that was not the case. It was a dead end. There was a driveway entrance to a warehouse building on the left. I turned in there looking for a place to turn around. The further I went the worse it got. The lot was also a dead end. I was in a bind. I ended up having to jackknife the trailer and jump two curbs to get out of there. When I pulled around Kelly was out of her car and by the door waiting for me. I blew the horn several times to get her attention and headed back onto the highway. At the next town we stopped at another Cracker Barrel. It didn’t have any RV parking either but there was a huge vacant asphalt lot next door. We finally had lunch.

Our destination for the day was Dalton, Georgia. We lost an hour with the time change and arrived around 4:00 p.m. The Baymont Motel had room to park the fifth wheel so we got a room. The place isn’t the Ritz but it isn’t bad. I’m glad we decided to stay at motels on the way down because a major storm is headed this way. Luckily we are just on the edge of it. High winds, possible hail, etc. Not bad campground weather. Here is the radar. The coming storm is all over the news. It should be over by morning. We are the blue dot. Hope breakfast is good!