Leaving Home!!

      Our goal was to leave home at 10AM – get on the road and see how far we could get.  Originally, John had us camping in Metropolis, IL by the river tonight.  Sounded good in theory but we should have known; our actual leave time was around 12:30.   By the time we turned around once to go back, we were technically on the road just before 1:00.  The ride was a little solemn.  There so many hard things going on in the world and in our family, it’s a little difficult to get our minds around the fact that we are running away to have a good time.  It’s much needed for our mental health but we are leaving a part of our hearts in Florida, South Carolina, Michigan, New York and Georgia.

     One of our favorite lunch spots is a great rest area with green space and shaded picnic tables, lunch meat, bread and chips.  We made it to Nickajack Lake rest area, which is on a large island in the lake, just north of Chattanooga.  It was a quick ride after experiencing the blessing of the new toll road from 285 around Atlanta to north of Kennesaw on Hwy 75.  It cost us $2.00 and save us probably an hour.   As always, we have to have road trip music, car games and a good audio book for the ride.  One of our favorite albums is the Guardians of the Galaxy sound track.  This time we started the trip listening to an Alexander Hamilton biography that's just a little too much for the 10 & 11 year olds.  I think we will regroup on that.  

      Our eventual stop for the evening found us in Paducah, KY.  I never realize how far in the northwest point of the state it is.  We didn’t really see much of the town other than the major highway exit at Hwy. 60 where the hotel is located.  It was a great area if you are in need of a nice hotel and diner more than fast food.  Although we chose Panera, there were lots of options.