Totally (Road) Trippin'

When Spike and I got invited to a wedding in Nashville, I was not only excited because it was a place I'd never been, but it was also a chance to do a fun summer trip like I used to do with my family when I was little. "Let's drive down," I said to Spike. "It will be such a fun road trip! We can stop in DC on the way down and take our time coming back." I had envisioned us driving along hilly back roads and stopping in at cute country stores along the way. I mapped out where we could stop for lunch... cheesesteaks in Philly, BBQ in Bristol, it was going to be a great time! Well, I never quite realized just how far away Nashville is from Boston. Let me tell you..... it's far.

We started out early and made it to DC by around 3pm, after stopping for lunch in Philly (poor Spike's cheesesteak experience did not work out so well as the lady who took his order somehow misheard him and drenched the "cheesesteak" hoagie in mayonnaise, which Spike does NOT eat). We completed that ride just fine and had enough energy to do some sightseeing in DC in the afternoon. We saw the White House, went up the Post Office Tower, walked along the mall, and took a walking tour of most of the monuments. The next day was also a great time because we didn't have to drive at all. We took a tour of the Capitol, saw many of the museums of the Smithsonian, and checked out the National Archives. Our time in DC was really fun and I do love that city, but then the driving began again. DC to Nashville was to take about 10 hours and I had found a place called Ridgewood BBQ right over the Tennessee line in a town called Bluff City. This place almost made the 10 hour trip bearable... the waitress asked if we liked blue cheese and when we said "of course," brought us over their homemade dressing with crackers to dip in it. It was maybe the best thing I've ever tasted that wasn't a pickle. Oh yeah, and Spike liked the BBQ too.After many more hours in the car, we finally arrived in Nashville, where the temperature was a steamy million degrees. We tried our best to see the sights while there, but when you fear for your life if you are outside for more than 15 seconds, it's pretty tricky. After walking through the Vanderbilt campus in the early morning, we were almost dead and realized the rest of our time in Nasville would be spent inside. We saw downtown as best we could from our rental car cranking air conditioning. We drove out to the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland hotel, which was pretty impressive due mostly to the amount of AC they need to keep those atriums comfortable. We went to Neely's BBQ and I loved the mac n cheese and Spike was obsessed with the ribs. The wedding was wonderful and dancing was tons of fun, despite sweating uncontrollably, but the drive home loomed over both of our heads the entire time. We had decided to try and do it in one day, just to get it over with, so the meandering along country roads was definitely out. Travelling through nine states to reach our beloved Boston was going to take about 18 hours and we were both practically sick at the thought. But we made it! Spike insited on driving the entire time because he was in "the zone," so I sat in the passenger seat, following along on the map and documenting where we were every hour (because I guess that's my new thing), so here it is:
6:10 am - Nashville, TN
7:10 am - Oakland, KY
9:10 am (time zone change) - Boston, KY
10:10 am - Lexington, KY
11:10 am - Olive Hill, KY
12:10 pm - Milton, WV
1:10 pm - Servia, WV
2:10 pm - Burnsville, WV
3:10 pm - Morgantown, WV
4:10 pm - Flinstone, MD
5:10 pm - Greencastle, PA
6:10 pm - Hershey, PA
7:10 pm - Kutztown, PA
8:10 pm - Lebanon, NJ
9:10 pm - Tarrytown, NY
10:10 pm - Milford, CT
11:10 pm - Westford, CT
12:10 am - Boston, MA