Any Excuse for a Road Trip

 Good morning,

Soooo, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we got a new car.  

We make regular trips for doc appointments and to the post office, but we decided to go further this time.... 

 

This time we drove all the way to Bob Evans - not really that far, but further than the post office. 

And, we had a very tasty lunch.  I had the grilled chicken and fruit salad.  Kjell had a giant omelette.  Yum!

 

We need more road trips!

;),

Lois

Northern Kentucky

 Good morning,

When driving North into Cincinnati on I71-I75 (the two routes run together here), traffic always gets very heavy.

 The sky was threatening rain, too.

 Finally, through the hazy sky, there is our familiar skyline.

 This part of the highway has always been called "the cut in the hill."  When the highway was first built, the "cut" was much more dangerous because it was not as straight.

Many years after the highway was opened and countless accidents, even deadly ones, the highway was "straightened" by removing even more of the hillside.

Almost home!

Lois

Mountains

 Good morning,

We are in the beautiful mountains in Tennessee.

 I'm glad we are going North, not South.  We definitely won the traffic lottery this time.

 Look at all the green!  We've had quite a lot of rain this year.

 There is a picture post card view in every direction.

 Clouds in the mountains.

Beautiful!

All the best,

Lois

Welcome Signs - Closer to Home

 Good morning,

When returning from any road trip, it's always good to see signs of cities close to home.

 This is always a welcome sign in front of us.  Lexington is a little more than an hour away from our home.

Here we come!

Lois

Huge Toys

 Good morning,

Whenever I see large construction equipment on the highway, I think of the toys our sons had as kids.

 These make me think of huge toys and bring back great memories of the kids playing with them.

;),

Lois

Highway Tunnel

 Good morning,

Here we go again through tunnels in the Great Smoky Mountains.

 We have been through here in all types of weather, but this time it was clear and dry as we entered the tunnel.

 The tunnels now have "finished" sides and are lighted.  Tunnels in this area when I was a child had rock walls and light was provided by vehicle headlights.

 Ah, yes....

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

:),

Lois

Rock Slide Area

 Good morning,

As you can see from the rock "wall" at the right side of the highway, rock slides happen often here so drivers have to be aware of the possibility of obstructions in the roadway.  This is part of the Great Smoky Mountains.

 A few years ago there was a huge rock slide here that closed the Interstate for weeks.

 It's hard to see in this image, but there is fencing "holding" the hillside in place.

Several years ago when the big slide happened, we needed to return to work in Florida before the repairs were complete.  We took a different route from Cincinnati to Port Canaveral and enjoyed a change of scenery.  The trip was longer, but we allowed for extra time and enjoyed the ride.

Stay tuned.  We're still working our way North.

;),

Lois

South Carolina Featherless Cranes

 Good morning,

Ah, yes, the elusive South Carolina Featherless Crane!

 OK, not a bird, but I just couldn't control myself....

;),

Lois

Great Smoky Mountains

 Good morning,

The Great Smoky Mountains exit was another one hard to pass this time.  We have enjoyed our visits here so many times.

 All of this makes us want to take a couple of weeks and return to enjoy this area again.  Fall is always a lovely time here. 

Hmmmm....

Lois

Adding:  If you'd like to take a look, here are many images from our past visits to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Band Truck

 Good morning,

On our many road trips we've seen quite a few trucks moving entertainer's equipment from one venue to another.

Honestly, I have no idea who this person is so I did an Internet search.  This is what I found.

 Lois

Cherokee Exit

 Good morning,

We didn't stop this time, but we have enjoyed visiting Cherokee, North Carolina, many times in the past.

This time we had to get home in time for Catherine, who was home with the pups, to leave for a trip to Las Vegas.

I've written several posts of our visits to Cherokee, NC.  We've visited at different times of the year and have enjoyed many of the venues there.  If interested, here are the posts.

And, we are still going North!

Lois

South Carolina Construction

 Good morning,

Welcome to South Carolina.

 We've always enjoyed this lovely welcoming gateway to South Carolina.

 We are now into rolling hills and way too much road construction.

But, this is a State that keeps traffic moving even while road construction is happening.

The road construction didn't slow us down at all.  This was such an enjoyable trip.
 

Moving on!

Lois

More Accidents

 Good morning,

It was sad to see so many accidents on this road trip.

The weather was beautiful, but there were the "crazy drivers" out there who had to pass and swerve in front of other drivers.  There were so many that we were constantly saying, "There goes another one.  I hope we don't see that one in an accident up the road."  

Sadly, that's exactly what happened.

Stay safe!

Lois

Welcome to Georgia!

 Good morning,

We continued to have excellent weather as we made our way North.

The scenery changes almost magically as we cross the line from Florida to Georgia.  Trees are greener and we begin to see some rolling hills.

And we continue our journey....

:),

Lois

Heading Home

 Good morning,

We were actually happy to get on the road to go home after our lovely cruise aboard Mariner of the Seas.

 This is the familiar route we took for years when Kjell was working aboard Freedom of the Seas. 

Our goal the first day off the ship is to get out of Florida on our journey back to Ohio.  This time we were able to leave much earlier than when he was working and had to wait to leave the ship after a handover meeting with the Chief Engineer who would replace him while we were on vacation.

Traffic was light around Daytona Beach this time.  There have been times when we have passed here during race days. 

St. Petersburg!

Just a few more miles and we'll be out of  Florida on our way home.

Stay tuned!

Lois

I-75 Bridge Going North Crossing the Mighty Ohio River

 Good morning,

I was lucky to get an image between the steel of the I-75 Bridge as we traveled North from Kentucky after lunch with friends recently.

To the left you can see a portion of the Cincinnati skyline.

What a gorgeous day!

All the best,

Lois

 

 

 

On The Road

 Good morning,

Guess whose car this is....

;),

Lois

Too Many Accidents

 Good morning,

We saw way too many accidents on this trip.  This one was South of St. Pete, Florida.

 We were glad to see it didn't appear there were serious injuries here.

Later in the trip we saw one that had to be very bad. Had there not been a divider in the highway, a red pick up truck that was flying, spinning, and rolling in the air would have hit us from the other side of the highway.  I tried to find information about that accident afterward, but found nothing.  We sure hope the driver survived. 

Wherever you are, be safe.

Lois

Moving Right Along Through St. Pete, Florida

 Good morning,

We are passing St. Pete, Florida, in these images.

 It was tricky getting the skyline and My Handsome Honey in the image.  :)

Port Canaveral, here we come!

More to come....

Lois