The first part of my trip was relatively short and pleasant. I met my college best friend (and “big sis”) in Lexington, KY along with her family before a quick jaunt to Best Buy (I’ll explain) on the way to Fort Knox, KY.
Morton Travel Plaza, WV
The trip started pretty frustratingly. My plan to use the GoPro for the trip was (nearly) foiled by a firmware update. Went to update the Hero3+ Silver for the first time in (probably) months, and for some reason, it wouldn’t turn back on after the install. Several bad words later, I left for breakfast with the brother, the brother’s roommate, and the brother’s roommate’s dad. After a brief respite from the camera stress, we went back, hoping that it had magically fixed itself.
It hadn’t.
Angry, I made my last stop on the way out of town, gassed up at the University City Kroger, and headed out.
Not going to lie, I was super bummed about the GoPro. If you’ve never done it, the drive up US-460 West to I-77 North/I-64 West through Charleston and Huntington, WV is some of the most beautiful driving on the East Coast. I’ve done the trip a few times (though never past Charleston prior), but never in bright, green spring. Nearly every time I drive through West Virginia, some well-intentioned person always warns me about being “safe.” “Hillbilly” prejudice drives me nuts, especially given I was raised in WV for many years (and I’m related to half of Keyser, WV…). It’s a bias that just grates on me. Not having the video of the trip to show people just how lovely one of my homes is is going to be one of my biggest regrets of the trip.
Yesterday was my first time in Kentucky. Fun fact: the grass is not blue. It’s not. At all. I feel lied to.
Once I crossed the WV/KY border, the mountains died down, and I was driving through gorgeous piedmont. I don’t know why I assumed KY would be more mountainous. Probably because elementary school geography was over twenty years ago… (my G-d). The drive was stunning. I cannot wait to see more states I haven’t seen before! Plus, the roads seriously opened up the second I entered KY. If this is any indication about how driving is going to be in “the middle part of the US,” I’m really looking forward to the pace.
Made it to Lexington with relatively few problems (springtime roadwork is going to destroy me on this trip, I think). The cruise control has kind of a weird relationship with my throttle, but I’m getting used to it. Ate at the Cracker Barrel in Lexington (I seriously hadn’t eaten there since college. It did not disappoint.) before swinging by Best Buy. My awesome partner ordered me a new camera for the trip (we’re not 100% if the other one is fixable. It’s being sent off), so we did manage to get video from Lexington to Fort Knox.
This was set to take photos every 5 seconds. Let me know if you have any suggestions on changing that.
Today is a chill day in KY with J. Watching The Fast and the Furious 1-4 (relationships make you do funny things…) and staying in on a truly miserable rainy day. Tomorrow I leave at the crack of dawn to drive to Springfield, MO. Looking to Couchsurf across the country (Yes, it’s safe. No, don’t yell at me). Any suggestions for stuff to do in Springfield if I get there early?
Remember, please signal boost if you’re enjoying these updates!
Trip Stats:
Starting OD (Blacksburg, VA): 213894
Ending OD (Fort Knox, KY): 214326
Stop 1: 108 miles, 2 hours (Morton Rest Stop, 77N/64W, WV)
Stop 2: 201 miles, 3 hours (Lexington, KY)
Stop 3: 119 miles, 2.25 hours (Fort Knox, KY)
Gas:
Fill-up 1: 8.18 gallons @ 2.09/gal – $17.17
Fill-up 2: 11.335 gallons @ 2.69/gal – $30.59
MPG Day 1: 27.6mpg. Terrible, given I’ve been averaging over 30 since I had all the work done. I blame weight (my entire trunk is full with clothes and books) and mountains. We’ll see how this goes now that I’m in flatter areas.
Music:
Beck – Mellow Gold
Broken Bells – Broken Bells and Meyrin Fields (EP)
Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
Lieutenant – If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going to Eat For A Week
Plain White Ts – All That We Needed
Silversun Pickups – Seasick (Single)
Holly A. Jordan 