Hendersonville, NC to Fairview Heights, IL
We started our adventure with great anticipation. The weather was great for driving. There was an overcast sky but no chance of rain. The first part of the journey was obviously through familiar territory as we headed toward Asheville. From Asheville, we took I-40 to Nashville. We had traveled that way in the distant past and didn’t remember a lot.
I-40 follows the Pigeon River canyon through the mountains. The road is narrow and very curvy with some tight turns. It is a pretty drive and relatively short. The drive following the mountains is nondescript until nearing Knoxville. This is a city that seems to have grown exponentially since we were last here. It and its suburbs seemed to go on forever.
The road between Knoxville and Nashville was also nothing to speak of. I had remembered it being somewhat flat but I was wrong. We climbed a pretty good distance to some decent views and traveled along a plateau for quite a while before descending down to Nashville. It was Sunday of Labor Day weekend and people were obviously in a hurry to get to, from, or around Nashville. Cars were flying by us ... and I'm not a slow driver.
Just before entering Kentucky we stopped for lunch in Clarksville, TN. We wanted to try a local place with high ratings but it had a 25 minute wait so we ended up at Moe's.
We soon entered Kentucky where the nondescript landscape turned into beautiful farms. It wasn't the bluegrass horse farms of Lexington, but it instead was crops in neat fields. We left Kentucky when we crossed the Ohio River at Paducah. The farmland continued though southern and mid-Illinois. There was a mix of beans and corn,
We pulled into our Hampton Inn in Fairview Heights right on time at 5 pm. We drove about 9 hours but gained an hour by entering the Central Time Zone. Again, we tried to eat locally (at Lotowata Creek) but the line was 15-20 deep outside the restaurant. So we had dinner at Cheddar's. Both Moe's and Cheddar's are chains with locations in Asheville. Neither the food quality nor the service at these sites were as good as home.
We did have some extra time so we chose to go see the Gateway Arch at night. St. Louis was only 13 miles away. We crossed the Mississippi with the Arch in perfect view. Susan tried her first photography of the day but her camera was set on video so they didn't pan out. We went downtown and I managed to grab a couple of pics. The Cardinals were in town and the area was generally hopping with people. The Arch and Busch Stadium are below. The Stadium picture was through a bug-covered windshield.
Susan’s Quote of the Day – “Nobody here gives a crap about speed limits” in reference to drivers in Tennessee, particularly around Nashville.
The highlights - The Gateway Arch and pretty landscapes of Kentucky.
The regrets - The hotel choice and area.
Total miles - 640
Miles from start to destination - 605
Miles on side trips - 35
Miles driven by Paul - 640
Hours in car - 9 1/2
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