Trip Diary: Day Two (Electric Boogaloo)
Daily mileage: 440.17 (per MapQuest, as I forgot the trip odometer when I got here)
Tolls paid: $6 (all in WV)
Got up around 7:30 this morning, allowing me to complete my required actions and hit the road by 8:30. I did stop to get some Advil to help with the sunburn, along with some drinks. Leftovers from last night's dinner were stashed in the cooler with the drinks and ice, to serve as lunch.
West Virginia is so wonderfully bumpy. Even the interstates are wonderful driving roads--when you can drive 90 miles from the town an FM radio station's in, and still be within range of the station, you know it's a twisty road. And I learned that even going *down*hill in the mountains can require quite a bit of throttle. I never thought I'd need to use the gas to maintain speed on a 5% downgrade, but those curves caused so much drag...
Two mile-long tunnels on I-77 in the 30-mile jog through the western tip of Virginia. You don't see tunnels on the Interstates anywhere but in Appalachia--even in the Rockies, they always found a way to go around or over the mountains instead of through them.
Stopped for gas and lunch in Greensboro. Averaged 30 mpg over that second tank that was spent almost entirely in the mountains--very impressive.
From Greensboro, it was a straight shot down I-40 to Wilmington. 200 miles, nonstop, across the Piedmont, which would have been more interesting if NC hadn't decided to plant a thick stand of trees along each side of the freeway for the whole length of its run, meaning that you can now drive all the way across North Carolina and see exactly nothing!
Got to the Comfort Inn on College Road (what I-40 turns into at its eastern terminus), got checked in around 4, and vegged out for a bit. I'm waiting on dinner (Chinese, tonight, since I just do *not* want to go outside again tonight!) right now.
Tomorrow's plan: Head over to see the battleship North Carolina in the morning, then grab some lunch and run up to Norfolk in the afternoon. Sage, if we aren't gonna hang out for a while, I'll be sure to yell the appropriate phrase at you as I pass through town!
Tolls paid: $6 (all in WV)
Got up around 7:30 this morning, allowing me to complete my required actions and hit the road by 8:30. I did stop to get some Advil to help with the sunburn, along with some drinks. Leftovers from last night's dinner were stashed in the cooler with the drinks and ice, to serve as lunch.
West Virginia is so wonderfully bumpy. Even the interstates are wonderful driving roads--when you can drive 90 miles from the town an FM radio station's in, and still be within range of the station, you know it's a twisty road. And I learned that even going *down*hill in the mountains can require quite a bit of throttle. I never thought I'd need to use the gas to maintain speed on a 5% downgrade, but those curves caused so much drag...
Two mile-long tunnels on I-77 in the 30-mile jog through the western tip of Virginia. You don't see tunnels on the Interstates anywhere but in Appalachia--even in the Rockies, they always found a way to go around or over the mountains instead of through them.
Stopped for gas and lunch in Greensboro. Averaged 30 mpg over that second tank that was spent almost entirely in the mountains--very impressive.
From Greensboro, it was a straight shot down I-40 to Wilmington. 200 miles, nonstop, across the Piedmont, which would have been more interesting if NC hadn't decided to plant a thick stand of trees along each side of the freeway for the whole length of its run, meaning that you can now drive all the way across North Carolina and see exactly nothing!
Got to the Comfort Inn on College Road (what I-40 turns into at its eastern terminus), got checked in around 4, and vegged out for a bit. I'm waiting on dinner (Chinese, tonight, since I just do *not* want to go outside again tonight!) right now.
Tomorrow's plan: Head over to see the battleship North Carolina in the morning, then grab some lunch and run up to Norfolk in the afternoon. Sage, if we aren't gonna hang out for a while, I'll be sure to yell the appropriate phrase at you as I pass through town!