Montgomery, AL

Big day today! Four states AND a time zone change! Yay!

My campsite last night was awesome. There were tons of people but everyone went to bed early and was very quiet, which got me to go to bed early too. I fell asleep just after 9:00, and slept really well. I got out this morning at 7:30, which I think is a new record.

I decided that since I'd already made it so far down the Parkway, I might as well continue to more of my Outward Bound sites. I also decided that I need to remove the "since I've already ____, I might as well _____" phrase from my vocabulary. It keeps getting me in trouble. But more on that later.

My first stop was Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. It was strange driving up to the mountain. The last time I went up Mt. Mitchell I'd been hiking for days through snow and cold, was exhausted, and was in all sorts of pain from lots of walking and carrying my heavy pack. Driving to the summit seemed totally wrong, yet also really smart. Why hike for days when you can drive? lol

I got a major wave of nostalgia when I got to the parking lot. We hung out in the parking lot for a looooong time in the cold waiting for our ride to get there. Even when it's sunny, that area is never warm because it's totally exposed and seems to always be windy. Apparently even in the heat of summer it's pretty cold. I took the short walk to the summit, along the paved trail which wasn't open last year. Last year the summit was under construction but after we begged they opened up a little back dirt trail and let us go up as long as we didn't mess with any construction or touch any wet paint. This time I got to go up the nice, smooth, walkway that wasn't even long enough to count as a hike. It was really fun seeing the summit again....it's an amazing view....and I met a guy who had hiked up. He'd been out on his own backpacking for the last 4 days. I can just barely manage car travel by myself....I don't think I could handle solo backpacking. We talked for a long time and swapped travel stories. He'd hiked all over the area and was interested in my multi-state travel. We ended up talking for a long time, which was lots of fun, but I really didn't have the time for it. Why can't I meet cool guys like that in the state I actually live in?!

Anyway, from there I went to Asheville, which was thankfully a lot easier to get around than Boone. I didn't really spend much time in Asheville outside of the airport during Outward Bound, except for the first morning before things got going when I got to explore downtown. I did a quick drive through but really didn't have much desire to park and explore again. It's a fun town but it was late and I was really ready to get on the road. I did stop at a cool little bookstore though to get a new audio book. I just finished listening to Twilight, and I gotta say I really don't understand why it's so popular. It's not bad, it's just not that good either! It was pretty boring. I got two new books that will hopefully be better.

After Asheville I was seriously ready to get off the Parkway. It's beautiful, but much more conducive to very slow driving than trying to make time. I chose a road that, according to my map was a divided through highway, but due to construction it was actually a little two lane road that moved even slower than the Parkway. Argh!

This is where the whole "might as well" phrase came into play again. I decided that I'd gotten so far south, I might as well head all the way south and go visit Biloxi again. Of course once I'd chosen that route, I realized it was a bit silly since it's the weekend and most of what I want to see probably won't be open. But we'll see what happens. Once I finally made it to the interstate traffic actually moved pretty well and I was able to finally make some distance. Started in North Carolina of course, and then got through South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Georgia was a new one for me and it was nice...a lot nicer than I expected. It seemed a lot different than either Mississippi or Alabama, but maybe that's because i've spent a lot more time in MS and AL.

I had thought the map said the time change happened between MS and AL. I was thinking how great it would be to get a bonus hour when I get going in the morning. Instead I crossed into central time at about 6:00, becoming 5:00. 5:00 seemed way too early to stop, but the sun was still just as low and in my eyes as it had been when it was 6:00. So I kept going for another hour even though it was a bit painful on the eyes. I found the Montgomery hotel in my coupon book and got off the interstate, only to see the parking lot filled with cops. I don't think the cops were there for the hotel, probably for one of the stores nearby, but it still made me really not want to park there! So I headed south a bit farther and found another hotel. I have no idea what business this hotel gets....it's a nice place but it's way away from anything in town. It literally butts up right against farmland. I don't think there's much of anything between Montgomery and Mobile, and this seems to be the start of the nothingness. And it's affordable, so it works. I'd planned on camping tonight because hotels are always more expensive on weekends, but apparently camping in Alabama = a parking lot for your RV. Tent camping seems unheard of.

Anyway, I think I'm glad I came south, even though it of course adds a lot of driving. It makes me nervous at times just because it kind of seems like a foreign land, and the type of place where it'd be nice to have someone with me. (i.e. where I lived in Burmingham....no problem being there with 11 other ppl but I would NOT want to accidentally end up somewhere like that by myself). But I really do like the South (aside from all the confederate flags and that type stuff). Everyone is so nice and polite. I've had more doors opened for me than I think I ever have! I'm not sure I've opened a door on my own since I left NC. I gotta say, it's pretty nice. And there's been a Waffle House on literally every exit I've pulled off on. Can't beat that! lol