Road Trip!!

[larry_stewart]

Hi Ya'all,
Inspired by K-Girls day by day encounter of her cross country journey a few months back, I decided to do the same with my 50th Birthday Road Trip Adventure. This road trip is my birthday present to myself. Im not the biggest fan of flying, so we usually do one relatively long road trip a year ( and a bunch of long, more local, road trips throughout the year.

This one will include many things that suit my interests and hobbies. As you all know, I love cooking and eating. In addition to that, my other major hobbies are gardening, music ( attending concerts, Music History and embarrassing myself on the piano and guitar), US History, Photography and the Great Outdoors. This trip will include many things that coincide with the above hobbies.

Part of the challenges of this trip, compared to others, is that my wife is now vegan ( Im vegetarians for anyone who doesnt know that by now). So, aside from all the interesting and fun places we visit, Ill keep you all posted on the challenges, successes and (hopefully not too many) failures we encounter along the way as we stuff our faces. One thing I love is eating local foods ( foods that define a region, state, city...). Also love farmer's markets and even different grocery store chains. I love to see what everyone eats in other places.

There are some places on our list that we are definitely going too, other places we will just be passing through, We do have some time to do additional things that just pop up or look too good to miss, but here is the general itinerary.

Starting from Long Island NY
Hershey PA
Pittsburgh PA
Passing through Columbus OH and Cincinnati OH
Louisville KY
Nashville TN
Muscle Shoals, AL
Chattanooga TN
Smokey Mountains ( Cades Cove)
Monticello VA
Mount Vernon Va
Back Home to recharge a bit ( 1 day)
( We will then head up to Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to celebrate my daughters 21st Birthday)

We will be visiting a handful of museums, a few concerts, a few past President's houses, a National Park or Two, A few farms and Zoos and at least 4 recording studios. it will be a lot of fun and very exhausting. Looking forward to it.

Wont be leaving until October 19th, but i figured Id post this now to get some input on road-tripping and possible suggestions along the way ( even though we have limited time for additions, but ya never know).

One additional perk, which just happened to work out, was that I looked at the Peak Foliage Map, and it appears that we are basically traveling with the peak foliage colors as they shift from state to state, so Im hoping to get some really nice Foliage pics.

Larry

[Just Cooking]

Seems a wonderful trip... Have fun and be safe..
Ross

[Andy M.]

Sounds like fun. Have a great time.

[Kayelle]

Oh boy! Love travel logs. Be safe and have fun.

[caseydog]

You are going to just miss the Hershey Fall classic car show. I started today, and ends on the 13th.

CD

[Dawgluver]

Hershey=all things chocolate to me! And driving through the Smokies is beautiful, but their sudden thunderstorms are quite an experience. Looking forward to your travelogue Larry!

[taxlady]

Have a great trip. I'm looking forward to reading about it. Take lots of pix.

[GotGarlic]

Hey, Larry, that sounds like a really fun trip. Can't wait to hear about it.

As you're going from TN to Monticello, will you be driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway? There are lots of great places to visit along there. Natural Bridge is a cool place to see, along with the caves underneath the park. There's also a replica of an Indian village on the trail. And there's a safari park nearby that you can drive through.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-pa...al_information

http://www.virginiasafaripark.com/Home.aspx

Re Monticello, VA, do you mean Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello in Charlottesville, VA? That's definitely a worthwhile visit, along with a meal at the historic Michie Tavern. I think there are enough vegetarian choices that you and your wife can make a meal. Downtown Charlottesville is very nice, too, with shops, restaurants and breweries. Lots of wineries nearby. I'm sure they have a farmers market.

https://home.monticello.org

http://www.michietavern.com

Have a great trip!

[larry_stewart]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

Re Monticello, VA, do you mean Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello in Charlottesville, VA?

Yes!!
We were there decades ago and loved it, so I'm really looking forward to it this time around. Im a little older, a little wiser and probably more appreciative to that sorta stuff. They give a tour of his garden, which Im excited about. Just wish I was there this month. They are having some kind of harvest festival there. I saw his garden way back in the day before I even had a garden. Im looking so forward to checking it out, since now I have some experience. Ill definitely check out those links you posted. Thanks a lot!!

And yes, Tennessee to ( and through ) VA.

[Cooking Goddess]

Nice road trip, larry! We just got back from a few days away from home last week, but your list has my wanderlust gene itching again. Have a great trip and, of course, photos! (or it didn't happen...)