Day 1 - And we are off......

The truck is packed......wow, that's a lot of stuff!  Good thing we are not taking the Odyssey....

It's 9:20am, and we are off!


Thought we should take a BEFORE picture.  It will be interesting to see what the AFTER picture looks like in five weeks.

Rick created an ITunes playlist for the trip.  Songs feature cities or states through which we will be traveling.  Right now we are listening to Sweet Home Alabama.....hey, but we aren't going through Alabama!  Oh well....it's a good tune to start the trip!

Today we drove from Charlotte to Forrest City, Arkansas with a stop outside Knoxville for lunch and a visit to John Sevier's farmstead. (Sevier fought with Daniel Morgan - Grandma's   ancestor - at King's Mtn, founded the state of Franklin - current East Tennessee- fought a war with NC, and was twice Governor of Tennessee). We had dinner in Jackson, TN, passed over the Mississippi an hour later (the flood waters have receded but evidence of flooding is everywhere), and got to the hotel in Forrest City, Arkansas just after sunset. 

Joan and Bronwyn at the John Sevier Farmstead

Joan was great and the drive was relatively easy since Bronwyn did half of the driving.  The truck is completely full of gear for the trip - bikes, camping equipment, cooking items, games, toys, bedding, clothes, etc. It is a wonder we made it over the mountains.  

Tomorrow we drive to Oklahoma City to pick up the trailer.  The computer says it will take six hours.