First Day on the Road

AMANDA HIGGINS- CLARKESVILLE, AR- The gang all met up at CVCC at about 5 o'clock this morning. Although limited to one backpack and one duffel each, the luggage seemed like to much cargo for one van. After some serious soul-searching, Mark decided to part with his case of Sundrop. (The delicious beverage is a local drink and not available outside the southeast.) Next came a ton of pictures, goodbyes to family, and promises to call everyday. Finally after cramming 14 people and all our stuff into the van, we pulled out about 6am.

Pure adrenaline and little sleep made for a loud van ride the first couple of hours, then we stopped near Newport, TN for breakfast. After loading back up, we drove on until the rain and adrenaline fianlly subsided outside Memphis. Anticipation rose as we neared the Mississippi River. I have crossed the river several times myself, but the magnitude of it still impressed me. What impressed me more was how few of the group had ever crossed the river. Most said crossing the mighty water marked the farthest west they had traveled. This is a picture John shot from the van as we crossed the bridge.

Many miles and several hours later, we finally got to our hotel about 10pm. It's a Days Inn in Clarksville, AR and not too shabby for a discount hotel. John had a few technical difficulties with his computer that caused a delay in the post. Thankfully, Jessica brought her laptop and so I am using it to write this blog and John was able to send his picture to the Hickory Daily Record.

Well, it's after midnight and it's been a LONG day. We are all ready to crash and we have to be ready to leave by 6 o'clock in the morning. It's another day's worth of driving til we reach Albuquerque tomorrow night, until then...