"Loaded up and Truckn"

Hey everyone,

Well...we are officially West Coast Bound!!!! I  have been anticipating this day for over 6 months and I can't believe it's here!!  It has been a very emotional day for me... happy, sad, tired, energized, excited, nervous but most of all loved...

So of course we did not leave at 6am...whose idea was that anyway :)  We were packed up and ready to head out before lunch but our car apparently wasn't fully rested so she decided to not start :)   Yes that's right we had "mechanical" issues after spending a fortune on making sure we didn't have mechanical issues.  We had to push her out of my garage, hook her up to my parents car, call the infiniti place, and pray!!!! Between me, Seth, my mom & dad all throwing out ideas we finally decided we were stumped.  It didn't make sense why she wouldn't start, it seemed to be some computer issue.  So we began brainstorming on a new way to get to CA.  As we were mid-thought we decided we would try one more time before "throwing in the towel"  and you know what.....she started :)  Prayers answered!!! We were once again on our way and I (once again ) was excited and sad...saying goodbye once was hard enough.

Seth drove first and we made it all the way to Hickory, NC before stopping :)  We were hungry after all that excitement  (and it was 2 o'clock).  After lunch at the Atlantic Bread Company we were finally on our way (for real this time).  We made it to Asheville, NC before I had to take a short nap (short because of  the curves, I thought it was Seth was falling asleep :)  The drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains didn't disappoint.  There were many little waterfalls flowing through the rocks (the pics don't do it justice) and some good overlook views.  Seth said "well, the next time we see mountains it will be the Rockies."  Well we will compare views and let you guys know if there's any difference.

The next "big" city was Knoxville, TN.  There wasn't much to see from I-40 but there was a very beautiful, colorful sunset that amazed us both.  I know we just came from Key West where they are 'known' for their sunsets however, this TN sunset was impressive.

Driving through the dark made us both sleepy so Seth decided the best idea for us was to stop, sleep and start out early tomorrow.  We were approaching Nashville, TN so we decided to see the city's night skyline and stay on the west side of the city. The skyline was pretty but quick so unfortunately there are no will be no pics of it.  Google maps lead us to a Hampton Inn (since we are Hilton point collectors :) We had dinner at Jonathan's place, a local bar and grill, per the hotel attendant's recommendation.  Now are bellies are full and we are ready for a good nights sleep.  Full day of driving in the morning so Nite, Nite.

Lov you all,
Stef