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Published: February 25th 2009
Cocoa Beach Sun Rise 1
It was barely light out at allDay 15 - Sunday, January 18th - Cocoa Beach, FL to Orangeburg, SC
We awoke to predictions of a sunny, warm day. It was a shame we’d have to leave on the warmest day since we’ve been in Florida. However, we were keeping a close eye on weather in the Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky regions and needed to get on the road in order to get through there in between predicted storms. There was some consolation in leaving Florida on such a nice, warm, sunny day - - it was only predicted to last one day before returning to the cooler, cloudy temperatures. So, we enjoyed the warm morning, taking our time packing up and leaving the hotel, and hit the road.
We were up early, probably still affected by the excitement and awe of the rocket launch last night. We watched the sun rise over the ocean, an unplanned but extraordinary event for us. The vibrant colors, the changing cloud formations, the birds waking to the sunlight, and the incessant rolls of the ocean waves made for a peaceful, inspiring start to the day. We do not regret the later start to have lingered for the simple pleasure
of the rising sun.
Overall, the rest of the day was uneventful as we meandered up the eastern coast of Florida, through Georgia and into South Carolina. We stayed on the Interstate as timing was critical for Monday/Tuesday weather concerns and the need to get Jerry home in time for a Thursday morning specialist appointment. Traffic was a little higher due to it being the end of a weekend but never anything that kept us from getting where we felt we needed to be. Our goal was Savannah and we exceeded that, going later into the evening to make Orangeburg, SC. We were surrounded now by trees without leaves, replacing the palm trees of this morning. There was no doubt we were on our way home.
Day 16 - Monday, January 19th - Orangeburg, SC to Corbin, KY
It was a great day but also a disappointing one. Our plan was to get through South Carolina, pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Asheville, North Carolina and take the highway through the Smoky Mountains, spending the night in Knoxville, TN.
The sun was shining and it looked like a great day as we left
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Each direction we looked, a different picture painted Orangeburg. We knew the predictions going northwest were not all that great but better than yesterday and better than predictions for tomorrow and Wednesday. It was not long before we started seeing the deteriorating weather conditions. At first it was just clouds and some rain. As we crossed over the Tennessee state border, we decided to stop at the Visitor Center for a break and to get an update on weather. The disappointing news was that the Blue Ridge Parkway had closed Sunday and the Visitor Center had not been notified that it had reopened. She gave us a route that did not take us much out of our way and would confirm for us whether or not we would be able to get through. She was certain that the road through the Smoky Mountains would be closed; less certain of the Parkway’s status. So, we followed her direction into Asheville to see if we could at least drive some of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Weather continued to deteriorate and our hopes diminished. We arrived at the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway and got on it for less than a mile before coming to the “Road Closed” sign.
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The sun begins to peak through the clouds On one hand we were relieved - it resolved for us our quandary of whether or not to try driving the Parkway. It was better to have been turned away at this point than have ventured too far up and have difficulties of one sort or another. We lingered at the scenic pullout right before the closed signs to take in the cloudy views before heading to the Interstate we’d need to take around the Smoky Mountains. By the end of the Interstate drive, we would be happy the Parkway and the Smoky Mountain routes were closed. The Interstate was challenging enough with the weather we hit going around. One can only imagine how much snow was falling and how much ice lingered at the higher elevations of our original route.
Our alternate route on I-40 was absolutely beautiful, even surrounded by the clouds and icy/snow mix that came and went as quickly as the curves in the road. We could see mountains in the distance. Meanwhile, on either side of the roads, there were intermittent canyon formations with streams of water frozen in time. We were fascinated by these ice formations, seemingly clinging to the rocks, appearing as
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Slowly it gains momentum if painted for our personal delight. We were faced with irregular boughts of snow and sleet. It slowed us down but never dangerous enough to cease our progress. We were acutely aware that tomorrow could be worse so we cautiously kept moving, actually enjoying the changing weather conditions and the natural effect of the weather on our scenery.
We stopped east of Knoxville, knowing we had the option to come back around the Smoky Mountains into Gatlinburg to drive a short distance into the Mountains from the north side. We got a weather update from which we easily made the decision to stay on course and forego any further exploration of the Smoky Mountains. We would continue through Knoxville as far as we felt comfortable, in order to get further north and hopefully avoid the next storm that was scheduled tomorrow to hit the very area we were traveling now.
The cloudy skies gave way to dusk too quickly for us to safely continue with the falling snow. In addition, the changing weather was negatively impacting Jerry’s breathing and pain level so rest was definitely in order. Corbin, Kentucky is where we landed for the night. After a
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The sun begins to reflect on the water quick dinner, we watched weather reports to track both the outgoing and incoming storms. Thus far, we were right on track, catching only the remnants of the previous storm and just barely ahead of the one coming in from the west. We planned two possible routes for tomorrow and would decide then which way to go based on updated weather reports.
We were a little amused by the fact the news showed schools in the area closed tomorrow. Coming from Wisconsin, where inches and inches of snow has to be on the ground and more snow falling before schools closed, it made us laugh to think they were closing schools the night before. However, we got a more reasonable explanation a little later in the evening - schools didn’t close because of snow…it was the ice already on the roads and predicted to arrive overnight that would keep buses from safely transporting children in the morning. We had not considered the ice factor for this area of the country. Snow is the bigger winter evil in Wisconsin.
Day 17 - Tuesday, January 20th - Corbin, KY to Normal, IL
We made one of our quicker hotel departures
today so that we could continue our race to beat the incoming storm. On one hand, it made sense to head due west to get through the incoming storm and then head north. On the other hand, if we headed northwest as quickly as possible, we might avoid the worst of the storm altogether. We proceeded toward Lexington and Louisville anticipating a final decision in Louisville.
Updated weather reports were not conclusive for us either way when we got to Lexington. Thus far, it was no worse than the day before. We surmised that heading toward Indianapolis was likely the best chance to get out of the storm’s path the quickest. Thankfully, we chose correctly and the weather began to improve as we crossed the Indiana/Kentucky border. We were soon sailing at normal Interstate speeds. Relief swept through the car as we both relaxed and settled back into our normal travel characters. Laughter came easier again and we took some time to thank the good Lord.
Champaign, IL was a tempting stop to surprise our Puerto Vallarta friends but alas, after the difficult travel through Kentucky and Tennessee, we were at that point of just wanting to get
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In another direction, clouds take on an ominous hue home. So, we waved as we passed through Champaign and continued so we could get to Normal, IL and catch I-39 north first thing Wednesday morning. Tomorrow would be a short travel day and weather reports were clear from here to Waukesha so sleep would be effortless tonight.
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