Off to the Smoky Mountains

Well, guys, I'm heading out to the Smokies with my daughter, son and a friend of my daughter's. My bags are packed...I'm ready to go...what's that song from?

Anyway, we plan on leaving tonight at 6 p.m., and do some night traveling to avoid the traffic. Tomorrow is Labor Day and I want to be pretty well on I-81 with the Blue Ridge on my right, heading south towards Tennesee tomorrow. Our plans are this:

Sunday 6 p.m. - Leave Virginia, head north toward Salisbury, Maryland.
Sunday 2 a.m. or so - We'll pretty well be on I-81 by that time. We may decide to go on and stay over and get up in the morning, refreshed.
Monday morning - We should be at either Front Royal, Virginia or Charlottesville (depending on where we crash for the night).
Monday evening - We should hit Pigeon Forge where we'll stay overnight and wait for our cabin to be ready on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, we'll do things. I want to see Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg...they say it takes four hours to go through it all. Not sure about Dollywood, just depends on how finances go.

Anyway, Tuesday at 4 p.m., we'll get our cabin and go out to Walmart for supplies. If it has a grill, we'll pick up some charcoal and steaks. Thinking about some kind of spirits...beer or wine coolers. I'm not much of a drinker, but I guess I'll have to force myself...;o)

Wednesday morning, we'll explore the Smoky Mountain National Park and Lord knows what else. We're just going to see how it goes.

Thursday, at 11 a.m., we'll head back home. Thinking about driving straight to avoid having to spend another night in a hotel.

So, that's the agenda. We'll get back home sometime in the wee early hours of Friday morning or sometime thereafter.

Wish us luck...we've done this trip before, but every trip is so different. I'm sure there will be lots of stories to tell...hopefully pleasant! And I'll take plenty of pictures. So, have a wonderful week and I'll be yakking at you when I get back. ;o)