Day 18... last night in a motel!

I never knew how beautiful eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina are until today. Dad and I split the less than five hour journey from Nashville over the Appalachians (pronounced "ap a lay shin" or "ap a latch in", depending on where you were brought up) and through the valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains to Asheville. Asheville by the way is a pretty "cook" city as a friend of mine accurately portrayed it to me a while back! Upon our arrival, we ate Sunday dinner at Shoney's. I was my first time at a Shoney's since the last time I was in North Carolina--1995.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent watching football. The Eagles weren't on the local Fox station, so we were stuck watching the Cowgirls, as I used to call them when I was 8. Well, it turned out to be okay. The Eagles beat the 49ers, and the Cardinals stunned the Cowboys! It's always a good day when the Eagles win and the Cowboys lose. Unfortunately, our string of good luck ran out tonight: the Phillies lost pretty badly to the Dodgers. The series is now 2-1, Phils.

Highlights from today:

• Autumn foliage all around in the Blue Ridge Mountains
• Pumpkin pie blizzard for supper tonight
• 5, count 'em, 5 servings of Sweet Tea today

Tomorrow, I'll be driving the first 5 1/2 hours of our journey. We're headed up I-81 to the Shenendoah Valley! I'll be disembarking in Bridgewater, while my parents are continuing on to South Jersey. I'm pretty jazzed. This will be my first time in that area.

What a great trip it has been! I am thankful for lifetime memories and safe travels.