In February a friend and I went on a road trip which landed us in West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
The first two nights on the road we car camped at Walmart and the rest of the trip we stayed with the people we were visiting.
Neither of us had car camped before so we didn’t know what to expect. Staying at Walmart worked out just how I expected! We made sure to park in well lit areas near the semi trucks, but far enough away from the building that we weren’t in the way of customers the following morning.
I can confirm that Grey Lady can easily sleep two people. To make things simple we kept the bed set up at all times, and just moved stuff between the front and back as needed. I had window coverings made out of reflectix and duct tape that worked out really well for the back windows. We used a black blanket to cover the items in the front seats, which also that blocked the front view.
Our first stop was Morgantown, WV because I’m a Fallout Nerd and I was way too excited to visit. I’m not sorry.
The Andy Griffith Show was one of my favorite shows on TV Land as a kid, and I always liked Don Knotts as an actor, so it was pretty cool to learn he was from Morgantown.
I didn’t realize how much they love their cryptids. The town has begun a yearly event called Cryptid Bash and I’m hoping to attend in the near future.
They also have beautiful street art!
While in town we decided to visit Dent’s Run Covered Bridge. We missed a turn and got slightly lost on winding dirt roads for a good hour, but we found it and it was awesome!
When we pulled over to check out the bridge I grabbed this beautiful shot of Grey Lady. She held up so well on those roads, especially for a newbie like me. Thankfully we got back to the main roads before darkness hit, or I don’t know if we would have gotten out.
Next up we visited a friend in Chattanooga, TN. The morning after we got there she took us to a diner called Aretha Frankenstein.
We loved the décor and enjoyed the food. I grabbed chicken and biscuits which was delicious - at least to a Northerner like me. The friend we were visiting with got the pancakes and they were huge! She compared them to cutting the top off a cake before you frost it - it sounds accurate to me.
If you want a good view of the city check out Lookout Mountain. We went up both at night and during the day. There’s “train” called the Incline Railway which take you up and down the Mountain. We didn’t go on it, but to look at it reminded me of a roller coaster.
Our second day involved a trip to Nashville. Did you know they have a replica of the Parthenon ? I didn’t before this trip.
As a person who loves world building, history and architect, being able to stand in a life like “ancient” temple was mind blowing. I’ve walked through replicated rooms at museums before, but nothing to this scale.
After Nashville we headed into North Carolina and visited with family. If you’re in or near Raleigh, NC I highly recommend the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. Unfortunately I’ve reached my max on pictures for this post, but know that its an amazing museum and its free!
I also recommend checking out Apex Wings in Apex, NC if you enjoy laidback local food. They have what they call “egg rolls”, but they’re more like crispy wraps. Your choices are “reuben roll” which is a reuben in a crispy wrap, “italian roll” which is like a pizza in a crispy wrap, and “buffalo chicken roll” which is like a chicken finger wrap but crispy. We chose the assorted option so we could try all of them, and I look forward to doing it again!
Don’t think this trip was without its bumps and bruises. It wasn’t. We gained some stories and some lessons, but I’ll save those for another post.
Let me know where you went on your first road trip!
