Welcome to our 50th Anniversary road trip....
I had been working on the KIA for a couple weeks getting it ready to make the trip. I changed the oil & filter the week before we left so it would last about half way through the trip. I replace the Mobil 1, 10-30 oil & K&N oil filter every 3000 miles or so. Since we were going to be doing a lot of mountain driving I replaced the front brake pads (they didn’t need to be done, they still had about half of the life left on them at 46,000 miles, I changed them anyway). I cleaned, waxed and detailed the car since we would be “living” in it for 3 weeks. I also had 4 new tires installed, The original ones were made by Hankook; good for going around corners but very stiff for a “normal” ride. And since it has the 18” wheels that came with the Sport model, it also has the skinny tires that gave us a very choppy ride. Since Linda is always in the car with me and she doesn’t like to pull more than .000805 G’s around corners the stiff/sticky tires were not really important. We wanted a better ride so I chose the Michelin Primacy MXM4. The ride was noticeably softer but still stiffer than any tire with more sidewall….but it was better. I checked over everything else I could think of and pronounced the little car ready to roll.
We had been pre-packing for about a week, trying to think of everything we would need for the three week trip. Medications, another battery for my camera, our favorite flavored water to take with us, a cooler….stuff we wanted to give to people along the way (family pictures, etc) and of course clothes and grooming aids, hehehehe. I was busy with the airplanes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so Saturday was the day I would do the final packing so we could leave on Sunday. I also had to balance the load so the car wouldn’t be going down the road leaning to one side. I had made a check list of things to do to the home before we left, like turn off the water heater and main water supply. I also unplugged all “charging things” like lights, radios, coffee maker….generally anything that could be unplugged and not change the function of an empty home. We gave our itinerary to one of our neighbors with a key to our home so they could check it occasionally. We stopped our mail, cancelled water delivery and trash pickup. Saturday I also called ALL the reservations and verbally confirmed the reservations and cross checked the confirmation numbers. That same Saturday I also called all the credit card companies we would be using on the trip and gave them our route and timing so they would know we were using the cards and not think someone had stolen our credit cards. I ran the 7023 mile route with Google maps, one more time. Yes….OCD is difficult to live with….but we manage….hehehehehehe
Sunday morning we sat in the car and prayed for a safe trip and thanked God for giving us the health & resources to enjoy this trip commemorating our 50th wedding anniversary. Then at 8:57AM we exited our driveway and began our 22 day odyssey. We went out the “back way” (west) from Stafford, VA….working our way for 25 miles to Rt. 29 near Bealeton, VA. We followed Rt. 29 south for 61 miles till we got on I-64W. We continued on I-64W for 40 miles till we got to I-81S. This Interstate becomes I-81S & I-64W for about 35 miles then I-64W breaks off and goes west again. We continued on I-64W for 75 miles to our Quality Inn in Lewisburg, WV. We had an uneventful 228 miles for the first day….easy. The scenery of SW Virginia was stunning and was matched by the hills of West Virginia. The day was overcast till late afternoon which made for easy driving but unattractive pictures….that would change.
