No matter how well I plan or what kind of time I make, it always seems to take me three days of driving to go from Florida to Iowa/Iowa to Florida.
For this trip, the fine folks at AAA mapped a route that let me see more of Tennessee (and less of Illinois and Indiana) than I did on my previous trek. Fine by me: Tennessee is up high on my personal list of states with gorgeous roadside scenery.
That gorgeous scenery comes into play some times more than others. On my second day of driving, as I was on I-24 and in the mountains and valleys between Nashville and Chattanooga, I encountered a mystery traffic jam. Total standstill! So I took a few shots from my driver’s seat/through the window.
Tennessee also has the nicest and friendliest drivers I’ve ever, ever encountered on the road. Whether I was driving through scenic areas or cities, the other people sharing the roadway were consistently polite. Maybe it was the time of day or because I have an out-of-state tag. (But I hit the state on different days of the week and times, coming and going — and they were nice to each other, too!)
Between the interesting scenery and the awesome residents, it was my favorite leg of both drives. ☀️