The staff at this Jefferson, GA rest stop were so friendly that they frightened me.

I had to take this photo at a McCalla, AL rest stop somewhat surreptitiously because the locals here did not seem friendly at all.

safe, sound, and ungoverned in north carolina

Brooklyn > Charlotte

Stats:
Miles: 637.62
Hours: 10.5
States: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina

At a going away party a few weeks ago for some friends who are lucky enough to be spending over a month in India, this guy told me that all rental trucks come with something called a "governor" that doesn't allow you to drive over 65. This has concerned me ever since. Aside from my tendency to indulge my speed demons, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to accelerate to avoid an accident or other mishap. Have no fear: I can go at least 85. Considering the speed limit is 70 in some parts of the eastern seabord, it now seems like it would have been an improbable limitation.

After some help from a very nice friend at the crack of dawn, I finished loading everything in the truck and was on the road by 8. It was incredibly overcast until somewhere in New Jersey when I put on my new theme song, Neko Case's version of "Let It Shine." ("This little light of mine/I'm going to let it shine/Every day, every day, every day.") Within minutes, the sun appeared to guide me all the way to North Carolina where it rained just a little. I checked in to my hotel where they have high-speed Internet in the room, so here I am, speedier in all ways. Despite some rather intimidating clunking from the back of the truck, everything's still in one piece. Photos below...

This was my first scenic photo: the Deleware Memorial Bridge (or something like that).

The landscape got mighty pretty when I hit route 85 in North Carolina.

This is not even a full tank.

rest stop records

While I'm travelling, I'm going to keep photographic track of the lovely amenities offered the cross-country journeywoman. Here are the first few entries.

I thought this hook in a Dale City, VA rest stop was quite handy...

...until I looked at the sign above it.

Just so you know, this Blackstone, VA bathroom is a stellar offering in the rest stop genre.

last post from nyc

Thanks, New York, for seven years of living in the center of the universe. I'll miss you.

More soon from far and away...

Just in case you couldn't tell my truck was from Brooklyn...

1 more day

Wow, this is really happening. Yesterday was the longest day. I've been feeling like time is off its hinge (not unlike my laptop) and when I think about things that happened yesterday morning, it feels like a week ago. I woke up at 5 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, so I started packing like crazy. I picked up the truck and while I'm going to have to clean the cab before I spend a week in it, otherwise I was pleased. The most mighty man I know came over to help me and between the two of us, we loaded all the books and furniture in less than an hour. When the second shift showed up, there wasn't too much left to do at that time, so we found a home for the truck after some interesting parallel parking experiments, bought a stronger lock for the back door, and made final trips to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. and the Chip Shop. The third shift arrived in the evening and entertained me while I tried to assemble the remaining items in my apartment that had been thrown willy-nilly during the truck packing. My phone will be shut off by tomorrow morning, so I'll try to post one more time tonight before I hit the road.