Snow Birds

 With the Covid pandemic raging, we have been home bodies for months. Obviously, there can be no international travel in this new year — at least not yet. 

Thanks to a very kind offer from Mark’s Aunt Lola and Uncle Bill, who live in Roseville, we gained access to two weeks in time-share condos in Pompano Beach, Florida. Lola and Bill weren’t going to use them this year because they do not believe it safe to fly, and they didn’t want to take on the drive. We agreed about the flying, but thought that we could manage the drive safely.

We departed a relatively warm Twin Cities on Tuesday, January 12 and drove almost straight through, 600 miles, to Crawfordsville, Indiana. It’s not a real scenic spot, but was a good waypoint, and we got a good price at a Hampton Inn. The Prius gave us a solid 45 miles per gallon, even into a southeast wind.

It was still dark on Wednesday morning when we pulled onto the interstate for another long day of driving. This route took us across southeast Indiana, skirting around Cincinnati, across eastern Kentucky, and through the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. It was a pretty drive, and we managed 45 mpg once again, even with all the hills.

We arrived late afternoon in Asheville, North Carolina, and had enough daylight remaining to get in a nice walk in a local park in the “Art District.” This is an old industrial area being made over into restaurants, bars, studios, and galleries. We picked up some take-out bar-b-que from a place Mary had read about, and it was delicious.

Tomorrow will be a shorter day in the car, with a bit more time for scenery and walking.