Well, I made it:) Thanks everyone!
The trip started off badly. Note to self (since I'm sure everyone else has enough common sense to know better): do NOT have the going away party the night before! After many failed attempts at forcing the sedatives down my cats' throats, I got on the road at around 7. It was a rare day in San Diego - raining and foggy. I was crawling along at around 50 mph until I hit what I call the rock pile mountains just before the desert on 8 East. From there, it was an easy drive all the way to my first stop in Deeming, NM.
I spent the night in Deeming at a little place called the Economy Inn, which I wouldn't recommend. It was clean enough, but it took me 15 minutes to get the deadbolt secured and I had to shove the dresser in front of the door to the room next door when I realized the locks on that were completely broken. Day 2 started off badly, with a speeding ticket about 5 minutes in. I should have known better in NM with all the "safety corridors", but I just thanked God the guy clocked me at a point where I'd significantly *decreased* my speed to exit the freeway and get my CD's out of the trunk. I have a lead foot, so I forced myself to use cruise control the rest of the trip. It drove me to the brink of insanity, but at least I made it with only that one ticket.
I spent night #2 in Weatherford, TX at the Holiday Inn Express. I wanted to be closer to Dallas/Fort Worth, but a nasty, nasty rainstorm foiled those plans. I let myself sleep in that morning to avoid the Monday rush hour, which was nice. The cats did pretty well on days one and two, but they just about killed me on day three. Dallas (and for that matter, pretty much every city I hit) had major construction going on - concrete barriers on the side of each lane, potholes everywhere, shifting lanes, etc. The cats chose this as the time to get territorial. After pulling over twice to calm them down (keep in mind, the crate is about 2" from my right elbow), I finally informed them they could rip each other to shreds if they wanted. I turned up the radio and drove with one hand. Still no luck on sedating them. They're too smart to swallow the pills.
Day # 3 took me to the Days Inn in Jackson, TN. They only had smoking rooms. I smoke. However, I don't think I fully realized what decades of built-up smoke smells like. The windows wouldn't open and I never got used to it. Oh, well. I woke up on day #4 and turned on the weather channel. They immediately cut to a shot of an overturned tractor trailer and say something like "Highwway 81 this morning can only be described as treacherous. Snow, Ice, freezing rain - please, drive with caution". Great, right? Fortunately, by the time I got through TN and connected with 81, things had calmed down. The road was remarkably clear and it was an easy drive into Staunton, VA. I spent the night at the Guesthouse Inn there, which I highly recommend if anyone happens to be in that area. It was super clean, had a small gym and sauna, and only around $40 - and they were very pet friendly (though I actually found that most places are pet friendly for a fee).
Day #5 was smooth and clear all the way to DE. It was a short drive. Fortunately, I was headed in the right direction, because the southern half of the Beltway going west was gridlocked completely. My only regret is that I didn't have more time for this trip. As I said in my original post, it was 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 81, 495, to 301. I saw plenty of signs advertising little historical sites and tourists traps that I would have loved to have seen. I'd like to do it again with about 3 weeks to get there.
Thanks again for all your help! I know I'm a bit longwinded, but hopefully you'll see another trip report from me soon. I can't say this was exactly a fun-filled trip, but it definitely inspired me to look at getting there as ALL the fun.
