Leg one of the Search for America Tour, 2009 edition is in the books. This tour is powered by Cadillac; a burgandy red CTS to be precise. We covered 650+ miles today; 10 hours of driving time; 12 hours of time elapsed off the clock. That’s plenty. We’re now at a Hampton Inn just west of Nashville.
We had beautiful, though bone-chillingly cold weather all the way. The temperature struggled to crack 25o and had a side order of variable but steady wind. Took all the joy out of smoking at rest stops; I’ve been issued but two stindeens, and have no desire to lose them in pursuit of a habit I should quit anyhow.
On the mileage front, the average life-to-date mpg on our rental increased from 18.9 to 19.1. On this leg, we got around 22-23 mpg, which impressed me, given our 70-75 mph speed and the wind. And the CTS has a V-8; nice to mash the gas on something with some ponies under the hood.
We’re safe, but tired. Nice to be in Central Time again. Tomorrow, 6 more hours of the same, across half of Tennessee, over the mighty MIssissip’, and on to Hot Springs, where I’ll help my brother-in-law control his beer inventory.
-k-