3 May 15

Up at the crack of 8:00, we went to the Quality Inn lobby for our “free” breakfast, but the TV was tuned to a hollering, fanatical Pentecostal preacher, so we left without breakfast and went to Starbucks. Then, on the road thru Bristol. Just past Wytheville, VA, we decided to get off the interstate and head over to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a beautiful, bucket-list drive along the Blue Ridge mountains. We had lunch at Mabry Mill and then drove on into Harrisonburg, VA, which I mistakenly thought was close to Monticello (Jefferson’s home; which is actually 63 miles away in Charlottesville, VA). Tomorrow, the plan is to get up early, drive to Monticello, do a tour and then drive to Wilmington, DE for our last night of this “most excellent” road trip.