Day One: Road to Knoxville
Thursday morning, we got loaded up (including Kat, who we
decided would make the trip with us. Al and Eileen have Molly, a rather
crazy/shy dog. Figured they may, or may not, get along) and on the road. This
time, heading 20 through Louisiana, Mississippi, then up through Alabama to
Knoxville. It will be a good route, or one we regret.
First stop was quick and at Buc-ee’s in Terrell (https://www.buc-ees.com/index.php )
to see what the deal was with this “truckstop, but for cars only.” It’s HUGE. They
sell everything from candy to crawfish boilers. To beef jerky and all kinds of
stuff that you don’t need. We bought breakfast tacos (not that great) and on we
went.
It’s really a pretty easy start to the drive.
Until we got to Shreveport. Interstate 20 through Shreveport
is AWFUL. Bumpy, bumpy. More bumps (you get it). We’re rounding a corner and
HUGE bump. I happen to be looking through the mirror and … there goes the right
fender off the trailer. Straight off and up in the air. Bye-bye. We exit (at a
not very good place to exit) and pull into an alley-like road to check things
out. Yep, it’s gone. No getting it back.
So, off we go, stopping outside of Monroe to grab lunch on
the go (Burger King – forgot that their burgers are drippier to eat in the
truck). In Birmingham, we decide to stop and gas up before moving on. At this
point, we’re not making great time. It seems that every stop loses us 30
minutes and we’re not terribly efficient with our stops. And, we had some rain
that slowed things down for a bit.
That’s when Tony checks the trailer and bikes (Note: Yet again,
we’re not in a very good place to exit. There’s a lot of iffy characters – one
kept pulling his shirt up and peed on their truck). Well, fender number two
(the one with the license plate) is completely lose and just sitting on the
tire -- big surprise it’s still there. It’s getting dark. This is not good. We
look up hotels that are pet friendly in Birmingham (not near this exit because
I don’t want to stay anywhere near here). We’re going to have to stay the
night. Driving a trailer without any lights – not a smart thing. We’ll figure
something out in the morning.
Holiday Inn Express (we stayed at the one in Birmingham-Irondale,
on top of a steep hill with a view of Sam’s Club) it is. Not bad. Not great. I
hate that they charge an extra $35 for a dog, but can’t do anything about it.
Kat’s better this time in a hotel room because we brought her bed. The remote
in the room doesn’t work and they can’t find a replacement (don’t stay in room
203 in case they haven’t fixed it). The
woman at the front desk was very helpful and apologetic and we tried new
batteries, but no luck.
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