4 States so far

Hi, all,

The AirCard worked fine in the van while we drove, but we didn't "Blog" in the car - and our first stop was isolated enough that the AirCard did NOT work, so we're a couple of days behind.
Thursday morning we got onto the road at 7:20AM and headed up I95 and on to I75. Everything went just fine, floating along. Our friends had told us that as long as we just *stay* in the carpool lane, we can float right thru Atlanta - including the exit to stay on I75: there's a spot where it looks like you must exit right to just *stay on* I75, but we confirmed that the carpool lane *does* wind thru and keep us on I75: just have faith and stay there and "whoosh", you're thru.
We *did* find that gas was tough to find in the Atlanta area - with stations being out of gas and prices topping $4.20 a gallon in places, but Kathy's sharp eyes picked out a Wal-Mart which had nothing but Regular - at $3.86/gallon and we filled up and think we now have enough to get us all the way up into Illinois. Keep our fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, we *did* get to stop at our first "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" on the way up: the Marietta Diner was featured for it's huge menu and creative, substantial Greek food - and it was RIGHT off I75 - very convenient. We pulled in about 3PM and took about 15 minutes to read the menu (even though we had read the menu online while driving): it is extensive and interesting. We were quite pleased: a spinach appetizer was complimentary, then Kathy had a red-snapper dish and I had a shrimp, scallop, artichoke, and mushroom entree that were both quite tasty. And we finished up with Balkava and Rice Pudding: both were enormous and quite good! All told, we had a great meal for $45 including tip. VERY satisfying and recommended.
Back onto the road and up to our friends' house on top of a mountain in Georgia. Laid back, enjoying the view, the hot tub, the 12' deck around the house - and the view of the stars.
Our daughter Kelly had insisted that we take her *good* camera with us. I resisted, thinking that it couldn't be that important to have a *good* camera. But after using her camera for 2 days, I'm convinced: it is *wonderful* to have a totally-automatic camera which focusses well, lights well, and doesn't do a "nuclear flash". THANK you, Kelly, and we'll try to keep taking pretty pictures to send back to you.

Friday. Slept REALLY well because it was COLD (64 degrees) and I sleep much better under a lot of blankets. Talked and visited. Went out for Mexican lunch. Talked and visited. Had Bison burgers for dinner (grilled there on their deck). WONDERFUL!

Then watched the Presidential Debate - and off to bed! A really-nice beginning to our retirement/vacation.

ANnnd Saturday. Up, pack, have pancakes for breakfast, then on the road. We've now gone from Florida to Georgia - then pass thru North Carolina (just a tiny bit) before running into Tennessee to our next set of friends. 4 States. A great State of Mind. I am Happy!

Thanks for your comments! I'll try to get some photos posted.