OK guys, getting this thread back on track (since we're only a little over a month out now) I have finalized our route and all of our stops! Once I finish everything else I will pass around the official briefing/itinerary document to all of the caravan participants.
Some highlights for those of you that joined us last year:
- The first planned stop will again be the Mt Sydney rest area just south of 81, 125 miles into our journey.
- The second stop again will be at Cracker Barrel for an early lunch. We'll fuel up at the Shell across the street. This is about 114 miles after our rest area stop.
- Our third stop will be at the same Shell we stopped at last year just ahead of Johnson City, TN on I-26. This one is 143 miles after the previous stop. Depending on the size of the group there is a BP Station directly across the street to handle any overflow.
- Our fourth stop will not be at the Bryson City shell this year. Remember how crowded it was last year? This time we'll take the next exit and stop at the Exxon station. It's got a much larger parking lot, more pumps, and should not be as crowded. After we all fuel up I'm planning on taking us 2.5 miles up 19 to the same Ingle's Market grocery store we stopped at last year so we can pick up last minute items or perishable goods that we didn't want to haul down from NOVA.
After that it's only 30 miles to Fontana Village. We'll arrive on full tanks and should be good to go to drive in the morning!
I AM EXCITE.