The Glebe in the USA 2013 - Back to Nashville and flight home

Monday the 9th of December
Ryan got back late last night but I didn't see much of him.
He's already away out when I get up and breakfast. I'm going out via the back yard so that the deck door locks behind me. (making sure I haven't forgotten anything).

The icicles are still lengthening.

Nashville, Tennessee has a warm humid temperate climate with hot summers and no dry season. 

The chances of there being snow on the ground are highest around November 1, occurring 1% of the time.

So, it looks like they do get some winter weather, but it's rarely like this. I've just read that average temperatures for Tennessee in late November, early December were half as cold as they normally are.

It's the remnants of their weather which is giving us grief here in the U.K just now.

After stocking up on a few car snacks and drinks from Cashsaver, I'm on my way back to spend the night somewhere near Nashville Airport. It's an easy route out of Memphis and I'm soon on the Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway leading to I-40 

It's quite a dull day on the road, but it's quiet enough, cruise control on and I'm enjoying some great music on the radio. My first stop comes at the above rest area at around ninety miles.

I get a few truck pictures as I stretch my legs.

Continuing on I'm passing by Jackson. I  thought that this was the town mentioned in the well known song 'I'm going to Jackson'. It was a hit in the U.K for Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, but more globally for Johnny Cash and June Carter. However it's Jackson, Mississippi which is a bigger city which claims it.

It does have a claim to fame though in the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum

From Jackson it's another 90 miles till I stop to eat 

Pictures courtesy of Google and O'Charley's 

Approaching the Dickson turn off  Exit 172, I see the food sign and I'm hungry.

Dropping down to Highway 46 I can see O'Charley's just to my left, how handy is that.

The Chicken Pot Pie looks delicious on the illustrated menu and I order that and coffee.

As usual comes the question, "What will you start with sir?". It's no wonder there are so many obese people in America, they can't say no like us. Still once the waitress had recovered from the shock, she was as nice as the pie. I left a 20 percent tip instead of the usual 15 so she got 2 dollars, that should tell you the cost of my tab.    

It's taken me longer to get to Nashville than I anticipated. I need to get to the east of the city to be handy for the airport. Still on the I-40 I decide to do a rehearsal into the airport so I'll know where I'm going. How did I end up in the long stay car park ? It's a good job the first half hour is free.!
So now that's sorted it's time to look for accommodation for the night. I'm back on I-40 and continue on to Old Hickory Blvd. It's about the busiest road I've come across this trip. Up and down here I can see nothing like accommodation so I pull off and get my map out again. I'm looking for Stewarts Ferry Pike which I'd already decided was where I was heading for. I'd come too far east. So, back on the Interstate and back the way I'd come. Hurrah, a road-sign for accommodation  on Stewarts Ferry Pike, at last. I turn North West only to find a mile up the road I should have turned South. First the airport car park and now more wrong turns. This is punishment for me thinking I had more 'Nous' than I really have.
After turning round and recrossing the I-40 (I think it hates to lose me) I finally find Percy Priest Drive and a whole street of 'Inns'. I take the nearest one which is Family Inns of America, it looks OK.  

My room is OK, hot shower, large heater, big bed and a microwave for my porridge in the morning.
I need to charge my camera battery so I take a few snaps on my Kindle. They haven't come out very well.
Across the road to Subway for a  ham and bacon sub with lettuce, tomato and melted cheese and a coffee.
Back to my room with my supper, turned the TV on and Johnny Cash has just met Sam Phillips at Sun Studios in the movie Walk the Line. A brilliant way to say goodbye to Tennessee !


Tuesday the 10th of December
After a good nights sleep I'm up and having my porridge and using my last English Breakfast teabag. 

I'm amazed on taking a peek outside that there's been a fall of snow overnight.

The Florida plate on my car looks quite out of place.

Packed and away I'm soon back at Dollar in the airport to hand my car back. I'm surprised looking at my receipt to see I've travelled 2180 miles. That works out that I've spent 36 hours travelling or a day and a half............ sounds about right I think. 

I've got the camera charged so I'll pass my time at the airport taking a few pictures.

It's all so peaceful at Nashville airport, they've a laid back way of doing things here. Much like the way they talk with that southern drawl.

I've about an hour and forty five minutes till my flight. I remember a few years ago when quite a number of airport banned the use of cameras. No such problem here.

A full zoom gets me Nashville's skyscrapers.

There's still some snow around, but it seems to be thawing fast.

I try a few 'in flight' pictures, but an additional zoom lens would have been good for those. The board says my flight is on time.

Finally in the air and leaving Nashville for Washington.

Early into the flight, this can only be Dale Hollow Lake beneath us. It's also a State Resort Park.

Clouds obscure the views for a while.

Crossing Kentucky and West Virginia. Plenty of snow further north and east.

Approaching Washington.

I don't know if we're anywhere near the Pentagon, but I can't make it out.

Now we're banking to land.

Dulles Airport is massive and you do a lot of walking up and down stairs and taking automated trains to customs, terminals and check in desks. One good thing about this occasion is that my luggage is forwarded to my connecting flight.

I've roughly a three hour wait so I get to eat. I'm not too impressed with the food outlets as they all seem to be akin to the McDonalds style. I end up in Wendy's with a small chicken wrap and french fries. Maybe if I scoured around I'd have found something better. No worries though, dinner will be served on the flight to Manchester. 

The flight is delayed by an hour.

 (in the end it didn't matter because the jet stream was that strong, that they made up the time so quickly they had to slow down so as not to get to Manchester too early-can you believe that !)

Darkness is descending as we leave Washington.

It's not long before we're over New England.

There's no light pollution like that in the Galloway 'Dark Sky' Forest Park.

I do believe that's the Hudson below us.

I managed a few seconds of video.

Ha ha !

I put my camera away after this.

Food was good on the flight.

Back at Manchester I was soon on the airport bus to collect my car.

By 7.30 am I'm back into the madness that's our motorway network.

Oh how I miss the Interstates!

Here endeth my 2013 U.S.A trip.

Footnote:-In this day and and age of pop up blockers, it seems to make sense not to use them.

Instead comments will be embedded at the foot of the page of this blog from now on.