Sometimes, the best planned events still don't happen as planned. I learned that today.

Not only did the trip start a few hours later than I had hoped, but I was planning on driving the entire length of Skyline Drive, into the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Skyline Drive, which extends the length of Shenandoah Park, runs just over 100 miles from Front Royal, Virginia (90 minutes west of Washington, DC) down to Waynesboro, where it then becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway. Unfortunately today, Skyline Drive was closed after 70 miles. I couldn't complain too much, though. The scenery was beautiful.

I took Rt. 33 West off Skyline Drive, stopped in the small town of Elkton for dinner, and ended up in Harrisonburg (pop. 30, 707). The sun had already set at 8 o'clock, so I had to make a decision. Do I drive the remaining length of Skyline Drive, or do I find a hotel and start from here tomorrow?

The drive down took me another hour. So I've ended up in room 125 at the Waynesboro Days Inn , which sits just north of the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I'm hoping to make it to Atlanta by Tuesday morning. Even if I end this leg of the trip early and end up there on Monday, it won't kill me. I'll just have an extra day there!

I've got to get some sleep. I set a wake up call for 9am.

See you on the road...

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