Day 1:

The great daddy-daughter adventure began with the handing-off of the keys to the daughter.

Some 546 miles later we made it safely to the hotel in Kodak, TN. Sorry, no Kaodak momemt as it was dark! We had a safe trip, but as always with the Compton Clan, there were a few turning exercises throughout the day. Following supper we turned one block too soon, so after making our way through various parking lots, we found that we couldn't go the direction we wanted to due to a median dividing the highway. After manuevering through a few more parking lot mazes we made it to a stop light and got back on track. A few miles down the road it was time to fill-up the car. After getting gas, we again realized that we were blocked from a return by a median, so we turned right and went into the first business that had a stop light (a large Comcast Service Center). We had learned our lesson about stop lights and medians, or so we thought. The way out of the parking lot had one exit with FOUR median-separated roads. We finally figured which one to take to get to the light only to find that the light ended in a median! When the light turned green, you had to drive into the on-coming lane of traffic to get to the cross-over to the other side. What is it with Tennessese and medians? Finally when we got to Kodak, there was no signage anywhere indicating where our hotel was. We went to where the Google map said it was, only to find a sister hotel there. I went in and asked where the hotel was and they told me where to find it, but that it was tricky. We finally made it after yet another turning exercise. I asked the hostess about possibly putting some signage so that people could easily find the hotel, and she said they were not allowed any signage because the hotel was 10 feet too far from the highway! Go figure. Finally, as I was typing this, I heard a call of despiration from the bathroom where Michelle had just finished showering. I entered to find a shallow swimming pool outside the tub! Somehow the water made it through the sides of the shower curtain and flooded the bathroom. After sponging up the flood with towels, we all settled down for a good night's sleep. We have another 500+ miles of travel tomorrow. Until then!