Sat-Tues Jan 19-22 VT to Cookville TN

A little behind in this since we have been doing so much socializing..
We left Saturday under threat of the incoming storm and got out just in time. I packed the summer tires in the back with the idea of changing the studded snows out in North Carolina so kind of a full car.

We kicked off the trip with breakfast at Rosie's in Middlebury and took Rt7 to 103 and stopped in Chester since Deb had never been through there. Chester is easy to miss since the downtown, such as it is, is not on Rt103 and I have driven right by it a hundred times on my way back and forth from Putney to Burlington.
We made it to Shelton and saw our old friends Vera and Glenn. They moved to CT 16 years ago so it was great to catch up. I got to meet what

Night at the Gaitano's

seemed like the whole town at the local pizza place where we picked up fresh bread. Friendly and tight knit community (Italian) and Glenn goes way back with everyone there. His high school football team picture was on the wall at the pizza place. Wonderful folks!! Five stars all the way.
Sunday we headed for our next stop, Deb's cousin Michelle and her family's house in Arlington where they also fed and housed us. Nice to catch up with them and their growing teens (and Aunt Ginny who was also visiting). They have a great spot right next to a park and a rail trail. We drove by the capital, Pentagon and Washington Monument! Another pleasant evening.
Monday (MLK day) we gave Deb's brother Pete a

Breakfast at Heimberg's

ride back to Greensboro, which meant getting the tires change at a local place and stashing the winter tires at Michelle & John's place instead of Greensboro. But the weather was great with nice dry roads. Also a good chance to catch up with Pete. We pulled into Greensboro as the sun was setting. We stayed the night at Pete's in-laws, Marian and Robert Heimberg who have a lovely apartment in Greensboro with a spare room. They made dinner for all of us and we stayed up late chatting and catching up. Another wonderful night. But our last night staying with friends and family..
Tuesday we decided to hear southwest toward Nashville. But first we wanted to stop in Boone, NC. What a nice town. Feels crunchy just like Vermont. and we walked around the downtown and got coffee and then wandered through the Appalachian State University campus on our way our of town. Felt a lot like Vermont.
Deb was sooo excited to cross the Appalachian Trail where she hiked 6 years ago and we found the spot where it crossed the windy back road we took toward Nashville. The roads around here are twisty and in good shape. She took me to the hostel she stayed in there and we found some good barbecue down the road for lunch. More windy roads and then back on the interstate with warm sun. We ended the day in Cookville which is a nice college town (Tennessee Tech) and found a brew-pub downtown where Deb chatted up a couple college professors who gave us lots of "must-see" ideas.