Key West Roadtrip 2023 - Day One - Diving To The Deep South

UPDATED 02-04-2023

I got up early to clear the half inch or so of snow and spread deicer before we got on the road.  The road conditions were not nearly as bad as we expected.  Thank you Mother Nature for that.

The first part of the drive was kinda boring.  The vacation feeling arrived when we stopped at a Waffle House for brunch.  As the Wife says, the vacation doesn't start until you eat out in a restaurant you don't have back home.  We aren't picky ... Waffle House fit the bill.

The Waffle House ... the unofficial start to our vacation and famous for the Waffle House Index.

Once we got to southern Missouri the landscape changed to forest covered mountains with outcrops of rock.  The views along the way were very nice and will be beautiful once the trees leaf out.  Fall, with the changing colors of the leaves, are probably spectacular.

The vistas continued into Arkansas.  The last couple hours took us up, over, and around mountains and valleys.  Small towns, where churches outnumbered the people, added variety to the scenery.  The churches have names that look like someone tossed a bunch of semi-religious words into a bag and then randomly drew four or five and strung them all together.

Despite the gorgeous views, ten hours of driving through four states can be draining and I was drained (and a bit irritable) by the time we got to our hotel in Nashville, Arkansas.  My only regret on this day was not stopping at the Walmart Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.  It was a long driving day and it would have been hard to fit in.  (I'm only somewhat kidding here.)  Looking back I think we should have divided the driving over two days to make it less exhausting.

Tomorrow we dig for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

As I upload photos, you will be able to find them in my 2023-01 Key West Roadtrip Google Photos album.