December 21, Richmond to North Carolina

Today was a long driving day, heading South from Richmond to Charlotte.

Typical view on the road.

I spent a lot of the day snoozing in the car ... not sure what it is about getting in the car, but it makes me tired.

One highlight of the day was actually getting a photo of a 'Welcome to' sign. I'd chided Mum and Dad because they have none of these from their travels on the West Coast. Turns out these signs are not necessarily easy to find. Today while driving into North Carolina we stopped for a rest break, and there was a sign, so I was able to snap a photo.

At lunch time we stopped at Denny's. Dad had a craving for pie, and apparently only Wendy's or Denny's would do. The rest stop we chose had both, but the Denny's was next to the petrol station (or gas station) so we stopped there. I had a great deal of trouble deciding what I wanted; salad, a burger, roasted turkey, breakfast pancakes ... so many choices!
They also had a special 'Hobbit' inspired menu. Turned out to be where we all ordered from. Mum had pumpkin pancakes, and Dad and I had Gandalf Sandwiches with Turkey, stuffing, cheese and weird crinkle fries with gravy. It was very yummy! But we should have shared. We ended up with enough for another meal (dinner.)

Finally we drove into Charlotte and found our room at the Hilton. We've spent the night on what will become my bed (the couch) watching "Christmas from Washington" complete with Psy performing 'Opa Christmas Style'. This was followed by a program about Christmas at the White House. Very interesting about how the decorations are done. Given me some great ideas for when I have a house like the White House and can decorate in a similar way :) This was certainly a break from the usual Law and Order, Castle or The Mentalist that are our current staples on TV.