2800 miles later, I am home from an epic road trip!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/29/2015 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

Skyline drive, Charlotte, Charleston, Orlando, Asheville, Blue Ridge Parkway, Roanoke, natural bridge, home. That was the order of my road trip leaving at 230am on Thursday and returning 6pm on Tuesday. It was certainly amazing to just cruise the whole way with the top down and enjoy every moment of it. Blue Ridge Parkway was spectacular and I can’t wait to go back. Anyways, I took some pictures so I’ll let that tell a story with some details.

Start of the journey at 132283 miles.

Skyline drive was almost like an amusement ride. It was right around 45 and windy at the start so the top was up but it was still such a great ride and many photo opportunities. I have a bunch from overlooks but this was one of my favorites.

Things warmed up enough around 11am which was like 3 hours into the drive along skyline drive. So I was able to convince my girlfriend to put the top down if she could have my sleeping bag, winter hat, and the heat on. It was perfect and made the remainder of the road even better!

We finished skyline around 12 and continued on the BRP to Roanoke. That was an amazing little drive and gave me a taste for what I would get later in the trip. That night we made it to Charlotte, NC where we had dinner and stayed at an airbnb. In the morning we took a quick trip to Charleston, SC and our final destination of Orlando, FL. Visited family Friday night, Disney world all day Saturday, and half day Sunday. After much rain and ridiculous Florida turnpike toll booths, I made it up to Asheville, NC for the night. I stayed in another really nice airbnb (girlfriend flew out of Orlando to go to work) and I hope to go back there for sure! Anyways, following morning on Monday begins my Blue Ridge Parkway adventure!

What a foggy morning! Just after leaving Asheville I came across fog so thick I was going about 15mph and just hoping nothing was in front of me.

Drove up to mount Mitchell and damn was it cold up there! 6684 feet up will definitely do that. There was frost on the trees but it was totally worth the detour for those views. Top stayed down but heat definitely went on. Engine temp went all the way to C on the way down the hill I guess since it was such a steep decline and the cold breeze really cooled it down.

Holy hell did my car get dirty! The windshield was even worse haha.

Took a nice shot of the miata!

Blue Ridge Parkway just led to some amazing views. I wish I could have stopped more and taken it in longer but I had places to get to. I’ll Definitely go back and really take time to soak it in. Overall a great drive and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a scenic route without traffic. I barely saw any other cars midday during the week in April.

My lodging for the night! Cave Mountain Lake Campground in Natural Bridge, VA is great.

Got my log cabin setup with some wood fuel and drier lint in the middle. Was able to get er started with just two matches and some more drier lint.

Fire supplies stocked and ready for business!

We have ignition! I only used it to make some pancakes since I didn’t bring much food to cook, but I had fun anyways.

Short hike in the morning up Wildcat mountain

Pretty stream crossings the whole way up and down.

Nice summit about 2 miles up but pretty hard to see through the trees. Still worth the hike but I definitely hoped for a clear view. Either way, a great way to take a break from driving!

Made it home just in time for my grad class and took a quick picture of the odometer to record my ending mileage of 135,143. That’s over 2800 miles in 6 days and what an experience that was! I averaged about 32mpg throughout the trip and even had some wild numbers of 35+ while doing skyline drive (all at 40mph or less with few stops). Only mechanical casualty was my radiator but that will be replaced this week. It started leaking like the second day and I just kept topping it up at every other fuel stop (dropped about half the overflow tank during 500 miles or so). Camping was great and I look forward to going back to BRP for sure in the summer for more of it and of course more driving.

DISCUSSION (20)

OPPOsaurus WRX > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 09:11

Kinja'd!!!

I thought this was Mt Washington but it looks like Mitchell has it only by about 400 ft. Interesting seeing trees up there. The top of Mt Washington is bare. Looks like a fun trip.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 09:16

That’s so awesome. I’ve been to Mount Mitchell a few times. Did you go to the Mile High Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain in NC? It’s not too far away. Plus you also have the Linn Cove Viaduct close by as well.

JGrabowMSt > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 09:53

And you’re back in time for the next Caffeine & Carburetors if you want to join!

BKRM3 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 10:26

Looks like an amazing trip! Great pictures!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
04/29/2015 at 10:28

I didn't get to make it up any others but I will definitely have to the next time I go back. That was the disadvantage of trying to make it all the way to Roanoke in one day (and still having daylight to make camp). I saw the sign for Grandfather Mountain but I knew I would need more time to dedicate to that. Surely in the summer time!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JGrabowMSt
04/29/2015 at 10:29

Same place? When? I would definitely be down if I am free.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > OPPOsaurus WRX
04/29/2015 at 10:31

Yeah, I was surprised that the tallest peak was in NC. Would have thought it would be more north but nope! The trees were really interesting up there. I was reading some of the stuff posted there about how they are a unique variant of endangered Fir trees only found above 6000 feet and they go through some tough conditions. Definitely different!

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 10:51

You’ll love it. And yes, you do need more time for that for sure. My mom has an NB Miata as well (stick, of course) and I would love to take it down there sometime.

And the viaduct, so nice, especially in fall. Make sure you check out Roan Mountain as well, right on the TN/NC border.

Kinja'd!!!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 11:19

Great trip and post - I want to share this to OppoBlog, but some of the photos are flipped (5 of them). Are they showing up that way for you, or just me?

JGrabowMSt > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 11:57

Up in New Canaan, CT. May 10th at Waveny Park.

If you want to hit up the Chatterbox, this weekend is their opener, but I’m not sure if I’ll be going to a wedding or not. May 9th I will most definitely be there with the SL.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JGrabowMSt
04/29/2015 at 15:22

I should actually be able to do May 10th. I will probably try to loop that in with a camping/biking weekend up that way if the weather is nice enough.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
04/29/2015 at 15:23

Oh that was definitely my bad, I couldn't figure out how to fix that since I made the post on my tablet. I wish the uploader had an option to rotate photos.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BKRM3
04/29/2015 at 15:24

Thanks, yeah it was great! I now have a much higher tolerance for road trip length lol. If I see something is 6 hours away, I think that is just a short trip away!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
04/29/2015 at 15:26

I wasn't rushed at least but I will definitely try to get in more hiking next time and also camp out some more. It was a bummer that most campgrounds don't open until May 15th but it gives me every more reason to go back!

BKRM3 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 15:27

Hahahaha I loved gaining that perspective from a few seriously long trips. 6 hours is no joke but it’s no longer out of the question for me to get up early and bang it out if there’s a good reason to do it. I also really love the no-hurry-to-get-there feeling of being on a LONG trip. Finally, I’ve just found it to be the best way to see the country. Sure, flying will get you to Charleston or wherever a lot quicker but man....half the fun is the journey =)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 15:27

Yeah, that’d be nice. I’ll go ahead and share it to OppoBlog, but if you can edit the post and fix it, that’d be great.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BKRM3
04/29/2015 at 15:33

I think it might be more than half the fun if said journey is done in a Miata! Road trips are ruined by annoying children, expensive gas, and bad weather. Having perfect sunny weather, my lovely girlfriend as a co-pilot, and the top down the whole way definitely made it 100x better.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
04/29/2015 at 15:48

Awesome! Yeah, I will try to open it up on my laptop later after work and fix those pictures.

Green Mountain Car Guy > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/29/2015 at 18:10

I love an epic road trip! I haven’t been on many, but, I’m hoping to change that!!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Green Mountain Car Guy
04/29/2015 at 21:43

All it takes is some free time and a free spirit. The rest of the details along the way are nonsense and unimportant. As long as the car keeps running, all is right in the world.