Day 3

Today we stopped first at The Land Between The Lakes National Recreational Area. The lady at the rest area/tourist information center convinced us that it is a must see. So we went. In my opinion there really wasn't much to see and kind of a waste of time. But it was a chance to get out of the car and to stretch our legs and buy more postcards. We crossed the state line into Illinos around noon. We stoped in a town named Shilo for supplies and were back on the road and headed to St. Louis. We arrived in St. Louis around 5 pm and headed straight for the Arch. I got some really good photos of the Arch from the car on the bridge on the way into town.

This photo was taken from the car window on the bridge on the way into St. Louis

We arrived at the Arch too late in the day to procure passage to the top, but spent some time on the grounds around the Arch and the pathway from the parking garage to the Arch is really pretty and there is a lot of grass to sit on it is a very beautiful park. I can imagine going there quite frequently if I lived closer. After the Arch we got back on the road this time heading for the St. Louis Temple. We had a picnic dinner there on the temple grounds it was very nice.

This is me and my picnic dinner

Next stop Nauvoo, Illinos. We arrived about 11pm, so we got to set the tents up in the dark.

Day 2

Four hours from Atlanta we visited Cloudland Canyon State Park located in Northwest Georgia. Here we had lunch at the senic overlook.

Look close there is a waterfall

Next stop was Old Stone Fort Archealogical Park in Manchester, Tennessee. The Museum was kind of boring, but a short walk up the trail showed the true gem of the park, a spectacular waterfall.

Old Stone Fort waterfall

We finished the day off in Nashville. We found a place called the Factory. It is an old factory that a developer turned into a shopping center. We had dinner at a restraunt there called The Flying Horse, the food was pretty good. We ended the day with a session at the Nashville Temple.

Nashville Temple

Day 1

We left Palatka, Florida at 10:21 am on May 7, 2007. Our first stop along the way was at a Rutland

Farms a strawberry farm off of I-75 at exit 55. Here you could pick your own strawberries for only $1 a pound. They also offer delicious homemade strawberry ice cream.

Me with my bucket

strawberries growing

Deb with her bucket

We then drove for several hours to Atlanta where we stopped to see the Atlanta Temple. Then we drove to Deborahs brothers house to stay the night.

The Epic Voyage - Cross Country the Amie Way

This blog is about a trip that I took in the summer of 2007 with my best friend. We left Florida on Monday May 7, 2007 and returned again on June 13, 2007. The trip was 38 days total and we saw some pretty amazing places and things. We took what some would call the road less traveled, a route that most would say is completely crooked and very far out of the way, but it made all the difference. We could have driven to California in 36 hours afterall it is only about 2,500 miles or so, but instead we chose areas of personal interest and National Parks to stop along the way and let them shape the voyage.

I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I did and I am excited to share it with you.