September 1, 2001
We picked up our rental car at the Knoxville airport at
10:00a.m. We paid $14/day for the nine-day rental, thanks to our
shrewd priceline.com bid. Our entire trip cost probably less than
half of what it would have without Priceline and Hotwire, so
forgive me when I brag throughout these pages about the amazing
deals we scored.
Our car was a red Chevy Cavalier, which for inside joke
purposes will be referred to within these pages as "The Red
Rocket."
The Red Rocket
We left the house around 1:00p.m., ran errands and went back
for CD's, (Who would have guessed that the Red Rocket would have a
CD player?), then left home again at 2:00p.m. It poured down rain
only occasionally, thank goodness. We were in no hurry to get to
Staunton, Virginia, as there were no sights to visit today. We
drove about 340 miles in all. There were tons of bikers on the
road, and we wondered if there was a rally somewhere or if they
were just out for the long weekend like most everybody else.
We stayed at a Microtel, which we booked on Travelocity and was
no great deal. We were glad to get it though, being Labor Day
weekend. Upon check-in, we discovered that our room was full of
other people's stuff. We were upgraded to a "suite" for free since
there were no other rooms available. Suite apparently means you get
a couch. We dined at a Mexican resturaunt called "El Puerto." The
Mexicans in Staunton were not very convincing, as they all spoke
perfect English, but the food was muy bueno.
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