Well, we got up at just after 4AM... and hit the road just after 5AM... yes, that is early... much too early for me, but with a 10+ hour ride ahead, it was necessary.

The rid through north Georgia and through Tennessee was very smooth.  We did not hit any sort of rush hour in any of the major cities (Chattanooga and Knoxville), so that was very fortunate...

After getting into Kentucky, I came upon what appeared to be a wreck.  There was a pickup truck that looked to have been spun out into the median and a semi-truck parked in the emergency lane.  Dana thought that we should call 911, so I called but let her talk to the 911 operator (since she used to be one, she'd know exactly what to say...).  We were passed it and didn't witness it, so, we carried on our journey...

We had decided to head to Cumberland Falls since it was not far off of the interstate and we love waterfalls, so it seemed to be a good place to get out and stretch the legs, etc... We exited the interstate and drive about 10 miles to the falls.  Well... the falls are pretty cool but the river water was dirt brown and thus took away much of the beauty of the falls... there was a really beautiful rainbow in the mist of the falls (their best feature).  The rest of the park is very nice and well maintained.
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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="Here are the dirt brown Cumberland Falls"]<img class="  " title="The Falls" src="http://gallery.me.com/webpoet73/100225/CumberlandFalls_006/web.jpg?ver=12499061260001" alt="Here are the dirt brown Cumberland Falls" width="491" height="368" />[/caption]

After about 30 minutes of enjoying the falls, the sunshine, and each other... we decided it was time to hit the road...
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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="Us with the falls in the background"]<img class="  " title="Us" src="http://gallery.me.com/webpoet73/100225/CumberlandFalls_022/web.jpg?ver=12499065510001" alt="Us with the falls in the background" width="491" height="369" />[/caption]

We had another good smooth ride through Kentucky and into Cincinatti... well, that's where the troubles began.  Although, Cincy was not too bad, we did hit some construction traffic and then it opened up until DAYTON... oh, my goodness... we hit some major construction delays... and when I say delays, I mean DELAYS.  We saw a sign that said that there was construction ahead and to expect delays around exit 54C... little did we know, after an hour of inching up (about 3 miles an hour)... the interstate was closed at exit 54C and everybody had to exit with NO DETOUR SIGNS... yeah, send people through the city with no detour signs...
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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="The DAYTON construction... cause of frustration..."]<img class="  " src="http://gallery.me.com/webpoet73/100225/OnTheRoad_021/web.jpg?ver=12499070110001" alt="The DAYTON construction... cause of frustration..." width="491" height="369" />[/caption]

Luckily, Dana has her handy-dandy GPS.  I decided to just follow the traffic and exit where they exited off of the highway (exit 54C) and after Dana got the GPS up and running... it led us back to the interstate... without it, we might have been aimlessly roaming around Dayton.  Not really a good way to increase tourism, Dayton... so, to you, Dayton, I say "go eff yourself."  :)

After we got through the Dayton fiasco... the rest of the trip was uneventful and that was just fine with us... we got to her aunt's house a little after 6pm... So, a little under 13 hours after we left, we arrived at our destination.  Which wasn't too bad considering the 1 hour we spent off the interstate at Cumberland Falls and the 1 and a half hour fiasco we had in Dayton... and with other stops for gas and food, we probably made it in 10 hours + stops.  Sweet.
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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="Is this thing really legal?"]<img class="  " title="Legal?" src="http://gallery.me.com/webpoet73/100225/OnTheRoad_025/web.jpg?ver=12499070940001" alt="Is this thing really legal?" width="491" height="369" />[/caption]

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="Saw lots and lots of corn..."]<img class="  " title="Corn..." src="http://gallery.me.com/webpoet73/100225/OnTheRoad_037/web.jpg?ver=12499073150001" alt="Saw lots and lots of corn..." width="491" height="369" />[/caption]

Tomorrow, Part 2: The Reunion.  Then, on Thursday, Part 3: The ride back.