Marion, VA (USA)

I managed to escape DC (AKA “The Death Star”) today and headed south towards the my hideout in the Smokies (“Yavin 4”). Mollie had spent the weekend with me and was supposed to get a ride home before I left for my hiking trip,  Things looked good at about 1700, when Nicky arrived for the pickup, but Mollie wasn’t ready.  About 15 minutes later, she departed and I finished packing - as a result, I left Alexandria at 1730.  This was a bit later than I'd wanted, but I drove to the southwest (I-495, I-66, I-81) through the expected traffic (almost all of it near DC) without complaining ("the mountains are calling...").  It was mostly a good drive - I spent some of it playing with the features (e.g., voice texting) of my new car.  Arrived in Marion by 2250 (whew!) and got a room at the Travel Inn.  Went to bed almost immediately so I could get an early start in the morning!