Georgia Hiking Trip - Day 3

Was awake very early again and teleworked in my room until the time I'd planned on meeting Brenna for breakfast - I walked next door to the Chick-fil-A at 0720.  Because the dining room was closed (due to COVID-19), we ate in Brenna's car and talked about school and the election results.  Brenna brought me back to my hotel at 0750 and I resumed teleworking.  After an early morning meeting was done (0900), I checked out of the hotel and got on the road (I-81).  While driving, I participated in almost three hours of meetings.  This made the drive go a lot quicker, although I had to stop a few times to make sure I could actively participate.  Got lunch at Arbys in Dublin, VA (1210) and then drove south on I-81 for a bit longer.  I got off near the town of Draper and looked for one of the New River Trail State Park trailheads - I found one at around 1300 and ate my lunch there while wrapping up my meetings.  I then took a walk (to the south) on the rail trail.  The weather was beautiful and I got almost four miles of walking done in a little more than an hour.  Afterwards, I got on the road again (still I-81) and continued south.  I had one more work call at 1500 and then was undistracted while I drove the rest of the way, via I-81, I-26, I-240, I-50, US-74 (Great Smoky Mountains Expressway), US-23 and US-441.  I arrived in Franklin, NC at around 1800 and stopped at my usual lodging place (Budget Inn) - I immediately noticed that it had been renamed "Hilltop Inn."  Fortunately, the same nice family was still running it (the owner explained that the sign had fallen down, allowing him to choose a new name). As usual, I was able to check into a room quickly - this allowed me to telework for a few more hours.  I also ate dinner (snacks) and then spent the rest of the evening reading and watching movies on my phone.  I also exchanged a lot of texts with the girls - they had a lot of things to tell me about their winter plans.  Went to bed at 2200, excited to be in the hiking zone!