Smokies Hiking Trip - Day 5

I woke Mollie up at around 0800 (after I'd been reading for more than an hour) and we got ready to go out for the day.  We packed up my car and then walked around in The Retreat complex.  Surprisingly, it was VERY quiet so we were able to check out the clubhouse and other amenities in peace.  We then drove over to the Virginia Tech campus and (after we parked in a faculty/student lot) Mollie took me to see the buildings where she took her classes.  We also checked out the Hahn Horticulture Garden and Mollie identified a few trees (from her Dendrology Lab).  The weather was great!  We walked back to the "D2" dining hall at around 0940 and ate a delicious breakfast (buffet style).  While we were eating, we got a lot of texts from Brenna about the game the night before (she sent a funny meme about how we were counting likes on our Facebook/Instagram posts).  Mollie told me she wanted to go to Roanoke to visit the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center (she said she checked that it was open on Sundays).  Before leaving town, I drove Mollie over to the Library so she could retrieve our bag from the locker and then we headed north on US-460.  We got on I-81 but could only use it until we reached Salem (we had to get off the interstate because of really bad traffic).  After that, we took the "scenic route" from VA-311 until we eventually were US-221.  Somehow (it wasn't easy), we located the wildlife center on a series of narrow/private roads, only to find out that it was closed to visitors (due to COVID-19) and could only be visited with prior appointment.  I wasn't very pleased about this (Mollie was apologetic) but hoped we hadn't driven all that way for nothing.  Since we had passed a scenic bike trail in Salem called the Roanoke Greenway, we decided to look for a trailhead for it.  It took some doing, but we found one off Bridge Street in the village of Norwich (suburb of Roanoke).  At around 1145, we began walking east from there for just over a mile (Mollie saw a deer), getting exercise outside during a beautiful day.  When we got done (1245), we searched online for fun things to do.  Sadly, there weren't a lot of activities that appealed to either of us, so we got back on the road (used surface streets to I-81).  After taking (relatively traffic free) I-81, we stopped in Christiansburg and looked for a gas station that actually had fuel (many, many of them were out for some reason).  Eventually, we located a BP and I filled up (1335).  We then drove over to the Walmart to pick up several supplies for Mollie.  She commented that she'd not left Blacksburg at all since August and was very happy to have gotten away from town (and done some shopping) while I was visiting.  We were back in the car by 1405 and spent a bit of time exploring the western edges of Blacksburg (off Prices Fork Road).  Several farms and stores were closed (for a Sunday, apparently) but we located a driving range, batting cage and mini-golf place.  Back at Mollie's (1445), I decided that I was feeling tired and, since I had a two (plus) hour drive ahead of me, said "goodbye" to Mollie - it was sad to hear her say "I'll see you at Christmas time"...  As I was leaving, I realized I hadn't eaten lunch and ate some snacks I'd brought.  To leave town, I used US-460 to get back to I-81 and then drove south.  I started listening to books on tape again, but only about 30 minutes later, Mollie called with some family news that she wanted to discuss.  Meanwhile, I got stuck in a nasty (20+ minute) traffic jam near Chilhowie.  It was nice to have Mollie to talk with (and Erin, who texted me a lot during the same window).  The traffic thinned out again on I-81, I resumed my book on tape (finished it) and reached Tennessee without further issue.  Took TN-394, US-11E and US-19E to reach Elizabethton and checked into the Travelers Inn at 1735.  I unpacked, organized and repacked the car before driving over to Subway, where I got two foot-long sandwiches for dinner and the next day's meal (1825).  Feeling satisfied that I was "back on track" with my travel schedule, I spent the rest of the evening in my room journaling, watching movies on my phone, resting and reading.  Went to bed at 2230 after a full day - glad I got another day with Mollie!