Index
Day 1 - Nashville
Day 2 - Corvettes
Day 3 - Mammoth Cave
Day 4 - Tail of the Dragon
Day 5 - West Virginia
Day 6 - 50 states done
Southern US: September 2020
The longest day of driving on the trip didn't feel that long at all. Up before sunrise again, then on the road. Stopped by NISformance, perhaps one of the only dedicated Nissan Maxima tuners in the world, to catch up on their latest developments for the VQ35DE and VQ35HR, plus the RS6F51A/RS6F51H/RS6F52A/RS6F52H 6-speed manual tranmissions that Nissan uses. Turns out they had some very interesting work going on that hopefully will be on sale soon, plus it was always good to hang out with fellow enthusiasts!
Then made one mistake-- they're right next to a Cook Out restaurant, but I skipped it. Turns out that was my last convenient chance to get Cook Out. ;_; Passed straight through Charlotte and the rest of North Carolina on the way to state 50, South Carolina! As I stopped at the South Carolina welcome center/rest stop to commemorate the occasion with a few photos, I realized I was behind schedule and had no further time for stops or detours... so hauled butt to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) to catch my flight!
Found all the restaurants at GSP closed, but it was a quick flight to Dulles International Airport (IAD). Not much open there, but stood in line for the world's second saddest Subway sandwich before my transcontinential flight. Which was a good thing, because even with an upgrade to business class (hello Polaris seats!), food was just a snack box because of COVID-19. *sigh*
Verdict: 1200+ miles and 45+ gallons of gas later. Some beautiful driving roads. Family and good food. Plus experiencing the new Corvette (C8) as it was meant to be driven, on the track. And finished my goal of visiting all 50 states. Well worth it!