
As you may have gathered, we finally took some time off for a road trip to New England. Here's a trip summary...
Driving Summary:
• 14 days, 13 nights, 10/7 - 10/20
• 3421 miles driven
• 136.2 gallons of fuel
• 25.1 MPG overall trip average
• $2.779 average fuel cost per gallon
• Approx. 25% interstate driving
• Best tank: 29.1 MPG
• Worst tank: 20.1 MPG
States:
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Maryland
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• New York
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Vermont
• Maine
Points of Interest:
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Woodrow Wilson Library & Museum, Staunton VA
• Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg PA
• Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia PA
• Valley Forge National Historical Park, Valley Forge, PA
• Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania
• Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania
• Cape Cod, Massachusetts
• Plymouth,, Massachusetts
• JFK Library & Museum, Boston MA
• White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
• Acadia National Park, Maine
• Bar Harbor, Maine
• LL Bean, Freeport ME
• Southern Vermont
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Discussing:
- Are Chat bots a waste of time? (1 reply)
- Smith & Wesson noise problem (1 reply)
- Musicians dropping out of President's Freedom Concert Series (1 reply)
- It's time for new blood in Congress, Barnett in - Burchett out (1 reply)
- Burning Down The House... (2 replies)
- Behind Lege Lies (1 reply)
- Peace (1 reply)
- Speak your truth, fight and believe. (1 reply)
- Large banks have too much AI data center debt? (1 reply)
- GOP misleading on federal health care funding (1 reply)
- Feds indict civil rights group (3 replies)
- Georgia issues burn ban, first time in state history (2 replies)
TN Progressive
- Smith & Wesson not a good fit for Blount County (BlountViews)
- Pellissippi Parkway extension delayed again (BlountViews)
- Blount County early voting record turnout (BlountViews)
- Louisville, TN, town center coming soon? (BlountViews)
- WATCH THIS SPACE. (Left Wing Cracker)
- America As It Is Right Now (RoaneViews)
- A friend sent this: From Captain McElwee's Tall Tales of Roane County (RoaneViews)
- The Meidas Touch (RoaneViews)
- Massive Security Breach Analysis (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
- July 4, 2024 - aka The Twilight Zone (Joe Powell)
TN Politics
- Judge allows UFC cage matches to go ahead on White House lawn (TN Lookout)
- Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee keeping intensive probation program alive – barely (TN Lookout)
- Tennessee waste task force eyes changes to law allowing local rejection of landfills (TN Lookout)
- Nearly half of adults struggled to afford healthcare last year, survey finds (TN Lookout)
- Trump says ‘great settlement’ of Iran war in the works, signing ceremony soon (TN Lookout)
- ‘The Dumocrats are at it again’: Trump attack on California election offers midterm preview (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Vols win 4×100 relay, team is third in NCAA track (Knox TN Today)
- PAT the play returns to the stage in June (Knox TN Today)
- Easy Bacon & Swiss Quiche: Breakfast meal prep (Knox TN Today)
- Grayson boosts Ijams + In memoriam: Nic Arning, Bob Monday (Knox TN Today)
- Meet Slinky: The adventure buddy you’ve been wanting (Knox TN Today)
- Dining Duo goes to Vandergriff’s (Knox TN Today)
- Zoo Knoxville introduces Summer Concert Series (Knox TN Today)
- Food City named 2026 Retailer of the Year (Knox TN Today)
- 6/12 HEADLINES: News and events from Knox, World, USA, Tennessee & Historic Notes (Knox TN Today)
- Close to Home, Far from Ordinary: Townsend, TN, Ranks #9 destination on one tank of gas (Knox TN Today)
- Hiking with Harrington: Big Creek Trail (Knox TN Today)
- Falling Water Branch Falls: A 2020 Visit, Helene’s scars, and three new waterfalls (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- 'Breaking a window may save that child's life' Knoxville Fire Department addresses hot car dangers (WATE)
- WEATHER AWARE: Sunday storm chances bring a damaging wind threat (WATE)
- Kenneth Simon, son of VFL Kevin Simon, flips commitment from Alabama to Tennessee (WATE)
- VFL Dalton Knecht returns to Knoxville to host first youth basketball camp (WATE)
- A third Lady Vol softball player enters transfer portal (WATE)
- Man in critical condition after shooting in Knoxville, police investigation underway (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- Vols’ new strength coach may play key role in Baylor star DGG’s decision - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Teen charged in connection with disappearance of Collegedale man - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Losing Ground: Historic Black neighborhoods in Chattanooga face new pressures - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Healthcare dominates conversation with Republican primary opponents for Tennessee House - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Backlash Is Growing Over Kevin O’Leary’s Data Center. He Is Blaming China. - WSJ (US News)
- Mike Waltz hedges on Iran signing - Politico (US News)
- Mayhem mars euphoria as New York City celebrates the Knicks' first championship in 53 years - Yahoo Sports (US News)
- Trump endorses Collins in Georgia Senate runoff. It's his latest 'MAGA' pick in Republican primaries - AP News (US News)
- US asks Anthropic to block global access to top AI models: Why it matters - Al Jazeera (Business)
- PHOTOS: What’s under the tarp? Kennedy Center facade covered after Trump’s name removed - WTOP (US News)
- Millions warned to stay inside over ‘lethal temperatures' - Newsweek (US News)
- JetBlue bets big on Fort Lauderdale, from a new airport lounge to an international gateway - CNBC (Business)
- He profits off raw milk that’s making people sick. The government isn’t stopping him. - CNN (Business)
- How the screwworm broke through US defences and returned to Texas cattle - Financial Times (US News)
- A Guide to the Biggest Winners From the SpaceX IPO - WSJ (Business)
- Trump at 80: A President ‘Really Uncomfortable’ With Aging - The New York Times (US News)
- He was an early SpaceX employee. Here's how his equity helped him. - Business Insider (Business)
- Between Trump and a hard place: Fed chair Warsh to lead first rate meeting - Yahoo Finance (Business)
- Gravity Falls Creator Bashes Paramount/Warner Bros Merger - comicbook.com (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South

Mileage ain't too shabby.
Mileage ain't too shabby. Was that in the Freestyle?
Yep. Loaded down with a lot
Yep. Loaded down with a lot of junk. We could actually get it all in the Prius (we tried) but it was tricky. Since we had to load it all in and out at every stop, we decided to take the Freestyle. It was a lot easier to load and unload and made more room for pupster, and it was more comfortable for us.
Besides being on mostly secondary roads and a bit of in-town and around the parks driving at our destinations, I think the mileage was affected some by the fact that almost all the fuel we got up there past Virginia was 10% ethanol.
I think we would have done
I think we would have done the same. That's one reason we decided to keep our two old station wagons instead of buying a Prius or other smaller car.
10 percent ethanol
When I first got my 97 RAV, I got very poor milage with the 10 percent ethanol gas (somewhere between 21 and 24 MPG) and so switched to pure gasoline for a while. Eventually, I went back to the 10 percent ethanol and I noticed that the milage was better. (24-29 MPG) Now days I make a point of using it as my small contribution in the fight against global warming. I've also become much more aware of my speed when driving (both keeping the speed down and trying to drive at a more consistent speed) and these days I'm very, very happy with the ethanol blend. With a mix of town and highway driving, I usually get 300 miles to a tank. And, no, I don't know the exact size of the tank, but it's around 11 gallons.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
New Hampshire
See any political signs..or adds ect?
Bill, did not see much in
Bill, did not see much in the way of ads or signs. Just missed an Edwards town hall meeting in Keene, NH. Caught a little of it on C-SPAN the next morning, though. He does a lot better when he goes off the prepared speech script and talks directly to the people and answers questions.
We were at this diner in Vermont having lunch. These two guys came in and sat near us. Couldn't hear much of their conversation, but they looked like Young Republicans and we figured they were advance men on their way to NH. I would have bet money on it.
When we left and got outside, we saw their van. They were vinyl siding salesmen.
Interesting
so now we know another reason to dislike Republicans. :)
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut