Day 1 – Sunday March 20, 2025 – Home to Roanoke

I had the idea to go to Coachella in May of 2024 so purchased a VIP ticket for Week 1 (April 11-13, thinking it would be the cooler of the two options). Ok – spoiler, Week 1 was 102-98 degrees, and relentless, except for the occasional breeze. The second weekend was 78-80 degrees and basically… perfect! Haha, that’s my luck I guess. I was prepared and ready to start the cross-country trip by 1:20 pm. Jack and I hit the road.

Our first stop was Roanoke, Virginia. I had never been and had this idea that even though I was going to take the most direct route to Indio, California, I was leaving with enough time to drive 2.5-3 hours then stop and walk around the cities and towns I chose to. I parked and walked around Roanoke until I found a bar/restaurant named The Fork in the Road Market. This was absolutely apropos considering I had recently accepted “The Fork in The Road” offer from the federal government which allowed me to retire. I liked the environment and they let Jack sit at the bar with me. The locals enjoyed petting Jack and I had the Get Bent IPA and SoCal Salad (I mean come on; that’s where I was headed). After dinner, Jack and I walked around. We walked over the MLK Bridge. I noticed a great deal of homelessness. After leaving Roanoke, VA I continued on I-81 South to the Radford Safety Rest Area where I slept off and on until 4:30 am. I was pretty restless so drove more, but not too far, until reaching the Smyth Safety Rest Area where I crashed until 8:30 am. In keeping with tradition I never seem to sleep well the first night in a new bed, SUV, RV, Hotel…