Lynchburg to Knoxville

I feel kind of bad writing this at 5 minutes to one in the morning after the last week of summer classes and several exhausting days of moving. I know that this is a very big deal, and as we crossed over the border from Virginia to Tennessee tonight, I thought about the fact that we're not going to be driving right back to Virginia in a few days. All of our things are headed west, and the landlord has the old key; this is it. So I wish I wasn't so tired and ready for bed, because I want to describe all of the details and do the whole event justice. It's a cross-country road trip, for goodness' sake. Oh well.
We pulled out of Lynchburg around 8 PM. Kirsten was a little bit weepy in her eyeballs, and I was a little bit weepy in my heart. I just didn't show it as much, I guess. Lynchburg gave us a few raindrops as we were headed into Forest, and I told Kirsten that VA was crying just a little bit because it's going to miss us too. I thought about how it's kind of cool that we can drive the entire width of a pretty good sized country on roads that are mostly well-maintained and well-connected, and I wonder how the roads are across China or Russia or Australia. Can drivers in other large countries drive from one end to the other and count on the whole network of roads being smooth to navigate and reliably accessible? Probably so, but I don't know... It's an interesting thought.
Anyhow, very easy trip down to Knoxville, and a smooth arrival with the exception of some weird construction and lane shifting right at our exit. If we had a little more time, we might be able to visit Dollywood or maybe Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, which we laughed at when we saw the sign. Kirsten and I pictured very small sausages doing back flips and catching treats from trainers in wetsuits. But then, we are both pretty tired.
Enormous thanks again to everyone who came over yesterday and packed up our stuff. I still can't get over how efficiently the whole thing went, and I wish I could find better words to tell you all how much we appreciate you. We love you all, and we will miss you. We are looking forward to seeing you again next time we're over here or when you can make your way out west. Tomorrow: Knoxville to Memphis, and hopefully some photos for you. Bye for now.

P.S. Because Kirsten and I both forgot that I was supposed to carry her over the threshold after the honeymoon, I carried her over with great ceremony as we were leaving the house after it was all packed up and empty. Here we are leaving.