I am not quite sure if either of us think of NC as ‘home’ yet, but we are trying. I can say with certainty though, that on the drive here we would have called anyplace home, as long as we could have gotten out of the car. And stayed out. Even the corgi was thinking “ENOUGH”. She seemed to sleep less and stare more as the trip wore on.

Day 4 took us from Little Rock to Knoxville. This wasn’t a terribly long day and the scenery was beautiful. I took a bit of a risk by taking the photo of the Tennessee state line, but I think it was worth it.

We arrived at the Knoxville La Quinta while there was still daylight. It was such a freakin novelty. The hotel was new and had only been open for a couple weeks. That meant there were few guests, and Iona and I actually got to run up and down the empty hallway without bothering anyone. I don’t know who enjoyed it more. I got to run and she was off leash. We were pathetically happy.

The FIFTH AND FINAL day actually took us into North Carolina. I actually wanted to burst into tears as Iona stood peeing for the first time in our new state. We actually made it. And a year later, we are still here. Plastic house and mosquitoes be damned; we are still here.