Long day on the road.

We left around 8:00 this morning and it was pretty chilly, but we were dressed for it.  We stopped at the Jefferson House restaurant in Jefferson for breakfast.  We then left and instead of following the printed directions from Google, we decided to use the GPS, which we thought would map the same route.  However, it took us a completely different route, more easterly and southerly, through Commerce and Elberton, GA, then on into South Carolina where we stopped at Jitters Cafe in Clinton, SC.  It was a nice combination lunch and gift shop - good sandwiches and friendly people.  Some guy from Pennsylvania and Beaufort, SC started talking to me and he has a TR3!  We stopped for gas and a milk shake in Lincolnton and continued on to Mt. Airy.  The route we took was longer and not very scenic.  Really not happy with the Garmin!  We were expecting to travel some on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We will go back a different route, on a more northerly route, traveling some on the Parkway.  What should have been a 6-7 hr. drive turned out to be more like 10 hr.!!  So, we checked in the Hampton Inn, I cleaned the tar and asphalt that we picked up when we had to drive along an area where they were paving the road.  After that, we walked to a Chili's for dinner.  Then, back to the hotel where we crashed.  Tomorrow we'll explore downtown Mt. Airy and all things Andy Griffith before heading to the host hotel a few miles down the road in Dobson to check in for the show.