My Senior Moment -Junk Journaling on A Coast to Coast Roadtrip from California to New York -- Part 2

 Part 2 - Little Rock to Jersey City

Day 7, Sept. 20, 2026 A Day in Little Rock, Arkansas

Growing up right outside Little Rock makes coming back feel special, especially since my daughter Nicole now lives in her great-grandmother’s historic home. My brother, Mike, and his family are also nearby, so we always have a full house and plenty of loved ones to catch up with.

We kicked off Day 7 early, hitting a park close to Nicole's house to beat the morning heat. From there, a busy itinerary awaited us. First up was a stop at Nicole's booth (at Treasure Island Antique) to check out all her wonderful treasures for sale, followed by a fun lunch at the Purple Cow, where I couldn't resist indulging in some delicious sweet potato fries.

Later, we gathered with family: my brother Mike, his wife Michele, my niece Caroline, and her wife Kim, along with the two cutest little ones around, Eli and Sunny. Watching the kids play was the absolute highlight of the day. It was wonderful to see everyone looking so well and feeling so happy.

Junk journaling got a whole lot more fun with Nicole by my side. She had all kinds of craft supplies ready to go—including a neat little portable printer that let us print photos straight from our phones right into our pages!

Nicole, James, and I wrapped up the evening with a casual, delicious buffet dinner at Tokyo House. Of course, the night ended the way most travel nights do—reorganizing the car again and leaving three grocery bags of extra stuff behind at Nicole's house. Tomorrow morning, we'll pack up the "mini bitchy" and head out for Nashville!

Day 7 Stats: 12,152 steps (4.20 miles)

Day 8, Sept 21, 2026 - Little Rock, Ar. to Nashville Tn.

We started the day early with a quick little walk, while Nicole proved herself a master at packing suitcases, snacks, and supplies into the car. We headed straight to Enterprise to get Nicole officially added as a driver of the "mini bitchy," and then we were finally off toward Nashville!

The drive through Memphis always brings back a lot of memories. When I was a young girl making our way to Memphis, there were still slave quarters visible from the highway. I will never forget those images or how they made that little girl feel. Even though those buildings are long gone, the feeling remains after all these years.

We soon made our way to the Memphis Visitor Center, which couldn't have been more timely since I was doing a pretty serious pee-pee dance! The center was filled with cool Memphis music memorabilia. We walked around taking selfies and pictures, giggling, and feeling the absolute thrill of the open road.

Next, we stopped at the iconic pyramid building right as you cross the Mississippi River. I've always loved that building, and now it houses a massive Bass Pro Shops pyramid. Wowza! It was huge—I'm pretty sure they had just about anything you could ever use for outdoor sports, plus indoor aquariums—and we grabbed lunch at Wahlburgers right there in the middle of it all.

After leaving the pyramid, Nicole took a turn behind the wheel. Given that Nicole is taller than I am, she quickly found the driver's seat uncomfortable, and I was miserable in the passenger seat! It took all of 20 minutes for us to realize we needed to go back to our tried-and-true setup for the rest of the trip: I drove, she navigated, and I fell even more in love with that little car.

From there, we raced the clock to make a timely arrival at our Nashville hotel, The Soundry. We checked in just in time to head out for a very special event: getting to hear blues musician Patrick Sweany live. Phil and I first met Patrick when we were living in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in the late nineties, and our whole family has enjoyed his music ever since. This was the first time I'd heard him play in over 20 years!

After checking into our room, we grabbed food from a local taco truck, Cheap Charlies Tacos, which happily let us bring our dinner right into the bar, The 5 Spot, where Patrick was playing. He and his band, The Tigerbeats, were already on stage when we arrived. After the set, we went up to talk to him—it was so wonderful seeing and listening to him again.

Back at the hotel, I tried to make up for my step goals by exploring the courtyard, finding some stairs, and walking up and down the hallways. To finish the day, we both propped ourselves up in bed to work on our junk journals, which somehow got more fun with each passing day.

To make it even better, James (Nicole's boyfriend) stepped in as our official judge for the entries. It gave him a chance to see what we were up to and feel a little included, and James has a subtle, dry humor that I enjoy very much. Naturally, that day he declared Nicole's entry the winner!

Day 8 Stats: 10,685 steps, 3.76 miles

Day 9, Sept. 22, 2026 - Nashville Tennessee. to Roanoke, Virginia 

Rising early to sneak in a morning walk at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park was such a treat—the park was packed with rich history and plenty of stairs to get our steps in! Afterward, we headed over to the Nashville Farmers' Market for breakfast, a little shopping, and our signature round of silly selfies. Driving down Broadway at 10:00 in the morning was an experience all on its own; live music was pouring out of every little bar on the street. It turned out Dolly Parton was being honored that day, so at every single turn, you could hear a sweet Dolly tune playing. And rightfully so! Nashville made a truly wonderful impression on us.

From there, I finally got to experience my very first Buc-ee's! Whoa, talk about massive—it was huge! There were aisles upon aisles of every snack imaginable, with people wheeling around shopping carts loaded to the brim. We grabbed a quick lunch, and I had a mouthwatering barbecue brisket that was just YUM. (Though during our nightly junk journal judging later, I unfortunately got docked points for not spelling Buc-ee's correctly. Dang it!)

The drive from Nashville to Roanoke turned out to be a long one. We hit some heavy construction, dinner didn't come easily, and Nicole ended up serenading me with her newly invented hit song, "Dinner at Wal-Mart," after we stopped just to grab something quick so we wouldn't starve. That impromptu tune instantly became our theme song for the evening and is still making me giggle!

We finally arrived at the Spark by Hilton Roanoke Civic Center later than anticipated—tired and ready to crash. But not before finishing our junk journals, of course! I lost to Nicole yet again, mostly due to my spelling mishaps. If anything, it's just made me more fiercely competitive. I honestly love putting the journal together; it’s such a fun way to jog my memory after being out on the open road for so long. We ended up getting a wonderful night's sleep, knowing that the next morning we’d be meeting my dear friend Chris for breakfast, who drove all the way up from Charlottesville just to see us!

Day 9 Stats:  13,053 steps, 4.23 miles

Day 10, Sept. 23, 2026 - Roanoke, Virginia to Jersey City, New Jersey

This is going to be one of those days I will never forget for as long as I live. It was, without a doubt, a day of all days!

It started off in the most lovely way imaginable. I kicked off the morning with my dear friend Chris, taking a long walk around Roanoke. Chris and I have been taking walks together since the 1980s, and there is something so grounding about catching up with a lifelong friend as you wander a charming city. After our walk, Nicole and I threw our things together and met Chris at a fantastic local spot called Little Green Hive. I had a quiche that was out-of-this-world good—I can't recommend this place enough if you're ever in Roanoke!

Right next door was a store Nicole had her eye on: the Mast General Store. Stepping inside felt like walking into an old-fashioned department store that had a little bit of everything. The staff was wonderfully friendly, the merchandise was displayed so creatively, and we all walked out with a few fun little treasures. But all too soon, it was time to say a bittersweet goodbye to Chris and get back on the open road.

As we were driving, Nicole casually asked if I wanted to go see a Natural Bridge. Sign me up! We stopped to stretch our legs at Virginia's Natural Bridge State Park, which was breathtaking. As luck would have it, there was a ranger meeting going on that morning—and let's just say there were a lot of very cute people looking exceptionally sharp in their ranger outfits. I'm just saying, I am certainly not too old to appreciate the natural beauty of the park or the rangers. Ha!

By lunchtime, we spotted a darling pink building with a pink Cadillac parked right out front. Perfection! The Pink Cadillac Diner completely delivered with ultimate comfort food, pictures of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, and a heavy dose of pink, pink, and more pink.

And then... then began what I can only describe as a drive. Well, let's just be honest: it was not a pleasant drive.

We cut through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania on our way to New Jersey. While I loved catching glimpses of the roadside sights, visitor centers, and all the rest, Hwy 81 and I were in a deeply rocky relationship. Construction, frayed nerves, and trucks, trucks, and more trucks—I have genuinely never seen so many semi-trucks on a highway in my life! They were whirling all around our little "mini bitchy" like angry hornets.

As the sun went down, the highways grew increasingly entangled, crowded, and frantic. Before I knew it, I was on a massive freeway hurtling toward New York City, and you could feel it. I was sandwiched between towering multi-level highways with traffic streaming in every direction at warp speed. Nicole was an absolute rock star, keeping our energy calm and guiding me through the white-knuckle lane changes. At one point, I looked over and watched a Suburban-sized vehicle literally bounce over a median barrier just to change freeways. Absolute, crazy-city-driving chaos!

Of course, the adventure didn't stop there. After a couple of "getting lost" detours, we pulled into a gas station in New Jersey—only to remember that they have to pump your gas here. Talk about a rookie moment! I haven't had someone pump my gas for me in decades. I pulled up way too far from the pump, wobbled all over the place coming off the freeway, and well... I'm just Linda! For those of you who know me, I know you can picture the exact spectacle I made. Thankfully, the kindest young man helped me out, completely steadying my nerves for the final hour of driving to our hotel.

Winding our way through the side streets of Jersey City to find our hotel parking lot was a whole sensory experience. Scooters, bikes, cabs, cars, and pedestrians were everywhere. Lights, storefronts, blaring music, street lamps, and sirens—I was definitely a little overstimulated, but I'm laughing just thinking about it now!

We finally found our home for the next two nights: the Canopy by Hilton, Jersey City. The catch? Valet parking. We were about as unequipped for a skyscraper hotel arrival as humanly possible, wrestling an unorganized mountain of suitcases, a cooler, random bags, hats, and road-trip debris onto a single luggage cart.

The crowning moment of the trip happened in the elevator on our way up. We squeezed in alongside another woman—someone who looked like she might naturally be quite stoic and proper. She took one look at us, looking like a modern-day cast of The Beverly Hillbillies with a cart overflowing on all sides, and she just cracked up laughing all the way to the top floor. Her reaction brought me so much joy. After a brief struggle getting the overflowing cart down the hall (bless the random stranger who stepped in to help us wedge it into the room!), we flung open our door and gasped with delight.

Our window view of the sparkling city life right outside was incredible. The hotel itself is artsy, playful, and buzzing with energy.

And, naturally, we capped off the night the only right way: with our nightly junk journaling. I had an absolute ball putting today's page together. At the bottom of the page, I decided to pull a fast one and offered our official judge—James—a $5 bribe. And yes, I won the contest that night! Ha! (Though James firmly noted that the bribe wasn't officially considered... I still paid up anyway.)

Day 10 Stats: A lot of miles, a whole lot of grit, and a city adventure I will never, ever forget.  15,529 steps, 4.70 miles

Stay tuned Part 3 to follow soon!