1/4, Mile 892.2, 8:45 AM

After a few hours sleep and a few cans of Dr. Pepper, we are heading back to the 'Burg. At this point, our ETA is 10:45 PM EST.

-Tom

1/4, Mile 1000.0, 10:19 AM

In Columbia, Mississippi, Silver Fox hits the 1,000 mile mark.

-Tom

1/4, Mile 1122.4, 12:50 PM

Ate lunch at Subway/BK in a one-horse town (Livingston) somewhere in West Alabama. We thought about using all of our drink cups to fill up our cooler with ice, but we ultimately decided to shell out the $2 for a bag of it. We're doing driver shifts of about three hours or so to hopefully reduce the strain. Joe is currently behind the wheel of the newly-christened Midnight Turkey, and Tom is commanding the Silver Fox. After a lengthy driver exchange, we are back on the road. Our new ETA in B'burg is 10:52 PM EST.

-Bret

1/4, Mile 1275.9, 3:04 PM

Hysteria borne of boredom has set in! At this point, the only world we know is that of the open road. Spirits are still high, but that's only because we've lost all sense of time or direction. Well, no, it's not that bad. We've been able to break up the monotony of Alabama pretty well, with stories and songs and Zany Tales, a.k.a. Mad Libs.

This has been an excellent trip, despite the outcome of the game. Tom and I have discovered that our singing voices are just about completely shot, but that hasn't stopped us from crooning along to the songs we know. Rachel's a capella mix was crucial for letting us get some car dance moves in, but when we tried to show off for Midnight Eagle Turkey, Matt thought we were trying to pass him and gave us a colorful gesture to express his frustration. It was a fun chase. That was a few hundred miles ago. We'll check back in when we do another driver switch-off.

-Bret

1/4, Mile 1302.7, 3:26 PM

60 MPH average => 833 miles total => 833-410 = 423 => 423 / 60 = 7.05 hours

0.05 hrs = 3 minutes => 7 hours, 3 minutes from 3:26 PM = 10:29, or approximately 10:30 CST.

New ETA: 11:30 PM EST.

-Silver Fox's Navigational Computer

1/4, Mile 1323.4, 3:44 PM

Tom's going to go pee, and we're stopping at a Zaxby's in Ft. Payne, AL to switch drivers and keep moving. The only way we can shave time off our ETA is by stopping less. We'll see how it works out. Morale is high!

P.S. Ft. Payne is the official sock capital of the world.

-Bret

1/4, Mile 1333.3, 4:04 PM

I'm pretending to write in the journal for a picture ... It's not working ... still trying ... it worked!

-Rachel

1/4, Mile 1417.2, 6:24 PM

Oh my! What is that smell? Team Sugar Bowl, on the homestretch of their voyage, is nearly asphyxiated. But they persevere.

-Tom

1/4, Mile 1500.0, 7:38 PM

Tennessee smells really bad. Almost back to the Old Dominion.

-Tom

1/4, Mile 1503.9, 8:20 PM

We just finished up what should be our final gas/food/driver switch stop. Tom and Matt will be finishing up the trip for the final stretch. We had some Wendy's and we're good to go! Let me also make this clear: we've all clearly lost our minds, if the insane laughter over the last few hours and at dinner is any indication. It's all good, though, because we're in the home stretch now (the last 300 miles or so). We've got the USC-Oklahoma Orange Bowl on the radi-i-o, so we should be set. Did you know that Reggie Bush has the same last name as the President?

-Bret

1/4, Mile 1717.5, 11:33 PM

Home sweet Blacksburg! It's never looked so pretty! Thanks for a good one, everybody!

-Bret