Last weekend I took another NC trip, and while I did go to Smithfield's Chicken-N-BBQ (SCNB), I ended up doing this one on my own to escape the dreary weather in the northeast. I had a rental again because my car was in the shop due to my driver's side door being repaired after it was hit by a cop a few weeks ago around 3 AM.
I started Friday afternoon by taking I-81 SB to I-581/US 220 SB in Roanoke and stayed at a hotel along VA 419 just west of US 220. I ended up getting dinner from a chain restaurant in the area called Macado's, a place I ate at occasionally in Blacksburg during my college days at Virginia Tech.
On Saturday morning I immediately took US 220 SB into NC staying on it until it splits from I-73. I got off of I-73 onto NC 68 (turning around at Triad Center Drive just north of I-40/US 421) and finished my clinch of NC 68 once I got back to the northern terminus of I-73. I turned around and went back to NC 68 to get a little more NC 65 before taking I-73 SB all the way to Rockingham (and finally seeing US 70 signage in reference to Wendover Avenue, better late than ever I guess for NCDOT). Once on the Rockingham bypass, I continued past the end of I-73/I-74 onto I-74/US 74 and then clinched US 74 BUS (Rockingham, NC) and got lunch at SCNB along the way. I then continued west on US 74 and turned around at NC 145 to take US 1 NB to the south end of US 220, and followed US 220 (also taking NC 73 east to I-73/I-74 before turning around), US 220 ALT, and US 220 BUS to the north end of US 220 BUS at I-73 (Exit 86)/US 220 (even finding the Richard Petty Museum because why not). I turned around again at I-73 Exit 79 once I-74 joined, and then took I-74 west to I-40 in Winston-Salem where I stayed for the night by I-40 Exit 188. As a result of this trip, I now have I-73 and US 220 fully clinched.
On Sunday I tried to get home as quickly as possible due to concerns with severe weather, but I did take US 421 SB into Winston-Salem and took NC/VA 8 north to I-81 in Christiansburg (clinching also NC 89 from US 311 to NC 8 NB plus VA 8 BUS, US 58 BUS, and SR 1025 in Stuart along the way with a sighting of the Wood Brothers Racing Museum as well). I generally followed I-81 back to Harrisburg from there only dealing with drizzle after the heavy rain south of Stuart in the morning. I also checked both ends of WV 243 on this trip again seeing no new signage yet again.
Clinched: US 220 (NC-full clinch), I-73, NC 68, US 74 BUS (Rockingham, NC), US 220 ALT (Candor, NC), US 220 BUS (Asheboro, NC), VA 8, US 58 BUS (Stuart, VA), VA 8 BUS (Stuart)
New Mileage: NC 65, I-74 (NC), US 74 (NC), US 1 (NC), NC 73, NC 731, NC 134, NC 8, NC 89, NC 704 (super short NC 8 concurrency)