driving from sussex nj to murphy nc soon. taking interstate 78 to 81. going through pa and wv to nc. where can i get good stuff, where can i start getting the good stuff like nu grape abd sundrop.

81 will take you through the heart of RC Winchester territory - one of the few non-Pepsi distributors of Mountain Dew left in the country.

Johnson City TN is home to Tri-City Beverage. They bottle NuGrape. All-American also carries Sundrop in that area.

Cheerwined is very familiar with this area - hopefully he'll chime in and offer some advice on where to look.

Ummm, NC? You gotta go to West Jefferson! Little off the beaten path, but depending on how far you come down 81, it's probably only 50 miles or so off the interstate at some point.

Cheer-wined will probably be able to tell you exactly what roads to take. Check out Dr. Galaga's site for a list of what WJ has http://www.glassbottlesoda.org/bottl...efferson.shtml Just don't clean the place out I'll likely be stopping at the warehouse myself in a few weeks.

And coming through Pa, you will not be too far from Catawissa http://www.glassbottlesoda.org/bottlers/catawissa.shtml

i see three options
1. I-81/I-75 to Cleveland TN then across US 64 to Murphy (approach from west)
2. I-81 to Abingdon VA then across to WJ, if you have lots of time and don't mind the twisty mountain passes
3. I-81 to I-26, past Asheville, the across US 64 to Murphy (approach from east)

Option 1 takes you through more All-American territory in east TN. You also get to see the Johnston Coke plant in Cleveland. See my post from 10-8-06 re: the tri-city area of TN. You can find a lot of longnecks in Abingdon VA. If you decide to go as far as Chattanooga, that is Coke United territory and they occasionally have odd stuff.

Option 2, if you want to go to WJ:
You can get all the Tri-Cities Bev. stuff (Nugrape, Nesbitts, Dr Enuff, TC's) at DPWJ. If you decide to visit WJ be prepared for long drives on very crooked roads through the mountains. You can take US 58 east from I-81 @ Abingdon VA and and then south on US 16 from Mouth of Wilson to West Jefferson. Check weather first because the mountain passes especially White Top in VA can get slick in November.

I would not recommend trying to cross the mountains on either US 421 or US 321 from TN into NC at this time of year unless you are taking it in the daytime. 20+ miles of hairpin turns, on unfamiliar roads, in darkness wouldn't be great fun. Oh, and did I mention the critters in the road?

From WJ to Murphy - well that's gonna be a challenge time-wise any way you look at it. Either more roads through the mountains or zig zag down to I-40, west to Asheville then south to Murphy.

Option 3 takes you through Bristol, Johnson City and Asheville. An easier ride but you'll need to look for the sodas, they won't just jump out at you like here in WJ.

If you want to buy in volume you need to go to WJ. If you want to find small quantities of different stuff, any of those options would work.

Hope this helps.

Wow Cheer-wined I think that anybody in the whole universe would be able to get around this area after reading these directions. That's awesome that you know so much about getting around and how to get to places like this. West Jefferson is a place I'd love to visit one day.

If you are planning on going to West Jefferson from I-81, I have one piece of advice for you: DO NOT take U.S. 58 to Mouth of Wilson, VA! I have been on many roads for many miles, and I can honestly tell you that U.S. 58 between Damascus and Mouth of Wilson is the longest, curviest road I have EVER been on. The better way to go is to take U.S. 21 South into North Carolina and then take U.S. 221 South into West Jefferson.

ha! you ain't been around this neck o' the woods much if you think that's the curviest route. If you leave I-81/77 at US 21 you go through ABC territory, less interesting than the AABC territory around Abingdon.

Cheer-wined, how is 421 west from Greensboro to North Wilkesboro? I'll be coming from Halifax county Virginia. Rather than going the route I chose last time, Virginia 40 to 58 to 221, I'd like to find something a bit less winding.

01GTB, U.S. 421 runs parallel with Interstate 40 from Greensboro to Winston-Salem, and then it's still a fairly straight four lane to North Wilkesboro. You will have no problems there!

Thanks alot!