Our Journey South

We were able to leave on a timely basis. Only a small delay getting onto I 95. Once we were in range of New York City, I picked up a station that does the traffic every 10 minutes. As all the Hudson River crossings were in decent shape, I choose to use The Cross Bronx Expressway and the George Washington Bridge. It is the most direct way. AAA does not recommend this route due to the uncertainty of traffic congestion. We sailed across never dropping below 40 mph. The day was without problems and we arrived in Exmore, Virginia in a timely manner.I like to go down the Delmarva for several reasons. It avoids D. C. and we like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The hotel also takes dogs for a small up charge per pet. That first night we went to a diner adjacent to the motel. I had a roast turkey dinner. The food was very good and I like the stuffing. It had an interesting flavor. By 11 PM I felt like I was on speed or something. This feeling got worse during the night and I was worried about my health and then could Carol drive my truck with confidence. By morning I felt better and although I was tired and a little shaky, we set out on our second day. I must have been allergic to a spice.

We were on the bridge within 30 minutes . Such a beautiful view. the bay was vivid blue with a gentle chop. The sport fishermen's boats were bobbing on the water as the anglers fished. It must be a good spot as there were a lot of boats near and under the bridges. For those not familiar with the bridges, there are two bridges of two lanes, one southbound bridge, one northbound. However the tunnels are only two lanes wide. Traffic slims down to one lane each way. The tunnels are needed so the Navy can enter and exit the base. The rest area has recently been remodeled and the restaurant is gorgeous. We will plan to eat there when northbound again. The downside to this route is getting back to I 95. Most of the route is rural over SR 58. Once on I 95 we were able to make good time. In South Carolina we hit three violent rain storms and when we crossed into Georgia another. We arrived at the motel and found it without power. The whole area was without including all traffic lights. The desk clerk had our key prepared so we went to the room and someone was already in the room. Once it was fixed , we walked the dogs, and then Carol and I went to visit close friends and have dinner. We arrived in the pouring rain and later drove back in the pouring rain.

The next morning was sunny and dry. The free breakfast was decent and we drove South into Florida. We stopped at the visitor center. They have orange and grapefruit juice for the weary traveler. Just before Jacksonville proper we got on I 295 towards I 10 west. Traffic came to a halt three miles shy of our exit. As we moved slowly along we could see about eight Florida State Trooper cars blocking the right lane. Shortly we could see a badly smashed pickup truck against a tree about 50 feet from the highway. I could see that the truck was a mess and as we passed we saw that the cab had been covered with yellow tarpaulins. It was a sobering moment and we were both thankful that our trip had been uneventful thus far. Our route takes us through Tallahassee and we always stop at Joylene's (Carol's daughter) home. We arrived and were welcomed warmly. The older children gave us hugs. Connor now is walking and not so very interested in being held. We were surprised when we were presented with a wonderful grandparents card and a special lunch. Hughie made us pear tarts for our desert. We were thrilled with our stop and reluctantly said our good byes and headed to Panama City Beach.

As soon as we opened the door, we knew something was wrong. The A/C had a failure. We did get a technician to come but the needed parts were not available until the next morning. We all spent the night in a local hotel. The A/C is now working with a stop gap measure that may last a week, month or years. We have opted to run it as is until it dies. we will deal with it then.

Bottom line, we are home in Florida, its been three days and we are still unpacking and putting stuff away. I have no clue where my mailbox key is nor do I know where the year pass to state parks is. Carol knows where her embroidery hoops are. They are in a closet up North.