Stuck in the Driveway, Off to Florida Again, Wormsloe, Pennekamp, NAS-KW problem, Key West Day One (posted from Boyd’s Campground, Key West)
(this post covers 13-20 February)
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Tuesday, 20 February-
After breakfast we decided we had better make tracks for Key West so we can check in early at the Naval Air Station. I first needed to get to a wi-fi connection to activate Labashi’s new Tracfone and add minutes to it. I had seen an ad for the Key Largo Coffee Shop said they have wi-fi so we stopped there for a coffee and did the phone activation and picked up our email. We then turned south for Key West and arrived at the Naval Air Station around 1400. And that’s when we ran into trouble. It seems the RV park people have been telling DoD civilian retirees they can stay there and have been making reservations for them but when you attempt to get a visitor’s pass from the pass office, they won’t let you on base. The supervisor of the pass office explained that the policy is that only DoD civilian retirees who worked at that base could use the facility and apparently the RV park folks have been ignoring the rule. That left us with a problem. We started calling state park facilities and then commercial campgrounds and they were booked up. We finally found one which would take us--- but it was 23 miles from Key West and the site would cost us $93 for the night. We had tried Boyd’s in Key West and there had been no answer but we were close by so just drove to it. There we found a bargain— $60 a night for a tent site. We took it and can only argue that given the free nights at Wal-Marts and the Corps of Engineers site will still keep us under our target average of $20 per night.
Well, that changed the whole idea. We had been planning to stay at the NAS park for $7 a night and here we are having to spend $60 for one night. We had hoped to spend a leisurely few days in Key West and leave only when we had seen everything and were tired of it but now that has changed.
We were bummed by the bad news but decided to make the best of it. We drove into Key West and parked in the northen end of the city near a city park. We unloaded the bikes and rode into town via the back streets, a very pleasant little jaunt. We soon found the Hemingway House and took a nice tour there. We had been here many years ago only to find it closed for some maintenance operation so it was nice to finally see it.
Afterwards we rode the bikes in to Mallory Square and walked around that area for a bit before finding a very nice Cuban restaurant with outdoor tables just off the Square. We had a wonderful dinner of Cuban specialties plus a half-carafe of sangria and then I had a caipirinha (a Brazilian favorite) and Labashi had a mojito. We cycled back to Mocha Joe through the dark side streets of the west side and only got lost once.
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Monday, 19 February-
Last night was a cold one—27 degrees. We awoke to a heavy coating of frost yet the fishermen came out anyway. I heard the first around 0600 and by the time we left at 0730 there were at least a dozen trucks and boat trailers parked near us. As we drove out we saw one boat in the water surrounded by rising mists—and it was no more than 30 degrees then. I’m impressed!
We headed south on route 78 for an hour or so until we came to the Seminole Indian Reservation. Labashi had just finished saying she’d like to stop at a museum or cultural center if there was one in the area when we came upon one. We checked the hours of operation and it was due to open in a half-hour. We parked in the museum lot and had breakfast while we waited.
This turned out to be a very good one. We first saw a six-screen orientation film which discussed the history of the Creeks and Seminoles and the Seminole Wars, then moved on to the Seminole community today. It consists of some 3000 people now and is self-sufficient after becoming the first Indian tribe to host gaming starting in the 70’s. After the film we learned about the traditional Seminole way of life via a series of very detailed and very lifelike dioramas with life-size manikins. We’ve never seen such realistic ones. You could see the individual muscles and veins and every hair was an individual hair, not a representation. Afterwards we walked the mile-and-a-half boardwalk into the cypress swamp. When we arrived, the morning was cold and windy but by the time we started the boardwalk trail, it was in the high Sixties and sunny. We nevertheless decided not to take either the airboat ride or swamp buggy; we’d save that for a later time when the wildlife would be out and about.
We continued south through Homestead (and there saw a “DQ Grill and Chill” sign) and finally hit Key Largo by mid-afternoon. We had been planning to drive all the way to Key West and stay at the Naval Air Station’s RV park but couldn’t raise anyone on the phone there. Since we were just them coming up on John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, we decided to drop in there and see what they could tell us about camping in the state parks—just in case we couldn’t confirm that we’d be able to get in at NAS Key West on late arrival. I had checked the state park reservation web site weeks ago and had seen the state park campsites had all been booked solid through February and March but many state parks hold back some sites for walk-ins. As we approached the gate, we saw a sign warning us that the campground was full but we’ve learned to ask anyway. And we got lucky—a site had just opened up a half-hour ago. Cost with tax was $32.49.
We had stayed at Pennekamp back in the early Eighties when we were there for scuba trips so it was nice to see the park again. The park is pretty much the same but the campground now has nicer facilities. We took showers and then went for a leisurely walk to check out the salt-water aquarium, the canoe and kayak rental facilities, the dive shop, the beaches, and the nature trail. After supper I became antsy and took a little walk in the nice sixty-degree night and when I returned to the van I talked Labashi into going out once again, this time to look for the Southern Cross. It turned out to be too cloudy in the South to see the Southern Cross but we had a pleasant night-time stroll.
Since we had a site with RV hookups I decided to plug in our extension cable and found their distribution box is wired incorrectly. I was able to use an adapter to plug into a higher-amperage plug normally used by the big RVs though.
We read until 2200 and then fell asleep to the pleasant sound of tree-frogs chirping away.
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Sunday, 18 February-
It rained hard for an hour or so last night but the overnight temperature was much better--- 43 degrees—and by 0800 was up to 50. We shopped for a few necessities at Wal-mart and then headed south on US19. We wanted to once again go into the Ocala National Forest and were very happy to once again cruise it’s sandy forest roads. We had stopped at the Salt Springs visitor center and asked about dispersed camping sites. They are reported to all be open but when we asked where the Rainbow People are this year, our older ranger-lady told us (in disgusted tones) that they’re at Farles Prairie (our favorite campsite last winter) and we shouldn’t go there--- we’re much too clean for that group. Well, of course that meant we had to go see the Rainbows. If you read about our trip last year you may remember we first learned of the fearsome Rainbows and their gypsy ways. We later learned the official Rainbow Gathering happens the week and weekends around Valentines Day but many people attending the Gathering are there as much as a month before and are still in the area a month after the Gathering—and those are the folks to watch out for.
As we turned off the main road onto the four-mile sand road back to Farle’s Prarie a young woman was just pulling up to the stop sign. She was driving a pickup loaded with full bags of trash. As we caught each other’s eye, she flashed the peace-sign and Labashi had the presence of mind to flash back a peace sign (I just waved). AHA—we now have the Rainbow pass-symbol!
We soon started seeing vehicles on this sand road—more than we’ve seen before back here—and then we saw cars parked along the road at least a half-mile before the campground. The Rainbows! As we passed people walking our way, each would flash us the peace sign and we’d dutifully respond. When we finally reached the campground, it was jammed with people—mostly twenty-somethings but a few older long-bearded hippies too. It was around noon and they just looked like a bunch of kids who had had a rough night and had just gotten up. They were a little out of place back there in the boonies and were definitely trying to figure out how to warm up—many only wore tee shirts or long-sleeved shirts and today’s temperature stayed in the Fifties and it was quite windy.
We decided not to press our luck by stopping and only turned around in the parking lot and left--- but now we’ve seen them. And somehow lived to tell the tale.
We continued down US19 through Eustis and then plotted a course for the Keys. It’s still too cold and windy to stay here! In fact it was nicer on our walk in Savannah yesterday.
We continued down through Lake Wales and worked our way over to Lake Okeechobee. We followed the west shore road to what was supposed to be a free Army Corps of Engineers campground along the Indian Prairie Canal. We parked there beside several other camper vehicles in what just looked like a parking lot for the boat ramp. But we’ve seen other Corps of Engineers campsites which are just that so we thought nothing of it. While eating supper I was looking at the other campers and realized one looks familiar. It’s a fifth-wheel camper towing a larger utility trailer. Is that Tie-Dye’s rig? We met Tie-Dye last year at Farle’s Prairie. He’s the guy who has a stock of ladies’ white shifts in his utility trailer and he makes his living by tie-dying them and selling them at folk festivals and music festivals. A bit later I saw him walking so we walked over and said hello. He told us he’s preparing to move out because the campground has been closed and we all have to vacate the boat launch parking area by tomorrow. That’s when I noticed a roadway leading back along the canal. It’s gated now but that’s where the campground was. We walked back to the old campground and saw that the new owners of this area, the South Florida Water Conservation District, has posted No Camping signs and has girdled all the trees. Tie-Dye says they are due to come in tomorrow and clear the trees.
Tie-Dye says he’s not sure where he’ll go. Perhaps to a canal (C65) near Cornwall where you can stay for up to seven days at $5 per night or perhaps to Okalusky (sp?) Slough, a state forest area with similar camping possibilities.
After supper we walked back through the campground and then spent the evening blogging, reading, and listening to a CBC podcast.
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Saturday, 17 February –
This morning we awoke to with a temperature of 27-degrees--- not exactly the balmy South we were hoping for. We had a decent night in the Wal-mart parking lot though it was a bit noisy. The cold temps put a bit of a damper on the noise, though. Even if we’d get some thump-a-dump rice rocket nearby it would only stay for ten or fifteen minutes and then move on. This particular lot had a sign prohibiting trucks and overnight parking but we checked with the customer service desk and they told us it’s ok—the ban is not enforced.
We headed south on I-95 and were soon through South Carolina. We listened to more “This Week in the North” episodes to pass the time, including a fascinating one about a man who last week became the first Canadian to reach Antarctica’s ‘Point of Inaccessibility’ (I didn’t even know that existed, did you?). We also saw a new instant-classic in roadside signs along the way. Five miles north of the South Carolina-Georgia border is a billboard advertising the “Squat-and-Gobble II”, a local convenience store. The billboard shows a cartoon of a woman entering a rest-room door on the left side and a rack of chips and other snacks on the right side to make sure you get the point. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
It was about the time we hit the Georgia border that Labashi decided she wanted to drop into Savannah and see an historic site called ‘Wormsloe’. This plantation was settled by a young man named Noble Jones of London. He was among the first settlers in this area in the mid-1730’s and was a jack-of-all-trades. His home was one of a series of fortified homes built to guard against invasion by the Spanish, who were attempting to limit English claims in the New World. The Jones home was built of tabby, a mix of oyster shell, lime, sand, and water. We learned there are no naturally-occuring lime rocks in the area so lime is made by heating oyster shells. Oyster shells also serve as a filler in this poor-man’s concrete. Most of the Jones home is long gone but the tabby walls of the home and the surrounding fortifications still stand today.
We also walked the nature trail and came upon a re-enactor in a small clearing. He taught us about his home built of wattle-and-daub, his garden, his tools, and his smoothbore flintlock gun.
We ran into heavy traffic trying to get back to I-95 but that only took about a half-hour to get through. We set our sights on Palatka, FL because we know there’s a Wal-mart there with a Chili’s restaurant in the parking lot and Labashi wanted some fajitas tonight. Our walk in Savannah delayed us a bit but also relaxed us so we didn’t mind driving on through until 2000 in order to make it to Palatka. After dinner and a glass or three of box wine (the new Franzia ‘Old World Classics Rhine’ wine is wonderful!), we turned in for the night and read.
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Friday, 16 February – We’re (finally) OFF!
(written in the Wal-Mart parking lot at Lumberton, NC, (I-95 NC Exit 22)
I awoke early and started checking traffic reports and news reports right away. The I-78 closure made national news last night and I-81 is still closed from I-78 to the New York border but things appear much quieter south of us. We decided to give it a go and were in Mocha Joe and ready to roll by 0900. But we couldn’t budge—we were stuck on the ice in our own driveway! Fortunately some judicious rocking of the van worked and we were on our way. I just love the feeling when we depart on a trip—the world seems full of promise.
Looking back on today’s run, things went very well, particularly in light of our fears of ice and traffic jams. There was very little ice—only a bit in some shady spots under bridges-- and we only hit five or six slowdowns, mostly on I-95 south of DC. Traffic was heavy but moving well except for the five-to-ten-minute slowdowns. They all appeared to have been caused by fender-bender accidents or a major traffic merge. We had snow until just above Richmond and air temps are abnormally cold—only in the low 30’s.
We did 475 miles today and that’s plenty. During the last two hours of the trip we listened to two episodes of the CBC “This Week in the North” podcast about goings-on in Nunavut and the Yukon. We stopped at 1800 and had supper at a Smithfield BBQ and Chicken franchise where I had that some excellent North-Carolina-style bar-be-que (the vinegary kind with cole slaw on top). Then we did our final supplies stock-up at Wal-mart and spent the latter part of the evening blogging and reading.
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Thursday, 15 February -
We had hoped to leave today but a look at a traffic incidents map showed it’s very ugly out there. I-81 is closed north of Harrisburg from its intersection with I-78 to the New York border. I-78 is closed for 60-plus miles and hundreds of truckers and motorists have been stuck there for 24 hours. The National Guard was called out to distribute meals, blankets, and gas. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get out tomorrow though I-83 did open up. In the evening I spent an hour or so checking out traffic cams and traffic incident reports for the Baltimore and Washington areas and it looks like things are moving but with some congestion here and there and an occasional road closure due to ice.
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Wednesday, 14 February –
We’re snowed in today—or more accurately, we’re iced in. Schools and businesses are closed and I-83 northbound is closed below York. Rain started late in the day yesterday and continued for several hours as temps dropped before turning to wind-blown ice pellets for much of last night. We spent several hours digging out the driveway this afternoon and it was tough going. The top layer of snow is iced over and the crust has to be broken up to get through and then against the ground is a thick layer of very heavy slush. The going is so laborious I only cleared about a 30-foot-long, 8-foot-wide path in front of outward-facing Mocha Joe. Once it clears we’ll head out, hopefully tomorrow. Back inside I printed off geocaches in the Everglades City area and maps of several South-Florida conservation areas. This is gonna be fun!
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Tuesday, 13 February –
We spent the day continuing with preparations for our Everglades trip. By mid-day it was snowing lightly and windy. Tonight the snow is supposed to turn to rain, then to ice pellets and back to snow. If we hadn’t had to stay for our tax-prep appointment I’d have wanted to get out of Dodge—but then again we might have just ended up stranded somewhere down I-95. Besides—we’re not really ready yet. In the evening I ventured out in Cherry Larry to pick up a Valentine’s Day present for Labashi. It wasn’t bad going but things will get interesting if it ices up as predicted.
(this post covers 13-20 February)
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Tuesday, 20 February-
After breakfast we decided we had better make tracks for Key West so we can check in early at the Naval Air Station. I first needed to get to a wi-fi connection to activate Labashi’s new Tracfone and add minutes to it. I had seen an ad for the Key Largo Coffee Shop said they have wi-fi so we stopped there for a coffee and did the phone activation and picked up our email. We then turned south for Key West and arrived at the Naval Air Station around 1400. And that’s when we ran into trouble. It seems the RV park people have been telling DoD civilian retirees they can stay there and have been making reservations for them but when you attempt to get a visitor’s pass from the pass office, they won’t let you on base. The supervisor of the pass office explained that the policy is that only DoD civilian retirees who worked at that base could use the facility and apparently the RV park folks have been ignoring the rule. That left us with a problem. We started calling state park facilities and then commercial campgrounds and they were booked up. We finally found one which would take us--- but it was 23 miles from Key West and the site would cost us $93 for the night. We had tried Boyd’s in Key West and there had been no answer but we were close by so just drove to it. There we found a bargain— $60 a night for a tent site. We took it and can only argue that given the free nights at Wal-Marts and the Corps of Engineers site will still keep us under our target average of $20 per night.
Well, that changed the whole idea. We had been planning to stay at the NAS park for $7 a night and here we are having to spend $60 for one night. We had hoped to spend a leisurely few days in Key West and leave only when we had seen everything and were tired of it but now that has changed.
We were bummed by the bad news but decided to make the best of it. We drove into Key West and parked in the northen end of the city near a city park. We unloaded the bikes and rode into town via the back streets, a very pleasant little jaunt. We soon found the Hemingway House and took a nice tour there. We had been here many years ago only to find it closed for some maintenance operation so it was nice to finally see it.
Afterwards we rode the bikes in to Mallory Square and walked around that area for a bit before finding a very nice Cuban restaurant with outdoor tables just off the Square. We had a wonderful dinner of Cuban specialties plus a half-carafe of sangria and then I had a caipirinha (a Brazilian favorite) and Labashi had a mojito. We cycled back to Mocha Joe through the dark side streets of the west side and only got lost once.
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Monday, 19 February-
Last night was a cold one—27 degrees. We awoke to a heavy coating of frost yet the fishermen came out anyway. I heard the first around 0600 and by the time we left at 0730 there were at least a dozen trucks and boat trailers parked near us. As we drove out we saw one boat in the water surrounded by rising mists—and it was no more than 30 degrees then. I’m impressed!
We headed south on route 78 for an hour or so until we came to the Seminole Indian Reservation. Labashi had just finished saying she’d like to stop at a museum or cultural center if there was one in the area when we came upon one. We checked the hours of operation and it was due to open in a half-hour. We parked in the museum lot and had breakfast while we waited.
This turned out to be a very good one. We first saw a six-screen orientation film which discussed the history of the Creeks and Seminoles and the Seminole Wars, then moved on to the Seminole community today. It consists of some 3000 people now and is self-sufficient after becoming the first Indian tribe to host gaming starting in the 70’s. After the film we learned about the traditional Seminole way of life via a series of very detailed and very lifelike dioramas with life-size manikins. We’ve never seen such realistic ones. You could see the individual muscles and veins and every hair was an individual hair, not a representation. Afterwards we walked the mile-and-a-half boardwalk into the cypress swamp. When we arrived, the morning was cold and windy but by the time we started the boardwalk trail, it was in the high Sixties and sunny. We nevertheless decided not to take either the airboat ride or swamp buggy; we’d save that for a later time when the wildlife would be out and about.
We continued south through Homestead (and there saw a “DQ Grill and Chill” sign) and finally hit Key Largo by mid-afternoon. We had been planning to drive all the way to Key West and stay at the Naval Air Station’s RV park but couldn’t raise anyone on the phone there. Since we were just them coming up on John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, we decided to drop in there and see what they could tell us about camping in the state parks—just in case we couldn’t confirm that we’d be able to get in at NAS Key West on late arrival. I had checked the state park reservation web site weeks ago and had seen the state park campsites had all been booked solid through February and March but many state parks hold back some sites for walk-ins. As we approached the gate, we saw a sign warning us that the campground was full but we’ve learned to ask anyway. And we got lucky—a site had just opened up a half-hour ago. Cost with tax was $32.49.
We had stayed at Pennekamp back in the early Eighties when we were there for scuba trips so it was nice to see the park again. The park is pretty much the same but the campground now has nicer facilities. We took showers and then went for a leisurely walk to check out the salt-water aquarium, the canoe and kayak rental facilities, the dive shop, the beaches, and the nature trail. After supper I became antsy and took a little walk in the nice sixty-degree night and when I returned to the van I talked Labashi into going out once again, this time to look for the Southern Cross. It turned out to be too cloudy in the South to see the Southern Cross but we had a pleasant night-time stroll.
Since we had a site with RV hookups I decided to plug in our extension cable and found their distribution box is wired incorrectly. I was able to use an adapter to plug into a higher-amperage plug normally used by the big RVs though.
We read until 2200 and then fell asleep to the pleasant sound of tree-frogs chirping away.
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Sunday, 18 February-
It rained hard for an hour or so last night but the overnight temperature was much better--- 43 degrees—and by 0800 was up to 50. We shopped for a few necessities at Wal-mart and then headed south on US19. We wanted to once again go into the Ocala National Forest and were very happy to once again cruise it’s sandy forest roads. We had stopped at the Salt Springs visitor center and asked about dispersed camping sites. They are reported to all be open but when we asked where the Rainbow People are this year, our older ranger-lady told us (in disgusted tones) that they’re at Farles Prairie (our favorite campsite last winter) and we shouldn’t go there--- we’re much too clean for that group. Well, of course that meant we had to go see the Rainbows. If you read about our trip last year you may remember we first learned of the fearsome Rainbows and their gypsy ways. We later learned the official Rainbow Gathering happens the week and weekends around Valentines Day but many people attending the Gathering are there as much as a month before and are still in the area a month after the Gathering—and those are the folks to watch out for.
As we turned off the main road onto the four-mile sand road back to Farle’s Prarie a young woman was just pulling up to the stop sign. She was driving a pickup loaded with full bags of trash. As we caught each other’s eye, she flashed the peace-sign and Labashi had the presence of mind to flash back a peace sign (I just waved). AHA—we now have the Rainbow pass-symbol!
We soon started seeing vehicles on this sand road—more than we’ve seen before back here—and then we saw cars parked along the road at least a half-mile before the campground. The Rainbows! As we passed people walking our way, each would flash us the peace sign and we’d dutifully respond. When we finally reached the campground, it was jammed with people—mostly twenty-somethings but a few older long-bearded hippies too. It was around noon and they just looked like a bunch of kids who had had a rough night and had just gotten up. They were a little out of place back there in the boonies and were definitely trying to figure out how to warm up—many only wore tee shirts or long-sleeved shirts and today’s temperature stayed in the Fifties and it was quite windy.
We decided not to press our luck by stopping and only turned around in the parking lot and left--- but now we’ve seen them. And somehow lived to tell the tale.
We continued down US19 through Eustis and then plotted a course for the Keys. It’s still too cold and windy to stay here! In fact it was nicer on our walk in Savannah yesterday.
We continued down through Lake Wales and worked our way over to Lake Okeechobee. We followed the west shore road to what was supposed to be a free Army Corps of Engineers campground along the Indian Prairie Canal. We parked there beside several other camper vehicles in what just looked like a parking lot for the boat ramp. But we’ve seen other Corps of Engineers campsites which are just that so we thought nothing of it. While eating supper I was looking at the other campers and realized one looks familiar. It’s a fifth-wheel camper towing a larger utility trailer. Is that Tie-Dye’s rig? We met Tie-Dye last year at Farle’s Prairie. He’s the guy who has a stock of ladies’ white shifts in his utility trailer and he makes his living by tie-dying them and selling them at folk festivals and music festivals. A bit later I saw him walking so we walked over and said hello. He told us he’s preparing to move out because the campground has been closed and we all have to vacate the boat launch parking area by tomorrow. That’s when I noticed a roadway leading back along the canal. It’s gated now but that’s where the campground was. We walked back to the old campground and saw that the new owners of this area, the South Florida Water Conservation District, has posted No Camping signs and has girdled all the trees. Tie-Dye says they are due to come in tomorrow and clear the trees.
Tie-Dye says he’s not sure where he’ll go. Perhaps to a canal (C65) near Cornwall where you can stay for up to seven days at $5 per night or perhaps to Okalusky (sp?) Slough, a state forest area with similar camping possibilities.
After supper we walked back through the campground and then spent the evening blogging, reading, and listening to a CBC podcast.
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Saturday, 17 February –
This morning we awoke to with a temperature of 27-degrees--- not exactly the balmy South we were hoping for. We had a decent night in the Wal-mart parking lot though it was a bit noisy. The cold temps put a bit of a damper on the noise, though. Even if we’d get some thump-a-dump rice rocket nearby it would only stay for ten or fifteen minutes and then move on. This particular lot had a sign prohibiting trucks and overnight parking but we checked with the customer service desk and they told us it’s ok—the ban is not enforced.
We headed south on I-95 and were soon through South Carolina. We listened to more “This Week in the North” episodes to pass the time, including a fascinating one about a man who last week became the first Canadian to reach Antarctica’s ‘Point of Inaccessibility’ (I didn’t even know that existed, did you?). We also saw a new instant-classic in roadside signs along the way. Five miles north of the South Carolina-Georgia border is a billboard advertising the “Squat-and-Gobble II”, a local convenience store. The billboard shows a cartoon of a woman entering a rest-room door on the left side and a rack of chips and other snacks on the right side to make sure you get the point. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
It was about the time we hit the Georgia border that Labashi decided she wanted to drop into Savannah and see an historic site called ‘Wormsloe’. This plantation was settled by a young man named Noble Jones of London. He was among the first settlers in this area in the mid-1730’s and was a jack-of-all-trades. His home was one of a series of fortified homes built to guard against invasion by the Spanish, who were attempting to limit English claims in the New World. The Jones home was built of tabby, a mix of oyster shell, lime, sand, and water. We learned there are no naturally-occuring lime rocks in the area so lime is made by heating oyster shells. Oyster shells also serve as a filler in this poor-man’s concrete. Most of the Jones home is long gone but the tabby walls of the home and the surrounding fortifications still stand today.
We also walked the nature trail and came upon a re-enactor in a small clearing. He taught us about his home built of wattle-and-daub, his garden, his tools, and his smoothbore flintlock gun.
We ran into heavy traffic trying to get back to I-95 but that only took about a half-hour to get through. We set our sights on Palatka, FL because we know there’s a Wal-mart there with a Chili’s restaurant in the parking lot and Labashi wanted some fajitas tonight. Our walk in Savannah delayed us a bit but also relaxed us so we didn’t mind driving on through until 2000 in order to make it to Palatka. After dinner and a glass or three of box wine (the new Franzia ‘Old World Classics Rhine’ wine is wonderful!), we turned in for the night and read.
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Friday, 16 February – We’re (finally) OFF!
(written in the Wal-Mart parking lot at Lumberton, NC, (I-95 NC Exit 22)
I awoke early and started checking traffic reports and news reports right away. The I-78 closure made national news last night and I-81 is still closed from I-78 to the New York border but things appear much quieter south of us. We decided to give it a go and were in Mocha Joe and ready to roll by 0900. But we couldn’t budge—we were stuck on the ice in our own driveway! Fortunately some judicious rocking of the van worked and we were on our way. I just love the feeling when we depart on a trip—the world seems full of promise.
Looking back on today’s run, things went very well, particularly in light of our fears of ice and traffic jams. There was very little ice—only a bit in some shady spots under bridges-- and we only hit five or six slowdowns, mostly on I-95 south of DC. Traffic was heavy but moving well except for the five-to-ten-minute slowdowns. They all appeared to have been caused by fender-bender accidents or a major traffic merge. We had snow until just above Richmond and air temps are abnormally cold—only in the low 30’s.
We did 475 miles today and that’s plenty. During the last two hours of the trip we listened to two episodes of the CBC “This Week in the North” podcast about goings-on in Nunavut and the Yukon. We stopped at 1800 and had supper at a Smithfield BBQ and Chicken franchise where I had that some excellent North-Carolina-style bar-be-que (the vinegary kind with cole slaw on top). Then we did our final supplies stock-up at Wal-mart and spent the latter part of the evening blogging and reading.
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Thursday, 15 February -
We had hoped to leave today but a look at a traffic incidents map showed it’s very ugly out there. I-81 is closed north of Harrisburg from its intersection with I-78 to the New York border. I-78 is closed for 60-plus miles and hundreds of truckers and motorists have been stuck there for 24 hours. The National Guard was called out to distribute meals, blankets, and gas. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get out tomorrow though I-83 did open up. In the evening I spent an hour or so checking out traffic cams and traffic incident reports for the Baltimore and Washington areas and it looks like things are moving but with some congestion here and there and an occasional road closure due to ice.
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Wednesday, 14 February –
We’re snowed in today—or more accurately, we’re iced in. Schools and businesses are closed and I-83 northbound is closed below York. Rain started late in the day yesterday and continued for several hours as temps dropped before turning to wind-blown ice pellets for much of last night. We spent several hours digging out the driveway this afternoon and it was tough going. The top layer of snow is iced over and the crust has to be broken up to get through and then against the ground is a thick layer of very heavy slush. The going is so laborious I only cleared about a 30-foot-long, 8-foot-wide path in front of outward-facing Mocha Joe. Once it clears we’ll head out, hopefully tomorrow. Back inside I printed off geocaches in the Everglades City area and maps of several South-Florida conservation areas. This is gonna be fun!
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Tuesday, 13 February –
We spent the day continuing with preparations for our Everglades trip. By mid-day it was snowing lightly and windy. Tonight the snow is supposed to turn to rain, then to ice pellets and back to snow. If we hadn’t had to stay for our tax-prep appointment I’d have wanted to get out of Dodge—but then again we might have just ended up stranded somewhere down I-95. Besides—we’re not really ready yet. In the evening I ventured out in Cherry Larry to pick up a Valentine’s Day present for Labashi. It wasn’t bad going but things will get interesting if it ices up as predicted.
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 21:45
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