Hampton Inn
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Good morning, Erie. We are out of here! Our earliest
driving departure at 7:40 a.m. The temperature fluctuated from -16F between Erie and Meadville to 17 F in Pittsburgh.
In Grove City we paid $2.35/gallon for
gas. Just past Grove City the snow was just a dusting on the ground. After 3 hours we greeted West Virginia and 27
F, still a bit of snow dust.
History Lesson
of the Day: While TK settled in for a long drive, I read about
vacations in the 1700s in the American
Spirit magazine (July-August 2014). Only a tiny number of the colonial
elite traveled because of the lack of good roads, maps, bridges, and places to
stay. The Puritan sense of guilt played a role, the value of work—the dangers
of idle time. Then, religion itself became an impetus for getting away from
home for ordinary folk—religious revivals! By 1850 newspapers and magazines
shared medical advice about the importance of taking a break from work. (Nancy
Jackson in “The History of The American Vacation”). So there you have it! We
are taking a break from work just like our forefathers!
And speaking of forefathers, as we pass through West
Virginia I can’t help but think of my maternal gg grandfather who served in the
Pennsylvania 12th Cavalry during the Civil War in the Harrison County,
West Virginia region and my paternal grandfather who worked as an electrician
in the coal mines in the late 1800s, early 1900s. TK promised me I could plan a
road trip this May/June to explore the Harper Ferry region through Kentucky to
Indiana!!! All right!
By noon we reached the Flatwoods, WV mini mall area where
we planned on eating TK’s delicious tuna fish pocket sandwiches that he always
packs. One problem. No sandwiches. They were apparently safely hanging from the
doorknob on the door leading to the garage. Fortunately the Bulk Foods store
had a little deli and we had them make a grilled cheese for me and a BBQ pulled
pork sandwich for TK. We still had time to check out the Fiesta outlet where
the gusto bowls were the best seconds I ever saw at Fiesta. We are already
packing boxes into the Avalanche!
On Route 19 we saw iced trees and shrubs near
Muddlety, WV (there’s a whole web page devoted to town names in West Virginia—I
tried to find out the origin). It was 29 F.
By Virginia the temperature was 35 F. After the
traffic snarl in Charlotte, North Carolina, we reached Rock Hill, South
Carolina and 45 F—ten and a half hours on the road.
TK’s Takes:
No more snow and a range of temps from 16 below zero to 45!! He has no comment
about tuna sandwiches….
Note to D: We
hope you are feeling better!
I am very disappointed that I cannot upload my photos! Darn!
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