Erie, Pennsylvania
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
34F, cloudy
Back home in Erie!
Once we get home, I am always slow to finish the blog for our adventure. We reluctantly left Jon and Wendy on the canals of the Suwannee River on Thursday, February 23, about 8:30 a.m. The area around Jacksonville, Florida is always a challenge, but TK drove skillfully on to Columbia, South Carolina. The plan was to stay at the Hilton there and then stop in West Virginia on Friday night, with a shorter drive to Erie on Saturday. After dinner at Cracker Barrel we were in for the evening.
Friday morning TK made the decision to drive straight through to Erie--about an 11 hour drive. Since he won't let me drive his truck, I am fortunate to be able to read and work on my iPad while he drives. We were also lucky that the weather was quite agreeable. There was no snow or ice all the way back. We finally had to wear our winter duds again (no boots thank goodness), as the weather started getting chillier as we headed north.
New River Gorge
This is always our first stop as we travel South
I was sad to stop going North--I wanted to do
the whole trip over again
New River Gorge
We only made stops for fuel and restrooms, eating pretzel and cheese Combos along the way. Traffic was heavy around Charlotte, North Carolina as always, but better than most times. TK sputtered more than a few times about driver habits, like passing our truck and then slowing down in front of us, cutting in front of us abruptly with a lot of space behind our truck, not using turn signals, driving slow in the far left lane and not moving over, wide loads that made people afraid to pass, all those things that one encounters on a long road trip that are very frustrating.
Pennsylvania welcomes us!
It was about 7:30 p.m. when we rolled into our driveway, ready for a rest. We are so fortunate that Son Brian checks our house periodically and waters the plants. The house was warm and we only unloaded a few necessary pieces of luggage. Soon we were in our own spaces, each enjoying a bit of solitude away from each other. [insert smile here]
Another adventure was wrapped up and now we would face unpacking, washing clothes, organizing, and all of the pleasures of being home.
Spring: Tulips in our garden are growing!
Spring is just around the corner and we are looking forward to the Northwest Pennsylvania Maple Sugar Taste and Tour, especially at my brother's sugar house in Waterford, PA--the sap is running and being boiled, maple syrup is being bottled. March 11 and 12--our next adventure!! https://pamaple.org/
The Northwest Pennsylvania Maple Syrup Producers Association Invites You to Visit Participating Sugarhouses on Taste & Tour Weekend March 11 & 12, 2023
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By the way, gas prices varied from $3.69/gallon in Pennsylvania to $2.99/gallon in Jonesville, North Carolina. We paid about $3.29/gal in Florida, $3.04/gal in Virginia, and $3.34/gal in South Carolina. The time frame for purchases spans from January 23 to February 24 without accounting for national events during that time. [RaceTrac, Circle K, Flying J, Pilot, Shell--some of the gas stations we used--all had acceptable rest rooms and Combos.]
