IS EVERYONE HEADED SOUTH FOR THE WINTER??

Sunday, January 5, 2025
Fairfield Inn
Elkin, North Carolina to St. Augustine, Florida
Clouds and sun 62^oF

 

Elkin, North Carolina

23F Sunday morning

Driving today was much better road wise, dry and clear, with no snow. We do think that everyone from PA, OH, and MI is heading to Florida, and we mean EVERYONE.  South Carolina’s highway is only two lane going South and that is just not enough for all the drivers.  We think the travelers are either going south for the warmth or headed home after the holidays.

It was another 500 mile day, a lot for TK and somewhat a lot for a passenger.  We were originally going to drive my car so we could share the driving, but TK’s truck won out because of the weather, and he still won’t let me drive it. 

You won't see the truck this dirty very often

South Carolina rest stop

We elected not to eat until dinner and that caused some “hangries.”  That is probably enough said.  I don't think we will do that again.

Welcome to Georgia

TK smiling because Donna texted

I kept quiet with books. Yesterday I read Three Women Disappear, and today I am almost finished with The 5^th Horseman, both by James Patterson, et. al.  My brother gave me American Heroes for Christmas, a non-fiction by Patterson. That is his best book by far and I recommend it.  Patterson and others interviewed U.S. soldiers or their survivors who served in overseas conflicts—from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. They are valiant stories of those who earned distinguished military medals, including the Medal of Honor. Every one of them insisted they did not act alone, and others deserved medals too.   I personally knew three of the Medal of Honor recipients featured in this book.

Welcome to Florida

Orange juice is always our choice!

St. Augustine

Gas at Buc-ees

We arrived in St. Augustine about 5:30 p.m. and headed straight to Ford’s Garage for a burger and sweet and tangy chicken—just what we needed.   Today the temperature ranged from 23F to 63F, from North Carolina to St. Augustine.

Ford Model A in Ford's Garage

St. Augustine, Florida

TK’s Takes: He mentioned that his friend called him Dr. Doom—watching the weather like he does. I wanted to say Dr. D to soften it a bit, but TK said Dr. Doom was a comic book hero. I will go with that.  He also said that this was the worst traffic ever on our trip south to Florida.  I can vouch for that.   He is very tired again tonight. 

Day 1 Read

Day 2 Read

Best book for Christmas!

OUTLET MALLS, FORD’S GARAGE, WE ARRIVED IN ST. AUGUSTINE, FL!

 ST. AUGUSTINE, OUTLET MALLS, FORD’S GARAGE!
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Fairfield by Marriott
St. Augustine, FL
48F

 Another eight hour drive takes a long time. TK drives competently, with agility, down the highway as we put another gazillion miles on his GMC Sierra.  I have one job as a passenger in the truck, to pay attention in big city traffic, to record the receipts when we buy gas, and stay relatively quiet and not emote as he drives. Well, that is about three jobs.

How can I do all that when I have Internet, my iPad, Words With Friends to play, Mah Jongg, emails to write, Facebook, crossword puzzles, USA Today to read, and a book by Jeffrey Deaver?  I also was reading my friend Ann’s blog about her 2011 trip to Italy (https://annsilverthorn.com/index.php/634/were-off-to-italy/). I think that I do a fairly good job of paying attention to the traffic near big cities. That’s probably about it.  At least the traffic around Charlotte, NC, was not too bad this trip.

Fairfield Inn at Elkin, NC this morning,
Beautifully decorated for Valentine's Day

We started the day leaving the hotel at 8:15 a.m., 14F, dry roads, and a long way to go.  TK even saw some boars eating grass outside the fence along the highway. The miles accumulated, and before I knew it (4 p.m.), we were at Buc-ees in St. Augustine. I think Buc-ees (pronounced Bucky’s) is a destination gas station. It is the largest gas station I have ever seen and there are more of them in Florida. 

Welcome to Florida!

This Visitor Center serves orange or grapefruit

 juice to travelers!

240 Gas Pumps at Buc-ees

TK did get gas here

Inside Buc-ees

TK in Buc-ees

TK ready to party!

How many gas stations have you visited with 240 gas pumps? The store was huge, with cooks preparing really yummy smelling fresh barbecue, a bakery, Mexican food, homemade fudge, a wall with packages of jerky, so many kinds I cannot even imagine, and MORE.

Dear Readers, if you haven’t figured this out before, we are still impressionable despite our age! Buc-ees was a big WOW. I don’t think I have ever said that about a gas station before.

After spending too much time gawking at everything Buc-ees had to offer, we headed to the Premium Outlet Mall, you know the one with Chicos, Tommy Bahama, and Travel Pro.  TK found a few things at TB and I made a big score at Travel Pro. As you may not know, we are filling our basement with luggage. Heaven knows we need more. I haven’t counted recently, but we probably have at least 20 pieces of luggage in all sizes. When is enough enough?

At 5:30 p.m. there was an important Erie County Veterans Memorial Park meeting that I could not attend, but the committee called me, and I was able to take part—it was an important meeting. 

After that, TK and I dashed off to Ford’s Garage for dinner. Again, it appears that a man with a last name of Ford had a Ford dealership and then decided to make a theme restaurant. I may be making this up, but I cannot find the story on the Internet.  https://fordsgarageusa.com/our-story/   The bottom line is that this restaurant that is now franchised, is in the middle of a HUGE Ford dealership in St. Augustine, a block from our hotel.  Great burgers here!!

Ford's Garage -- a restaurant!

A friendly hostess!

Automotive Decor

Closeup-looks like an engine to me

Model A Ford above the bar!

That was our day, and we are tired again. Reading and playing games tires me out. TK is tired from driving all day.

TK’s Takes: As soon as we crossed the border into Florida, TK said, “Here we are in Florida, cars zipping in and out of lanes with no turn signals.”   He also thought that Florida might spend a little money on modernizing their restrooms on the highway.

FLORIDA WELCOMES US BACK 2023!

 Fairfield Inn & Suites
St. Augustine, Florida
January 24, 2023
55F
 

This was another eight-hour driving day for TK and he is tired.  Thankfully, there were no challenges, like snow, rain, wind. With just a few stops, one for gasoline ($3.49/gal) in SC), we really breezed along.

 

TK enjoys a glass of real Florida orange juice at the Florida Welcome Center on I-95.

An astronaut greets us at the Florida Welcome Center.

After checking into the hotel, we went to the St. Augustine Premium Outlets briefly, saw no bargains at Tommy Bahama and Chicos, and went to eat at Ford’s Garage. This delightful restaurant “chain” has other sites all over Florida, but this is the only one attached to a Ford/Lincoln dealership.  It is like a Quaker State and Lube on steroids.  https://www.fordsgarageusa.com/locations/st-augustine/ 

This was our only stop to eat today and that was a mistake—we were so tired and famished that I forgot to take a picture of the place. 

This is the very delicious burger.

https://www.fordsgarageusa.com/locations/st-augustine/

Thinking of B1 as she meets today's challenge.