ROCKIN' IN ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA

Hilton Garden Inn

Rock Hill, South Carolina

58F

What a planner and driver TK is! We left Erie at 7:17 a.m. and arrived in Rock Hill, SC at 5:25 p.m. with only four gas/rest stops along the way. It was about 55F when we left Erie with dry roads, and hardly a snow patch in sight for the whole way, 650 miles.

The only hazards were those lane hoggers and a few slowdowns, even on the hilly windy roads of West Virginia and Virginia, two lane traffic headed south almost the whole way. That said, we really flew through the infamous Charlotte, NC area—a lot less traffic, no construction, and Express Lanes finally open!!!!!!!!!!!! By the way, those Express Lanes are worth the cost, but we don’t know how much! We have EZ Pass so we will find out later.

I do think this was the earliest we ever arrived at our first destination.  Anyway, we made our usual stop at New River Gorge, West Virginia, for our photo op and lunch, about 12:30 p.m.

We are on vacation!!

Janie and TK at New River Gorge, West Virginia. The winter coat was not needed!

TK’s Takes: He was a little surprised at the Pilot gas station when a woman dressed in her Christmas pajamas walked into the store. It was the easiest drive ever through Charlotte.

WAZE SAVED THE DAY!

Fairfield Inn
St.Augustine,Florida
January 4, 2018
45F

Since we knew it would be best to let the South Carolina road crew take care of the roads before we got started this morning, we didn't leave Rock Hill until about 9:30 a.m. The temperature was 28F and there was no snow. Gasoline was $2.09/gallon at Sam's Club and TK took advantage of it.

I was using Waze (an app) on my phone and TK put Google Maps on the truck's navigation screen. Let the competition begin! Both apps said there was heavy traffic, as well as a 2 hour delay on I-26 and I-95, but since we could better understand what Waze was showing, we decided to follow those directions. Thank goodness! We traveled on Route 601 toward Savannah-the roads were bare and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.

As we passed through Bamberg, South Carolina  where we saw a big sign announcing that  it was the home of Nikki Haley,  there were about 2-3 inches of snow and slush on the road. Virtually no traffic, but TK observed the speed limit--no tickets for us!

We were then guided to Route 601 and again hardly no one was on the road--fewer homes, with swamps, woods, mangrove trees, and two lanes--even though we were only traveling at 55 mph, we figured we were doing better than those people on the Interstate.

Finally Waze took us back to I-95 at Hardeeville, South Carolina. I mentioned to TK that it would be best to stop at a gas station "rest stop" because we did not know what to expect on the road. Inside the gas station several men were saying unkind things about I-95. e.g. "I just got off the  highway from hell."

There was some traffic headed south, but the cars and trucks going north were backed up for 8.5 miles from the ramp where we entered. We checked and that backup went both ways until Hardeeville, so Waze saved the day!! And saved TK from saying lots of bad words.

Of course we stopped to get orange juice at the Florida Welcome Center. Most travelers looked quite weary, including us.

See how happy TK is!

We reached St.Augustine by 4:30 p.m. with 49F and TK was energized enough to visit Tommy Bahamas and another of their fantastic sales!

Observation: I am grateful for TK's skillful driving!

TK's Takes: Routes 301 and 601 looked the Twilight Zone--nobody on the road.  SC is a mess in the light snow. It was very sunny today.