LOW'S adventures

Can you hear a wild scream ? That is Ben as the wife drives him around hill and dale. We left our RV in Leesburg, fl shortly before 9 :00 am. The gps tuned for northward bound, the road clear and traffic light. WE decided that we needed to take a scenic route rather than the mondan tour, After exiting Lake county we headed north through the Ocala National Forest

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQoY6BdkOyoCAPkATlA!/?ss=110816&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003853&navid=091000000000000&pnavid=null&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=main&pname=Ocala%20National%20Forest-%20Home


And a scenic tour it was with cement based highway ( unfamiliar to us of the great NORTH- of course there is no great heaving as in the land of the snow and frost) winding roads, outlined with 20 foot pines. Many offshoots of the main Hwy 19 artery led to small inlets with various entrances and facilities into the park. Almost wished I had our rv so we could make use of their camping spots. WE drove along this route until we were north east to Highway 95 exiting on the norther fringe of St. Augustine. And wouldn't you know it - in site of the outlet malls. Too bad no room in the car!

The weather was perfect for driving and we stopped every several hours to swap drivers , unfortunately my hubby is very fussy on how wife drives HIS car and he slept with one eye open all the time. Just when I thought I would change gears he would come to life.

Just when the ride appeared to be a little boring, we saw the familiar Pedro signs. Just south of North Carolina is an amusement park. We have never actually been there when it is operating, we have stayed in the RV park onsite, and walked and window shopped the many arcades, rides and restaurants. We imagine what kind of a place it is riddles with thousands of kiddies, candy floss tinting their teeth and stuck in their hair., Oh what fun they must have.
FOr 30 miles before the entrance into Pedro's land there are billboards, littered with cute and humorous saying to entice to you visit the amusement park

http://www.thesouthoftheborder.com/

This is a marker that soon we will be pulling off the road for the evening.
A guaranty that our journey for the day will soon end.
We now know it is time to consult or bible for accomodations that are affordable with wifi and the best breakfast in town. In the state that we will be spending the night we make sure we pick up our copy - usually at the welcome center. Of course I was organized on the way south to print the coupons online and be forwarned. However I was not all that put together on the way home. Must have been the sunburn~!

http://www.roomsaver.com/


We continued up the 95 into to North Carolina where some 8 hours later we settled into a Days Inn in Fayetteville. The motel was cheap. clean, and comfortable. The breakfast was alost scrumptious - we weren't looking for the Hilton but a clean bathroom and beds. That is what we got, a quiet nights sleep and polite staff. Onb ward ho!!!

Day two

Again another uneventful day of nice sunny warm weather, high fuel prices olf $4.35/gallon for diesel , so construction on the roads and a little slowdown here and there. We buypassed Richmond Va, and Washington DC> Fooling the GPD we veered onto Hwy 17/66 through to highway 81. By taking the smaller highways we passed towns Fredrickburg, Warrington. Up hill and dale, obviously at one time an agricultural center with it's rich land. Now lending to newer developments, shopping centers, school and community centers. The landscape has changed over the past decade from small cladboard homes to homes of grandeur. Rolling hills with tuffs of wheat at the roadside gives away the secret that plentiful pastures once adored the valleys, now pristine with no cattle in site, save for a horse or two

http://www.warrentonva.gov/General/History.aspx

http://www.visitfred.com/visitors/history/

Pennsylavnia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_81_in_Pennsylvania

We are now entering the second last state before we cross into the Canadian Border
The highway twists and turns as I rush past, behind and around what seems like a multitude of truckers. I think I should rename this corridor truckers alley. Up and down, I strips the gears, chasing after mountainous terrain, glancing at valley with deep pitches, glad I keep the four wheels on the pavement. Noticing the grand landscape and enormous housing developements of the valleys below. I remember all too well pulling a trailer up and down this terrain, I am glad I am not doing that anymore, not only because of the fuel prices, but the draw of the trailer on the truck. Not to mention the terror of worrying about a run away rv as you descend the tsit roads and wonder if that RV will soon be pushing you down hill.
I see a truck I pass riding his brakes, and it is only when I pass him I realize the little car in front of him has a jumpy foot, changes speeds at will. The smell of the trucker riding his brakes are evident. I think to myself I am out of here. I don't want to be anywhere near the trucker when he does do in his brakes, I have no choice I floor it far past the speed limit. I WAIVE as I pass "smokey the bear" aka state troopers!

Home promises to be 8 hours away. The hour grows near when we should pull off the road, dusk is on the horizon. We are still on I-81 and entered our last US state. We settle in Binghamton , NY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binghamton,_New_York