Day 56: Frozen Windshields, Long Delays, Home Sweet Home and Notre Dame Football!

I started the day in 24 degree weather, brrrr. 🥶 My windshield and rear window were frozen solid, as if the car decided it wanted to be an ice sculpture. I had to warm it up with the defrost for a while. I kept trying to use the windshield wiper fluid, it would clean the glass for a moment, then freeze again, almost like it was saying, nice try. It was a real catch 22 for sure. I am very grateful to be back in Tallahassee with 70 degree weather in the forecast for most of the next 10 days. My tire pressure, and the rest of my car will definitely thank me! My car definitely missed the garage! 

I started the day at 8:15. I expected to return home around 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Everything was going very well until I reached South Carolina. Somewhere around Santee, traffic became awful. I was directed off I 95, then put back on, and for a minute I thought I might actually make it home on time. Then I reached the Savannah area and hit a wall, not a real wall, but the kind of wall created by thousands of cars all trying to go nowhere at the same time. It took me half an hour to move two miles. By then, I had to pee so badly I was considering the emergency exit door strategy. LOL. I finally reached an exit and pulled off, and it looked like half of I 95 had the same idea. Thank God they had two stalls and three urinals. I felt bad for the long line of women, they deserved medals for patience and a strong bladder.

I did not get gas in Savannah, the lines was so long, so I waited until I was in Georgia.  Amazing, I only paid $2.42 a gallon!  I had to be rewarded for my patience and good attitude!😂⛽

Then I started heading southwest instead of getting back on I 95. I eventually hopped back on I 95 later in Georgia, and from that point on it was smooth sailing. Even with the smooth part, I still arrived home about four hours late. However, I made it, I am safe, and I did not hit any deer. I did see four dead deer today, and on I 10, I saw a whole collection of deer along the side of the road, small ones, big ones, and everything in between. It felt like they were holding a meeting.

I made it home, unloaded the car, and now I am watching the Notre Dame, Stanford game. Go Irish. ☘️💚

This is what I read about the issues from the bottom of South Carolina to Georgia.

Major Accident: News reports from earlier today indicate a multi vehicle crash and other incidents, particularly near the Hardeeville area, around Exit 5 to the Georgia state line, which completely shut down lanes at times and caused long lasting delays.

Home sweet home! 

Day 55: Goodbye New York, Hello to The Retrograde!

My day started very early, as I drove to Lynchburg Virginia. The drive took about eight hours, although it felt shorter, maybe because I was still half asleep for the first two hours. 😎

Tonight I went to see The Retrograde, the local Tallahassee band that has already had a lot of success with two albums and tours across the country. They played a lot of songs from their first and second album, including my favorite On a String from the first album. They also played many of their hits, including Sometimes and Closer to Somewhere. They worked their way through most of their first and second albums, and they were supposed to play for maybe an hour and a half, but they decided to give us almost two hours. No one complained, except maybe the people waiting for the DJ.  After the retrograde he started off with a little Black Eyed Peas.  He looked like he just came out of the witness protection program.

They also pulled out a rocking cover of Helter Skelter and a wild version of Mitch Ryder's medley of Devil with a Blue Dress On and Good Golly Miss Molly. They were fantastic. I got to spend a little time talking to Joe before they went on stage, and I got to talk to Carson and Josiah after the concert. It was great. I asked when they might play Tallahassee again, and they are not sure, but they are heading to the west coast starting next year. Sounds like I might need to plan a road trip, or at least pretend I am their unofficial tour photographer.

You will not believe this, but tomorrow is day 56, Home Sweet Home. It is going to feel very strange to sleep in my own bed and be in my own house after 56 days on the road. It should be a real adventure opening almost two months of mail. 

Day 54: Family, Parades, Football,Thanksgiving, and Farewells!

Day 54: Family, Parades, Football,Thanksgiving,, and Farewells

I guess this all had to come to an end eventually, but it has been very interesting being on the road since October 5th. Today I went to breakfast with my sister Roseann, my brother in law Andy, and my niece Pam. We had so many laughs.  Pam and I should not be sitting near each other.  If we were at school, we would definitely be separated. 😎 We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, watched some football, then went to my nephew George and his wife Lianna's house for dinner. This was the first time I had been in New York City for Thanksgiving since 1991, 34 years, which apparently means  I'll be back in 2059. 😎

I got to study and practice some Mandarin with Lianna's parents. I learned a few phrases, hello, nice to see you again, I see you met my crazy family, and a few others. I think they were amused that I tried, or maybe they were just trying not to laugh at my pronunciations. 😎

There was so much food, turkey, veggies, stuffing, pasta, Chinese spare ribs and pork, shrimp and broccoli, fried rice, and more. Believe it or not, I did not have any turkey. The Chinese food was too good, and the turkey never even had a chance.

The star of the show was my great nephew Augustus, who recently turned six months old. He is so cute and he behaved all day. Clearly he has not figured out that Thanksgiving is usually when kids stage their first public meltdown.

I had such a fun day and got to say goodbye to everyone since I am leaving early in the morning tomorrow.

Then it is on to Virginia to see Retrograde, a great local Tallahassee band, then finally home after almost two months on the road. At this point my suitcase and I are basically in a long term relationship.

I will be posting highlights of the trip soon.

Day 53: A Double Dose of Bryant Park, People Watching, Mack the Knife, and Family

Today I walked through Bryant Park which was a complete mob scene, but still fun to wander through. From there I walked from 6th Avenue and 40th Street up to 50th by 9th. The city was serving up peak New York energy. At one point there were about six Minnie Mouses and a Mickey in front of me, all marching along like it was a tiny Disney parade nobody asked for. Across the street stood Deadpool, Bumblebee, the Naked Cowboy, and then I passed the Grinch and a not so huge green Hulk who looked like he might have skipped arm day. It was perfect for people watching and always entertaining.

I made it to the Bobby Darin story just in time. The play was amazing, and Jonathan Groff was phenomenal as Bobby Darin. I did not know he and Connie Francis were in love when they were young. I did know he was married to Sandra Dee, although it sounded like he did not treat her too well. He wanted to be married and have a child before he died. He had two bouts of rheumatic fever that damaged his heart and was told he would not live past 16. He ended up passing away at 37 from heart issues. The show was filled with his music and was emotional at times. So many great songs, Mack the Knife, Beyond the Sea, Queen of the Hop, Dream Lover, and so many more.

The city was packed, especially as I walk past Bryant park again, they have a great public bathroom! I also walk through the big crowds in front of the big New York public library. I took the express bus home. Thank God for the bus lane, because without it I think I would still be sitting somewhere on 6th Avenue working on my patience.

I finally got back home and spent time with my niece Pam, then with my sister Roseann and my brother in law Andy. It was a great day in the city and a fun night with family.