Monday Dec 3
Here we are, back in the saddle again. Thus begins what could be a 4 month ramble, so if you have the patience, follow along with us, and we'll be glad to have you here to keep us company.

We had such a nice time with neighbours, family and friends before we left it was somewhat difficult to leave all of that behind. But off we went, and after two days, we've hit our stride, and are looking forward to this trip and all it may involve.

We had originally planned to go straight down to New Orleans, and then west from there. But there was an urge to go back to Florida to start off with, so here we are, in Virginia, on our way to the South-east. So far so good weather-wise. We ran out of rain around Watertown, after getting through the border in no time flat, so had a nice day for driving the rest of the way. The border thing was nothing...not even a question about whether we use marijuana or not, which was a little surprising.

We (I) decided to drive on in the dark after we got to Scranton-Wilkes Barre, because I really don't like that area. So on for another while to Hampton. We pulled off to find our motel of choice, and here's where the frustration of travel begins. It was a very confusing intersection, in the dark, and there were no clear directions to the Hampton Inn, which we could clearly see not far away. We made a right turn, (a wrong turn, as it happened) and ended up on the ramp heading back up the I81 to the north. Five miles later we got off on 80, went another 2 or 3 miles before being able to turn around. Then back to the 81 for the 5 miles back. End result...an extra 15 miles that we didn't really need at that time of the day.

However, no gaskets were blown, although a few colorful comments were made by the driver. We had a very nice room, and there is a good restaurant on site, so the evening turned out okay.

Today, we got to Virginia under nice blue skies, and decided to do the Skyline Drive, as a little side-trip. One of the good things about having no particular agenda. There had been a lot of damage done by an ice storm a week ago, but the first two sections of the Drive are open, so we had a lovely tour in the upper reaches of Virginia. Many beautiful views of the valleys on both sides of the ridge meant numerous stops to take it all in and snap a few photos. Also a total of 18 deer were spotted along the route, feeding quite gently, eyeing us with only a little curiosity. This is a drive we highly recommend, as it's a great break from the perils of the 4 lane routes.

Once down from the heights, we settled in to a nice motel in Harrisonburg. Mexican tonight. And G and I started our Rummikub contest, with yours truly eking out a narrow victory. A running score will be tabulated. Las Vegas odds have now been posted, so check if you want to place a bet on the eventual winner.

Tomorrow we'll hit the Carolinas, perhaps for our first night of camping. Hopefully we can find a site early enough to allow time to do the necessary organization of a chaotic r.v., as we left with lots of stuff in piles but not sorted. Next day, we'll see if there's room in Skidaway State Park, just south of Charleston, a place we've enjoyed a couple of times in the past. So stay tuned. More later.