Well, here I am On The Road. Unlike some of the trips
that I have taken over the years, I actually have a plan for this one. In fact
I have been planning and saving for this trip for several months. This is
actually a 60th birthday gift to myself and it will allow me to
cross a few things off of my bucket list.
So at 7:00 a.m. I pull out of my driveway it is partly
cloudy and Hannah Honda tell me it is 47 degrees as I pull onto Interstate 81
and head north. Unlike yesterday, when
it was pouring rain, today is a much better day for traveling.
Today, like most first day of my vacations, was all about
miles; very few stops and plenty of miles. I make good time as traffic is
relatively light on the interstate. As I make my way past mile marker 283 near
Mount Jackson, Virginia I am reminded that today is Veterans Day. A lone
veteran is standing on an overpass, holding an American Flag and waving at the
motorist passing below. I am not the
only one who blows their horn and waves as we pass under the bridge. It is because of men and women like the one
standing on this over pass that I am able to travel freely and without restriction.
It is because of our veterans that FREEDOM CONTINUES TO RING all across
America. Thank You to all of our
veterans, God Bless you.
Some three hours and 55-minutes, I leave Virginia and
cross into West Virginia. In less
30-minutes I travel through 4-states. Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and
Pennsylvania.
Like, I said, today is all about miles and at 12:30 I put
300-miles in my rear view mirror as I pass through Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A
quick stop at Sheetz for gas and it back on the road. With over 136,000 miles
on her, little Hannah Honda is still going strong and I got over 48-miles to
the gallon on this tank of gas. I was able to fill the tank for under $20.00.
A short time later I cross the Susquehanna River a
Harrisburg. Looking to the south, I see
the dome of the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
It doesn’t take any time at all to motor around Pennsylvania’s Capital
City. Shortly after making my way around
Harrisburg I start making my way up the mountains of central Pennsylvania.
There is little to see between Harrisburg and Wilkes
Barre and there are numerous areas of construction which slows my pace just a
little. The Waze’s App on my cell phone
alerts me that traffic is at a dead stop going up the mountain south of Hazelton,
Pennsylvania, and reroutes me off of the interstate onto some county
roads. After about 15-miles, of winding
my way through the back roads I am back on Interstate 81 at exit 131. Off to
the west is a large windmill farm stretching for several miles across the top
of the mountains.
After a couple of hours of basically nothing, I drop down
into Wilkes Barre and continue making good time passing through neighboring
Scranton and 450-miles are down.
The last 50 miles or so click off quickly and I finally
cross over into the Empire State just north of Halstead, Pennsylvania. One of the bad things about traveling in
November is I am back on Standard Time and it is dark a little after 5 p.m. So
when I pull into the Comfort Inn in Binghamton, New York a little after 5 p.m.
it is almost totally dark.
I find a Friendly’s Restaurant nearby and after a quick dinner
I made my way back to the Motel and hit the treadmill for an hour. Both the
treadmill and my FITBIT says I hit 4-miles and a little over 8,000 steps. As I
post this it’s overcast and drizzling rain. Tomorrow, I will make my way to the
Village of Cooperstown, and walk with the legends at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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