4th of July Holiday Road Trip

This story can only begin where all stories begin, so please bare with me. Just as I was looking forward to leaving work and to a long and leisurely 4th of July Holiday at home the call comes in, "Babe, when will you be home? Hurry up we are driving to York, PA as soon as you get here!" Of course being the dutiful and gracious Southern Belle that I naturally am,  I accept my Bow's invitation of sorts showing all the enthusiasm that I can muster at the time. Goodbye four glorious days of doing absolutely nothing but relaxing!

Now you must understand that the term leaving as soon as I get home actually requires the following,me arriving at home and packing clothes for both of us, shoes, hair products, makeup, etc..etc..In addition leaving for a 4 day trip with a very loving 65lb lapdog (Sunflower) is just not a simple task as it involves a dog bath, packing her food (special diet), treats, Condo (yes, she has a Condo a very large pen that folds down flat). Naturally the packing is done by myself as my Bow has vanished not to be seen until we are loaded and ready to go.

Off we go to York, PA! It is around 8:30 pm on Thursday night and we are headed to York, PA with our dog Sunflower, in a truck hauling a car hauler in order to drop off a generator and pick up a car for a friend. Our route is I-95 North. Of course when you live in Lorida, Florida there is actually no direct route to I-95,  so off we head South, yes even though I am a natural blonde I do know that York, PA is North of Florida! Our first stop is Okeechobee, Florida where one of the largest Seminole War battles took place, by the way the Seminole Indians are the only tribe that have never signed a treaty agreement with the United States. Now from Okeechobee we can actually begin to head North on 441 to 60 East and finally to I-95 North.

As we happily travel North on I-95 watching the extremely boring scenery, and yes part of the Florida landscape is boring, and watching cars headed South I ask my Bow where and what time he planned to stop for the night. "I haven't thought about it yet, I'll drive for awhile and see", this should have been my first clue. It is about 11:00pm and I have been up since 4:00am a total of 19 hours and counting...once again I inquire around the Daytona, Florida exit when and where did he plan to stop. "I will find a place up the road, I want to drive for awhile", on that note I fell asleep. I woke up again near the exits for Savannah, Georgia (which I highly suggest that everyone visits at least once in their lifetime)  and that is when I discovered that his intent was to drive straight through to York, PA,  it is official I am traveling with a crazy man! So it is back to sleep for me in the front of a truck...oh the Joy and comfort,  I am so grateful that I remembered to bring my goose down feather pillows!

Ahhh Morning! After such a good night sleep I woke up somewhere on I-95 in South Carolina with a kink in my neck and swollen ankles, and yes the crazy man is still driving. Breakfast time which on the road means a fast stop at a McDonalds, I should say a stop at a McDonalds,  after all we are in the heart of the South and absolutely and I do mean absolutely nothing is fast here including fast food. Thirty minutes later we are handed our breakfast in bags, the dog has been walked and watered and off we head North again on I-95. Now I must say that the scenery has improved and I do so love the Carolina's, I spent a large portion of my childhood in North Georgia and the Carolina's. This area is always pretty to the eye in any season.

In almost no time at all we are through the Carolina's, Virginia and are in Washington DC. Now I must say that being in Washington DC and crossing the Potomac on the 4th of July weekend is somewhat emotional when you think about everything our Country has been through.We travel on past the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, and the Capitol and they are truly breathtaking buildings.

Traveling I-95 Washington DC

Traveling I-95 Washington DC

The Pentagon Building

As we travel along on I-95 North we drop straight down into downtown Washington DC on a Friday and on the 4th of July Holiday, please trust me this is not where you want to be unless you plan to stop and do some sightseeing! I highly suggest you take the bypass, which is what I believe I suggested to my dear crazy man. Approximately 10 miles and an hour and a half later we are headed to Maryland and somehow someway we manage to take the wrong turn on the George Washington Pike, we crossed the Potomac three more times until we finally got our directions correct. I also highly suggest you travel along the George Washington Pike at least once as it is absolutely beautiful and I discovered that is where the FBI Headquarters is located as well as the National Police Department.

Finally we arrive in York, PA around 6:00pm on Friday and we get the last motel room within 100 miles as there seems to be a regional children's soccer tournament taking place as well as the reenactment at Gettysburg, PA. The room was wonderful with a large jacuzzi right next to the kingsize bed and being the Southern Queen that I am I was in the jacuzzi within five minutes awwww this is good... the road trip is just melting away.

York, PA

York, PA is a pretty area which I have had the opportunity to previously visit with the Harley Owner's Group and have toured the Harley Davidson Factory which is quite amazing, but that was another lifetime and another story. After breakfast at the hotel we head out to complete our mission. We deliver the generator and discover that the car is too heavy for the truck to pull as the truck has been lowered. So we now load up a larger generator and a tiller. We are back on the road by 10:30am, now let's look at that map and find an alternate route back!

It is Saturday morning and we decided to head towards Gettysburg, PA and I am very excited being a Southern Belle, I am natyrally fascinated by the history of the Civil War,  or as I refer to it the Northern Aggression. Our travels takes us through Abbottstown, PA which is beautiful with buildings dating back to the 1,700's and which we have both decided that we will visit again.

Abottstown Circle

Our next stop is Mister Ed's Elephant Museum which is basically a candy store with the largest collection of Elephants that I have ever seen. It is a great stop just to stretch your legs and get some old fashioned candy we could not say no to the Squirrel Nuts, Mary Jane's, and Bit of Honey. Onward we travel to Gettysburg, PA. which I must say is one of the highlights of our road trip and I cannot wait to return and to spend more time just walking through the battlefields. I wish we had time to stay and watch the reenactment and spend a few days here, we will be back here on our next vacation!

Walls & Monuments at Gettysburg

Cannon at Gettysburg

Ghost in Photo at Gettysburg, PA

Leaving Gettysburg, PA we traveled along 80 and then turn onto 220 South through the Appalachians and Shenandoah Valley which was beautiful with light summer rains and no traffic so I would suggest this route for anyone traveling! My partner has finally regained his lost sanity and once again we stop for the night just South of Greenville, South Carolina.

Sunday morning and after a good nights sleep we are on the road once again headed for yes...I-95 South Florida and home. We travel once again on the road we originally headed North on,  passing through South Carolina, Georgia, onto Florida through Jacksonville and on to Melbourne to 60 West and onto 441 South back to Okeechobee and finally home to Lorida around 8:00pm. It was a whirl wind trip and inspite of driving straight through from Florida to York, PA I would not have missed a single moment. We laughed, talked, dreamed, played with Sunflower who was a real trooper and never a problem, and we saw some wonderful sights that you can only see on a road trip in America.

Happy 4th of July America!

Now just a little more rest and I will be ready to go back to work on Tuesday...maybe.