Day Two

Well the day started early, cold, rainy and with two unexpected surprises. The first came when I went to get ice and forgot the key card in the room. Which to many would not be that big of a deal especially since I am traveling with my best friend. Except my best friend was in the shower and happens to be hearing impaired. So not only was I stuck outside in the cold, literally, she couldn't hear my attempts to get back in. I took a deep breath and then sat down and called my Dad. I know you are thinking, how did she manage to grab her cell phone, but not the room key? The answer is no clue? Eventually she did hear me though and I was able to get back into the room, but Deb still ended up packing the cooler while I got ready since I wasted all that time locked out of the room.


The second surprise came after breakfast when we hit the interstate. I noticed that my driver's side view mirror was shaky, so I inspected the one on the other side to see if there was something wrong with the tires. Much to my dismay I discovered that sometime in the night or early that morning someone must have hit my mirror, knocking it loose. See picture below:

The Good news is that it only shakes if going more than 55 miles an hour and I do not think it is in danger of falling off. We drove about 300 miles today. Through Pennsylvania and to New York. Here are some pictures that Deb took from the car, trust me the view was much better in person, but hey that is the best I can do since you didn't get to come along.

We made it to the Palmyra temple about 5 minutes before the time that we needed to be there so most of our pictures were taken after our session here are a few pictures of the temple, cameras are not allowed inside.

Here is a picture that deb found online of the stained glass mural inside the temple. Click on the link for the story behind it all. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=40428c6a47e0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Day One

It is here! The long awaited day has finally arrived. It all started at 3am eastern standard time in Jacksonville, FL. Deb packed the cooler while I took a shower and we managed to be heading out of town at 3:45 am.



A few days ago I had gone on Tom Tom Home and updated the maps on my GPS, the free ones. Apparently something went wrong and the GPS wouldn't work! So I may have missed the first exit from 9A to 95N, but I was still on my home turf so to speak so it only took about a mile for me to figure out that I had passed my exit, so we turned around.

Our first stop of the day was at the South Carolina Visitors Center:

It was very foggy out, which makes for not great picture taking.

The second stop of the day was just outside of Columbia, SC. And anyone who knows me, knows I will drive pretty much anywhere and find a strawberry patch along the way to pick fresh berries. This time I happened across one by mere chance and have my bladder to thank. We decided to see what the Congaree National Park had to offer as at this point we had been in the car for almost 5 hours with only a walk around the outside of the SC visitors center as the only stretch. We got off the interstate and started heading in the right direction towards the park and saw a sign for strawberry picking. We stopped at a local Circle K, where there were no strange things afoot, to relieve my bladder and to see what Cangaree had to offer. When I inquired, and was informed that it was a swamp with a boardwalk, I opted for an edible excursion.

Here are the fruits of our labors, literally.

Deb was so excited to get the strawberries back to the car, she dropped one.

But that is ok, she ended up eating it :)

About 9:30 we got back on the road. We stopped a few more times for gas, bathroom breaks and to eat around 2:30 or so. We spent 5 hours driving through Virginia and I have to say of all the rest areas that we stopped at today the one in West Virginia was my favorite, because they had some beautiful flowers. I am a big fan of flowers.

Here are a few of my fav pictures.

So, I know that the goal for today was Altoona, PA but we had a mishap with the map, by this time the GPS was working again, thank you Mom E. It was saying take one road and my Navigator said to stay on 81 so we did. It turned out better than we could have imagined. We stopped and got a map and the traditional coupon books and then decided where to go from where we were. We decided to look for the best rate and found it too $26.99 a night for up to 2 people. Now I know you are thinking, that sounds too good to be true, and you would be correct. That room was a double bed. Now Deb and I have been friends for over 20 years, but I am not willing to share a double with her. So we kept looking and decided on the Travelodge at the same exit that promised breakfast and free wifi for only $49.99. Now I know that is a big difference from almost $25 to nearly $50, but it was totally worth it since the hotel has a restaurant next door and we were given something at check in to take over in the morning for FREE full breakfast menu for 2 people, sounds like it was totally worth it to me.


After checking in to the Travelodge we went in search of postcards, which to Deborah's disappointment we did not find and then on to dinner. The guy at the hotel had recommended Pat and Carla's Italian Eatery, and after consulting with a few of the locals we agreed to give it a try. I am so glad we did. I had the Pat and Carla's Alfredo, best Alfredo I have EVER eaten. It probably had like a million grams of fat and calories, but I am on vacation, so it doesn't count. I would recommend trying it if you are ever in this area.

Here is a picture of my plate and this is after I ate a bunch of it. Deb had the Chicken Cacciatore.

So now I am full and exhausted it is off to bed, we will be getting up at 6am to try to make it to Palmyra by 3 for the Temple session Deb reserved.

Check back tomorrow for more of the adventure.