QC94-01 South in the Summer?

July 8, 2009 (Wed) Home to Franklin, VA (407/407 miles) - A sunny clear 66° at 8:34am as we backed out of our driveway. Our goal was to get to the Franklin Walmart late in the afternoon so our early start would let us take our time. We took US18 South to avoid the increased tolls on the Garden State Parkway - more than doubled for motor homes (and trucks) - to I-195 West and I-295 South. After crossing the Delaware River we headed for US13 and south to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel.. We had wanted to avoid the congestion around Baltimore and Washington, DC but the heavier than expected traffic down the Delmarva Peninsula made for a lot of aggravating stop and go driving. We dreaded having to go through Norfolk, VA but it wasn't nearly as bad as we'd expected. We pulled into the Walmart lot at about 6:30 - exhausted.

There are few feelings comparable to those caused by the nearby heavy squeal of a tires on pavement in a panic stop. We'd just stopped at a red light when it became frighteningly clear that we were about to be hit very hard. Mark looked in his mirrors, saw the old pickup that had been following for a while safely stopped behind and an 18 wheeler still moving, but slowly, further back. The side mirror showed nothing moving. Joy had been looking up at the traffic light when the squeal caused her to drop her eyes to two vehicles tightly connected side by side sliding toward us across the intersection, car parts flying everywhere. Her "Oh my God!" caused Mark to look forward in time to see one of the cars spin to a stop and the other flash across in front of us. A third vehicle came to a stop on the lawn across the way. There didn't seem to be any injuries except for possible shock in one of the drivers and we really hadn't seen what actually happened so we went on when the light turned green. One of the three cars, at least, would not be leaving the scene on its own power. The rear was badly damaged. We speculate that one of the cars wanted to run the red light but the two in front of him had decided to stop.

We've stopped at this Walmart a couple of times. Both times we've parked where traffic to and from the Walmart turned out to be heavier than we'd expected. This time we thought we'd try another area. Mistake! It was next to a road where four out of five of the vehicles passing were pickups with loud mufflers. When a large group of teenagers in cars began to gather near us, we moved back to to our old spot. The teen party, loud music and all, went well into the night. Police in Franklin, if not Walmart, would be wise to put a stop to that kind of thing!

Q052093 Camp Walmart Franklin, VA.
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July 9, 2009 (Thu) Franklin, VA to Savannah, GA (452/859 miles) - Up, breakfast and off at 5:55 (69° hazy). We got gas ($2.49) across from Walmart headed for I-95 on US58 west. There's a Walmart in Emporia, VA with a Five Guys sharing the parking lot (a possible future stop). Another possible future stop is the Walmart at VA exit173 where there is a Starbuck's that may have free WiFi.

6:58 - Crossed into North Carolina.
7:07 - Sign on towed vehicle in rest stop "I go where I'm toad"
8:45 - Stopped at Carolina Pottery (not yet open) for an exercise break. Walked the whole shopping mall and back.
10:55 - Passed South of the Boarder tourist extravaganza into South Carolina.
11:45 - Stopped for gas ($2.29) and lunch at Florence, SC exit
3:36 - Crossed into Georgia (81° cloudy and humid) encountering showers off and on

At 4:01 we pulled into Savannah, GA Walmart lot and saw that we were already there! A Chinook Destiny exactly like Q was parked in the area where motor homes normally spend the night. We could tell it wasn't us though because it had a bright yellow and black "Smart" car in tow. The MacCartys live in "The Villages" (near Ocala, FL) and were on their way to New Jersey to visit their son. It turned out to that we and they were the only two overnighters in the parking lot - unusual in itself.

At about 8:00 we decided to look at air and memory foam mattresses. We also looked for a ladder ball game. We weren't intending to buy anything, just get an idea of prices. We did find some real bargains in T-shirts of various shapes, gender and uses. 8:00 turned out to be a bad time to shop at Walmart - many customers, few checkout lines. We were well ready for bed when we finally got back "home".

Q052545 Camp Walmart Savannah, GA
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July 10, 2009 (Fri) Savannah, GA to Englewood, FL (400/1259 miles) - A cloudy (with some fog) 72° as we pulled onto US17 south back to I-95. The price of gas ($2.24) at US Murphy was the best we'd seen the whole trip so far so we topped off the tank before leaving Walmart.

Crossed into Florida at 8.25 (72° low fog) and left I-95 for US-A1A at exit 373. Stopped to get some peaches at a roadside stand on US301 south of Waldo, FL. Somewhat further south we saw a big foot school bus (a school bus with huge tires) - apparently a gimmick to attract potential tire customers. It looked drivable so we wondered if it also went to big foot events.

In Brandon we stopped at Costco - a traffic nightmare at 92° - to look at their price for a memory foam mattress topper. The price was good so we got one, as well as some other things (and lunched on samples). The mattress topper we'll use here (and in Q) to improve sleeping comfort (especially if we end up having to sleep on the floor!). Surprisingly, the price of gas is about the same here in Florida as it was in New Jersey. Usually it's 20¢ to 40¢ more here. We filled up at $2.49 in Ruskin, FL, the same as we paid before leaving New Jersey when we started out.

We stopped in to see Bom in her new digs, an "Adult Family Care Home" (assisted living), and found her cheerful and adjusting, if not yet completely happy with her need to move. We will be here at her condo for a couple of weeks while we get it ready to sell.

Q052945 Sun Trust parking lot (parked)