March 31, 2009

           Of course, we hit the worst rainstorm in years. Shortly before dark, we passed Daytona, FL, and it rained straight through to Lumberton, NC. This photo gives you a good idea of the conditions. The drive was pretty much non-stop except for a couple of stops at rest areas. At the first one, the coffee machine was out of order and at the second, there was no coffee machine. You know what is weird? The way these Interstate rest stops are so unevenly spaced.
           We had planned to stop at the first rest area we hit north of Jacksonville, and there was nothing for a hundred miles. When we pulled away from the second stop mentioned above, there was another fully equipped stop less than five miles up the road. But we were already back on the freeway. That’s what happens when you give the government too much money. All three cats (hers) rode in pet carriers up in the cab with us. They were strangely silent and slept most of the way.
           Teresa likes Waffle House food. Of all the times I’ve passed them, this was the first time I ever ate there. It was nice but I found the food identical to Denny’s. You don’t know how I practically lived at Denny’s during my early 20’s. I’ve undoubtedly said, but I like the fact that Denny’s coffee was consistent across the country. And just so you’ll know, the rest areas are clogged with semi-trailers overnight. There is always the odor of diesel in the air.
           We tanked up just once, 36 gallons costing $90. The truck was getting seven miles per gallon on the open road. It had cruise control and by keeping a steady speed of 65, we got 450 miles out of a tank. The truck was heavily equipped with warning bells and lights when the onboard computer detected there was less than 120 miles worth of fuel left. There are a lot of excellent radio stations, something we just don’t have in south Florida. All we get is Latino and Rap. If you are into it, those stations completely clog your radio dial, no dead air at all.
           We passed a lot of freeway intersections but did not really see any towns or sights. The land is flat and most towns lack tall buildings. For the most part, the land seemed uninhabited. Mostly pine forests and as usual, around 10% of the roadway was under construction. That cost us a few hours. In the end, the 12 hour trip took almost 17 hours. This also means at the time we arrived in Wilmington, I had been awake 24 of the previous 27 hours.
           That is Teresa waving from the front of her dad’s house near Horn Road. It is easy to get around in Wilmington. We met up at a parking lot on the south side and followed him home through a subdivision. I guess being beyond tired kicked in, because when her dad asked what we wanted to do, we said tour the old part of town. It was also my chance to show that I don’t require entertainment like some guests. He got that, handed us the keys to an Oldsmobile Cutlass (Gutless) and away we went. Return another day for more photos because I’m already way ahead of today.