And we are off...to Naples in 2016

It has been a beautiful, green, mild December and for once, we didn't have to worry about a snow storm interfering with anyone travelling to see us for Christmas. It didn't last long of course--a huge storm hit on 29 December and we set a record for the amount of snow that came down. Naturally we weren't leaving during the 'green' period but by 2 January it was 'all go' and we headed South.

Two years ago we got snowed-in as we tried to cross the bridge to the US and Hwy 81 due to Lake Affect Snow which is some scientific term for snow clouds gathering over the Great Lakes and dumping an inordinate amount of snow. We had looked at the forecast for this year and figured we were safe.

We crossed the bridge, got through customs without any incident and noticed some ominous clouds ahead but didn't think much of it. However, within a short time a huge mobile sign on the side of the highway told us that "Warning, Lake Affect Snow". I hardly had time to finish reading the sign before the first white-out hit (I was driving) and traffic went to a crawl....except for the idiots who wanted to be the first to head for the meridian ditch and potentially take us with them! The closer we got to Syracuse, the better the weather became and by the time we got there the snow had stopped.

We decided that we would stay on Hwy 81 as long as possible and definitely not cross to Hwy 95 before Washington as we had last year. The traffic on 95 was beyond busy and stayed busy until we got to Naples. Traffic wasn't bad at all and we made it to Wilkes-Barre, PA the first night which wasn't bad considering we hadn't left home until 10 am that morning. Because we stopped early, we were in bed, lights out, by 9:30 pm which seemed like a good idea at the time. I was still looking at the clock at midnight and when I did fall asleep Wayne's cold decided to make it's presence known and he coughed the rest of the night. Needless to say, we were both a tad tired and he slept on the morning drive while I dozed on the afternoon drive.

This is the route we used to take on our winter trip to Texas and the familiar sights were as wonderful now as they were then. We haven't seen any snow since Syracuse and the beautiful green rolling hills through Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina were a joy to behold. I don't know what winter crop they have planted in the fields but everything is green and lush. We drove until about 4 o'clock and have stopped at the Hampton Inn near the Hwy 77 intersection. We will go South on 77 tomorrow which will take us to 95 and Florida.

The traffic got busier late in the afternoon and I suspect it's people heading home after the holidays. Everyone goes back to work and/or school tomorrow although there were quite a few RVs on the road, mostly from Quebec.

We will have one more day on the road and one more hotel before we get to Tampa and our visit with Peggy & Mike. The sun is warm and the closer we get to Florida, the happier I am.