2018 CRUISE - The Drive

The Drive

Day 1, Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - started later than I would have liked. After last minute instructions for Geoffrey, who is staying at Red while he works at Shop Rite, and some last minute packing, we were finally underway at 1000 hours.

Our plan to stop at a motel on the eastern shore of VA at around 1700 hours was foiled by information we received from the host at the VA Visitors’ Center. An impending blizzard would probably close the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Were we to stay on the eastern shore, we might be there for several days. That information kept us trucking, towing SUNSHINE through Norfolk during rush hour. We managed to kill some time that allowed us to hit Norfolk after the worst of the rush hour traffic.

We found a Red Roof Inn in Emporia after ten hours of driving. That’s two hours longer than it should have taken.

We awoke to two or three inches of snow, but being that it was a coastal storm, the easter shore got three or four times as much and, yes, the bridge tunnel was closed!

Home to Emporia, VA 410 miles - 10 hours

Day 2, Thursday, January 4, 2018 - We delayed our departure until 1000 hoping I95 would be cleared of the white powder. Sure enough, the VADOT did a nice job and we breezed along at 55 mph for ten miles. North Carolina DOT must take over at the border and I95 apparently wasn’t a priority. One lane was reasonably clear, the other wasn’t even touched! We managed to keep going for hours, anticipating that at any moment a traffic stoppage would happen.

When we finally saw one, we took the exit, hoping to stop for diesel fuel. The lone filling station was overflowing with vehicles whose drivers had the same idea. We weren't desperate for fuel, so my copilot plotted an alternate route back to I95. About ten miles later, we rejoined the highway, having skirted around the stoppage. 

We continued on, with thoughts that we might just make it to our day 2 destination, Crooked River State Park in GA. Our luck ran out well before the GA border however and rather that sit in stop and go traffic for hours, we got off the interstate in Walterboro, SC. We reserved a hotel room in the local Ramada while driving. That turned out to be a good move as there were ten people in line behind Anna Marie. Shortly, the hotel was sold out, as were the rest of the hotels in town. Since it was dinner time, we would find a nice facility for a leisurely meal. That did’t happen because all the restaurant in town were closed because of the cold! Only the Waffle House was open but they were only serving hamburgers. We had crackers for dinner.

Emporia, VA to Walterboro, SC 340 miles - 6 1/2 hours

Day 3, Friday, January 5, 2018 - Walterboro, SC is about is about 70 miles north of Savanah, GA. Even this far south, we woke up to a Black Ice Advisory. We didn’t’t leave the motel until 0930 to give the ice a chance to melt. In short order, we were on I95. It was clear with no black ice at all. 

We made it all the way to Phipps County Park in Stuart, FL without any problem or slow down. We even tried a different way through Jacksonville. The I295 beltway east bypasses the city completely and, while it might add an extra mile or two, it was a much less stressful drive. This will be our “go to” route from now on.

Walterboro, SC to Stuart, FL 450 miles - 8 hours

Day 4, Saturday, January 6, 2018 - Today promised to be easy and it was. Our only delay was self-inflicted. We exited I95 at Vero Beach and pulled into the FloatOn Trailer Factory. We wanted them to evaluate the “fit of the boat to the trailer.” Tim checked it out and offered that the “V-Stop” could be tweaked. We made arrangements to have their driver pick it up at Unique Marine in Tavernier. After they tweak it, a driver will drop it back in Tavernier where we will pick it up.

We pulled in to Blackfin at about 1100 hours on Saturday, January 6, 2018.

Stuart, FL to Marathon, Fl  215 Miles - 4 hours 

Total - Home to Marathon - 1415 miles - 28 1/2 hours

Geoffrey took this picture of the snow we were missing. It is his view from the front deck of the Red Shack.

North Carolina only cleared one lane of I-95.