Let's go for a Road Trip!

     I promised I’d take you on my recent drive all the way up the East Coast from Florida to Maine. It is 1684 miles or 25 hours--let’s do it!

    It’s adventure enough just to get out of Maine! I had to fly down to Fort Myers for our one way trip. Our closest airport is about and hour and fifteen minutes away in Augusta and this is the biggest airliner we have to choose from. Actually, it’s the only one. They ask for your weight before boarding-- all I can ever think of is they better be adding 20 pounds to whatever people say!

     Be sure to bring ear plugs-- it’s LOUD! I am never one to shy away from a challenge, so up we went. So cute to see all the little farms and churches from above, but on this day it was cloudy, so we quickly lost our view.

     Going into Boston, we hit some turbulence-- I have to say I definitely felt sickish when I descended the little stairs and crossed the tarmac to Logan Airport. Each time I fly in that little plane, the four-hour drive to Boston seems like a better approach!

    I had a four hour layover, and quickly rebounded with a little stitching time in a quiet lounge I found between Terminals B and C.

     In no time, I was boarding the “real” jet for Fort Myers, and arrived about 8pm. It was HOT, but I have always loved seeing the palm trees. My family used to drive down to Florida every other year in the 60s. The palms seemed so exotic to me then, and they still do now. A beautiful sunset was thrown in as an extra on this night.

    My sister is moving back north-- her main reasons are the congestion and also just the constant worry of hurricanes. You may recall Sanibel Island and Fort Myers were pretty much wiped out by “Ian” in 2022. Of course, I had a lovely place to visit each winter from Maine-- that is now gone. So my sister kindly scheduled a day off before we started the trip to say goodbye to this area-- she had her home here for about 30 years.

   First up the next morning, a quilt shop-- because, why not? Okay, so I made it all about me-- my sister doesn't even sew, but I did limit myself to one which I researched and found a half hour away. It was "Flash Sew and Quilt" in Naples. Wow! It did not disappoint! 

   It was a huge store--They had all the brightest fabrics, Kaffe, Tilda. I could have spent a lot longer, and a lot more, hehe. I pulled these photos from their website.

     I was immediately knocked off my feet with this tropical wave, right when you walk in-- just look at these beauties! They were all lined up on bolts in a row right at the front. As you can see by the picture, there was enough room in the car for them.

     It is "Faraway Flowers" by Pimlada Phuapradit-- I do a lot of online looking and I have honestly never seen this. We do need to get out there occasionally, people! Even the selvage is beautiful. All the worries about fitting into my new closet evaporated. I’ll find a space.

    Then, I told my friend she needed to buy this set of fat quarters. She did, but apparently I was the one who really wanted it-- there I am, projecting again! So it also leaped into the trunk. It's Robin Pickens "Wild Blossoms."

     Then we were off to Sanibel-- I LOVE this little island, not just for the Three Crafty Ladies fabric shop, but for the all the cute shops, restaurants, and of course, the beach. The island was devastated two years ago-- if you recall, the bridge, the only way to get there, was wiped out. People were evacuated, then had to take boats back, many of them finding out their homes were completely destroyed.

   The bridge is reopened, but still has so much construction going on. All the lovely trees and lookout points along it are just wiped out. I’m sure it will take years for new growth.

    Once you get over the bridge, you come to a tiny intersection-- make a left and you head to the beach, a right and you wind your way up to Captiva and all the little touristy shell and food shops along the way. We went right-- our favorite hot dog place is just a couple of miles up.

    It was about a 50/50 for rebuilding-- the optimistic built right back-- the rest just can’t afford it, or just had enough heart break this time. The Three Crafty Ladies shop was here-- although the center has been repaired, they have not opted to return. It is heartbreaking-- they had the best selection of seashore fabrics, kits, and a little sampling of every other craft as well. It looks like they are doing pop up shops and planning something for the future, but I’m not likely to be in these parts again.

    This is the “hot dog place” which I’m happy to say was fully restored-- better than it even was. My mom, my sister, and I had lunch here many times. 

     Now that mom is gone, I thought I might cry-- but honestly, I’ve come to terms with it mostly, and I was really enjoying the time with my sister. It’s funny about memory-- I thought they had a big selection of hot dogs here, but it was mostly burgers! LOL-- you’d think the name would have tipped me off--"Cheeburger, Cheeburger." 

     So instead of getting the hot dog I remembered, I got this. I have to admit, I really enjoyed the restaurants the most in this trip-- Florida has it all!

    We walked around a bit-- there was a fabulous gift shop in this center call Pandora’s Box-- it has not returned. Although fully renovated, the center was about half empty. 

    We came back with a drive through Fort Myers Beach-- also devastated, and seemed less rebuilt than Sanibel. There was a pier here that was completely wiped out, and will probably never be rebuilt, if good sense reigns. The sad truth is, we were just getting out ahead of hurricane “Debby”-- we beat it up the coast, but I did see on the news just a few days later, this area was totally flooded again.

    I kind of surprised myself at the ease with which I was able to let go of all this-- seeing it for the last time. But I'm really looking forward to next adventures in Maine. It's the best place I've been in emotionally for a long time.

    After dinner, we headed back to the hotel my sister had been staying at, to pack the car and get ready. Off we went, first thing the next morning.

     The weather was beautiful-- what else is there to be said when you have two cats in the car and only one person can leave the car at a time! I decided for fun to just take picture of each "Welcome to" state sign for my own amusement. We planned four six-hour driving days which seemed very doable. Most of the first day was just getting out of Florida-- I insisted we get into Georgia, and we made it just about to Savannah. Any idea of doing a little exploring at night was out of the question-- we were so tired, and so sick of the car! This is the only picture I took that whole day. We did have a nice time at the first hotel's pool.

    Day Two-- I really wanted to get to Virginia by the end of the day, but North and South Carolina are big states! 

     The biggest event this day was stopping at Buc-ees in South Carolina-- I didn’t even know they were on the east coast. 

    If you don't know, Buc-ees is a HUGE rest stop chain with a hundred gas pumps, food, and all kinds of souvenirs. In we went, one a time and it was packed--the line for the restroom was huge to my dismay. They actually had a person in there, directing traffic and there were at least a hundred stalls, too, so it went super fast. Likewise with the line to check out. You have to wonder how much money they bring in at a place like this, minute to minute. People were just milling everywhere. I had no notion of shopping, but they don't have fabric anyway.

     My sister snagged us a couple of pulled pork sandwiches and off we went.

   Shortly after, we passed “South of the Border." As a kid driving down in the 60s, we so looked forward to stopping at this famous roadside attraction, and “filling our trunk with Pedro’s junk.” Many of your will remember they had fun rhyming billboards telling you how many miles you had to go before you got there-- it really passed the time when we were kids in the back seat of the car! 

     Well, I'm sure you also know, it’s currently in a state of disrepair-- I wouldn’t even consider stopping there and by the looks of it, no one else would, either! 

   So Buc-ees is the new roadside attraction for our new culture-- I’m not sure what my thoughts are on that, but my own Buc-ees experience did not match the nostalgia I have for South of the Border.

     We did make it to Richmond that night, but after two gorgeous driving days, the weather started to get the best of us. We walked across the street from our hotel to get dinner-- again, there was no way we were getting back in the car. We sat by a window and a severe thunderstorm blew in-- we saw the lights on our hotel across the street blow out! While we did get soaked walking back, the hotel had a generator which soon had everything restored. A nice hot shower, and we were tucked in for the night.

     Day 3 was a tough one-- Washington--Baltimore--Wilmington-Philadelphia- and New York. Can you relate? But we really didn’t want to drift into a fifth day of driving, so we pushed on. 

     We did pass what is left of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore-- it was very eerie. Here's my bad photo through the port-- you can just see the approach that ends in nothingness. Did I mention I don't like to drive over bridges? 

    The six hour drive turned into nine hours, especially through Delaware, the short state, which took us the longest! It was stop and start the whole way.

      What a relief to finally cross the Delaware and get to New Jersey.

   New Jersey is where I grew up and met my high school sweetheart, Mr. SFO. We really had made alot of progress in three days-- back on familiar turf! We consciously avoided New York and the dreaded George Washington Bridge-- if you ever headed into New England, take the new Cuomo Bridge further up the Hudson. We stopped for the night at a hotel right before it, and the downpours began again-- we were fortunate not to be driving in it all day, at least!

     Day 4--last day! We left super early this morning to get across the Hudson and though Connecticut with as little traffic as possible. The GPS told us to get off 95 and take the Merritt Parkway-- more good advice for anyone venturing up to New England. 

     This was one of the countries first “designed” highways-- meant to be a lovely rolling drive through the country in your model T, I guess! It’s quite a different experience than I-95-- it has only two lanes in each direction, and you roll under a canopy of trees with lovely countryside views-- no trucks allowed! 

     They bridges across are super quaint and the roadside is totally manicured. Here’s a cute little rest stop-- God forbid there is ever a line for the bathroom-- it is tiny and you’d never make it!
Quite a different experience from Buc-ees, I'd say. Welcome to New England!

    On into Massachusetts, which we called home for almost 20 years-- so strange to continue through it. 

     I bought a ton of peaches at this farm stand at one of the Massachusetts Pike's rest stops. The day was overcast, but at least the six hour drive was, indeed, six hours.

New Hampshire--

Then Maine!

     So, I'm pretty sure my sister had had it with me and my Welcome to signs by now-- Maine is missing. It says, "The Way Life Should Be." And I have to say, for maybe the first time, I was looking forward to getting back to my little farm, and my sewing room, and family. I was really tired of all the traffic, all the rushing about. After two years, Maine finally feels like home.
     We’re about three hours past this border-- the time flew. We got in about 4pm that day-- look what was waiting for us-- a grill out, with corn from our very own garden! 

    So that was my adventure-- in spite of the long hours in the car, I really enjoyed being with my sister for four whole days-- the most time we’ve spent together in many years, I bet. There was lots of time to just enjoy the scenery rolling by and reflect on the past and the future of this great country of ours. It’s probably not an experience I will have again.

    If you felt like this post was a little boring, and a little long-- I have exactly captured what it was like to drive these 1686 miles. Thanks for coming along!

xox

Carol