January 1, 2009


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THURSDAY
FIRST DAY OF THE 2009

10:50 AM = Left motel room. Sitting in the car charging my phone & camera battery as I'm writing this...

4545.7 trip A miles
0.0 trip B miles
66 F
60% oil life
60% Fuel

It's time to go back home ... I-40 has forecast of snow on Saturday + Sunday, I-20 and I-10 has only rain on those days... I came on I-10 so I'll go back on I-20 (till it meets I-10). Might as well go the whole distance of I-20, so I'm going to Florence, SC now. After that its 2720 miles back home. But the trip is NOT over yet!!!

11:00 AM = Left the motel

11:08/4549.1 = I-4 East to Orlando/Daytona Beach

11:11/4550.4 = x65 for Osceola Pkwy -- I-4 is a parking lot.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go" on Roadtrips #2/1

11:34/4564.2 = Turned Left on Boggy Creek Rd
11:35/4565.4 = Turned Right on Boggy Creek Rd
11:43/4571.2 = Left on Narcoossee Rd.

I really like my iphone and Google Maps for their traffic detecting capabilities!

11:48/4575.2 = 417 North....
11:51/4578.4 = Taking 528 East to Cape Canaveral now.............

12:20/4600.0 = x37 for Hwy 407 North
12:24/4604.3 = Good ole I-95 North!

12:52/4638.7 = Made first EMA for home = 7977 miles, unless I stretch it to 8000

1:03/4652.7 = Passed x260B for Orlando (I-4 West). If I had stayed on I-4 this morning, I would've still been on I-4, maybe 1/2 hour behind. Traffic was showing red and yellow beyond Orlando.

2:16/4742.1 = Passed x351A for I-10 in Jacksonville

2:43/4773.1 = Joy-Jah.

2:45/4776.3 = Took x3 in Georgia as "Sweet Home Alabama" was on the CD .... I'm not in Alabama.
$28.50 = 16.974 Gallons, 4776.6 miles

2:54/4772.2 = Back on the interstate

4:00 PM/4851 = Thinking about taking I-16 from Savanna to Macon then to Atlanta then I-20 West ... It will shave off 240 miles from the trip, but I've never been on I-16 before so I'll get to see that road's scenery. And I can always add the 240 miles back into the trip if I feel like it later... Yeah I wanna do that now.

4:12/4865.8 = Took x94 for Hwy 204 in Savannah -- going to start of I-16. Maybe enter South Carolina coz that will be state #10 on this trip (nice round number)... On the other hand, I'm running out of daylight... Maybe Oklahoma later -- or even Tennesseee tomorrow.

4:19/4870.8 = Veterans Pkwy North
4:25/4877.0 = I-516 West (North actually)
4:25/4877.8 = x3 for U.S. 80 East/Ogeechee Rd
4:30/4880.0 = Left on MLK Jr Blvd
4:35/4881.4 = Turned left at the Start of I-16. Now onward to Macon and/or Hotlanta!

4:40/4887.5 = I just realized I've started the journey West -- the sun is in my eye when the trees are not blocking it. I'm enjoying the trees for a different reason too -- there wont be too many after I've left Louisiana tomorrow night or Saturday morning. Atlanta is 237 miles from here -- hopefully wont be much traffic there tonight. Ok, sun is still in my eye but behind clouds, and looks like rain ahead -- my car needs another wash!

4:51/4901.6 = Got passed by a bigrig truck -- this is humiliating... but I'm not gonna get a ticket now -- this trip has been perfect in every way and I want it to stay that way! I've seen more than 10 cops today, either pulled someone over or aiming their radar guns from their hiding places! They're in full force for the holidays.

6:00 PM/4986.0 = That was a beautiful first sunset of the new year! I-16 scenery is trees on both sides, but he sunset was great!

6:12 PM = 23,086 total miles = 5000.0 trip miles -- just as I parked at a rest area for "resting" myself, near I-16m46.

6:53/5045.1 = End of I-16, joined good ole I-75 again, this time Northbound

7:49/5110.4 = x231, Time to pick up dinner

8:01/5112.1 = On the road again. I've been commanded to wave to Atlanta as I pass by, so I better finish my dinner before I reach the city

8:14/5126.8 = Took the exit for good ole I-20 west and waved to the state capitol building as ordered, then continuing dinner (I'm not done yet)

8:43/5158.9 = I'm trying to memorize the song "Lost Highway" by Bon Jovi ... It's on repeat play on Roadtrips #8/3. This song IS my life except for the plastic dashboard Jesus -- that's way too tacky, even for me!

8:52/5169.5 = I think I wanna stop for the night now -- cross the time zone into Alabama tomorrow. And I keep getting verses mixed up in the song -- will try again tomorrow. Hah! Perfect timing for that decision -- Bremen has a Quality Inn!

8:55/5172.5 = x11

9:02/5173.8 = Checked in @ Quality Inn Bremen

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