FLORIDA - DAY 1

Yesterday seemed like Day 1 because we spent all day packing the car and making sure everything in the house was the way we wanted it upon our return.  Hence, we were pretty much exhausted last night when we went to bed.

Nevertheless, we awoke this morning at 6:00, which is normal for us, and started getting all those last minute things done that couldn't be taken care of the night before.  There was morning coffee, of course, and our individual routines of getting dressed -- Joyce has to shave and I had to apply my makeup.  While Joyce finished up in the bedroom, I started on the basement routine: turn down the water heater, turn off the water to the water softener and ice maker, and make a sweep of the place to make sure everything is turned off and/or unplugged that should be.

Believe it or not, we were on the road by 7:00.  Without the motorhome to provide some laughs, or aggravation, as the case may be, our trips now are generally without incident.  We ran into a little snow as we approached the higher altitudes (above 1,200 feet) around Cobleskill, but traffic was light and we cruised along with the cruise control set at 70 for most of the trip to Binghamton.  We ran into more traffic once we got to Wilkes Barre and beyond, but nothing that slowed us much or gave us any concern.

You sure get to see more of this great country when driving and, in this case, we couldn't help but notice the gradually changing tree color as we wandered south through Pennsylvania.  The leaves are now nearly all gone around Schenectady, but in Pennsylvania and here in Maryland there are still leaves on the trees and loads of color.  You can tell that the peak color is past, however.  Many of the farms we passed had not yet combined their corn or soybeans.  I'm not sure what they are waiting on, but then, what do I know?  I'm just a passing observer.

Anyway, we made it to our daughter's house in Walkersville, MD around 2:30.  Our daughter got home from work around 3:30 and informed us that we are driving to Baltimore this evening to have dinner with our granddaughter and her boyfriend.  They both attend Towson College there.  Guess who will get the honor of picking up that bill.