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| Route 522 Coming into Virginia From West Virginia |
www.dennismook.com
Today was the day to head for home. I arose at 4:50 a.m. and left the hotel by 5:15. With a 16 oz. insulated mug of very hot coffee, I headed out in the dark of the early morning toward Pittsburgh, hoping the rain and traffic would hold until after I passed. Thankfully, it did.
The traffic was light, the notorious construction on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was sparse and had not yet gotten underway for the day. Truckers were moving steadily in the right lane and not hindering the progress of automobiles in the left. All was going well as my anticipation built for being home for the first time in three weeks.
As my trusty white steel steed worked its way through the Pennsylvania mountains, I sipped on my coffee with my thoughts drifting back to the last three weeks. I starting asking myself "What was the best part of the trip?"; "What was the best place we saw?"; "Who was the neatest person we met on the trip?"; "What was the most interesting visit we made?"; and so on and so on. I was already missing the laughter and conversation with my traveling partner and good friend Vance. I'll have to answer those questions over the next few days.
As I turned south on I-70 at Breezewood, PA, I came across an unfortunate accident--a new Honda CRV had rolled at least once and was on its side in the right, southbound lane. This is exactly the same situation we saw outside Seligman, AZ. It didn't appear that anyone was hurt as I saw the vehicle was unoccupied and a woman was standing and speaking on a cell phone. That was unlike the AZ accident, where a life flight helicopter was brought in. I guess that bodes well for the safety of the new CRV. The one in AZ looked much older.
I drove through and out of PA, acknowledged the Mason-Dixon Line, and drove into and through Maryland and then into West Virginia in rapid succession. Finally, I saw the sign in the photo above. Yes, Virginia. Her sweet siren song had called me home. And home is where I was going.
I arrived home about 1:15 p.m. after driving about 468 miles. A good day. A good day to be home again. But those nagging thoughts of a great trip still haunted me. Would we do it again?
Tomorrow, I'll give a summary of mileage, states, expenses, what equipment I mostly used, what worked and what didn't work well, etc. so if you ever wish to take such an extensive road trip--or as I like to say "our most excellent adventure," you will have an idea of what your are in for. Enjoy!
Thanks for looking.
Dennis Mook
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