Yay we are home!

The weekend of April 1/2 turned out as popular travel days for the snowbirds and vacationers heading north on I-75 in Florida. To put it in perspective we entered the Interstate at Bushnell, FL and it took us 2 long hours to even make it to Ocala, Fl., which would be a 45 minutes drive under normal conditions. Yes, the highway was packed with RVs and cars that had piles of suitcases and bags strapped onto their roofs. Lots of sunburned kids were returning from their March break, so the drive continued to be at a slow and sometimes crawling pace all weekend long!

 

The weather was good except for a heavy downpour in Georgia that lasted about 15 minutes until the sun was out again. 

 

Around lunchtime on Saturday Benno had a craving for McD’s chicken nuggets and our coffees needed a refill. I found the nearest McD outlet coming up at I-75 on Exit 39, 110 W Fourth Street, in Adel, Georgia. There was no other McD coming up for several miles so we turned off the Interstate to get lunch. While Benno turned the truck and travel trailer around I went in to get our order. The place was packed with customers all of them waiting for their order and no one behind the counter as one is supposed to now use the self-order kiosks. I ordered, paid with credit card, got my receipt and waited, and waited, and waited. In the meantime more people piled in with orders already displayed on their phones. The service was so slow it was a disaster! There were some orders coming out but no one claimed them as the people had already left in frustration. When I finally returned to the truck with our food and drinks Benno said I was gone for an hour. BTW on top of the receipt it was printed: “Now hiring all positions”

 

We spent the night at the parking lot of Camping World in Byron, Georgia. It is located off I-75 Exit 149. We got there just before closing time at 6 p.m. Most Camping World’s permit overnight parking and some times even offer an electric cord.

 

Sunday’s drive was not much better than the day before. For a while we were crawling along at 15 mph for about two hours only to find out that there was an accident on the southbound lanes involving several fire and ambulance trucks but everyone on the northbound lanes wanted to have a look and slowed down causing the delay!!

 

If you happen to need a rest area in Kentucky, please take note of the Traveler's Center or Kentucky Artisan Center of Berea. It is located 1 minute off I-75, Exit 77 and about 30 miles before Lexington, Kentucky. It is stated that it has the cleanest rest rooms of all of the I-75 and I believe it is true. The parking lot is huge in a park like setting and inside the building you find upscale art, souvenirs and handmade items made locally. Well worth a visit!

This quilt had heaps of tiny uneven pieces sewn on the horse

On Sunday evening we pulled onto the parking lot for our overnight stay at another Camping World. This one was in Georgetown, Kentucky off I-75, Exit 125. 

 

Surprisingly all day Monday the traffic was good. We expected rush hour delays but there were none. We took lots of breaks for the dogs and a quick stop at Cincinnati, Ohio’s IKEA that is right next to the I-75 Exit 19, that netted me a few nice items. We pulled into our driveway about 6 p.m. and were happy to be home!

 

Throughout the trip from Florida to home we found the best fuel prices were in Georgia and it paid out to check ahead of time the GasBuddy app as there were savings of 10 cents/gal between stations. Of course it also helps if you have some kind of discount/membership card.

 

Spring has sprung here in southern Ontario. Daffodils and Tulips are up but not yet blooming and there are lots of Robins picking on our lawn. 

 

Thanks for dropping in, more in a few days.