We packed Ernie, bid a fond farewell to Greg and Sarah, and Ernie wouldn't start. Uh, oh! I suspect the heavy rains we had the past couple of days left something a bit wet, but after several tries we got a rough idle that smoothed out reasonably quickly. We stopped five miles later for a tankful of diesel, and Ernie started immediately afterwards. And then we drove.
At 541 miles, it was the longest drive of the trip, and the most time on Interstate, and almost all of it on my least favorite, I-95. But the aggravating and inexplicable slowdowns I-95 is known for were non-existent, and the drive was as carefree as we could possibly hope for. I drove faster longer than I did the entire trip, maintaining 70 mph to stay in the flow of traffic for the majority of the interstate drive.
We also had the scariest moment of our trip. Cruising along at 70 in the right lane of I-95 in South Carolina, a white pickup in front of me wandered slowly over to the left lane, and started slowing a bit, while I noticed a semi coming up fast in the left lane behind me. Then, suddenly, the pickup slammed on his brakes to make an illegal U-turn! I swerved over to the breakdown lane to give the semi an escape route, while he locked up his brakes in an impressive cloud of 16 wheel rubber dust. I expect he will have flat spots on all his tires now, but the pickup made it into the median without becoming a hood ornament.
Once we passed Jacksonville International Airport, the looney tune drivers showed their colors swerving in and out of the traffic, or wandering between lanes unaware it was a multi-lane highway, but none required me to lock up my brakes to avoid them. And with it being 4:30 in the afternoon, the lights on Atlantic were timed to move traffic to the Beaches, so we made every light from St John's Bluff.
Ninety six nights, 59 places, 14,944 miles, with an average of 21.2 mpg. A great trip, with many highlights, very few lowlights, many lessons learned, and a long To Do list before we head to Newfoundland next Summer!
Pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/tdNMerszL3Y8C1yHA
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