Sat. - Dec 28/13

Up and on our way by 7:30 am.

Travelling was much better in clear weather. Nice to see the sun!

We leave I-81 after 15 minutes as we turn Eastbound onto I-66. Less than a half hour later we turn onto US-17 towards Warrenton, VA. Outside of Warrenton I was a little confused when the GPS said "Exit Left" towards Fredericksburg. It had always been a Right Turn at the upcoming stoplight (at least for the last 30 years or more) - it was left - with a new dedicated overpass making the right hand turn over the highway. Much easier!

It is shorter going from Harrisburg, PA to Frederick, MD and around Washington, DC; however, the traffic can be horrendous. I would not trade the 40 extra miles for a route that allows filling at the Flying J, overnighting at Walmart and is much less hectic - especially in an RV towing a car. With less traffic congestion the travel time is probably similar.

Some folks go farther down I-81 before using other Interstates to connect with I-95. That route is longer and more mountainous which adds to lowering the fuel mileage and strain on the motor and transmission. It can also be worse in poor weather in an RV. I-95, in comparison, is relatively flat and more chance of rain rather than snow or freezing rain.

I-95 was slow when entering at Fredericksburg last year. This time - no problem. Being a Saturday, we stayed on I-95 around Richmond, VA rather than take the bypass like most of the other traffic.

The Factory Premium Outlet Mall at Smithville, NC was packed with shoppers looking for after Christmas specials as they headed south.

We encounter a few more stop and go sections as congestion increased as other major interstates joined I-95 which added about 2 hours to our travel time. Sometimes, I go backwards! I have to leave room to stop - idiots like to cut in to gain 30 feet.

Flying J at Latta, SC was our next fuel stop. The best price of the trip at $3.03 per U.S. gallon. We had to wait for a few minutes as a Flying J tanker was in refilling the RV tanks.

Later, as we got farther down I-95 it began to rain. It was now dark. There were periods of heavy downpours with high winds. Often speeds were down to 40 mph. A few idiots that refused to slow down ended up parked upside-down in the ditch.

We arrived at our next traditional Walmart stop at Walterboro, SC. We were happy to arrive as we were once again in a congested slow down. We lost another hour in this section of I-95. As usual, there were close to 30 RV's parked on the East side.

Supper was the China Buffet in the mall area in front of the Walmart. It had a good selection. Cost w/tip was only $20 for two.

Again, we were asleep by 9 pm.