Florida!! We made it! Tomorrow we check into our apartment, so tonight we are spending New Year's Eve in the St. Augustine area.

The picture with the palms was taken at the hotel. We are catching up the laundry from a week of travel, and planning to go out to a nice dinner when the laundry is done. We spent another hour this morning a bit north of the Florida border in another traffic stoppage for a trailer truck accident. It is supposed to be cold here today, but we have had the air conditioner going in the truck and we are running around again with no jackets. It feels so good! 

Today was an absolutely beautiful day! The weather was so warm, the sun was so warm, it seemed like summer. There were green fields here and there, and along the highway some green grass was growing. I'm sure that is no news to people from this area, but to someone used to nothing but snow for six months, this is news! Our afternoon was marred by a big accident on I 95 between a trailer truck and a car. One person was killed and the traffic stopped for miles for about two hours. It was interesting to see how people left their cars, talked to each other, and  walked around while they waited. There was a couple from New Hampshire ahead of us who were headed to Florida also. We are in Savannah tonight, staying inside the city, but arrived too late to get a chance to visit the old parts of the city. Today has been buffet day as we had lunch at Shoneys and found a dinner buffet next door to the hotel. On to Florida tomorrow!

Today was another day of travel that was a little frustrating. We left Pennsylvania, crossed small sections of Maryland and West Virginia, then crossed Virginia and ended up in North Carolina. We saw lots of farmland, cows, horses, silos, and trees. However, the sun was out all day and the temperature was really nice. We arrived in Rocky Mount before the sun set, and Louise worked a bit on what she calls her "sunshine" sweater because of it's sunny color and the fact that it will be her major project in Florida. Gary is relaxing from a day on the road with Antiques Roadshow. Tomorrow we go to South Carolina and Georgia.

The driving today was very long. We left Massachusetts with Bob and Gina waving goodbye. We crossed Connecticut, went through part of New York, and most of Pennsylvania. We were tied up in a traffic jam north of Harrisburg for 20 miles or so. We passed over the Hudson River in New York and through mountains in Pennsylvania. It was mostly a rural day, after Hartford, lots of woods, with some pretty desolate looking landscape. We finally reached Carlisle, PA to spend a quiet night in the hotel room, after experiencing comfort food at Cracker Barrel. Tomorrow we will leave the north and travel to Virginia and North Carolina. This was the longest day of driving planned - over seven hours. Gary is relaxing with a book on the Roman Emperors while Louise reads her e mail and knits.

Visiting with Family

Last night was spent in Portland visiting and exchanging Christmas gifts with Jon and Erin. A lobster dinner and watching the birds and squirrels kept us busy. Erin fixed a lovely breakfast this morning, and we hit the road. We left Maine behind, crossed New Hampshire, and are spending tonight with Bob and Gina in Sudbury, MA. Gina had a great lunch prepared, we exchanged more gifts, and had a great visit. Gary lost his arm band for tennis elbow, but Bob took us to a drugstore where he was able to replace it. We sat down and planned a tentative itinerary for the rest of our trip, checked the maps and guidebooks, and are ready to take off tomorrow.

To those of us from Northern Maine, Mt. Katahdin is symbolic of heading south as it is the most prominent landmark on the route out. Our new camera did an amazing job of capturing this image. 

Our journey begins! In sub-zero temperatures we left Aroostook County for the long drive. As we faced icy parking lots, icy stretches of road, and incredibly cold temperatures, Gary drove and Louise knit. In fact the first knitting project of the trip is a pair of socks finished today. Despite the beauty of Mt. Katahdin, there is joy in knowing we will not miss the cold and ice for a few weeks.

We hope to share our vacation with our family and friends, and encourage them to share their thoughts with us. As winter sets into Northern Maine the snow and the cold make old bodies yearn for sunshine. The long drive to Florida will be completed on New Years Day at Cocoa Beach, beginning a new year with new adventures. We are armed with books, yarn, music, and a spirit of freedom.

Good by snowstorms! The Coles are packing their gear to head to sunny Florida for the month of January 2009.