Heading North With the Geese

It is difficult to leave this.....

And this......

And even this homely wood stork, to head north again.

But our life back home called to us.....and so we headed north. Our first day was a 13 hour slog from Melbourne, Florida to Emporia, Virginia. Lunch on the road is real basic. A thermos full of coffee, naval oranges, yougurt and our all time favorite as seen below.

Once you get to the D.C. Area, the traffic picks up and of course you run into the invariable road construction delays. But in a bit, there are several beautiful bridges to cross. We have to circle around Baltimore Harbor simply because we carry propane tanks and therefore cannot travel through the tunnels. We cross the harbor over the Francis Scott Key Bridge. I have written about this bridge and Fort Carroll that you can see alongside of it. I must admit that I gave you some incorrect information. Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner while on a truce ship negotiating the release of a friend during the War of 1812. Britain had captured Washington D.C. and was trying to capture Baltimore. The Americans held on to the harbor after a ferocious battle. The story goes that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the song when he saw the flag still flying above Fort McHenry not Fort Carroll. This particular bridge was named for him.

Further north, we crossed over the Delaware Bridge. The Delaware River is a massive and important east coast river originating in the Catskill Mountains of New York. It drains over 1400 square miles and is 388 miles long finally emptying into the Delaware Bay.

Luckily we avoided the commuter traffic in both Washington D.C. and New York City. Rt. 95 runs along the east coast of New Jersey.....all through the extremely, industrial sections. In other words, it is difficult to see the beauty amidst the factories, warehouses and housing developments. When we were finally able to see little glimpses of NYC, we were surprised to see a tower rising where once the Twin Trade Towers stood. It towers above any of the surrounding skyscrapers. This is what is being called the "Freedom Tower" and replaces the towers destroyed in September 2001. Its official name is One World Trade Center. It is slated to be completed in 2014 and will rise to 1776 ft. This number is significant to all Americans...1776, the year we declared independence from England.

 

And then we crossed the George Washington Bridge, squeezing in between delivery trucks, ten wheelers, taxis and commuter cars. There are two levels, the one on top for through traffic and the one below for local traffic. All I can say is ....I am glad that John drives this stretch of the trip. It can be very intimidating!

 

 

Driving north through Connecticut and Massachusetts we began to see hints of open spaces and winter farmland, hardwood forests and rivers. We love being on the road, the adventure of seeing new places and meeting people who share our love of exploring. But there is really no place like home.....we have passed this sign hundreds of times on our way north and still get the same wonderful feeling. There is nothing better than returning to Vermont.

 

There is always snow in Randolph.

And finally the best road sign of all.......we are just about home, just a few miles north through the Champlain Islands to our home in North Hero.

So my friends who have been traveling with us and sharing our adventures..... This is the end of this blog but join us again in August when we head to the Pacific Northwest. To all of you who have emailed comments, thank you. The comments help us keep connected when we are on the road. We appreciate all of your thoughts.

 

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