Author Archives: Sparky
STN Hop 7: East Stroudsburg PA to Oakham MA
229 miles on US 209, I-84, MA 49 and MA 31. Cumulative distance: 2,046 miles. The cumulative distance includes all the driving we did during our week in Massachusetts. Busy week. More on this later. The trip from PA to MA was mostly on I-84. The only good thing about I-84 is that it isn’t … Continue reading
STN Hop 6: College Park MD to East Stroudsburg PA
225 miles on I-95, I-695 (around Baltimore), I-83, US 30, US 222, PA 33 and US 209. Cumulative distance: 1,364 miles. This was, in some respects, the most difficult hop on the STN. It started with I-95 between DC and Baltimore, then a stretch on the I-695 beltway around Baltimore – both of which were … Continue reading
STN Hop 5: Emporia VA to College Park MD
190 miles on I-95 and I-495 (around Washington). Cumulative distance: 1,134 miles. If you want to take your RV rig out for a leisurely drive, I-95 near Washington – and I-495 (the “Beltway”) around Washington – is NOT the place to do it. These roads are always crowded and the drivers are always crazy. Just … Continue reading
STN Hop 4: Hamer SC to Emporia VA
202 miles, almost entirely on I-95. Cumulative distance: 932 miles. The trip itself is hardly worth noting – 200 solid miles of interstate travel. Uneventful. Boring. Efficient. We didn’t stop until we arrived at our destination: Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Emporia, VA. I had avoided Jellystone Parks in the past because… well, because it … Continue reading
STN Hop 3: Savannah GA to Hamer SC (South of the Border)
225 miles, on I-516, GA 21 and I-95, with 10 extra miles due to my screwup. Cumulative distance: 714 miles. This was supposed to be easy. But I misread the map and took a wrong turn onto I-516 in Savannah and ended up on the local streets. Some 10 miles and almost 30 minutes later … Continue reading
STN Hop 2: Citra FL to Savannah GA
224 miles on US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville) and I-95. Cumulative miles: 475. The weather was less than ideal – intermittent showers the entire 4-hour trip – and much of the trip was on I-95, which we have traveled several times already. So the interesting part of the trip was the 67 miles on … Continue reading
STN Hop 1: North Ft Myers FL to Citra FL
230 miles, mostly on I-75. I gave the dogs one last walk to the dog park, then, after waiting for our neighbor to pull out first, we were on our way. It was 11am – about an hour later than we planned – and we paid for our tardiness in Citra by getting caught in … Continue reading
The best laid schemes…
… o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley (Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”). After carefully working out all of the details of the STN (second trip north), as previously reported, Jett was notified today that her brother has decided to forgo further chemotherapy and is now in hospice with a projected lifespan of no … Continue reading
Ft Myers dog parks
Dogs love parks, especially parks that cater to canines. What is not to love? Lots of smells to sniff, lots of pups to play with, complete off-the-leash freedom. The campground has a very nice dog park, with two enclosures, fresh water and an occasional tortoise to break the monotony if no other dogs are around. … Continue reading
A season of puzzles
You can’t say that I wasn’t productive this winter. Softball, golf, dog walking… and jigsaw puzzles. My good buddy Dale and I completed a bunch of them. There were a few 300- and 500-piece puzzles, but most were big, difficult 1000-piecers. The toughest one was the one headlining this post – a jumble of Tootsie … Continue reading