0945 Leisurely morning, we are in no rush to hit the road. We caught a little Today show, GMA, and Regis and Kelly while packing up. We probably have about 6 hours of driving time today, at least it’s not raining. Nothing worse than packing wet stuff. Had to bring the sails in last night to dry out, or, at least keep from getting more wet, the room is now a mess. The Econolodge was good to us, serious water pressure, consistent water temperature (new concept compared to the wild fluctuations at The Taj) ice machine close to room, and coffee for Dave in the am.
1105 Stopped for gas at same GA exit at which we stopped on the way up. Souvenir shop and Subway sandwich stop with the slowest sandwich artist, yet. On the bright side he did not seem to know about the Subway policy of rationing the cold cuts for the sandwiches. He piled the meat on a bit and we could actually taste it. I guess the simple things can be a thrill near the end of a long road rip!
1120, WELCOME TO FLORIDA! We are almost there…well about 4 more hours. Nice to have flat roads again too, we can use the cruise control again.
Rt 301 just north of Ocala, horse country and notorious speed traps
1433 off I-75 to route 54. The trip is almost over, about 1 hour.... Before we left, folks asked if we were anxious to be going home. Can’t really say we were feeling any urgency to get back. A new feeling, really, most other times we have been ready (probably because of the puppies awaiting our return in the past, but now they are both dead). We might be ready for another adventure… The new book is entertaining (we started Carl Hiaasen’s Skin Tight), time passed quickly today
Home at: 1530 Wow our grass is like one of those farm fields we passed, ok maybe not that high but it is higher than I’ve ever seen it. Obviously, it has rained here while we were gone.
Vital statistics; The complete trip was 2399 miles we used 126.73 gallons of gas for and average of 18.93 miles per gallon. The return trip from Deep Creek lake back home was 1041 miles it took exactly 16 hours so we averaged 65 mph, helped by the light traffic for most of the trip.
Parting thoughts;
The new aluminum trailer is nice; smoother ride, very stable and the boat sits lower so there is better rear visibility. It also sits at an angle (unless Dave parks it on a hill) which allows rainwater to drain through the rear drain hole better than the old one, we put this feature to a good test Sunday, with the late day downpours.
The last rest stop on I-75, almost home
We think we lucked out; this was our first North Americans and it was really top notch. We can’t say enough about the awesome job the Fishing Bay YC did running this event. The organizers and volunteers were more pleasant and helpful than any regatta I have attended. The clubhouse and grounds were great as well, we will go back there again, at the first opportunity.
The new van was a pleasure to spend time in and tows the boat really well. If I lived in the mountains I might choose a bigger truck but for our purposes it should be excellent.
We made quite a few new friends including several on the Flying Scot board. Serving as District Governor may have more positives than Dave may have thought and some fun as well.
The visit to “the factory” was a lot of fun and very interesting. If you get the chance to check it out in person you should try to do it. The Carpenters are really great people and they run a very good business.
The Deep Creek YC is amazing. We’ve mentioned the free beer, the spectacular scenery, a huge fleet of Scots and a really cool clubhouse and pavilion. The best thing to me was the atmosphere for a fleet race, it was better than many regattas I’ve attended. The downside is the wind is crazy, and the racing area is tight for so many boats.
Dave has some grass to cut
Thanks for all the comments, we might have tailed off on the length of these but you all said keep em coming, so it’s your own fault!!!!
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