Today begins our journey home. Al was up around 5 and I was up later about 5:30. We dressed and finished packing the last of our bags, computers, and food. Al slipped and fell on the last step of his first trip down. He fell flat on his back at the bottom of the steps but was not seriously hurt but it scared us both. After the Escalade was fully packed, we had another coffee, orange juice, pastry and bowl of strawberries. We left just before sunrise about 7:30. These pictures were made as we crossed the causeway about 8:00.
We took a route home following I-75 N to Highway US-301 near Ocala to I-10E to I-95N to US 601 to Orangeburg, SC where we stayed at Hampton Inn at 3583 St. Matthews Rd. We should have made the trip in about 9.5 hours but we had 3 delays ( one was 1 hour of sitting not moving) that cost about 2 hours of our time. I had packed a lunch of ham sandwiches and deviled eggs so we did not have to stop for lunch. We made one stop for gas. We arrived at the motel about 7:00 before sundown. We got a first floor room but it was non-smoking to Al's dislike. This motel is being replaced with a new facility so we'll have to check that out for next year or find another location to stay.
We had dinner at the same restaurant as last year, Fatz, which was within walking distance...just across the parking lot. We sat at the bar to prevent waiting for a table. Al had the Black Jack Bacon Burger-basted with a secret Cajun blend and topped with apple wood-smoked bacon and shredded pepper jack cheese and a side of onion rings. I had Pork Barbeque Sliders with French fries and a Waldorf salad ordered from their special Pick 2 menu.
