On the Road Home - Day 1

We were up around 5:30 to begin our trip home.  The car was pretty much packed except for the last bags and computers.  We finished loading in the dark as the sun does not rise until around 7:30.
After coffee, juice, and toast we headed out about 7:45 on the first leg of the trip home.

The drive home is 1199.15 miles which takes about 18 hrs 42 mins. We are driving to Orangeburg, NC and will spend the night there. This should have been a 9 hr drive but took longer because of some delays on the interstate  because of heavy traffic.

We took I-75 out of Ft Myers up to Ocala but then took NW 77th St/Hwy 326 to US 301 N to I-10 to connect with I-295 to I-95 then 26 miles on I-26 into Orangeburg.  This route avoided some of the delays and traffic on the interstates and was a pleasant change from interstate driving. 

The weather was sunny and warm .....a beautiful day for driving.  We arrived at the Hampton Inn in Orangeburg ( 3583 St. Matthews Road,  Orangeburg,  South Carolina 29118,  1-803-531-6400)  just before sunset .....was about 11.5 hour drive.  This could become our stopover on trips from Captiva.

                                   

We had dinner at Fatz Café located next to the motel. Al ordered a half rack of baby back ribs with  rich and tangy BBQ sauce served with fries. I had fresh chicken tenders, served with honey mustard sauce for dipping and side of cheesy grits.  We both ordered Caesar salads but waitress messed up orders and salad arrived after entrees so manager apologized and remove charge for salads.  The restaurant was full of energy and very busy.  We'd probably come again but not order as much food.