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What, you mean you don't have a Waffle House menu hanging on your wall?

We're back in Mahopac.

Vacations and, in general, traveling, comes and goes.

It was a long ride that stretched from 7:44 this morning until I turned the engine off for the last time in Mahopac at 4:45 p.m.

The total day, without breaks, was 7:25. Now add in the 3:38 of yesterday and our 650.8 mile odyssey took 11:03.

The southbound trip, using a much more basic approach (all I-95, all the time) and it took 622.4 miles over 11:04.

If you're keeping score, the northbound trek was 28.4 miles long and one minute shorter. Traffic is a fickle beast indeed.

The trip home was more involved, even more experimental. While I rolled out of Stedman a little differently, getting on 95 at Exit 55 (yes), the trip was otherwise standard-issue, save for the several miles where I got creative because there was a report of bad traffic near the Dunn, NC area. Otherwise, despite more heavy rain, it was a lot of 95 to our Ashland, VA hotel.

Today? I got nutty.

But first, we started with a final Waffle House breakfast, served by the delightful JoAnn, who is also a fellow New Yorker. She graced us with two menus as keepsakes.

So I stayed on 95 through northern Virginia, but the thing is, I kept going. So when 95 turned at Springfield towards Baltimore, I stayed straight right into Washington.

Traffic was reasonable, making for a close-up glance at the Washington Monument and other sites of the District.

Via I-695, I slipped onto DC Route 295, which becomes the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the Maryland line.

If you know the B-W Parkway, you know it's annoying.

And it was. I bailed at Maryland route 197, connecting with 198, which got me back in 95.

But our Interstate 95 love story soon ended, as I grabbed the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and rolled up tn northbound Interstate 83, which got us to a necessary break at a Sheetz in York, PA on US 30.

And the coffee, bluntly, was awful.

Once off US 30 in Lancaster, we worked our way up US 222 before a lane reduction due to construction slowed things to a crawl. Here's the thing about that: it's not that difficult. Using a "zipper" method, cars alternate their way in and traffic keeps moving.

But that's not reality, thus it was chaos, and only a truck doing God's work could stop the carnage, as he blocked those who wanted to run up the left lane and stuff themselves into the line at the last minute.

The (former) VF Outlet Center. It didn't look like this a few years ago

I thought I'd pop in and say hello to our old friend: the VF Outlet in Reading (actually, Wyomissing), PA. Major renovations have changed the entire site from what it was, and unless you've been there before, it's hard to explain just how stunning the difference was from the last time we were there. It's now known as The Knitting Mills.

Had time been on our side, there could have been some deep bargains, but I felt that would be best for another time.

That, and the 17-year-old who walked in with me out of curiosity, hoping that I would not really shop. So I didn't.

Back on the roads, we made one last Wawa stop for snacks and a drink. Of course, I didn't realize that I had a Wawa reward (membership has its privileges), so Sean's drink that could have been free was not.

We got on U.S. 222 and went to I-78, took that into New Jersey to I-287 to I-87 (in New York now) to local roads before using US 202 and the Palisades Parkway to get to the Bear Mountain Bridge. A combination of roads saw us reach the finish line.

Bear Mountain Bridge, NY

The budget turned out to be very reasonable. It's just having the right vehicle to make it all happen.

And we're back. No Doubleheader tomorrow or Tuesday as I'll be visiting Dutchess Stadium for two Connecticut Tigers/Hudson Valley Renegades games.

Then back to yelling about ugly uniforms, bad baseball, bad broadcasting, high school sports, and whatever else.

Oh, and congratulations go to master pie maker Susan for her Two Crust Bacon/Fireball Apple Pie! It came in first at the Cannon Grange Fair in Wilton. She's an amazing cook and baker and pie maker.

See you all tomorrow.