Journey's end

 

8:43 a.m.: Snacktime in Stedman

Travel often astounds me.

You can start the day in one place and end it in another place. I know, that's how it works.

Still, I started the day in a little place called Stedman, North Carolina.

Nice place, no question. They love Jesus and America too. For what it's worth, it's also dry but there's a Food Lion grocery store that you can buy beer and wine in five minutes away. That's because the store is across the line in Fayetteville.

Some thirteen hours later, after over 628 miles of driving, I'm sitting back in Mahopac, NY.

But, back to Stedman. It's a place that Sean and I laugh about seeing the "downtown." Which takes maybe 30 seconds. Or a minute. It all depends on your speed on Clinton Road ("Old" NC 24). We joke about food options (minimal but not non-existent, especially if you're willing to drive a bit).

Still, I'm babbling. We departed my niece's house at 8:58 a.m. One of these days I need to tell you about Kristy but it's her story and I don't want to speak out of turn. But I'll say this: she's a tough soul and I remind her of that a lot.

Anyway, we departed the mostly quiet house just before 9 a.m. We stopped just under an hour later in Smithfield at Waffle House. You were expecting Panera?

We promised ourselves we would take it easy but the game plan changed quickly. I was going to stroll into an Under Armour outlet in Smithfield but discovered it didn't open until 11. So that axed that.

A glance at the Waze app told me there was lots of trouble ahead. There was construction towards the top of North Carolina. There were pockets of traffic troubles at the top of Virginia.

We were in for a long day.

12:01 p.m.: Garysburg, NC

So I danced around the construction near Roanoke Rapids, NC only to find more construction that had our side road shut down. 

We crossed into Virginia at 12:18 p.m.

The next stop was in Richmond. A conflicted town, River City can be. It's a taste of the "old South," which isn't necessarily a good thing. It's also a taste of the "progressive South," which is a good thing, of course.

1:21 p.m.: A hazy shade of Richmond

Start with where we exited, onto the road formerly known as just "Boulevard." It's now "Arthur Ashe Boulevard." Hell yeah.

We went to Sheetz on Broad St because we wanted to and that was lunch and we will not apologize. That's the thing about what Sean and I do: it's our thing and we're not hurting anyone. I know, I know: haha, our taste is so...whatever.

We were soon back on 95, and Waze was telling me of the danger ahead. They're building more HOV lanes near Fredericksburg. I was formulating in my mind to get to "Fred" town and jump on US 17 but the traffic began before that.

And so, the silicon chip inside my head was switched to overload. Should I take US 301? It's a good route, save for a roughly 40-mile stretch that is traffic light after traffic light. I hadn't taken that option in years (2009, to be exact).

I did it. We crossed the Nice Bridge just under an hour later, while the traffic light stretch took nearly 90 minutes to traverse.

I figured Sean would enjoy the Nice Bridge as well as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (and I was right).

I enjoyed them also, along with the new US 301 toll road that has been built in Delaware. It was a good excuse to drive it.

5:41 p.m.: After Wawa, heading towards Wilmington

This was the most joyous portion of the drive. US 301 is open and comfortable through Maryland and across the Mason-Dixon Line (with Wawas to be found and stopped at).

That led us through Delaware to Wilmington, where I glanced towards Frawley Stadium, the home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The Renegades had been there last week and were 45 minutes down the road in Aberdeen, MD this week.

I thought of my road friends, who had just gathered for a road meet there last weekend (Gades game included).

7:26 p.m.: Home is this way

We carried on into Pennsylvania, through Philadelphia, and across the Delaware via I-95 into New Jersey where we had Wawa for dinner. As we walked out, I noted to Sean how I have this feeling of melancholy when we leave these places that we like, knowing that it's over and we won't be back for a while.

"Yeah, I agree," he said. "They're definitely treats."

I was hoping we could be home by 10 p.m.

I was close. We walked in at 10:04 and were immediately greeted by Rascal, who acted like nothing had changed. He didn't even seem troubled by the six cats (and one dog) that we had hung out with.

With that summary, I now have to turn my attention to writing the Renegades game story.

Then? Maybe -- just maybe -- some sleep.

Because I was in North Carolina this morning.

11:30 p.m.: Hanging with me while I type