Day 20 – Saturday

The last leg is finally here. Out of the motel by 9 am and with a stop at Quantico for gas…and a couple of shots of their monument at the entrance, I arrived home at 5:10 p.m. traveling 1,094 miles door to door. Total mileage 3,163 and averaging just over 21 miles to the gallon.



I took a different route home that included the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and, of course, the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Just north of Richmond, VA, I noticed the traffic became heavier but the jerks on the road didn’t begin to appear until I was over the Memorial bridge; the construction going on north of Washington, DC is extensive and impressive; the cranes, girders and support columns foretell quite an elaborate roadway.
Yes, the first jerk encountered was a female (from NJ) that disregarded my signaling a move into the lane to my right. There were six lanes but an upcoming split required my moving one lane to head north into NJ. She kept on coming and had I not caught her out of the corner of my eye, she would have gotten me in my right rear door; that’s how far back she was and to not have seen my blinkers…..including the red one in the side mirror…is beyond me. The cursing last but a few moments and then to watch her weave in and out of traffic ahead only confirmed my belief that I was back ‘up north.’

The temperature change (89 when leaving Daytona, 45 arriving in Peekskill), and the gray overcast skies was the unfortunate greeting I received as I pulled around back of River Ridge so I could begin unpacking the car. Vicki greeted my at my apartment door to watch the reaction of Petey upon my arrival. He chirped, stretched his wings for me and when let out of the cage flew to my shoulder and lowered his head against the side of my face to receive his rubbing. We shared a glass of wine (Vicki and I) and I was filled in on the latest happenings around, viewed my stack of mail, and was invited to dinner with her and George a bit later.

To conclude this post and end this edition of my blog, I can truly say that, although this may be “home” for me, I do miss the view of the ocean I had, the sounds of waves and surf, the hard packed sand so easy to walk on, and the sunrises that announced a new day with new experiences. I have decided to “retire” from running around crazy, picking up, repairing, and then returning computers. I will take care of fifteen jobs on my list and inform each that henceforth, they’ll have to find another or use my friend at Bits & PCs for their computer problems. That is step one of many for what I hope to be a change in my life and my future.
Thanks for taking the time to read the ramblings and I'm happy to know that at least one reader has benefited from the sleep inducing aspects of my journey.