PCB to Hillsville, Virginia

Yesterday was supposed to be rainy all day, especially in the afternoon, so we packed the car.  Actually, Joan packed and I stuffed, but I digress.  With the car already packed except for the last minute stuff,  we didn't have any problem leaving shortly after 8 this morning, nearly an early departure record for us...

It rained off and on for the better part of the morning, but nothing really serious.  Certainly nothing to live up to the dire flood warnings from the TV!  The rural scenes in northern Florida are just spectacular, yet very peaceful.  Some of the area is serious grazing land for cattle and it was a pleasure to see contented cattle in the fields rather than in the very high concentration of feed lots.  We also noted that ponds, small lakes and rivers in the area were swollen well beyond their habitual shores due to the recent rains, or should I say deluges.  Further into the day, the signs of flooding disappeared completely, only to be replaced by the signs of drought.  Rivers had visibly shrunken from their usual shores and lakes had new islands that hadn't been seen in decades.  All this a sign of the major drought that has afflicted many parts of Florida,  Alabama, and Georgia.

Traffic patterns in Florida and Georgia usually obey the posted speed limits.  Today, in South  and North Carolina, all bets were off: average traffic speeds were often well in excess of 10 miles per hour faster than the posted speed, and sometimes much faster.  I snuggled in with the jet set and we made very good time in areas where the police are known to be merciless on speeding.  I guess I was at the right place at the right time...  ... or just plain lucky.

Since traffic was moving so quickly, we decided to continue into Virginia.  Crossing the line between North Carolina into Virginia meant climbing a humungous hill, where the temperature dropped, our ears popped, and the sun set.  It was time to stop for the day so we pulled into the Quality Inn in Hillsville, VA. 

This trip was our first this far East in almost ten years.  We are amazed at the volume of traffic, especially trucks, and the population density of the area.  Our usual route home has been further west along the Intertates 65 and 75, where there was much less traffic and many fewer trucks.  Today was much more frantic that our previous trips home, hopefully, tomorrow won't be as bad.