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I'm usually out and about fairly early but today I hung around the hotel
until nearly official checkout time in hopes of getting caught up on this
journal. Yesterday was both full and long which means I had lots to post
and not much time to do it. I did not make it and hit the road with the
journal a day behind. I've lagged a whole lot more than that on occasion.
Although there are several more days reported in Granny's letters, they
tell of their stay in Avon Park rather than any additional travel. I put
the GPS in "fastest" mode and hit the "Home" button.
Even from the expressway, orange groves can be seen and there is even some
evidence of an orange juice utility which I presume pipes fresh orange
juice into all the homes in the area. I did not personally verify that
however.
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I don't know how widespread they are but at least along the portions of
I-4 and I-75 that I drove, Florida has installed some very nice real-time
traffic information signs. I'd already passed one warning of stopped
traffic at five miles so when I saw this one indicating that the stoppage
continued, I knew it was time to exit.
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Although it may have been a great alternative to northbound I-4 at that
place at that time, this was not a quick paced detour. It passes popular
big-time attractions like Machine Gun America where, if the billboards are
to be believed, you can "SHOOT REAL MACHINE GUNS". You probably
don't shoot them at each other but I don't know that. There were many more
attractions and lots of traffic and congestion but I would not have
expected anything less with a dark cloud hanging over my head.
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I made some more bad decisions and failed to execute some good ones and
explored more of congested central Florida than anyone really needs to but
I did eventually make it over to I-75. Fitting the day's theme, traffic
on I-75 was at a near standstill when I reached it but that was due to an
accident a short distance ahead and I did not have to go far to reach the
open expressway.
Not surprisingly, I soon hit some rain but it cleared in time for me to
photograph one of those overhead signs in normal mode. Time and distance
to US-41, which alternated with time and distance to I-10, is shown. Well
done, Florida.
The late start and traffic issues meant I ended the day in Lake City with
a little more than forty I-75 miles between me and Georgia. I'll be there
soon.
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