Marlborough, MA proved to be a perfect stopping point on Wednesday, as the eyes and bodies were getting road weary. After an early Thursday wake up (hit the road at 5:00 AM), we once again turned our focus to gaining ground south toward our stop in Fredericksburg, VA. A quick fuel ⛽️ up… and we were off! The route is one well travelled by us… using the I-90, I-84 and the Merritt Parkway (HWY 15). To avoid the fray of NYC, we crossed the old Tappan Zee (now the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge) to Jersey… then south.
We’ve kind of turned into coffee snobs while on the road, so our first stop of the day was in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, at Pour City Roasters. Great spot to catch a little wifi, really good coffee ☕️ and clean as a whistle washrooms. A short regroup to scope out our path through NJ into Maryland. We chose the I-287… about 45 minutes longer, but far more pleasant than the orange / red Google Maps traffic indicators we would’ve faced on the original route! Lots of construction 🚧, election year I guess 😂.
As I toss out Interstate numbers I thought it might be beneficial to add a couple of tips that have helped me along the way. Numbering does mean something on the interstate… this link (The Drive) explains in good detail the why and how, but in essence East / West highways are two digit #’s that end in ”0” and North/South have two digits ending in “5”. There are 3 digit numbers as well. A further tip, gas stops often require “zip code” for purchasing. The cheat for us Canucks is to take the numbers from our Postal Code and add two “0’s”. Travel here rarely goes without incident. For example, Janie and I somehow popped onto an Interstate today (NJ Turnpike) without getting a ticket. We ended up having to fork out ($15) a lost ticket toll because of it. Keep some bucks in your pocket for sure 😬… tolls add up quickly and every bridge / interstate out east seems to have a booth!
We opted, as a route, to skirt some of the major cities we’d seen before (Philadelphia / Baltimore / Washington DC) and frequent connecting highways. We tumbled into surprises due to route changes on the fly to avoid major traffic tie ups / construction / accidents… including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Well now… not the fixed link to PEI, but definitely a pretty cool piece of engineering!
Did I mention it was warm? Rolled into Fredericksburg with the car reading 39°C and heat warnings posted for the Capital Region. It was not a “dry heat”. We were smacked with the wave of humidity as we stepped out of the car at our evening choice for accommodation, the Hampton Inn & Suites Fredericksburg-at Celebrate Virginia. We checked in just a tad early relieved to be off the road!
So… some “not out of the cooler” supper seemed appropriate after such an epic driving day. We cranked on the reviews, and sourced up the top place in the older part of town, dubbed the Mason-Dixon Cafe! We sampled a couple of menu items… everything new to us! We grabbed some “Chicken & Waffles” as per Hinchey’s note (with maple bacon syrup), while also sampling a “Jersey Steak Sandwich” and “Blue Cheese BBQ Cut Chips” with Balsamic dressing. We had eyes bigger than our bellies… barely finished. And yes… the chicken / waffle combo is absolutely a thang 😳!
Lastly, we replenished our “toll” fund (Scotiabank has a US Affiliate – Bank of America), gathered some cough meds at the pharmacy, then retraced our steps home! We prepped the room, spent about 45 minutes on the treadmill, then hit the bunk. Large day with more on the way in the morning. 👍
Wow. You folks are moving. You’re forcing me to open Google Maps to see your exact route. Looks pretty efficient. And isn’t it fun enjoying that early morning coffee and planning the day. Nothing like people watching with coffee… especially in some of the neat little European spots you’ve picked over the years. I’m guessing you’re pretty well ready to slow down and see ‘stuff’ after a couple of long ‘getting there’ days.
Gasoline ⛽️ for the car, coffee ☕️ for us as far as fuel goes 😜. Today is set up as another driving day, with destination Virginia in our sights. I’ve framed out potential stops for the days ahead in the blog… but today is mostly blacktop!