Day 33, Feb. 22, Heading for Home

The temperature at the hotel when I left at 8:55 a.m. was 26 degrees. The odometer read 16680.2 and I had a half a tank of gas. The sky was overcast. The lady at the desk never said goodbye, never asked how my stay was; she didn’t make any comment when I handed over the key. As I drove out of Scranton and exited Rte. 81N onto Ret. 84E, the sky lightened and I could see patches of blue. It was hard to tell if there was more blue or more clouds. It was bright enough that I put on my sunglasses.

The N.Y. border was crossed and I entered the Hudson River Valley at 9:50 with the speed limit still 65 mph. An elevation sign at a high point said 1,272 ft. For the most part, although there were beautiful farm lands, the drive was tedious, especially when the speed limit dropped to 55. I’d slow down and vehicles would pass on both sides. I felt sleepy and did my usual wriggling in the seat, shaking arms and hands, pounding on my legs, and shaking my head. It was scary catching myself dozing off. Still, the drive across N.Y. didn’t take too long. I took a few photos as I drove  and when I crossed the Hudson River, paying a toll of $1.50, my battery was dead. Drat, I wanted pictures of the bridge.

I made a stop in Fishkill at 10:30 a.m. to have a late breakfast at the Rte. 84 Diner. I changed the battery in the camera and hobbled inside where I ordered two eggs over hard with the yolks broken, two pancakes, bacon and orange juice for $10.45 counting the tip. I couldn’t eat all the pancakes. It was 11:15 when I left to go across the street to the Sunoco station for gas. Oh, my God! The price was $3.97/gl and that was the cash price. I paid $30 and ended up with ¾ of a tank. What’s going on with the gas prices?

I passed into Conn. at 11:45 a.m., odometer reading 168.11.1 and it was 37 degrees. The speed limit was 65 and I so wanted to drive faster. I do allow myself 5 mph over the limit. Rte. 91N was reached an hour later and Mass. at 1:25 p.m. and Vt. At 1:55. I made a quick bathroom break at a rest stop. I crossed the N.H. border at 3:15 and arrived home about 3:45. The worst driving of the day was between Keene and Hillsborough. All my fears of getting caught in the storm were unfounded. I was home safe and sound (okay, maybe the sound could be questioned, ha ha.)

I had had an amazing adventure putting 3,856.5 miles on the truck.