Day 30, Tuesday, February 19, 2013, a.m.

I get up this morning still with the feeling that I’m done and it’s time to head home. I had said I’d be gone 30 days and at this point, I’ve been on the road 30 days. It feels like it’s been a long time. It has. I’ve never been away from home this long.

I am going to visit Boone Plantation this morning and maybe Fort Moultrie which is across the river from Fort Sumter. (Fort Sumter is an island in the river.) Those two places are in Mount Pleasant just north of Charleston. I’m not sure where that will put me for the night.

The next big decision is whether to stay on Rte. 17N until I reach Rte. 66W which will take me through Va. to Rte. 81N or get on Rte. 95N until 66. The first will be a little more leisurely with speed limits of 55 to 60 mph. It will also allow for some photo ops are there are some places where I can pull over if the traffic isn’t bad. The other way would be quicker at 70 mph, but 95 is so boring. I won’t have to make the decision until tomorrow.

I went up to the restaurant on the 15^th floor to get sunrise photos. There was an amazing row of dark clouds on the horizon. Brandi said it’s supposed to rain later today. I hope I’ll still be able to visit Boone. I decided to have the buffet breakfast; a few home fries, a couple pieces of bacon, cantaloupe and honeydew chunks, and one biscuit with some gravy. The view, as always, was spectacular and the photos should be great with the sun coming out from behind the clouds over the historic district.

Now it’s time to finish up packing and head out. The traffic seems heavy this morning, but maybe by the time I leave, all the work people will have arrived at their destinations. The route this morning will take me through the city proper and I don’t look forward to three lanes of heavy traffic in one direction with crossroads and then figuring out which exit off the bridge… that scary bridge… to get onto the island of Mount Pleasant.