The Long Haul--Retirement Trip Day 2

I am now in Saugerties NY. It's been a very long day. Hopefully the longest one day stretch of the trip. I started out at 8:15am after a good, hot shower and plugged in my camper for the evening at 6:15pm. The trip was only 400 miles. That said, my top speed towing is 60 mph. There were multiple slowdowns for construction. I stop every hour to stretch and walk a bit--a necessity these days. So it adds up.

Fortunately, the day was pleasantly overcast and never got to 80 degrees. The roads were busy but traffic was never overwhelming and there were no panic stops or evasive maneuvers. And the scenery, oh the scenery!

I started the day in the Shennandoah Valley. I have crossed the Susquehana, the Deleware and ended up in the Hudson River Valley. Below is a map, courtesy of Wikipedia (required citation: By Greatvalley-map.jpg: Pflyderivative work: Perhelion (talk) - Greatvalley-map.jpg, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10309620) and also a screen capture of my route via Google Maps.

I have basically gone from #8 to #3 on the first map, mostly following on the tops of ridges. The views have been wonderful, these folds of the earth covered in green blankets of hardwoods. And the broad valleys between them are magnificent--those fruited plains we sing about. I can only imagine these views after the leaves turn. 

I'm still on fairly familiar turf. We used to come up here to visit friends in Central New York. We've made trips to Gettysburg and the wonderful train museums in Scranton and Strasburg. However, today I saw something I had not seen before. Apparently, you can lose your license in NY after three tickets for texting while driving. Periodically I would see a sign saying, "It Can Wait. Texting Stop 5 Miles". Shortly after that I'd see one of these signs. The state is being very efficient. They have paired them with rest areas, service centers, overlooks or weigh stations. So they are frequent. What a novel idea--passing a law then creating accommodations to help people obey it.

I have another long day tomorrow, though not quite so long. I need to get to Saco ME so I can pick Ben up at the Portland airport on Wednesday. I called my New England travel consultant this evening when Google Maps and AAA both wanted to send me through Boston. I have been given the scenic alternative and have marked it on the map. I am usually terrified when my kids drive my vehicles but I might be ready to press Ben into service come Wednesday...