Annual Winter Migration

Every December we join other snowbirds in the winter migration.  This year, in an effort to minimize the horrendous traffic in Atlanta, we opted to depart early Friday morning and stop north of Atlanta.  Pleep was very pleased with the plan as it meant we would be driving thru Metropolis, IL.  He is always hopeful that Ed could be convinced to stop and visit Superman’s birthplace.  As we neared the stop, he demonstrated his Superman flying skills but had no luck getting Ed’s attention.  In one last desperate attempt to divert, he grabbed the wheel but by the time he was steering, we were well past the exit.  Thanks to Peggy’s excellent navigation and technical skills, we were able to divert around traffic jams in Nashville and only hit minimal traffic issues in Chattanooga.  Friday’s drive was certainly successful doing 790 miles in just under 12 hours driving time (13 hours clock time with the change to Eastern time).

The Residence Inn in Kennesaw, GA turned out to be an excellent choice for the overnight stay.  It was far enough north of Atlanta to avoid the bad traffic.  Pleep thinks most of the drivers in and around Atlanta must think they are on the NASCAR circuit.  There are certainly a significant number of drivers who weave in and out of lanes at excessive speeds and love to run right up behind each other.  The resulting accidents lead to the greater Atlanta metro area being one of the worst areas we encounter in our travels.  Pleep was grateful for the decision to stop early as it meant he wouldn’t be required to spend his time monkeybutting all the bad drivers.

Saturday morning we headed out around 7:45 am and had absolutely zero issues with traffic.  Sailing thru Atlanta in record time, we were happy that none of the tailgaters from Auburn or Georgia decided to head to the Mercedes Stadium early.  With only a little more than 550 miles left, the drive was uneventful.  Pleep was able to convince Ed to stop at the Florida Welcome Center for a restroom break and free OJ.  He had a great time checking out all the exhibits. And when they pointed out the no pets allowed notice, Pleep explained he was a service animal.  He did think adding a shot of vodka to the free juice would be an improvement.

We got off I-95 around 3:15 and drove straight to the car wash.  This was the first long road trip for the 2018 Audi S5 Sportback and Ed wanted to make sure the car was washed up before we did the final few miles to the beach.  The Superwash fit the bill nicely even with the long lines.  Pleep was impressed by the Lava wash and free vacuum.

After 19 hours driving time, the worst part of the trip was hitting the Daytona Beach Shores Christmas parade.  Because the parade was right on A1A in front of our condo, all the routes were closed.  It took over an hour to navigate a route in and even then Peggy had to get out of the car and move a barricade allowing us to sneak in from the north.

It’s good to be back in our winter home and we’re looking forward to visits from our Northern snowbird friends.