These are the pictures from our August 2018 Florida trip.
August 14: Amsterdam, New York, to Ashburn, Virginia
Our trip began with an Alex pickup [Picture] before 9. Storms and flooding rains in Binghamton and down through Pennsylvania eliminated I-81 as a good option, so we went down the Thruway to I-287 [7 Pictures], made a Chick-fil-A stop [2 Pictures] in Flemington, New Jersey, then onto the former I-95, now I-295, across into Pennsylvania. We went through Philadelphia without incident, made a quick stop in Delaware, then took I-695 around the north side of Baltimore. To avoid DC Beltway traffic and to do something different and interesting, we took I-70 over to Frederick, then down some smaller state roads to reach White's Ferry [6 People Pictures][14 Pictures], a cable-drawn ferry across the Potomac into Virginia. From there, it was a quick ride into Ashburn for the night, and our traditional Thai dinner with Beth, Klaus, and family [Picture]. [46 Pictures from the Roads].
August 15: Ashburn, Virginia, to Folkston, Georgia
Our hosts had to head out to work early and we had a long drive, so we got going by 8:30 from Ashburn [3 Pictures]. DC traffic wasn't looking bad, so we took the Dulles Toll Road in to pick up the Beltway, then it was mostly an I-95 day from there [Picture]. We got lunch and visited the dog run in Roanoke Rapids [5 Pictures]. Alex has his first experience at Pedro's [2 Pictures]. Dinner was a pizza on the road from a place in South Carolina [Picture]. We left I-95 in Kingsland and made our way across to Folkston for the night [Picture].
August 16: Folkston, Georgia, to The Villages, Florida
This was a much shorter travel day, giving us the opportunity to visit in Folkston in the morning. We enjoyed a nice breakfast [2 Pictures], the kids and dog enjoyed the pool [15 Pictures, 1 Movie], and we all enjoyed checking out the house, yard, and pond [19 Pictures]. We also got a quick tour of Folkston and finally got the chance to try lunch from the Quick Chic, and were not disappointed. Great fried chicken, fried pork chops, and sides [6 Pictures]. After lunch, we were on out way, deciding to forego US 301 for Georgia 23/Florida 121 [Picture] (mostly) to get over to I-75. We drove through some heavy rain, pretty much blinding at times, and arrived at The Villages after 5:30 [Picture]. [18 Pictures from the Roads].
August 17: The Villages and Clearwater/Dunedin Side Trip
The early part of this day was spent at The Villages for all [1 Picture, 1 Movie], but then the kids and dog stayed behind during the side trip to Clearwater Beach and to a Dunedin Blue Jays game. We took mostly I-75 and I-275 to start, but had to divert around some traffic, still ending up on the causeway to then through Clearwater. Clearwater Beach was packed. We walked up to the Pier 60 area on the beach then back down on the paved beach walk [5 Pictures], met up with Cornelius, and headed up to Dunedin for the game. The Dunedin Blue Jays beat the St. Lucie Mets, 2-1, and the rain stayed away. Minor League Baseball park 53. [8 Pictures]. [12 Pictures from the Roads].
August 18: The Villages, Florida, to Naples, Florida
We didn't get going too quickly in the morning [2 Pictures], on our way around 10:30. We decided to skip at least some of the familiar I-75 experience by taking 471 down through the state forest and swamp wilderness preserve. We cut our way back to I-75 through Zephyrhills and Brandon (site of a Chipotle lunch stop). We arrived in Naples by late afternoon for some pool and a little party [10 Pictures]. [23 Pictures from the Roads].
August 19: Naples, Florida, to The Villages, Florida
The morning was spent at Lowdermilk Beach Park in Naples [35 People Pictures][4 Scenery Pictures], followed by a lunch at Skyline [2 Pictures]. From there, back to our home base to get cleaned up and a little more visiting [3 Pictures]. We drove past an old familiar house [2 Pictures], then got on our way around 3:00. There was a lot of rain and lightning for much of the ride, and this led us to take I-275 up through St. Petersburg to avoid the worst of it [3 Pictures]. Dinner was at Culver's near USF, and then we delivered some custard over there and got a quick dorm tour [3 Pictures]. We were back on the road at 8 and back at The Villages around 9:30.
August 20: Day at The Villages
This was our one day to be in one place. The kids hit a few golf balls [1 Movie, 5 Pictures]. Lunch came from Firehouse and dinner was at Guy Fieri's restaurant in Lake Sumter Landing [3 Pictures].
August 21-22: The Villages, Florida, to Amsterdam, New York
The only marathon drive of the trip was the one home. We got on our way from The Villages [2 Pictures] around 9:30. We made a stop at Norman's produce stand just north of Starke [3 Pictures], then got some lunch from Chipotle and Firehouse on the north side of Jacksonville [Picture]. Our ride up through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina was pretty uneventful. Dinner in Lumberton [Picture]. A couple gas stops, one in Hardeeville and one at Kenly 95 [3 Pictures]. We were in Virginia by around 10:30. The ride through the night was pretty good, about as fast as possible taking 301 from Bowling Green up to Delaware. We were back home right around 9 AM, so not a bad overall ride. [34 Pictures from the Roads].
Copyright notice: All images copyright © James D. Teresco unless otherwise specified. Unauthorized use prohibited.