I left Miami a bit before 2 PM on Sunday after taking the guise of InterroClaus and leaving Alex and Ashley with stickers, shot glasses, mugs, and cookies and began taking the ride home which consisted of a single direction: north.  The barrage of 50 cent and 1 dollar tolls on the Florida turnpike grew annoying quickly and I gunned for I-95 at the earliest possible point, delighted to see that I’d not have to change roads for another 700 miles until I was around DC.

I have driven from PA to FL just enough that areas seemed familiar like the “Welcome to Pecan Country” rest stop in Florida where I spent an agonizing 15 seconds trying to open a stall door that was actually just a wall panel for a handicapped stall.  After that bit of idiocy I felt justified in using that toilet.

The trip was incredibly dull and I was able to average near 80 on several long stretches which destroyed my fuel economy which dipped from 31 mpg at 60 mph to 26 mpg at 80 mph.   Stupid non-linear power range of cars.  I stopped for gas in North Carolina where it was about 28 degrees, or about 60 degrees cooler than when I experienced in Miami Beach’s afternoon heat.  For much of the trip I was close to a very aggressive Jeep Compass driver who, when behind me, would blink his high beams while I was in the process of passing a vehicle to get me to move over.  I lost sight of him near South of the Border but I passed his Jersey plates near Alexandria, VA and I smiled a prickish smile.

I narrowly escaped Philadelphia’s rush hour and arrived home shortly after 8 AM to a light dusting of hoarfrost on the driveway(which technically may be rime frost, I don’t recall).  I moved my things inside, took a nap and went into work.  1224 miles in 17 hours.