Delaware — 2014 — The 21st Century Matriarch

The route from where I live in Maryland to Newport RI is dominated by I-95 passing through Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. We started the trip on a warm, sunny day. The first rest stop was still in Maryland - Chesapeake House. The place has been completely renovated from the hard used building of a few years ago. The rest stops along this stretch of I-95 are heavily utilized. It is a far cry from when I first started driving and the rest stops were not air conditioned or heated - with minimal amenities other than bathrooms….and that was on interstates. On other roads the choice was filthy gas stations or roughing it into the roadside woods if the drive was long enough to require a bio-break!

The next stop was in New Jersey at the James Fennimore Cooper service area. They shortened the name for the sign over the door to just James Cooper. We were beginning to see a little more fall color but the area was still a few weeks shy of peak.

After that stop in New Jersey we began the long slog. We got across with bridge between New Jersey and New York but then the going got slow. The road is a shoot - covered with overpasses intermittently and lined with litter. The road surface was rough and sometimes without lane markers, prepared for resurfacing. I hoped that it would get better as we entered Connecticut. The road surface improved but not the traffic. Our plan was to stop at a service area for a late lunch. We pulled into one and discovered that it was so crowded that there was no parking left. We took turns for a bio-break (keeping the car circling the parking lot) and decided to snack while we drove on.

The traffic moved a little better. We decided to forego the next service area and left the highway for a regular gas station. The bathroom was no very clean but there was no crush of people and we needed to buy gas anyway. We arrived in Newport just after 5 and I was relieved to stand in sun while my sister registered. We relaxed, cooked dinner, and took sunset pictures from the balcony.

The return trip was easier. I was braced from terrible traffic and full parking at least one rest stop….but the day as quite different. I enjoyed the color change of leaves in the week since we had come up I-95!