Still shivering in NC

We are at the Wal-Mart in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina (map). There are a plethora of restaurants and other stores here, as well as a visitor center -- we ate at the Lone Star Steakhouse across the street.

One of the consequences of our slow pace is that it will take a while to get someplace warmer. We've been driving only three hours per day, which is our usual preference, and our decision to stay on the blue highways means that, here in the east, three hours only gets us around 100 miles, half what could be achieved on the Interstate. Last night, it was colder here than it has been for us in the last few days, and we've had the Webasto running a good five hours between last night and this morning.

Yesterday we rolled south on US-1, electing to take it all the way through Richmond rather than bypass the city on the freeway. We continued south to Petersburg, where I was caught a bit off guard that US-1 diverts from the I-95 corridor and follows, instead, I-85 towards Raleigh. We stopped in an empty lot downtown to consult the maps, and chose, instead, to continue south on US-301, which would keep us further east, and provide a more direct route to our target of hitting the Atlantic coast at the Florida state line. A more westerly route will just prolong the amount of time we spend in the cold, since it's colder west of here, and longer to boot.

Subsequently, we've recived messages from a couple of readers, noting that we were on US-1, and asking if we might stop for a visit. Except, of course, we are no longer on that route. I am now looking at diverting that way south of Fayetteville on US-401, which would mean fueling up in Columbia rather than Dillon. (Yes, I know we just fueled. But we'll be at least 50 gallons down by then, and this will be the cheapest fuel we'll see for a while unless diesel in Florida drops another 20 cents.)

In the interests of not dissapointing anyone else who is hoping for a meet, our rough plan for the next month is to continue south along US-301, -401, -1, and -321 into Savannah, then work our way along the coast down to Florida. After that, we will try to hit some coastal highlights, Disney World, and maybe the keys (dependent on State Park reservations) in no particular order, eventually ending up in Stuart for TrawlerFest at the end of January, subject to being preempted if our request for inauguration tickets comes through. If you think we might be in your neighborhood, send us an email sooner rather than later -- we often get the "we just missed you" comment right after we've already left someplace.