We awoke for Day 3 in New Brunswick, New Jersey at the Howard Johnson.  It was an interesting evening at the HoJo.  As you never know what is wrong or right about a hotel, this was definitely just a place to stay and not a hospitable experience.  We arrived very tired on Day 2 and entered the room, which appeared clean to immediately refuel with some apps and beer.

Little did we know last evening that the cable didn’t work and that the air conditioning was difficult.  As in difficult I mean, that it would work in cycles.  Each 5 minutes, it would turn on and then turn off with a loud grown as if it was about to breathe it’s last air conditioner breath.

This morning after one of the best slept night’s in the last week (despite the cable and air conditioning noise), I awoke to a hotel coffee maker that didn’t work.  Can you believe it? Yes, the caffeine addict didn’t have her juice. So after two very long 10 hour driving days, no coffee. It definitely was not a good morning for groggy Ms. Traveling Pants.

Now, as a lesson to all that have worked in the hospitality industry, I told the management at the HoJo upon leaving, “I am here to check out as well as let you know of some issues with the room.  First, the cable is not working nor the air conditioner.  And to top it all off, the coffee maker doesn’t work.”  I was then told by the management, “We will put it on the list. Thank you Mam.  You are all set.” Wasn’t that great customer service?  I just didn’t have the energy or care to protest (lucky HoJo).

So it was off to the New Jersey Turnpike for a quick two hour journey throughJersey to New York and over to the Hudson Valley.  Interestingly enough, we saw no Cracker Barrels from the hotel in New Jersey through New York that was until our exit getting off of Highway 84.  It was the Poughkeepsie exit 13 and ironically our last exit.  The last and final Cracker Barrel #41 was there.  It was a sign.  It was closure.

I only saw one memorable bummer sticker from NJ to NY:

“Just say Show Me the Carfax.”  I guess the marketer was a fan of Jerry Maquire. You know, “Show Me the Money!!!”

However, I just wanted to chime in that most bummer stickers this year are political support stickers from the previous election.  I guess I don’t know why Republican supporters keep those stickers on the car.  Come on, get over it and take them off!

After arriving in town, we checked into the same hotel as in March when we did a visit.  We then previewed the studio apartment that my husband will be renting while attending the Culinary Institute of America.  To celebrate and only a couple blocks walk from the new apartment, we had lunch overlooking the Hudson River Valley.

We walked along the river with the bright sun and a brisk breeze to digest. Afterwards, we did errands including buying a futon and supplies for the apartment.  You know the type: the 32 piece dinner set, the 10 piece cooking set, bathroom supplies, alarm clocks, wastepaper baskets and the like.  It was like getting ready for the dorms all over again, except that I was not having my father build a wooden bunk bed for my roommate and I.

Keep you posted on the rest of the trip.

Left the Motel 6 in Fayetteville, North Carolina at 9:15 AM after a short run and getting gas at $2.03 a gallon. We started on the road after passing 24 Cracker Barrels. Within miles, we spotted another.

We have passed another 5 in North Carolina before crossing to Virginia and seeing 6 others, 2 in Maryland, none in Delaware, and so far 3 in New Jersey. We are at a total of 40 Cracker Barrels.

Couple of insights or random thoughts:

1) Did you know that in North Carolina they still have smoking sections in restaurants? Unbelievable huh?

2) The Cracker Barrel count is getting high, but I think that return trip in a couple of years will need to be Waffle Houses. I swear they are like a bad penny.

3) I am actually starting to wonder how many fast food restaurants with the Southern theme of chicken and biscuits can service through the Carolinas, Virginia,Maryland, etc. There is Cracker Barrel, Chick-fil-a, BoJangles, Popeye’s and countless others.

Favorite billboards on this stage of the trip:

1)  A Snickers billboard stating, “Pledge Sigma Nougat” instead of Cum Laude or something like that. I guess in my punch drunk state, it was rather funny.

2)  A Jim Beam billboard outside of Baltimore, “Columbus didn’t ask for directions.” In little type, it mentioned, “Guys never change.” After now 20 hours in car with my husband, I was needing a little humor to hit my female funny bone.

We stopped at a wonderful, Mediterranean “Hole in the Wall” restaurant outside of Alexandria and ate Chicken Shawarma with Tahini (see picture above) It certainly beat the other options on the typical roadtrip.  So far it has been the highlight of the culinary trip, as I was recently on a business trip, which means I had buffet after buffet after continental breakfast, which all under perform one’s appetite.

Well, just moments ago, we stopped in New Brunswick, NJ for the evening. We were hoping to make it to Poughkeepsie today, but 4 traffic hiccups in the D.C. and Baltimore area made things interesting. However, I would like to note that 511 is a helpful little tool.

Most of my posts thus far have been of memories of past trips.  This week, I wanted to give you a story in “real time” of a journey from Fort Lauderdale, Fl up I-95 1,800 miles to Poughkeepsie, NY. Stay tuned for play by play pit-stops, unique insights, and more.

Day one: Start from Plantation, Fl in a packed to the brim Honda. Gas tank full (paying $2.15 per gallon), radio station a mixture of 97.3, 97.9, and 104.3. I-95 heading North after a good night’s sleep. Left at 9:30 AM to drive through at least 4 states including Florida, Georgia (gas at $1.86), South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Things to note:

There are a tremendous amount of Cracker Barrels.  We counted 14 from Fort Lauderdale to Jacksonville, another 4 in Georgia, 3 in South Carolina, and so far 2 in North Carolina.  After seeing so many signs, in Brunswick, Georgia (Exit 36A) we stopped for a taste of Cracker Barrel. (See picture in the rocking chair.)

Additionally a couple funny things of interest, in Georgia we saw a billboard forChick-fil-a that read, “Stop in the Name of Chikin.” This was being painted on the billboard by two Holstein cows, one sitting on top of the other (Get it, cows trying to get people to eat chicken?).  Also, we saw a motorhome pulling an SUV (see picture) that stated, “Be Patient I am Pushing this Big Motorhome.” Upon passing the SUV being pulled, we noticed that there was a female dummy in the driver’s seat.  Honestly, people have too much time on there hands.

As far as interesting bummer stickers, here are my two favorites, both we saw on the same car:

Swamp life (on a Florida Gator student’s car)

Got ink? (referring if you have any tattoos)

Day one is about to finish with a couple of hours in North Carolina. Follow me onTwitter. My name is MsTravelingPant (yes they have a limit of characters).

Until Part 2….