Monday, June 27, 2011
452.4 miles
 | My room at the Pooler. Georgia, Econolodge was just what I needed. It had good air-conditioning, great cable, great wifi, a big room, good lighting, and a nice breakfast (4 cereals, bagels, yummy danishes, instant oatmeal, coffee, and juice), plus no smell! Price of the room was $50 + tax. |
I got out the door at 9:02 am.
Gas was only $3.259/gal across the street from my hotel, so I filled up!
After 207.2 miles of driving, I stopped at South of the Border just south of the South Carolina-North Carolina border.
I had seen it on the Travel Channel many times and been intrigued,
plus the signs along I-95 helped me keep going through the monotonous scenery of South Carolina.
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| Here I am at South of the Border. It was a hot, sunny day. When I left, my car thermometer registered 94 °F. These pictures actually don't look so bad, but South of the Border is very run-down and dumpy. Many of the buildings appeared closed. I was quite disappointed. | ||
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| I decided to eat lunch at Pedro's Diner, one of the eateries at South of the Border. I decided to get the hamburger steak and fries dinner. Service was slow, and the menu was limited. You will notice the whiteness below the plate; the table was so sticky, even after having it re-wiped down by the waitress, I had to put napkins down so my arms and clothes wouldn't stick to the table. The napkins stuck to the table. Yuck! The bathrooms were old and dingy, and it took quite a long time to pay the bill at the register. South of the Border was fun to visit, but I won't be back. | ||
I left South of the Border before 1 pm and pressed on north.
In Benson, North Carolina, gas was $3.579/gal.
I stopped to get a strawberry shake from McDonald's (since it was next to the gas station), as the skies were darkening in advance of a storm.
Around 3:15 pm, the skies opened up, and it poured. It rained so hard, I wasn't able to see the road, so I took several exits and sat
in some parking lots. By 4 pm, the worst had passed.
My plan was to visit the Civil War sites in Richmond on Tuesday, so I decided to stop a little south and find a hotel.
There were two budget motels in Chester, Virginia, next to each other (the Super 8 and the Days Inn),
but the Days Inn Chester was cheaper ($51.29 +tax) and had drive-up rooms, so that's where I decided to stay.
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| The room was large with good air-conditioning. The cable channels were llimited. The bed was fairly firm with slightly scratchy sheets. The shower was only so-so, and there was peeling paint in the bathroom. The included breakfast was decent, including muffins, bananas, apples, 2 cereals, waffles, bagels, toast, 2 kinds of minidonuts (yum!), coffee, and juice. | ||
| There
were several restaurants within walking distance and lots of them
within a few minutes of driving. I decided to walk and eat at Friendly's, a casual sit-down dining restaurant chain I hadn't eaten at since 2005. I got the $9.99 meal deal which included a honey barbeque cheddar chicken melt (delicious), orange pop, french fries, and a sundae. I was so stuffed, I had to get the delicious sundae to go! I took it back to my room and ate it while watching Chopped. |  | |
| Back to Itinerary | On to Day 10 |