On Saturday morning I began my road trip to Lehigh Acres, Florida to visit my Dad.  I definitely should have gotten an early morning start (4 a.m. is the ideal time). But since I was driving, I could leave whenever I got ready. That is the good thing about driving—you leave when you want, and you stop when you want.

I didn’t really get on the road until about 9:30 a.m., which turned out to be a big mistake. I have never seen so many cars on interstate before—to the point of traffic coming to a crawl. There was fog in Delaware heading into Maryland. I was expecting traffic to open up once I got past Maryland, but 84 miles from Richmond, traffic slowed to a craw. For about 2 to 3 hours we only got 40 miles. Talk about agony. Then came the rain from VA to NC.

Between NJ and VA I went through 100 songs on my iPod. I also discovered that the Verizon Wireless network is amazing. While I was driving, I called them about my Blackberry not getting web access and was on hold for about 40 minutes, moving at about 70 mph and the call didn’t get dropped. They also solved my problem but I was impressed that I didn’t lose the connection.

Because I got a late start, and had traffic slow downs, I didn’t get as far as I had hoped. I like to get half way before stopping for the night. I only got in 521 miles of the 1,261 miles to Lehigh Acres. I have a lot of ground to cover on Sunday. My overnight stop is Dunn, NC (Hampton Inn has free internet and waffles). I will get a good start in the morning.

The audiobooks I have include: A Mercy by Toni Morrison, Gotta Keep Tryin’ by Virgina DeBerry and Donna Grant, a couple of Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich, and a few thrillers by Tess Gerristen. That should get me there and back.

If you are planning any air travel, be prepared to hand over a little extra cash for items like pillows and blankets. JetBlue has added to its a la carte list of amenities.

The carrier has done away with the recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and has started offering an “eco-friendly” travel blanket and pillow that can be purchased for $7 on flights longer than two hours. The pair come in a kit with a $5 coupon to home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.

The carrier claims the pillow and blanket feature a fabric technology, developed by CleanBrands LLC, that blocks pesky critters like dust mites, mold spores, pollen and pet dander.

I never use the pillow and blankets on the plane anyway. There is something a little icky about using a blankets and pillows that God only knows how many other people and used. So I guess this new “eco-friendly” set is better anyway.

JetBlue is already charging $15 for that second check bag, which they expect to generate about $20 million in revenue. And don’t forget the fee for extra legroom and the $100 cost to change your ticket, which together may offer another $90 million in revenue.

Don’t be surprised if in the near future you have a slide a $1 in a slot for the restroom. Just pray they don’t make you pay for the oxygen masks to fall down.

Source: msnbc.com