Saturday, August 27, 2011

Villanova/Dover/Annapolis/DC

Route
US 15/501 North, I 85 North, I 95 North, I 495 North, I 95 North, I 476 North, US 30 East, PA 320 North to Villanova PA
PA 320 South, US 30 West, I 476 North, I 76 West, US 202 West, PA 401 North, PA 113 South to Lionville PA
PA 100 South, US 202 South, I 95 South, DE 1 South, Scarborough Road, US 13 South, Court Street to Dover DE
Court Street, US 13 South, DE 10 West, MD 287 West, MD 313 North, MD 312 West, MD 304 West, US 301 South, MD 70 South to Annapolis MD
MD 450 North, MD 435 West, MD 70 North, US 50 West, DC 295 South, I 295 North, I 395 South, VA 27 West, Washington Boulevard to Arlington VA
I 66 West, I 495 East, I 95 South, I 85 South, US 1 South, VA 40 South, I 85, US 15/501 South

Notes
There is a nice welcome center near Smyrna DE at US 13 and DE 1. The rest area is on US 13, so you have to exit to get to it, but there is a ramp directly onto the onramp for DE 1. The toll for exit 104 to Dover is 50 cents.
We were waiting for a stoplight in front of the visitors center when the rear of the car started going up and down. I thought we had been rear-ended, but it was the earthquake. Traffic going into DC was ridiculous. The local news labeled it as the worst since 9/11. Going into DC on US 50 was fine. I 495 was stopped in both directions. So we continued in on US 50 and DC 295. Pennsylvania Ave was completely locked up. We did the U-turn at Howard Street to get onto I 295 North to cross the river to I 695/395. I 395 was fine until the US 1 merge from the Mall. Eventually we got to the Pentagon and exited onto VA 27/Washington Boulevard. The surface streets were fine.
The only earthquake damage we saw on I 95 was to a barrier fence north of Fredericksburg.
On I 85 south just north of US 1 in Petersburg, there was a warning for construction 14 miles ahead. After gassing up on US 1 (where the lines were horrid for hurricane panic), we continued south on US 1 to VA 40 and missed almost all of the construction.

Results
Counties - Kent DE (all counties in DE), Caroline MD
, for a new total of 1006.
VA - Mileage on VA 27, VA 40, US 1.
DC - Clinched I 295.

MD - Clinched MD 287. Mileage on MD 70, MD 304, MD 312, MD 313, MD 435, MD 450.
DE - Mileage on DE 1, DE 10, US 13.
PA - Mileage on PA 401, PA 113.