Pre Trip
A trip to Georgia was originally planned for May, 18, 2023, which was half-cancelled. That day would end up being a road trip still, since I went halfway there, stopping at Fayetteville, NC. I would take 921 photos that day, a record at the time.
The planned date for the Georgia Trip would be pushed back to June 4, according to a forum post I made on May 28. That date would also not happen, either. Instead, that day would be part of a big trip to the Richmond, VA area. The date would then get pushed back to August 25, where I confirmed it being on that date in another forum post from August 22.
That time, the date was the correct one, and the night before, I went to my travel buddy's house (whom I also went with on the May 18 Trip). I spent the night there, and got ready for the Georgia Trip.
The Trip - Part One
Sometime in the morning, we left the house (with another person, and I got the backseat), and at 9:14 AM, I took my first of many pictures on the Trip. At 9:21 AM, we entered Nelson County, and after a quick stop at a dump, we went back on US 29/VA-6. And at 9:40 AM, we had reached Lovingston, where we made a stop at the local McDonald's for breakfast. We would spend an hour there, which included a stop at the Food Lion right next door.
At 10:38 AM, we went back on the road, and at 10:46 AM, we would enter Amherst County. At 10:52 AM, we had reached the town of Amherst, where I had the very, very stupid idea to peek my head out of the sunroof and attempt to take a picture of a sign for the US 60 Exit. I did peek my head out, but my hat flew right off my head, and thankfully, my travel buddy (the driver) took the exit, turned around, turned back onto South US 29, so I can retrieve my hat. The hat was sitting on the right shoulder, undamaged, but wet. I got my hat back, and we continued on the Trip.
At 11:08 AM, I took my next picture, and at 11:20 AM, we had crossed the James River into Campbell County. At 11:27 AM, we left Lynchburg, and its freeway system, and continued south on US 29. We reached the Altavista Bypass at 11:45 AM, and entered Pittsylvania County 4 minutes later. At 12:01 PM, we took the exit for VA-40 on the Gretna Bypass, but unlike last time, did not stop at the Dairy Queen.
Instead, we stopped at a gas station on the other side of the road, where we spent 20 minutes. At 12:42 PM, we went on the Tightsqueeze Bridge (now 4 lanes again). At 12:48 PM, we had reached the Danville Expressway. At 1:02 PM, we had finally entered North Carolina. 28 minutes later, we reached I-785 and I-840 in Greensboro. We took US 29 through the city, and at 1:48 PM, we passes through the I-85/I-74 interchange. We continued southwest along I-85. At 2:00 PM, we stopped at the I-85 SB Davidson County Rest Area.
The Trip - Part Two
At 2:17 PM, we left the rest stop, and continued on South I-85. At 2:32 PM, we entered Rowan County, and at 2:58 PM, we left I-85 to get onto Outer I-485. We made a half-lap around Charlotte, going onto I-77 at 3:23 PM, and 3 minutes later, we entered South Carolina. I got zero new counties in North Carolina.
We made a stop at the Welcome Center, and left 10 minutes later. At 3:44 PM, we took Exit 83 for Sutton Road, where we made a stop at a Subway for late lunch. We got back on the Trip at 4:21 PM. At 4:33 PM, we entered Chester County, and 3 minutes later, I took pictures of the exit for SC-9, which raised my lowest route number without a picture to 11. At 5:00, we had reached Exit 34 for SC-34. At 5:14 PM, we reached the I-20/I-77 interchange, and continued south on I-77.
At 5:28 PM, we turned onto I-26 South at the southern end of I-77. At 5:52 PM, we were at the I-26 exit for US 601, and at 6:10 PM, we turned onto I-95 South. 7 minutes later, we took the exit for US 78, and stopped at a gas station.
The Trip - Part Three
We did not leave the gas station, and get back onto I-95 until 6:43 PM. At 7:07 PM, we passed Exit 42, for US 21. The sun started showing signs that it wanted to set soon. At 7:33 PM, we passed Exit 8 for US 278, the sun was slowly going down, and I wanted a decent picture of the Georgia Welcome Sign. At 7:40 PM, we saw the "Thank You for Visting South Carolina" sign, as we got on the bridge to go over the Savannah River. My new South Carolina counties are: York, Chester, Fairfield, Richland, Calhoun, Orangeburg, Dorchester, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper.
At 7:41 PM, we entered Georgia, with that being my very first time in the state. I did get a good photo of the welcome sign, since the sun didn't set yet. We skipped the welcome center, since it was most likely closed. At 7:51 PM, we passed through the construction at the I-16/I-95 interchange, and at 8:01 PM, we left I-95 for US 17/GA-25. At 8:17 PM, we reached Hinesville, and at 8:25 PM, I took my final picture of the Trip. My first Georgia counties are: Effingham, Chatham, Bryan, and Liberty.
After:
My travel buddy and I went to our hotel, after we dropped the 3rd person off with some family at Fort Stewart. During this trip, I took 1,388 pictures, which broke my previous record of 921 on May 18. The next day would be pretty much a day off, not leaving Liberty County, GA once. The day after would end up breaking the photos in a single trip record again. The day after that would be my final one in Georgia, since I left, and went on the biggest road trip of my life on the way back to Central Virginia.
