November 1, 2024 - Ninth Blog Post

 It's been getting colder outside (even though it was a high of 81 degrees F the day I'm typing this), so that should mean there's more time to make some content since I'm inside more, right? Well, it's complicated. The simple answer is yes, but yet again I've been using that time on other things that aren't Hunty Roads. It wasn't until October 22nd when I realized I had stuff here that needed to be done. And that worked, as I managed to clutch up and complete some stuff in-time for this.

Welcome to the Hunty Roads Monthly Blog, the 9th Edition. For this one, I've decided to take on a more chatty approach. Most of the main topics still remain (Not the October Posts/Pages, since there was only 1 of those...), even though I re-worked some of them. Also in this edition is more than 2 new sections, which highlight this gradual comeback of this site, and the NC one (Haven't forgotten about y'all despite the lack of any content!), plus a recent idea to commemorate my trip anniversaries during the month.

This month, I brought back the accompanying Route Post, which is none other than Future I-87 (VA part only). I did this to test the waters for making not-yet-here (Future) Route Posts for the VA Site. I've already done a post like this for I-42 on the NC Site, which both would love some motivation right now.

Back on the (Hunty) Roads:

Hunty Roads is back!!! Most of October was empty, and if it weren't for a sudden motivational boost, the rest of the month would likely be empty too, and a lackluster Monthly Blog Post would've come out as a result. I'm glad to say this was not the case, and I'm also more motivated than ever to create the best Hunty Roads content I can possibly make now.

I had tiny boosts that never added up to anything, which all came in the form of "Today is gonna be a Hunty Roads day", and unsurprisingly, none of those days became "Hunty Roads days" until October 22nd.

The first thing I did was develop a map on Google My Maps showing which routes I have and haven't made posts for, and then I created multiple Pages, including this one. During the second to last day of the month, I got another motivational boost, which lead to me finishing the accompanying Route Post for this month, and I made more major progress on this page, and the ones I created on the 22nd.

Travels of October 2024:

October was an alright month for my travels this year. Some could say the month went as expected these days, others could say it was a shocker. Then there's me, who will say it's both.

The expected part of the month is that I only went on 1 road trip out of my area this month, which unsurprisingly, was the one to Lynchburg, which I had planned since around halfway through September. To be fair, I technically went on two road trips this month, if you include the trip back home from Lynchburg.

Now the shocking part of the month also comes on these two little trips, but this is only surprising if you didn't read last month's blog post: The total combined picture count on the weekend of the trip, from when I left home on October 11th, to when I returned home on the 13th, was just 29. I only took 2 pictures on the trip to, and I took 0 pictures on the trip from, my first pictureless trip since December 2022.

On the 11th, I also entered Bedford County for my first time since October 2022, which shuts down the slice of me that claims I never did enter the county that trip, which was a pictureless trip, also to Lynchburg, though a different destination and vibe.

Outside of the weekend, October was an extremely disappointing month for me. I only had 80 pictures total for the month (this does include the 11th-13th), and only 14 of those 80 were road pictures. I did have a little bit of mini-travels over the month in little areas where I don't have any pictures, but I took only 2 pictures during those.

Despite the disappointing months, I am glad to say I'm in a better spot than ever for future road trips. I have more possible travel buddies than ever, and I continue to come up with trip ideas/plans for next year. With that, I've decided to rework the "Monthly Trip %" section, since I realized it could be confusing.

Monthly Trip %:

Before I show the reworked lists, I'll announce that I have added a third list here, which shows the chances I'll go to listed destinations during the month the Blog Post serves. This is in-between the yearly list, which has gone through a major reshuffle as there are only 2 full months left of travel this year. 

Place Chances Updates From Last Month
Waynesboro, VA 70% +5%
Richmond Area, VA 50% -20%
Bristol, TN-VA 30% -5%
Luray, VA 30% 0%
Staunton, VA 30% -25%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 25% +10%
Fayetteville, NC 25% -5%
Front Royal, VA 25% 0%
Hinesville/Savannah, GA 25% -20%
Asheville, NC 20% [NEW]
Gettysburg, PA 20% 0%
Harrisonburg, VA 20% -15%
Martinsville, VA 20% -15%
Franklin, WV 15% -25%
Washington, DC 15% 0%
Winchester, VA 15% 0%
Norfolk, VA 10% -20%
Roanoke, VA 10% 0%
Farmville, VA 5% -15%
Ocala, FL 1% 0%

This is the new list, the chances I go to certain places in the month of November:

Destination Monthly Chances
Luray, VA 25%
Martinsville, VA 20%
Richmond Area, VA 20%
Hinesville/Savannah, GA 15%
Washington, DC 15%
Asheville, NC 10%
Bristol, TN-VA 10%
Gettysburg, PA 10%
Roanoke, VA 5%
Staunton, VA 5%

Here is the list of already taken unique and/or non-local (Sorry Scottsville, VA) trips for 2024:

Destination Previous Chances
Winchester, VA [N/A]
Harrisonburg, VA [N/A]
Washington, DC 45%
Palmyra, VA [N/A]
Short Pump, VA 90%
Richmond Area, VA 60%
Myrtle Beach, SC 50%
Myrtle Beach, SC II 75%
Baltimore, MD 35%
Cape Charles, VA 75%
Lynchburg, VA 85%

Trip Anniversaries This Month:

November has historically been a decent month for trips, with at least 1-2 trips every year since at least 2020. Some of my more memorable trips come from this month, including the first one I've ever taken pictures on, and my longest all-time until August 25, 2023.

One Year:

Destination Date (MM/DD/YY)
Skyline Drive/Shenandoah National Park, VA 11/11/23

* 825 pictures taken on 11/11/23, became 5th in my all-time trip picture count. Currently 9th as of 11/1/24.
* First time on Skyline Drive in about 8-9 years during that same trip. As of 11/1/24, this is my most recent time there.
* New county clinched on 11/11/23: Rappahannock County (VA)

Two Years:

Destination Date (MM/DD/YY)
Richmond Area, VA 11/24/22
Charlottesville, VA (back home) 11/27/22

* 11/24/22 almost became an "and back" trip, but I decided to stay in the Richmond Area. Great decision.
* 11/27/22 was my first road trip ever where I took pictures. 38 during the trip home, 51 on the day.
* Backup on I-64 near Gum Spring that day gained me some US 522 and US 33 (plus VA-22/VA-208) mileage in Louisa County.

Three Years:

Destination Date (MM/DD/YY)
Richmond Area, VA (and back) 11/25/21

* One of just 4 confirmed trips that I took in 2021 was on 11/25 (and the first of 2 Richmond trips).

Four Years:

Destination Date (MM/DD/YY)
Spartanburg, SC 11/22/20 (unconfirmed)
Charlottesville, VA (back home) 11/28/20 (unconfirmed)

* Both of these trips did happen, but the dates are unconfirmed. The placeholders are Sunday/Saturday of the 2020 Thanksgiving Week.
* I gained significant mileage in VA, NC, and SC on 11/22/20.
* New counties clinched that day: Everything on US 29 from Lynchburg to Greensboro, and everything on I-85 from Greensboro to Spartanburg.

Next Month's Post & Sendoff:

I might remove what would be the December 2024 Road Trip %, obviously because it's the last month of the year, meaning it'll have the exact same odds as the "Rest of the year" list. Either that, or I turn the 2024 list into an early 2025 predictions list (which would look very hopeful). 

I definitely will (This time it's the truth.) return the Monthly Posts/Pages section, as I have plenty of those planned or in the works, which I'll probably put that before the Monthly Travels section, to keep this flowing sequence between the two travel-related topics.

Finally, you may have noticed the topic now includes "& Sendoff". This is nothing bad, as this is just another way of saying "Here's your monthly Virginia road-related fun fact!" which it isn't a Hunty Roads Monthly Blog Post without it... so here we go:

US 58 is the longest route in Virginia, and it only spends its westernmost <1 mile outside of the Commonwealth. The route also never strays more than 25 miles away from the southern border with TN and NC.

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