Couple weeks ago I went for a quick vacation with family over Tampa. We have planned for this and finally we made it happen. If you look in the map bottom right, I had to drive from Palm Beach county all the way to Tampa. It was a thrill to drive from point A to point B. There is no direct way to get there. As you can see on the map, there are a multitude of roads to get there.
I did not want to take highways like I-95 or tolls roads cause I want to see nature and the vastness of Florida. So it took me around 4 hours to get there. I mean I stopped multiple time for gas once and to eat, etc... As you can see I took road 98 going by the lake Okeechobee. If you know Miami only, Pahokee is another level. This is country right there. By the way most of the roads are only two lanes with incoming traffic constantly passing by.
It is beautiful driving through these small towns. This is truly America to the bone. I saw a lot of empty lands with cows everywhere. It was cows after cows grazing under the sun. The scenery is what make it a beauty. All the roads I took, are paved. I can do easily 65 all the way to 75 MPH. Just to be careful I respect the speed limit throughout the way. I wanted to continue to route 98 but I switch to 4-41 all the way to route 60.
Route 60 is getting wider as you approach Lakeland and plant City area. Somehow I was following #gps I end up to I-4 so I made it to Brandon. Actually one cool fact with route 60, they build a passing lane for both traffic every 5 miles. I guess it is there to relieve traffic due to big rigs taking these roads as well. This is the moment you see everyone going faster to pass the trucks.
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This is fun driving in these roads. You cannot go fast and you get to enjoy nature. I even drive these roads at night. But there is a huge problem I encounter. At night the light of a car causes bunch of bugs on the road. So your car or truck will get really dirty from them splashing through windshields and front end. One time it was so bad I had to have my car wash twice to remove all those unwanted proteins.
On my way back I want to go home so I took the quickest way home. Still route 60 all the way to turnpike. Still take me 3 hours and 45 minutes. I don't remember Tampa was that far away. Florida is huge and they are building everywhere. Hurricanes don't scare anyone as long you build to sustain whatever it brings. The cool part of the trip, it was fun. The roads are nice enough to go through the country. I will do it again and again. It reminds me Key West where you drive right on the water via a bridge.
I love driving and Florida offers many ways and many roads to drive around. I wish to visit Tallahassee reaching the edge of Florida right next to Alabama. I drove right through Georgia many times. Actually my next thing is to try the train from City place, Palm Beach to Orlando. I know it will be fun. The main reason I want to se how the train goes and getting to Orlando for some deep dish pizza. Now we are dealing with the heat, no wonder they call it #sunshine State.
