March 2008 Driving North or South along the US East Coast? You are receiving the Drive I-95 Trip Tips because you are a fan of Drive I-95 or Sandra Phillips' Smart Shopping Montreal . If you wish to be taken off our newsletter list, please follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of this email. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you know who lives, works or plans to travel along the Eastern U.S. from Boston to Florida, so they too can learn how to have fun on the road. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please add info@drivei95.com to your address book so you'll be sure to receive every issue. Sp^m filters will place future editions of this newsletter in your delete file unless it is a recognized address. AOL 9.0 users, you have to permit mail or your newsletter will be placed in bulk sender or unknown sender list. Hello fellow road trippers: You can perk up any trip with the delicious food and many interesting activities happening on I-95. This Trip Tips newsletter will provide you with continuous info on what's happening and how to enjoy your pit stops on I-95. Road trips are still less expensive than flying, so use our guidebook, Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia (Florida Edition), for colorful easy-to-follow pictorial maps and fun stories. Get off an exit and enjoy some of these: 1 - Horses and Hats 2 - World Trade Center Leftovers 3 - Fore for Free 4 - Leech Alert! 5 - For Chocoholics Only 6 - Family Fun in the Car 1 - Horses and Hats SC Exit 98: Horse racing in South Carolina gains exposure at the 46th Annual Elloree Trials, scheduled for Saturday March 22 at the Elloree Training Center in Elloree, SC.Though the gates open at 8 a.m., the action begins around 11 a.m. when the skydiving exhibition starts. The crowning of Miss Elloree Trials happens around noon, and check out the tailgating contest in the reserved area. A motorcycle ride-in excites the crowds and the thoroughbred and quarter horse races post time is at 1 p.m. However the wildly popular hat contest is held in front of the sponsors’ building between the first and second races. This chapeau competition showcases hats adorned with bells, whistles, feathers and everything else they can think of. Over 5,000 people are expected to attend. Admission is $15 and children under 12 are free. General parking is $5, but reserved parking spaces run from $50 to $110. No golf carts, ATVs, tents or umbrellas are allowed on the grounds. The event goes on rain or shine. Follow the signs and the traffic to the Elloree Training Center on Racetrack Rd. For tickets or more information: 803-897-2616. 2 - World Trade Center Leftovers NC Exit 46: Sculptor Jim Gallucci's work “The Gate” is built with steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, and it stands in front of the Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville NC as a remembrance of the victims of 9/11 and the sacrifices of those who were and still are engaged in the global war on terrorism. The museum, too, is amazing.The Airborne & Special Operations Museum focuses on the legends of those who jump into battle. The impressive 5-story glass walled lobby sets the stage with 2 fully deployed parachutes: a WW II era T-5 round chute and a modern MC-4 square chute. You learn the story of Lieutenant Bill Ryder, leader of the Test Platoon, who on August 16th, 1940 became the first American soldier to jump. You can walk through a section of a C-47, sit on crates in a WW II Army briefing hut, learn about gliders that dropped jeeps and bulldozers, see a famous UH-1 (Huey) helicopter from 'Nam days and a Desert Storm hide-site. Another exhibit traces the development of the Special Forces, or "Green Berets", from the summer of 1952 to Operation Enduring Freedom. Admission is FREE to the museum, but there's a charge for the movie or motion simulator. Hours: Tues-Sat 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. 100 Bragg Blvd. [http://www.asomf.org] www.asomf.org Tel: 910-483-3003. 3 - Fore for Free GA Exits 1-109: The Georgia Dream Pass was originally designed to target golfers and those who plan their vacations around golf activities by enticing them with special offers at major golf courses around the state. The program was so successful that it will now include more interests such as museums, theme parks, bed and breakfasts, symphony halls and more. The golf deals range from extra rounds of golf, special member rates on greens, additional nights free at a golf resort, a complimentary round with an additional night stay, free range balls, a free hat with a purchase at a pro shop, 2-for-1 golf cart fees, priority tee times as well as food and beverage discounts. The 63 added attractions weighed in with similar deals like 2-for-1,stay one night and get a round of golf or a spa service for free orfree parking, etc. More details will be found on the web site after April 1. You can pick up a dream pass at a Georgia VisitorCenter, sign up at [http://www.Gadreampass.com] Gadreampass.com (or [http://www.exploregeorgia.org] exploregeorgia.org) or call1-800-VisitGA (847-4842). 4 - Leech Alert! VA Exit 130: Fredericksburg got lucky when Chancellor Elementaryschool’s 4th grade class produced a “Walk with me” children’s walkingtour. While strolling in the footsteps of George Washington (he REALLYslept here) and James Monroe, just a cannon shot from I-95, you candiscover in a 40 square block "Old Town": bookstores, art galleries,pubs and more than 350 18th and 19th century houses with cannonballsstill embedded in their sides. The kids’ pamphlet offers 26 stops,including the Hugh Mercer Apothecary shop: an 18th century doctor'soffice where blood draining by leeches and amputating limbs were commonoccurrences, or the Rising Sun Tavern, where you will learn aboutColonial twice-a-year bathing habits. Until the last decade of his life, George Washington spent a lot of time here. From ages 6 to 16, he lived across the river at Ferry Farm (burned down in 1740, but you can still visit) and attended school for a term or two. He would break up his long journeys north or south with a stop at his brother Charles, his mother, his sister Betty's beautiful Kenmore Plantation, attend church services and BBQ's, or hoist a few with friends at Weedon's Tavern. Ask for the free kids’ brochure at the Visitor Center (and about the Pass to Historic Fredericksburg - 40% off 9 historic sites, museums and battlefields) and a FREE Parking permit for the city garage and municipal lots. There's a 14-min film before you start out. Hours: Daily 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. (summer: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.). 706 Caroline St. [http://www.Visitfred.com] www.Visitfred.com Tel: 800-678-4748 or 540-373-1776. 5 - For Chocoholics Only MD Exit 58: Anyone who grew up near Baltimore yearns for Berger cookies, which are still sold only there (almost). The Berger got its name from George and Henry Berger, who immigrated to the US from Germany in 1835! Henry and his sons became bakers, and their bakeries are the seed of the Berger cookies today, which are made using pretty well the same recipe. This is how we would describe a Berger cookie: if you like the chocolate icing on a cake better than the cake itself, and if you would take a huge chunk of it hardened and pile it on a large chocolate cookie to create a perfect snack, you would have this cookie. Others of you who know a “black and white” cookie and wonder why they bother with the white half, when it’s only the black half that counts, will also love this cookie. For the last century, you had to drive along I-95 to get them - nowadays they’re found either at a High’s corner store (kind of like a 7 Eleven) or at a Giant Food. However, all of you Berger fans or Berger fan wannabes can order them online. [http://www.bergercookies.com] www.bergercookies.com Be forewarned: this could be habit forming. A comment from their site: “My Mom was born in Baltimore in 1917. She remembered what a treat it was when her grandmother visited and brought them Berger cookies (presumably from Lexington Market). I'm glad you're still in business, because our family is still enjoying your cookies--for at least 5 generations!!” 6 - Family Fun in the Car To help you on the road during a Spring Break drive or any other drive, get yourself the new 4th edition of our Drive I-95, which now includes the 130 exits in Florida. You can buy it in its traditional book edition at www.drivei95.com (opened lying flat conveniently in the car), but for those of you who are computer wired, you can now download the electronic edition for a mere $9.98. What's inside Drive I-95 : Look ahead exit by exit to see which motels (with 800 numbers), gas stations, restaurants, campgrounds, 24-hour pharmacies, auto mechanics, radio stations or radar traps are there, and where you can stay with your pet. We share our stories of the road : history on I-95, museums, trivia, towns to explore or places to run the kids. These can be read for entertainment during the drive, and may entice you to stop, stretch your legs and discover someplace new. PS: Buy the book to plan your summer trip. Click [http://www.drivei95.com/order_now.htm] here To Contact us: Stan Posner and Sandra Phillips-Posner, Travelsmart email: [mailto:info@drivei95.com] info@drivei95.com Phone: 1-877-GUIDE95 P.O. Box 43527 CSP Roxboro, D.D.O., QC Canada H8Y 3P4[http://www.drivei95.com] www.drivei95.com[http://www.drivei95.com] [http://www.drivei95.com/]