November 2005 Newsletter 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: This Trip Tips newsletter has come about due to requests by our driving fans for continuous info on what's happening and how to have fun on I-95. Road trips are back, and our guidebook, Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia, combines colorful easy-to-follow pictorial maps and fun stories. Here are some ways to make your drive into an adventure: 1 - Mount Vernon by Candlelight 2 - Where You Can Sleep on Cloud Nine 3 - Lone Star Barbecue & Mercantile 4 - EZ pass not so Easy in MD 5 - Come Celebrate Ben Franklin?s 300th Birthday 1 - Mount Vernon by Candlelight For a real special Holiday treat, why not stop and find out how George Washington and his family celebrated Christmas? On December 2nd-4th and December 9th-11th Mount Vernon, his home, is bathed in the warmth of firelight . Visitors learn about the Washingtons' Christmas traditions; tour the candlelit Mansion including the rarely-seen third floor; and meet historical characters including Martha Washington and Tobias Lear, who served as Washington? secretary during his presidency. On the grounds, guests enjoy caroling and free cookies and hot cider around a roaring campfire. This is the only time of the year that Mount Vernon is open exclusively for public evening tours. You can buy tickets at Mount Vernon?s Main Gate or through Ticketmaster at 703-573-7328 or [http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/847545] http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/847545. The food court and The Shops at Mount Vernon will be open until 9 p.m. - admission tickets are not required to visit these areas. Price Adults: $15,Children 11 and under: $8. 2 - Where you can sleep on Cloud Nine Following the lead of upscale boutique hotels, Hampton Inns now have a new Cloud Nine bed experience. Forget the old-fashioned bedspread - you can now wrap yourself up in the plush down-like comforter covered with a crisp white duvet cover. Sink into the three or four pillows with your choice of firmness (some filled with soft down, some with firmer foam), and you can also enjoy a lumbar pillow in a soothing color, that provides you with back support while reading, watching television or using the Hampton lap desk. To find a comfy room along I-95: 1-800-Hampton 3 - Lone Star Barbecue & Mercantile We aim to find as many family restaurants as we can along I-95. At the Lone Star Barbecue & Mercantile at Exit 98 in Santee, SC you will find the real deal when it comes to down-home cooking (named #1 in the State), and you can try it all on the buffet. Sure, there's BBQ with sweet or spicy gravy, fried chicken and hush puppies, but also catfish stew, sweet potatoes with raisins and marshmallows, apple salad, tomato pie, barbecue hash on rice, beans, corn on the cob, slaw and more. If you're rushed for time, you can take it to go. As you walk on the creaky wooden floors, appreciate that these buildings are all over 100 years old and were part of a town. They were brought here and attached together to recreate a bygone era. Enjoy reminiscing as you gaze at the shelves laden with old time kitchenware, duck decoys, tools, shoes in boxes, soda bottles, tins and food. We especially loved the curtains - old underwear hanging on a clothes line. Hours; Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 2212 State Park Rd. [www.lonestarbarbecue.net] www.lonestarbarbecue.net Tel: 803-854-2000 4 - E-ZPass problems in MD Those of you who happily enjoy the ease of flying through E-ZPass lanes should take notice of this: Back on Memorial Day, the MdTA raised the speed limit for E-ZPass lanes, from 5 mph to 10 and 15 mph, according to MdTA executive director Trent Kittleman. The 10 mph limit is for single E-ZPass lanes; the 15 mph limit is for E-ZPass lanes separated from regular toll booth lanes by other E-ZPass lanes. If an E-ZPass customer breaks the posted speed limit "by a significant amount," the MdTA will send a notice warning that their pass could be suspended for two months if the speeding continues. "We don't give a notice if it's just a few miles" Kittleman said. "You have to be going well over the posted speed limit to get a notice" warning of a possible suspension. Kittleman said that of 300,000 E-ZPass accounts, only 100 customers this year have received a two-month suspension. Drive I-95 wants to know how to drive at 5 m.p.h. anyway? In contrast, in NJ, they have figured out how to keep the traffic flowing: you can finally drive through at your regular 65 mph speed at the bottom of the State at mile 7. If one scanner can read at that speed, why not the others? Do they need a speed reading course? 5 - Come Celebrate Ben Franklin?s 300th Birthday Ben?s 300th birthday is on January 17, 2006, so his city of Philadelphia is opening a major exhibition, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World at the National Constitution Center on December 15th (which will run until April 30, 2006). In his time, Benjamin Franklin was this country?s greatest scientist, inventor, diplomat, humorist, philanthropist and entrepreneur. Three centuries later, his image is ubiquitous and his achievements legendary, but the real lessons of his extraordinary life are less well understood. To expose you to his ingenious problem-solving methods and leave you inspired by his example, 250 original Franklin artifacts, with more than 40 interactive opportunities, including special effects, hands-on activities and family-centered fun, which borrow from Franklin?s curiosity, wit and wisdom have been gathered. The exhibit covers his youth, B. Franklin Printer, his role in founding many of Philadelphia?s key philanthropic, educational and civic institutions, Franklin?s inventions and his diplomacy in France and England, etc. Tickets to the exhibition are $ 14 for adults; $ 12 for children ages 4-12, seniors, college students and active military personnel; and $8.50 for groups of 20 or more. Tickets can be purchased by phone at (215) 409-6700 or online at [http://www.gophila.com/go/ben] www.gophila.com/go/ben and more info can be found at [http://www.benfranklin300.org/] www.benfranklin300.org 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. 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. P.S. Why not buy the book as a holiday gift? Click [http://www.drivei95.com/order_now.htm] here [http://www.drivei95.com/order_now.htm] 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 3, Roxboro, QC Canada H8Y 3E8[http://www.drivei95.com] www.drivei95.com[http://www.drivei95.com] [http://www.drivei95.com/]