Day 2: Chester, Va.

Alright. Now I feel all bad about talking crap about all the little po-dunk motels and the fact that they would never have wireless internet connections. Because here I am, in Chester Va., moseying along on the internet, wirelessly. And free. I love this country.
Okay. We took off from West Haven, Conn., kinda late this morning, as to not get stuck in the morning commute traffic going in to NYC. It worked, in that we weren't in commute traffic, but we were still stuck crawling through the Bronx, and spending an hour and 15 minutes crossing to the George Washington Bridge. From there, New Jersey and then into Pennsylvania.
The 95 South goes straight (-ish) through Philadelphia, a historic city that I had never before roamed through. We found our way to Independence Mall, decided "to hell with the $12" and parked in a nearby parking garage, and set out on foot for a quick, but educational, tour of the area. Of course, cruising around with the pup put us at a disadvantage, as we weren't able to tour Independence Hall proper because of him, but we did take a circuit around it, and I think I got some decent pictures of it. From there, we saw a statue of Commodore John Barry, who the Pennsylvanians are very proud of (he's also got a highway, if I remember right, and a rest area). Barry is the father of the Navy. After that, we walked several blocks to get Brian a cheesesteak at Jim's, and found our way back to the car. On the whole, it was a successful side trip.
Leaving Philadelphia was easy; we made our way through Baltimore with minimal traffic; and were able to circle Washington, D.C. with no problems. In all, we logged about 500 miles, and had to fill up the car twice with gas. Now, having showered and washed the road off me, all propped up in bed with my doggy sleeping next to me, I'm quite pleased with my day.
Random things we noticed: At the rest area in New Jersey, a driver has no choice but to get full service; the road crews seem to store all of D.C.'s snow salt in Maryland; Philadelphia is remarkably easy to get around; and sometimes the Days Inn is a better bargain than Super 8.