Traveling Blue along the Democratic Underground Railroad [View All]

[Ian David]

Over the past two weeks, I have driven from Massachusetts to Miami and back again.

I'll be posting in more detail on this later-- with pictures.

I am here to tell you that it is possible-- even pretty easy-- to "Travel Blue" along the whole route using I-95 and The Florida Turnpike. Also, AAA recommends using Route 426 to bypass some city that I'll have to look-up later.

Except for a single mistake and an unwillingness to drive with less than 1/4 tank of gasoline, I could have made the entire trip from Miami to Boston using only Hess Gasoline (98% Democrat).

It's very easy to make the trip eating and drinking only at Starbuck's (100% Democrat) Sonic Drive-in (100% Democrat) and when necessary at Arby's (56% Democrat).

I managed to stop (and take a picture) at what I think is every Sonic drive-in between Miami and Boston. I saved receipts from all but two of them.



The entire Florida Turnpike has so many Hess stations that I didn't bother to write them down. Besides, with the horrible cross-wind I had to drive in, it wasn't safe to do so.

From the Hess Gas Station in Brockton, Massachusetts to the one at Exit 3A in Miami, Florida took me 1,632 miles @ 42.9 MPG inside a heavily-loaded Toyota Prius averaging 60 MPH in strong cross-winds and occasional heavy rain.

Hess stations (including Wilco travel plazas) along the way:

Main Street in Brockton, MA
Route 27 in Brockton, MA (right off route 24)

North Carolina I-95 Exits: 20 (or 19?), 73 and 106
South Carolina I-95 Exits: 164, 181 98 and 82
Georgia I-95 Exits: Exit 1
Route 426 Exits: 4, 87, 92, 94, 113
In New Jersey, there is a Hess station at exit 9 off the Turnpike

In Orlando, Florida there are Hess stations directly outside the entrances to Disney's Magic Kingdom and MGM Studios. There are a bunch of Hess stations along route 192, including one a couple blocks from a Sonic Drive-in Restaurant near an entrance to the Florida Turnpike.

There are also Hess stations near Disney at the intersections of Route 192 and Shady Lane and at Polynesian Blvd and Route 535.

Along Route 95 in Florida, there are Hess stations at exits 3A, 29, 33, 60, 77, 87A, 129, 173, 191, 256, 268, 284, 298, 311, 347 and 360.

Many of these Sonic Restaurants and Hess stations were not listed in their company's web sites. For example, we discovered the Sonic in St. Cloud completely by mistake.

Until you hit Georgia, there will be no shortage of Starbuck's Coffee.

In North Carolina, there is a Sonic at exit 19 in Lumberton, and (I think) a Hess station at exit 20 that I somehow missed on my way north.

If I hadn't missed the Hess station in Lumberton, North Carolina, I could have made the entire trip using only Hess gasoline.

What would make this trip much easier would be if Hess would put a station along I-95 in Virgina and in Baltimore.

Again, I will add more details-- and photos-- later.

SPECIAL THANKS TO BUYBLUE.ORG , CHOOSETHEBLUE.com , and The Progressive Pages www.globalblogs.com/progressivepages