So coming back from Gum Neck – Golumbia, NC Google Maps had me go a slightly different route. Normally it’s NC-94 to NC-32 to NC-37 to NC-17 and then onward to U.S. 17 then I-64 then I-95.

But a shorter route has you go then NC-94 to NC-32 to NC-17 and U.S. 17 all the way up to I-64 and then go U.S. 13 to U.S. 113 then to U.S. 1 and finally the NJ Turnpike. Shaves a considerable amount of time off the trip.

In the former it takes 11 hours 6 minutes and 707 miles. The latter 10 hours 48 minutes, or 18 minutes less and only 644 miles.

But hey – 18 minutes isn’t bad. And traffic isn’t horrendous through Virginia. That’s a biggie because I-95 through Virginia sucks – it makes me prefer the traffic snarls on I-93 around Boston.