Thank you all who posted about their experiences and knowledge. It has been helpful.
We allowed about 6 days travel time to Florida to our destination. However, we are not totally "winging it." We have a reservation at a hotel in PA the first night out and then the next day to the Chapel Hill area in N.C. for a couple of days to visit family. What I did do though, was pay the extra few dollars for a refundable hotel reservation just in case the roads were bad in PA. and couldn't make it to that hotel.
If the weather yesterday, in the 50s, is any indication of what the winter weather may be like, I will be one happy camper. Nevertheless, Feb. seems to be the worst month of the winter where I live.
And if the trip goes well, we may have a longer stay in the winter next year somewhere out in the southwest. :D
