Feb. 11, 2009 Finally Heading West

Motel 6 in Tallahassee, Florida











Traveling south on I95, I was abeam of Brunswick, Georgia at noon where I finally started heading west after 3 1/2 days of riding south. I took the roads less traveled, Rt 520 to 84 West. As I passed through the small towns, most without even a traffic light, I could smell hickory smoke and barbecue pork. Dilapidated trailers and boarded up shops were near the road. I did pass one property that was a paradise with a stately southern mansion surrounded by tall Ponderosa Pine trees and a swimming hole off to one side. I passed a sign near a warehouse advertising candied pecans, a lumber processing plant and a few yards filled with rusted metal treasures and other castaway junk. Trucks loaded with stripped pine trunks were heading towards Brunswick. Crosswinds pushed me sideways as I traveled down the road at 70+ mph. When a gust would hit me, it felt like someone was grabbing my helmet and jerking it. The Spanish moss was blowing in the tall trees like cotton dresses on a clothes line. I was planning to camp but by the time I got to the outskirts of Tallahassee, I was knackered and the sky was filled with dark storm clouds. So I checked into a Motel 6 near the on ramp for Interstate 10. I cooked freeze-dried Katmandu Curry with my Jet Boil stove and whipped up some Chocolate Mocha Mousse with Gram cracker crust for dessert. I called home while lounging at the outdoor pool under a cool cloud covered sky.