Travels with Snowbirds, Quest for the Stamp, April 16, 2017, Easter, Madison, GA to Montgomery, AL to Monroe, MS on the 17th

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Today I am going to talk about things I have seen along the road thus far; some simple, some great, all extraordinary.



As I left Wilmington on Martin Luther King Blvd, the beautiful fields of flowers along the sides and in the median set my mood for the day. The red, pink, and a few white poppies look stunning, and every time I see them I look for Dorothy and the three skipping down the yellow brick road. I like to think the county has knowingly planted those large beds to attract and breed bees.

When I crossed over into Leland…..the road is done!!! I think that was the first time there was no traffic due to construction in either direction since I relocated.

It was an easy trip to Columbia, SC. I had hoped to meet Loners on Wheels club mate, Edith, when I passed her exit on I 20, but I was nervous about the water pump situation, so I kept going. I waved; she said she waved back.

I am always amazed how hilly western SC is, and that continues into GA. Trees and fields are bright green; the dogwood, daffodils, and azaleas are all gone, but the trees are covered with tiny shiny leaves and look beautiful.

Much of the trip so far is ok. The back roads of SC and GA, ended up being in better shape than rutty old I20. Things I noticed: large distribution centers/warehouses. Many of them; crushed armadillos along the road edges; turkey buzzards and vultures larger than I see at home; Baptist churches of all shapes and sizes and conditions; no confederate flags; many motorcycle clubs sporting 3 wheeled bikes, 2 in front, 1rear; GA red dirt the color of blood oranges in some places; ant hills in those areas are huge and such a pretty color.

The Georgia red dirt is actually red clay, due to the high levels of iron. Go figure.

I also saw: a housing community called Landfall at Porters; a billboard saying, “if you die tonight, heaven or hell?” Which was positioned next to The Life Church; signs on lawns that said, “Back The Blue,” (support the police.). The only farm animals I saw were goats! Anybody know what pecan trees look like? Mile upon mile of large trees neatly in rows. By far the biggest industry I saw is pine tree forestry. Mile upon mile upon mile of clear cut areas, new growth, then mature trees, with an occasional International Paper plant and places called ‘chip mills.’ I would love to fly over this area in a small plane or helicopter to see the full extent.

One thing I had been nervous about is the springtime weather in the Deep South. I brought my emergency weather radio, and I. Heck it every day and it works. Today driving pretty much straight west I had looming black clouds in front of me. I passed under them and it wasn't bad at all.

I saw two horrible accidents. First one, police and ambulance were there. It was in a pearly marked “work area, fines doubled.” I didn't see if it was an empty log carrier or an empty car carrier. It ran through the construction truck down into a ditch, cab completely demolished. Second one was right after the rain started, a four car pileup along the guard rail. No cops yet, no ambulances, lots of steam, both nasty.



Ok, got all that off my chest. Back to normal every day blogging. I have seen so much, I need to write it down



Kat out

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