Mileage: 97
Average: 13.9
Time: 7 hours
Weather: low 80s and foggy in the morning; making for perfect conditions. Low 90s In the afternoon. Perfectly timed surprise thunder shower.
The Spectacular Six (Papa Dave, Darrell, Doug, Rochelle, David, and Emily) left the Parkwood campsite in Statesboro, GA, at 6:15 AM this morning.
The roads were nice and smooth, and not very bad traffic, but we had rumble strips (in four different varieties) for the first 70 miles. The first portion that Rochelle rode with us was also still a bit hilly.
Uncle Doug got a flat tire after 3 miles. On the bright side, this was only our third flat tire all trip!
After about 20 miles, we stopped at Mrs. Roger's restaurant for some great food with fast service in Claxton, GA. The waitress could tell we weren't local not only because of our accents, but because we ordered potatoes instead of grits. Doug ordered grits though.
Claxton is home of famous fruitcakes, and even though nobody likes them, for nostalgia's sake, Grandma Rose and Ladina bought one for Papa Dave. They gave it to him after we finished riding today.
We rode another hour or so and then Rochelle stopped and Mother Hen came along to pick her up. She will plan on riding most mornings with us!
Saw a baby fawn this morning.
Also saw a paper mill. Smelled bad.
Wind wasn't bad today. Intervals of light headwind and tailwind.
28 roadkill today including shrimp on the side of the road.
YESSSS!!! 61 miles by noontime!
We ate at a funeral home in Jesup. Miss Linda was the epitome of southern hospitality. We think she was the secretary at the funeral home. Ladina went inside to ask if it was ok to park the RV at the funeral home. Miss Linda offered her ice, a folding table, the shade of their cherry orchard, and even a shower for the night if we decided to stay there. She also called ahead to their sister funeral home to ask for a recommendation for a hotel in the town we were hoping to get to.
Figuring out our next moves.
Quote of the day: "my stomach is getting tired of digesting!" ~ Papa Dave
After lunch when the Fab Five set out, it was low 90s. Very hot. But the roads were better than this morning. We had 17 miles of freshly paved roads. In fact, we had to hurry to get out of the funeral home because they were paving the road right out front! No rumble strips on those 17 miles either. Must have not put them in yet!
"Look mom, no hands!"
After a couple miles, David noticed dark clouds coming from the east. Sure enough, it started raining hard a couple minutes later! Emily was elated. Papa Dave said she was shouting with joy every 15 seconds. That is probably an exaggeration.
It was the perfect kind of rainstorm, too, at the perfect time of the hot afternoon! The wind was blowing strong on our back, so the rain wasn't beating on our faces. It was easy riding through he rain because of the tailwind. And it didn't pour cats and dogs, but it soaked us, which felt great. Probably only rode in the rain for 20 minutes. After we got out of the rain, there was thunder and lightning 5-7 seconds counted away. We stopped at the closest gas station for a bathroom break and ice cream sandwiches, courtesy of Doug.
The rest of our ride from the gas station was not newly paved, but still fairly smooth, and no rumble strips! The rain sure cooled things down nicely!
Ellie was feeling feverish today and just wanted to go home. Poor girl! But this is the only sickness so far. That's a blessing.
Arrived in Nahunta, GA, late afternoon. We could not find a campground near there previously, so we had decided to stay at this hotel for a night.
At first we weren't sure about the motel, because it was an old building, but it was lovely, and spic and span inside.
Still had our dinner outside at the RV. Yummy potatoes and Sausage in the crockpot!
Went to a Piggly Wiggly's grocery store to get some individual drinks to refresh the bikers. Naked drinks are not as refreshing as the Sunny D, flavored water, and sugary Happy Drinks we bought. All the cashiers smiled at us.
Speaking of refreshments, we all walked to the Dairy Queen tonight! Us bikers run on ice cream.
We must enjoy the little moments of this trip. Before we know it, it will be over. Sarasota, in 4 days, Lord willing!
Today's experiences were truly southern! From the friendly characters and their accents, to the heat, to the barking dogs, the houses with shade trees, and the endless stretches of roads. We really are enjoying these little moments. When we are not in a sweat to get to 60 miles before noon, that is. :)
**This post is a day late, due to preferring sleeping over blogging.
Got some calls already wondering if everything was ok. We are just as fine as ever! Nice to know we have faithful readers!**
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