Made it to Montgomery! Although I was about 90 minutes later than I had hoped (see previous post on Dotham), I got here with no issues. Based on the size on the map and overall name recognition, I thought Montgomery was much bigger.
Did find a nice Ruby Tuesday’s to eat at and made a new ‘friend’. Ebony gave me the scoop on Montgomery and Southern Alabama. After some good food and a cold beverage I was off to find some place to crash for the night.
If you ever have a chance to go through Dotham, Alabama – DON’T!
What should have been a 15 minute commute through a nice Alabama community turned into a 60 sixty minutes stop and go fiasco. At least 25 stop lights and none of them syncronized. I think the engineering group that ‘planned out’ the logistics for Dotham must have been KU grads (just joking guys!).
As I entered Alabama, I decided it was way too nice not to catch some rays. Southern Alabama is the epicenter of roadside fruit stands, roadside ‘collectable‘ shops, and more used car dealerships than any state I have seen in my life. As I make my way North towards Montgomery, I am amazed at how beautiful this area of the country is! Tony M, I now understand why you live in this area.
I also learned a little ‘history’ as I crossed into Alabama!
Made the trek from Gainesville North and then West to Tallahassee. While I think Florida State has a nicer football stadium (see pic!), overall I was far more impressed w/ Gainesville than Tallahassee. The rest of trip across Northern Florida was absolutely beautiful from a scenary perspective. I could have done w/o the intermitent rain but it never rained hard so… no big deal.
I did notice two things as headed across I-10. First was the fact that there was NO litter. It was awesome to see. Second was the markers on the side of the note stating “Be Safe”. It took me a while to figure out that these were placed in memory of lives lost. Most people probably don’t think much of it but I think I am sure the families who have lost loved ones appreciate the ongoing recognition of their lost. loved ones.
Stopped in Gainesville to grab a bite. It is 100 degrees out but not rain so all good. After spending just an hour or two on the road in Florida, I can see the appeal. It is GREEN, has lots of trees and water, and the people overall seem very nice. Gainesville feels like a great college town. If I did not have to be back home for work on Tuesday, I would be tempted to hang around a bit!
Arrived to pick up the bike and it was everything I had hoped and expected! Took a little while to load it up w/ all the stuff but everything fit and I was off. Special thanks again to Tom and Rizy for their hospitality.
As I landed in Orlando, I was met by one of my dearest friends in the world. Tom Jackson and his wife Rizi who were nice enough to pick me up. Tom and I worked at Kansas Communications back in the 90’s and he was one of the best sales guys and best people in general I have ever met. I am proud of everything he has accomplished.
We went out had a bite to eat and then back to Tom’s place. I then had the opportunity to meet Tom’s brother and chill for a little bit before heading off to bed. I am typing this as we head to pick up the new bike. More later!
The Adventure has begun! Actually the adventure began a before I actually took off. As I dropped off the RV to make sure we were ready for the Cardinals v Royals series next weekend and asked for a cab to get me to the airport, I was informed that there was no cab service from that location. After some minor bribary, the Service Manager agreed to take me to the airport but only after he got off work which gave me exactly 30 minutes to check my bag and get on — but I made it!
As I sat down in the plane, the ‘three drunk ladies from Oklahoma’ started their next round. As you can see in the attached picture, they were feeling no pain. They were heading to Florida to celebrate one who was turning 40. Watch out Orlando!
As many of you know, Jennifer and I are passionate about life and that often leads to many vacations, adventures, and new experiences. I wanted to create this blog to share these with you our friends! More to follow but this gets things rolling!
