We started off the morning taking my car to a nearby shop to have the a/c system recharged. It turned out that it was needing a full recharge so hope my a/c will be a bit more efficient.
Nils and Elaine took me to the Top of the Rock at Missionary Ridge, famous for its Civil War history. Besides that it is home to a sprawling housing development with plenty of gorgeous homes.
We had lunch while there and though it was slightly overcast it was still a wonderful view.
Later that night they indulged me by taking me to the Boathouse for catfish and oysters! We had a wonderful time which was enhanced by our waiter Nik. He kept us well taken care of.
Well I thought yesterday’s drive was wonderful and it was….but today was over the top! I took backroads that took me through S. Carolina, N. Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Georgia was the only state I’d been in previously, so got to check off a lot.
Now that’s not to say the day went by without issue….somehow I managed to leave my go box of leftover bbq…sad face.
The terrain went from rolling hills to the Smokey Mountains. I was on a road that I would have loved to be on the Harley.
The last third of the drive had me go next to the Ocoee river in Tennessee. I reminded me of Slide Rock state park in Arizona and somewhat of the Wenatchee river running through Levenworth, WA. Needless to say it was over the top beautiful.
I managed to get to Nils and Elaine’s house close to 5pm. It had been two years since we’d seen them. Far overdue.
I made use of their laundry which was also overdue!
Today was by far the prettiest drive of the trip. The first place I was curious about was Macon, GA. It turned out to be bigger & busier than I prefer. I should have taken the route through Athens, GA but opted for a smaller highway. It was a beautiful drive.
Greenville, SC is a wonderful town. Beautiful and the right size. Apparently it is home to several colleges as well as Clemson University about 45 mins away. I could see living here so will have to plan on spending some time here.
Dinner was at the highly rated Lewis BBQ. OMG this was so good. Without sauce this was delicious. Just enough smoke to enjoy without overpowering the dish. I got half pound of brisket, quarter pound of both pulled pork and pork belly and sides of mac n cheese and green chili pudding.
I managed to finish off half and boxed up the rest. I would have loved this with the mustard based sauce from before! Lewis had good sauce as well in a variety of tastes.
This was a short drive to Savannah. I got checked into the hotel only to find out their elevator was out of service and they didn’t have any more ground floor rooms…..Damn!
At least it turned out to be a decent, though somewhat threadbare and worn out, room. A couch to plop down on and watch the NCAA tournament.
Even though I’ve wanted to go to Savannah for a long time I decided to stay close to the hotel that evening. In hindsight I missed on on being downtown on a Saturday night! Bonehead…
The next day I made up for that poor decision. I ordered up an Uber and off to the historic downtown I went.
I started off with breakfast….shrimp & grits! Anita couldn’t believe I’d start my day off that way. It was yummy.
The street the restaurant faced was closed to traffic, so it was fun to people watch.
A short walk down the road brought me to Franklin Square. It honors Benjamin Franklin and is one of 22 squares located in the historic section of Savannah. One day I’ll come back and visit them all.
Caught another Uber to a BBQ place called Munchies. This was my first true bbq joint. Their sauce was mustard based and was fantastic. Personally I prefer my ribs falling off the bone but these had a good bite to them…did I mention how good the sauce was?
I wrapped up Sunday evening watching the NCAA tournament. All in all a nice day.
Two weeks on the road. It seems so long ago that I left Grand Coulee…and Anita.
So it wasn’t long before I left the coast behind, but not before I went through the towns of Apalachicola and Carrabelle. Apalachicole is a beautiful little town which has a very storied past and Carrabelle is just a pretty, small town.
I turned inland. I wasn’t too far inland, but the lack of the coastline affected how I felt about the land…ah well. In spite of that I found a busy little place off the side of the road for a couple dozen oysters!
What really surprised me was about 20 miles outside of Ocala I started coming across really impressive cleared and manicured pastures. I was clearly coming into the land of horses. I’d read that Ocala was famous for raising horses and I see what they’re talking about. It rivaled anything I’d seen in the Vista, CA area or the areas I’ve been in Kentucky.
The town of Ocala definitely is very pro horse as well with dozens of stores catering to riding and all things associated with it.
I have reservations at a Red Roof Inn. Too bad the room wasn’t as nice as the other property. A leaky bathtub was the highlight. However this was offset by some of the best pizza I’ve ever had.
So this morning’s drive let me see a short area between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach. I could live there. Good feel through the whole area not to mention I had my first breakfast at a Waffle House in Gulf Shores…probably be my last.
Crossing the bridge from Fort Walton Beach take you into the opposite of before…Destin! It is without doubt the most touristy place I’ve seen on this southern part of the trip. Garish is probably the best description.
I ended up staying the night at The Hotel St. Joeseph in Port St. Joe. It was as nice a room as I’ve had yet but so was the price! Had some beers and nibbles at the Flying Harpoon. Met some good people who said if I wanted good oysters I needed to go around the corner to the Uptown Raw Bar. I did and they were right. No Scott and Andrea, they weren’t as good as Drago’s. I see why you like it there.
Well, I joined the group at Drago’s, an oyster bar inside the Hilton. Our little group did a fair amount of damage to their stock of oysters (I should have taken a pic of the pile of shells). It wasn’t long till we gave each other big hugs and parted ways.
My first goal was to get to Pascagoula, MS. I went through more beautiful country getting there and was pleasantly surprised that it was a really pretty town. I think it will make more short list.
The drive between there and Pensacola was beautiful. Gorgeous homes and great landscapes.
I might look closer at Mobile, AL but I got there right at rush hour and wanted to continue on…so I did.
I’m checked in to the hotel for the night but think I’ll go find a local dive to grab a beer and chat with the locals.
Pretty countryside on the way to N.O. The weather has turned. Most of the day was in the high 40s to low 50s.
I got into N.O. without much fanfare. Damn phone signal has been crappy (so much for buying a new iPhone in Houston!), so had a bit of fun navigating downtown and had to go around the block an extra time till I found the entrance to the Marriott. Thank god for valet parking…at $55 per night…ouch!
Got into the room and unloaded, took a quick nap, showered and caught a taxi for a pretty short ride to the restaurant I was meeting Scott & Andrea MacLeod and Andrea’s sister Susan.
The staff there was wonderful…the hostess, Doc had a great sense of humor when I told her that was my nickname and my guest showing up I always called Doc. Go figure.
It wasn’t long before they all came in. So good to see them. We had a good dinner at Palm & Pine, before moving on to Arnauds. I picked this spot because Anita and my good friends Nils & Elaine said I had to stop by. Nils said his great Uncle opened the place and they’d had many family members work there to boot.
It was a good time though our waiter was a surly shit…he did okay but his presentation left a bit to be desired.
We decided I should Join them in the morning for brunch before I left.
Was wonderful to get out of the Super 8…again nothing super about it, but I did get a good nights sleep. Thank God for gummies. The goal today was to get to Port Arthur, TX.
The first place I stopped for gas ($3.29 gal) was about an hour out. While I was getting gas I saw a paramedic unit close by. I asked them for a good place for breakfast…they said without hesitation, “7-11, that’s where we are headed right now. They make fresh tacos”. Apparently everything else in town was closed…no tacos for breakfast for me!
I continued on to College Station, home of Texas A&M (the Aggies).
I ended up at a place across from campus…Red’s something or other. It was dead inside due to spring break, so I had the attention of three wonderful waitresses who were wonderful at answering questions. The will be a place I consider. It is beautiful and not too crowded (around 70K population).
I know there are those of you who will appreciate the fact that spring is here as evidenced by the wildflowers on the sides of the road.
There were blues, purples, orange, pink, white and yellows in abundance. Don’t worry folks…spring will be with us all soon!
As I cruised along I saw what could only be a tent revival off the sides of the road.
I felt the need for a little spiritual uplifting so went it. What a great deal…all the menfolk were in cowboy hats and boots…including the Pastor, Dan. Yeah, me in shorts, HD shirt and tennis shoes was a bit outta place but no one batted an eye. I heard an actual sermon the likes of which I haven’t had in years! Like I said, I’ll be coming back to this stretch of Texas.
Made it to Port Arthur with no further things to comment on. Was a wonderful day on the road.
BrokenSpoken 