Well it’s been a full day of packing the RV and figuring out where stuff fits best. I’m happy to report that I finally! figured out where to put my dishes that I could reach them easily. #shortpeopleproblems
Got the RV all loaded except for the refrigerated stuff. It took a little bit longer due to my extra special Kinsley helper. She was very enthusiastic about helping but had her own ideas on where things should go. I am sure going to miss that sweet girl!
Kinsley ready to help pack the RVThanks to Cindy Brandom for our beautiful artwork! Please notice that Bruce is wearing his Chamois Butt’r Biking Kit in the picture.
I’ve made reservations for the first week’s RV Parks. Bruce and I both got hair cuts. RV is gassed up, tires checked, new battery and ready to go.
Pastor Mike Goolsby is coming over to pray for us at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon and then we plan to take off between 2:30-3:00. We were originally leaving Sat morning, then Friday after work, but somehow it keeps moving up. This. Is. Getting. REAL!
Thanks Pastor Mike and everyone who came by to pray for us! We pulled out around 3:45. We are going to boondock in a WalMart parking lot in Springield, MO tonight. Odometer = 19,670.
neighbors, family and friends who stopped by to pray for us before we left.
When we decided that we would be spending the night in Springfield, MO in a WalMart parking lot (which Annie informed me this morning is officially called “Wallydocking”), my mom jumped in her car and drove 1 1/2 hours from her home in Rolla, MO to spend the night with us. We ordered take-out Italian from Digiacinta’s (their dining room was closed due to Covid) and played a few quick rounds of Rumikub last night. This morning we took off in separate directions at 7:45 AM.
Carol and Bruce right before Bruce beat us in Rumikub.
Carol and Pam by the RV wallydocked in Springfield, Mo
From Springfield we headed south on Hwy 65 to I-40 into Memphis. We were pretty excited about going to Memphis because we had such fond memories of the last time we were there with the kids. In a car. We had explored Beale St and downtown Memphis and had eaten great barbecue. It was a little different in Harvey. We found a barbecue place on Google that looked good, not too far off I-40. Unfortunately Memphis has a lot of roads that seem to dive under low overpasses. They were all marked with signs telling the heights. Which we assumed meant they were very low. So we chose to avoid them. We were sure wishing we knew how tall Harvey was! We came to one narrow road that seemed high enough that we could attempt to slowly go under rather than back up and turn around. As we were debating this, a UPS truck zipped on under without even slowing down. Surely we were shorter than a UPS truck! Bruce drove slowly under while I watched the roof clearance from outside. We made it under the 12’3” bridge with less than a foot to spare. We decided that we were safe to slowly go under anything over 12′. As long as we were loaded down. And had a full tank of gas. And didn’t bounce.
This looked awfully low. We turned around.Then successfully attempted this one.
We went on a couple of wild goose chases following Siri to BBQ joints that had apparently moved or been out of business for a while. We finally decided that Memphis just wasn’t as fun in an RV and headed back to the interstate.
We passed into Alabama on I-22, not sure where we would spend the night, but heading towards Columbus, Georgia.
Sorry I can’t print the video of Bruce singing the song. Use your imagination.Carbon Hill Alabama. Seeing the effects of Hurricane Sally on her way.
The further south we got, the more we were reminded that a hurricane was on it’s way. We continued through Birmingham without stopping. I had originally thought we would stop in all these cool cities, but after our not-so-fun-experience in Memphis, we just wanted to keep going. In Montgomery, AL we had dinner at a Chrystal’s Burgers because it looked like a local favorite. Unfortunately their lobby was closed due to Covid, and only the drive-thru was open. Harvey obviously couldn’t attempt a drive-thru, so we ended up knocking on the door to the lobby and begging the manager to let us order there. She begrudgingly agreed, took our order and money and then brought our food to us at the door. I’m pretty sure she was convinced we had Covid. Or were roaming scoundrels up to no good.
We found a place to dump our tanks (that’s RV speak for get rid of the sewage in Harvey’s black & gray tanks) that wasn’t too far from a Walmart that wasn’t too far from our route. The beauty of Wallydocking is that when you stop at 11:45 PM you don’t have to worry about hooking anything up. You just find a flat spot, turn off the key, close the curtains and go to bed.
Sunday morning I called all the RV Parks where we were scheduled to stop the next few days. Ft Clinch and Monticello didn’t expect to be affected by the hurricane at all. Defuniak Springs, Pensacola and Mobile were expecting to be right in Sally’s path. We debated about changing our route and starting further north, but that didn’t seem like it would solve the problem because as we headed west, Sally would be heading north and we could still potentially run in to her. After checking the weather multiple times, we decided to continue to Ft Clinch at Fernandina Beach, Florida and take it day by day, knowing we could be sitting still for a few days waiting out the hurricane.
We realized that it was Sunday right before we finally took off around 11:00 AM. Rats! This would have been a great place to catch some real Southern Baptist preaching.
I was excited to drive through Columbus, Georgia and see the town where I was born. I’m pretty sure I haven’t been back since we moved when I was 2. My mom gave us the address of the house where we lived when I was born. I was a little unsure how to go about taking pictures without being a creeper. We were driving an RV for Pete’s sake! Not to worry. Bruce marched right up and rang the doorbell. He told the girl that answered why we were there and she was happy to let us take a few pictures.
Me, in front of the house we lived in when I was born.The house in 1963, when my family lived there.Our first palm tree sighting! Somewhere in Georgia.Yahoo! We are in Florida! Please note the sky. Not exactly feeling like the Sunshine State.
We arrived at Ft Clinch around 7:30 PM. Since it was already dark we weren’t able to see much. It is supposed to be on the beach, but our campsite is kinda in the woods. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.
So it’s about 10:30 on a sunny Saturday morning. We’re somewhere in Missouri, cruising down a beautiful, back roads, curvy, 2 lane highway with no shoulder. Just as Bruce says, “wow! This gas gauge dropped from 1/2 to almost empty really quick. We better get gas in the next town,” Harvey (the RV) loses power. Trying not to panic but seeing nothing but curves ahead, I immediately begin praying! In God’s awesomeness, He not only provided a little gravel driveway to coast into, but it ended up being a little road that we could drive straight out of and not even have to back out on the highway. Bruce hopped on the cycle and found a gas station barely 2 miles down the road. Being the thrifty guy he is, Bruce wasn’t about to pay $13 a piece for 1 gallon gas cans, so he bought 2 gallon jugs of Fresh Spring Water, filled up a few water bottles for the bikers (motorcycle) hanging outside the Valero and then filled the empty jugs with gas. Ron Neugent would be proud! Twenty minutes later we were gassed up and on our way! Thank you to all our prayer warriors! We can totally feel God’s hand on our journey already! So now we know when the gage says half empty, it’s time to fill up!
**Oopsy – now I’ve been told this is against the law. Do not use water jugs for gas!
*** This is out of order. Should have been inserted between spending the night in Springfield and heading to Memphis.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Chinese Proverb
82.77 miles – 528 ft climb
Here’s where it all begins.Back wheel in the Atlantic Ocean and ready to go. Well almost ready to go. Still needs to change shoes, put on his helmet etc.
We decided to explore Ft Clinch on the cycle for a little bit this morning before we left since we got in after dark last night. It’s really pretty. I’m trying to figure out how to post a video. Stay tuned!
I would love to come back here when we have more time. It was really pretty.Beautiful morning ride on the cycle. I wish I had taken more pics.Seeing the ocean of course made Bruce feel the need to go swimming in it …before he began his ride across the country today. Thankfully swimming is not allowed here so I didn’t have to tackle him on his way to the water.We have already met so many interesting people and it’s only the first day! This is Amy who gathers debris washed in from the ocean and educates people on the negative effects of releasing balloons into the sky, plastic bottle trash, and plastic bags. She has found over 600 pairs of sunglasses, some go-pros and lots of other things. She’s the Beach Junki.And it’s starting! Bruce took his bike down to the ocean to dip the back tire.Ready to roll!
Bruce took his bike down to the ocean and dipped his back tire in the Atlantic. I envisioned him riding out of the water and off to the west, but since it’s all sand, that isn’t really the way it works. Anyway, we drove to the front of Fort Clinch and Bruce left from there around 10:30 instead of going over to Fernandino Beach like we had planned.
I can’t believe it’s really, truly about to start! I’m so excited!
The guy working the security building was really nice. He came over and insisted on taking a picture of both of us because he said it’s my trip too. We talked for a bit after Bruce rode off and then he let me stay parked on the side of the road for a while so I could let Bruce get a good head start.
Day 1 – starting his journey!
I dumped the tanks all by myself for the first time and then I left around noon. I had a guy run up to me as I was leaving who wanted to give me $5 for Parkinson’s because his mom had it. Choked me up. (Yeah, I know it doesn’t take much for that!) But that is what it’s all about. Raising money and awareness for Parkinson’s and MS.
first road sighting of the trip!Doing a little Financial Advising on his lunch pitstop.
We had a pleasant (for me at least) drive on back state highways through rural Georgia and Florida. I got to Fargo an hour or so before Bruce, so I went to get a case of water at this little convenience store. I didn’t end up buying the water there because the girl at the counter told me it’s a lot cheaper at Dollar General. We visited for awhile and I told them what we were doing. They were pretty excited about it. I got a fountain drink and then went back to Harvey to hang out in the parking lot and use their wi-fi for a while, waiting for Bruce to arrive. We are spending the night at Griffis Fish Camp in Fargo, GA. Bruce should be arriving in about 20 minutes! We are meeting at a church close to the highway and then driving to the fish camp because it’s 18 miles from our route.
Cruising Florida! Or possibly Georgia. We went back and forth between the two a couple times on the highway. Which was funny because since it was a state highway, the number changed depending on which state we were in.
Bruce actually beat me to the meeting place, while I was getting water at Dollar General. With the help of some easterly tail winds, he averaged 20 mph today! When I drove up, he was doing push-ups! Macho, macho man!!Note to self: When you stay at some place called Griffis Fish Camp, you should not expect it to have wifi … or phone service
We did however have an interesting conversation with Mr Griffis, who showed us his little museum of old pictures, antiques and stuffed animals. I mean stuffed as in taxidermy. He told us that the fish camp had been in his family for about 100 years. He had so many interesting stories. I wish I had taken notes. Or had my phone with me. Mr Griffis stopped by the RV to collect the $20 rent right as I was finishing preparing dinner. We stepped outside to talk to him and ended up walking over to his little museum. We didn’t get back until over an hour later. Luckily we are ok with cold food.
Many of you have expressed concern about Hurricane Sally and our trip. She is definitely wreaking havoc on my well made schedule. But we are aware of it and are figuring out what to do. We talked to people in the first four places that we are scheduled to stay and they all said that they are not worried because the Hurricane is not supposed to effect them, besides rain. Obviously the path can change and we plan to stay on top of that. But as of now we plan to stay on our original route through Wednesday. We are most likely not going to Defuniak Springs, Pensacola or Mobile which will probably affect the rest of the route for the first 2 weeks. Some of the rangers we have talked with here say that it may still be possible for us to continue on our route if we stay an extra day in Tallahassee or Chatahoochee. We will probably be deciding day by day. Right now Bruce is riding from Madison, FL to Monticello in light rain. He says it doesn’t bother him too much because it’s warm. Thanks for the concern. Definitely keep us in your prayers!
In case you’re wondering about “watch the weather”, here’s the scoop. When our daughter, Caroline, was little, she hated rain and bad weather. On stormy nights after we had tucked her in, we’d be sitting out watching TV and we’d hear her little voice say, “watch the weather!”
**update 8PM We have been told that the weather west of Tallahassee is very windy and stormy and not conducive to biking OR driving an RV so we have decided to stay at least 1 extra night here in Monticello. Bruce needs a break after 2 days anyway, right?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3: 4-5
79.48 miles – 1,598 ft climb
Bruce rode from Fargo, GA to Monticello, FL today. Bruce in his Davis Phinney jersey, about to begin his ride today.This is me, as I looked when CARDED at Winn Dixie buying beer for my biker. I know the mask hides SOME of the wrinkles, but seriously? OK truth be told … it made my day.Yes, that is a snake in our electric box. Eeeekkkkkkk!
Wow! This has definitely been one of those days! One of those bad news/good news kind of days. Let me just give you a few examples:
Since we didn’t have cell service or wifi last night, we were still finishing the details of our route this morning after we had driven back into town. We then had some other directional challenges, causing Bruce to get started 2 hours later than planned, BUT he still made it to our destination by 4:30
We got confused at an intersection where the highway split and had to ask a guy for directions, BUT he was super nice and we talked to him for quite a while and then he ended up giving us a big donation for MS in honor of his Brother-in-law.
While riding along the highway, Bruce got attacked by a pitbull, BUT as it lunged (hard enough to knock his foot off the pedal that it was clipped into) it didn’t knock him over and only bit his foot which was protected by his bike shoe, and not his calf. He was able to keep on going.
It rained off and on most of the day, BUT it was a warm rain and Bruce just rode through it.
The bike path Bruce was supposed to ride on to our campsite was total mud and he wasn’t able to ride it, BUT it was right by a Fire station where he asked for alternate directions, BUT they gave him wrong directions and he headed out a few miles in the wrong direction, BUT I happened to pass him and honked and he came and got in the RV (this is allowed because A. he was only going off route to the campsite and B. he had already biked this street going the wrong direction) and rode to the campsite with me.
We got set up at our campsite and realized that although they advertised wifi, we had none, BUT Bruce went and talked to the manager and she moved us to a better site.
There was a SNAKE in our electric box at the 2nd site, BUT thankfully Bruce was hooking up the electric that time around and not me AND he didn’t get bit AND he killed it with my kitchen knife (yuk! I may have to use the whole bottle of Dawn and LOTS of scalding hot water to feel confident using that knife again … or possibly accidentally leave it at this campsite)
Hurricane Sally is really messing up our plans. I am not OCD, but I do like a good schedule. BUT God is in control and we can stay a few days at this campsite and wait out the storm. We have wifi and a swimming pool. What else do we need?
Bruce and the guy that gave us directions. And a donation.
Since it’s raining and we are hunkering down here I figured I may as well just keep posting indefinitely! HAHA just kidding. Seriously, several people have asked if I am just following along behind Bruce as he rides the whole time. Well the truth is, he is SO FAST I can barely keep up with him!! HeeHee, I am hilarious tonight! The actual plan is for him to leave our campsite around 6:30 or 7:00 each morning. I will stay and have coffee with Jesus, tidy things up, unplug everything from the campsite and then take off around 9:00. I am also planning to walk a 5k each day so that as Bruce bikes across the country, I will be “walking across the country”. Since I’m so slow, this will add a couple hours onto my morning before I leave. I will most likely catch up to him in 30-45 minutes. We’ll stop and he’ll get more water, a snack, dry clothes etc. Then we’ll both take off again and I will continue to our next site and get everything set up. He’ll come rolling in a few hours later. But that hasn’t happened yet for various reasons. The only time I will actually be following Bruce is if he is riding a particularly narrow or dangerous stretch and I’m riding behind him as his bodyguard.
We would love for you to join us at one of our stops. You can drive along with us or you could ride with me in the RV or bike with Bruce (if you can keep up). A lot of the campgrounds have spaces for tent camping and little cabins to rent. Plus most of the towns have hotels. You will have to figure out your own logistics and transportation and it will be a little dicey since we will be constantly moving, but the invitation is there! Check our schedule.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
Psalm 19:21
The club house where we spent most of the afternoon, doing laundry and social media-ing. There are also comfy couches, a pool table, a big tv and tons of books. Not a bad place to be stuck.The bathroom even has great lighting for me to put on my make-up, ha …NOT!Bruce got in another swim this morning. It takes a lot of laps in a family pool. Not quite WSC or Sante Fe Lake.
It’s been a pretty chill day here at the Tallahassee East Campground. I went for a little jog/walk while Bruce swam laps this morning. I took a shower in the park bathroom this morning and was shocked to see how nice it was. I took a video that you might be able to see on my instagram (brucepamc2c) but I’m kinda struggling with that part of the social media. Point of clarification: I did NOT take the video while I was taking a shower. I took the video fully clothed before I entered the shower.
We rode the cycle into town and had a delicious Mexican lunch at Rancho Grande.
MMMMM delish!
We took the cycle in to Monticello to explore a bit and found a Mexican restaurant for lunch. It started raining on our way back home and has been raining ever since. I got the laundry all done and now we are just hanging out in the lodge community room. I’m about to start working on my Swahili. I have to be able to practice with Carmilla when we stay with her in Dallas. 🙂 We aren’t sure yet as to whether we will have to stay another day here or will be able to move on tomorrow. Chatahoochee is under a tropical storm warning right now but may be fine tomorrow. We just talked to a lady who’s brother lives in Pensacola and she said they were pretty hammered. Lots of flooding. I will need to call the Florida Dept of Transportation and see what they say. We will not put ourselves in any danger. This is not a race.
We would love to hear from you! I set up a comment & blessing page, but that only goes directly to our email. I’m still working on setting up a page just for comments but for now you can comment on this home page. If you are viewing on your cell phone, the “leave a comment” option should be in very small letters at the end of each post. If you are viewing on a computer, it should be in colored letters but very small print on the left side of the screen. If someone has already left a comment, it will say “2 comments” or whatever. You just click on that and it should open a place for you to leave a comment. I’m sorry it’s so hard to find. This is a pre-made layout and I don’t have much ability to change the setup.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
Proverbs 3:27
95.51 miles – 3,389 ft climb
MS 150 JerseyGetting everything ready.Pretty canopied drive out of Monticello. This was Main St. LOLHarvey cruising through a little town in Florida.Here he comes.
Today was pretty uneventful, which was a good thing. Bruce left around 8:15 and I followed around 10:00. The drive was pretty with tall trees on both sides, when we weren’t going through small towns. Since the park we were originally planning to stay at was still closed due to flooding, we stayed in Marrianna, FL (20 miles further – sorry honey–you can do it!) at Florida Caverns RV Resort. I have not seen any caverns and forgot to ask. Hopefully we are not missing an amazing natural wonder. This park is kinda pretty, next to a pond/lake. There is an alligator in said pond as of right now. Apparently he was “displaced during the storm”. I’m not totally sure what that means, but somehow it brings to my mind the picture of gators surfing the storm surges from their local swamps to various RV park ponds. A ranger has been called to capture the gator and return him back home. I’m not sure how they know where “home” is, so I guess they just take him to the closest alligator infested swamp.
Boardwalk at our new RV Park. Gators can’t climb boardwalks, can they?There is an alligator in the pond that “got displaced by the storm”
I talked to a man out walking his dog, and the subject of the hurricane came up. He said that they got 11 inches of rain here. When I commented that I was surprised that there is not more flooding and standing water, he told me that the land is on limestone “like swiss cheese” and although they may get flash flooding, once the rain stops it doesn’t take long for all the water to soak into the ground. Interesting. I am learning so much from the locals!
As I continued on my walk/jog I found this cool looking old cemetery. Right along the side of the road
.
lunch break
For lunch today we ate at a little BBQ joint along Hwy 90 between Tallahassee and Chatahoochee. Recently opened by father & son, Steve & Nathon. By the time I got there lunch was on the table ready to go. And Bruce was out back helping the driver of a huge beer truck that was stuck in the mud. Always the good samaritan.
Bruce helped this beer truck driver try to get his truck unstuck. But alas, he did not get an unstuck truck.
I love that as my husband is rolling along, he calls me and says, “hey babe, there’s a little BBQ place at the side of the road and the guy’s out smoking meat. Want to stop?” Or yesterday he called and said, “hey, there’s a peanut factory on the left. Maybe you can stop and see if they have any fresh peanuts.” (which I did. That’s a whole nother story. OK, OK I’ll tell it. I stopped and went in and it was NOT a store front to sell peanuts, but only a peanut warehouse. The guy said he supposed that he could give me some peanuts. We rode out on a golf cart to this big warehouse. When he opened the giant sliding door, it looked pitch black and empty in there and I started wondering if this was really a good idea. So we walked back to the back corner and there was a giant pile, maybe 15 feet tall by 20 feet wide of something. He walked up and scooped up a bunch and low and behold it was peanuts. So fresh that they still had stems on them.)
I called the RV parks in both DeFuniak Springs and Pensacola and both are open and unflooded. We will check the roads with FL Dept of Trans. If everything looks good, we will be able to follow our original schedule. Thank you all so much for the prayers. It is amazing to see how God is working everything out.
The Faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lamentations 3:22-23
76.75 miles – 2,126 ft climb
About to take off from the pretty Marianna RV park.Representing Wichita today! Thanks to Bicycle Pedeler for the cool bike jersey.
Tonight we are staying at a wonderful RV “Resort” but sadly the internet is very slow and I can not upload the pictures right now because it’s taking forever and I am seriously about to fall asleep. I mean come on, watching Bruce ride 75 miles is enough to wear me out.
We passed several very high rivers. This was the Choctawhatchee.
We were pleased to be able to make it to DeFuniak Springs today. Apparently the flooding is receding pretty quickly. We will be able to make it all the way to Pensacola tomorrow and then on to Mobile on Sunday. We did see more flooding along the side of the roads today than before. Maybe because we passed over several rivers.
One exciting fact about today’s ride. We crossed our first time zone. We started in Eastern time zone and are now in Central. Bruce is going strong. At the end of the day I always ask him, “How are you doing?” and expect some answer like, “whew! I am SO tired!” But instead I always get something like, “great! It was a good day!” or “I killed it today. I had a big tail wind.”
My favorite thing about this trip is all of the genuinely nice people that we have met. In parking lots, on walks and in all the RV parks we have met the best people. And this park is no exception. I wish we were staying here longer because I’d love to have the chance to get to know them better. On the ride to DeFuniak Springs today, Bruce ran in to (no, not literally!) a man who had biked to Houston to see his mom and was now on his way back home. He had just a regular ol’ bike that was pretty old and loaded with stuff. Bruce thought he said he had been riding since June. He had no biking gear (I personally can’t imagine biking that far without padded pants – owie!) and wore Army fatigues and lace up boots. They chatted a bit and Bruce bought him lunch. Then they both headed off in their opposite directions.
Bruce with Robert, who was biking home from Houston on a street bike, wearing boots and Army fatigues. He had lost his phone so they took this picture and then Bruce emailed it to Robert’s mom so she would know he’s ok.
As I’m sure you weather watchers are aware, there is another tropical storm in the Gulf that may be heading to Texas or Louisiana in the next few days. We will be watching that as well.
Since this was a short day, only 75 miles, we were able to meet for lunch in DeFuniak Springs. We stopped in a cute little shop called Nooks & Crannies and bought a few things before lunch. Unfortunately the places we were looking at for lunch had either gone out of business due to being forced to close for Covid or they were too high end for a biker wearing spandex. We ended up getting a great pizza at Hungry Howies, a place recommended by a kid we talked to on the street.
Pizza at Hungry Howies in DeFuniak Springs. Contrary to the look on his face, Bruce actually DID like his pizza!
Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures that capture the cuteness of downtown DeFuniak Springs. But here’s something cute I saw on the sidewalk.
I can’t wait to show you the pictures from this place. It really is beautiful. I put some videos on instagram brucepamc2c. I promise I will figure out how to add videos here and load some soon. Maybe in Mobile because I am counting on good internet at the Marriott.
View from our RV. We stayed at Twin Lakes RV Resort. The whole place was beautiful.Harvey lounging lakeside.A little flooding at the RV park.
When we were sitting in the RV, we kept hearing these clunks above us. It wasn’t raining. I thought maybe it was in the pipes (do RVs have pipes?) or air conditioning or something. Then the light bulb went off in my brain. I remembered that we were parked under a tree. It was squirrels dropping nuts on the roof.
These squirrels certainly made themselves at home. I may have even seen a couple of them grilling some nuts in our RV neighbor’s outdoor kitchen.Dinner! Does a green plate make up for no green veggies?After dinnerIt’s a dangerous area. Fortunately I was able to stay out of the quicksand on my jog.Found an alligator to bring home. I think he surfed over on a storm surge.
Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.
Psalm 25:4
70.37 miles – 1,253 ft climb
We started out this morning in DeFuniak Springs.Representing Blendrich today. That stuff keeps him going! That and his music. Those funny looking things by his ears help keep the road sounds down. Also note his little rearview mirror on his glasses.
Well, we made it to Pensacola! A few days ago we didn’t know if this would be possible. We didn’t see too much flooding along the way which was surprising. Bruce was having a little bike issue (the rear skewer wasn’t tight – if that means anything to you –no? me neither) and so we had to drive towards the coast to find a bike shop. Shout out to Bike More Bike Shop for quickly finding and fixing the problem! Anyway, on the way there we saw quite a bit of limbs etc that had come down. But this city is efficient. They were already chopped into neat little bundles at the side of the road just waiting to be picked up. The biggest problem in Pensacola is the lack of power. Most of the restaurants and businesses have been without power since Wednesday. A few got it back just this afternoon. There were electric trucks all over the place. We were lucky that our RV park has power, many still don’t. But sadly, their wifi is down so my pictures may not be able to upload until tomorrow.
trees down along the road
This morning Bruce took off around 8 AM. When I found out that the highest point in Florida was close, I decided to head over to see it. I didn’t know Highest Points were even a thing until a few weeks ago. Thank you to Ryan and Pam Lemon for enlightening me. I think Florida’s was the perfect one to start with. It’s only 345 feet. I basically pulled off the side of the road and ran over to the sign in my flip flops. No hiking involved.
Yes I did climb all the way to the highest point in Florida!
My next stop was a little produce market at the side of the road. Among other things I bought some Boiled Peanuts. I had seen signs for them and assumed it was just another way of cooking them to end up with the salty, crunchy snack I know and love. WRONG! The kind lady who owned the shop opened this hot crock and spooned out some mushy peanuts still in the mushy shell for me to sample. Not exactly eye appealing. I kinda smooshed it open and pulled out the peanuts. They were salty and kinda reminded me of a pinto bean. She said they eat them as a snack, but I can’t imagine choosing that as a snack over … anything. But since it’s a popular southern thing I bought a bag. I think I’ll try serving them as a side, like a bean full of protein. I gave one to Bruce when we met for lunch and he was not impressed. I think they have to grow on you.
Little stand on the edge of DeFuniak Springs where I bought the boiled peanuts and some other goodies.So true!
The other big news today is that most of the gas stations around here don’t have gas or else don’t have power for the pumps to work to get the gas into your car. We saw this on the news yesterday and so decided to fill up in DeFuniak Springs. But the gas station there was out of gas already! We ended up finding a little gas station in Mossy Grove that had gas and no line. I wasn’t even all that low, but the thought of not being able to get gas made me a little nervous. I’m not sure how Bruce would have liked riding the rest of the way across the country with me on his handlebars.
I finally caught up with Bruce in Milton, FL 50 miles from DeFuniak Springs. Did I mention that my husband is one FAST biker! As I pulled into town, I got stuck in traffic at a traffic light that was out from the storm. But up ahead to the right I could see this biker with a yellow helmet and a green kit (that’s biker speak for uniform/outfit/top & shirt) zipping along in the bike lane passing everyone up. Did I mention that my husband is FAST! He pulled over in a parking lot a little farther up to wait for me. Coincidentally (or maybe NOT) there was a little craft brewery right next door. It was called Beardless Brewhaus, which was a funny name since the owner, who makes the beer, HAS a beard. After his pb&j lunch and a few tweaks on his bike chain, Bruce headed over to get a sample … and a Crowler. A new word I learned today. A Crowler is a Growler in a can.
The selection at Beardless Brewhaus. Bruce sampling the wares before choosing a Crowler of the Triple-Berry Good Living IPA Milkshake.
Just in case you think it’s all fun and games I feel like I need to tell you the rest of the story. I could drive forever on those back country roads. I absolutely love them. But unfortunately those darn cities keep getting in the way. Mom and Harriett, you should probably stop reading right here. In Pensacola Hwy 90 split into 90 and Alt 90. I would like to know why they couldn’t come up with a different number for Alt 90. Really? How about Hwy 437? Well I turned on the wrong one and too late realized it still had lots of trees down and crews working. So I turned off on the first street to go around the block. But unfortunately it was a narrow neighborhood street with more trees down and crew trucks. I couldn’t go through. I sat there for a little bit debating which I would hate worse, trying to back out onto the highway or trying to turn around. Both seemed impossible and scary. I opted to turn around. I pulled into the first neighbor’s driveway and then backed out onto the narrow street and tried to turn sharp enough to actually BE in the street. All I could see in my backup camera was a giant Rose of Sharon bush coming closer and closer in the neighbors yard behind me across the street. I finally managed to get backed out without too many bush branches stuck in my bumper and only minor RV tracks in the manicured lawn.
It looks so simple.
By this time I was getting calls from Bruce to come pick him up to take him to the bike shop. As I headed to find him, somehow the highway split again and I ended up on the wrong part AGAIN. I whipped (as much as you can “whip” in an RV) into a parking lot to reassess. What I hadn’t thought through was that now I had to cross 4 lanes of busy traffic with no stoplight, to go left. When I finally made it across, my lane immediately ended and cars were zipping by me like they were on a race track. I just sat there crying until it cleared up. Uggh! I hate cars buzzing around my RV. I guess I could just take the stance that I’m bigger and badder and they best just watch out for ME. But that will most likely never happen unless I morph into one of my daughters on this trip. So I finally picked up Bruce on Brewster street – an appropriate place for him- and we headed to the bike shop. On a side note: highway 90 was also called Caroline street part of the way today. We also drove by Dad’s street and Bruce street. Tomorrow maybe we’ll see Josh and Annie streets.
I was happy to let Bruce park the RV while I relaxed on the couch.
We had a delicious dinner of grilled Salmon, roasted green beans and Josh’s sweet potato jumble. Now we are just hanging in the RV hoping it quits raining soon. It is supposed to rain through the night and all day tomorrow. It’s not raining hard but it still complicates things immensely for Bruce. So please pray that it STOPS raining. We don’t want to miss any more days even though it’s NOT A RACE. We are looking forward to getting to Mobile tomorrow and hopefully finding some sunshine some where soon. Bruce is looking ahead longingly to Scotsdale where it was 102 degrees today.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity. but of power, love and a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
47.7 miles – 1542 ft climb – 6 inches rain
Starting the day. Still dry. Still hopeful that the rain wouldn’t be THAT bad.
Well, today was interesting. We saw LOTS of trees just knocked right out of the ground. Hopefully I can post pictures tonight because we are at a hotel. Yay! I was again reminded how different Bruce and I are. Today was exhausting! For me mentally, for Bruce physically. It rained the whole way from Pensacola to Mobile. More on that later. So we get to the hotel and I’m ready to crash and call it a night. Bruce comes out with a little piece of paper and says, “I got this great little seafood place called MudBugs that the locals love where we can go for dinner.” What? We are going out in the cold again? I was just getting settled! But since we ARE in Mobile, AL and we ARE experiencing the country I will rally and I will be happy that I rallied. I’m so thankful that God gave me an energetic husband with a major zest for LIFE to gently push me out of my box.
The big news today is that we are completely changing our route to Texas. Although tropical storm Beta won’t directly affect us, she is causing lots of rain and there is more possibility of flooding and flash flooding in southern Louisiana. We are VERY sad to miss out on Biloxi and southern Louisiana and visiting our friends Bob & Evelyn in Baton Rouge. Bruce has promised me that we can take a road trip to Louisiana next year. But NOT during prime hurricane season. I will try to get our schedule updated and posted on the Our Schedule page tonight or tomorrow. Basically we will be heading northwest from here. We will go through Hattiesburg, MS and Natchez, MS and then cut over through Coushetta, LA and in to Carthage, TX where we will rejoin our original route. (haha – that makes me laugh. This route has evolved so many times it’s hard to remember what the “original” route actually was.)
Our new route
**update — Unfortunately Mud Bugs closed at 6 PM. I know. Weird! So we found another place to eat that was probably twice as expensive but delicious. Bruce had Shrimp & Cheese Grits and I had Red Snapper with a yummy sauce. Seafood twice in one week. We are not big fish people, so that’s saying something! After dinner we went on a quest for ice cream because Bruce was starting to get the shakes (he is a bonafide ice cream addict). After Yelp led us on a wild goose chase looking for a local ice cream shop, we stopped at a MickeyD’s and then a Burger King – both who told us their ice cream machines were not working. By this time we were just ready to get back to our hotel. I love Harvey, but I must say it is nice to be in a hotel. (I miss my emojis – I need to figure out how to add them on this.)
There were a lot of huge trees knocked over, broken in half or uprooted. But these amazing crew guys already have the debris off the road. Unfortunately it is still on the bike path, so Bruce had to ride in the street most of the time today. Fortunately no flooding.
There were crews and trucks everywhere getting the roads cleared, broken trees chopped and stacked and repairing power lines.
As we left Pensacola this morning it was actually dry and just starting to sprinkle. It wasn’t long before it began raining harder. We made a pit stop so Bruce could add his helmet rain cover and shoe covers. We decided that I would just go 10 miles past him and then wait for him in case he needed anything or just wanted to towel off. This worked pretty well the first few times. You should have seen my amazing backing skills when I thought I was pulling into a church parking lot, but actually pulled in to a little drive that went no where BUT it was paved and had a little brick building and an off shoot to back into and turn around. I was awesome. Wish someone could have seen me back this baby!
Stopped to put on his little raincoats for his shoes and helmet.Bruce heading out in the rain after a pit stop.State #3!
Though we were still following Hwy 90, in one spot it took a weird left turn that looked like you were turning on a side country road, so needless to say, I missed it. After I turned around I decided that I should wait for Bruce because I was afraid he would miss it too. Unfortunately his phone was whack today and I couldn’t find him on Find Friends and whenever I tried to call it went right to voice mail. I sent him several texts which he did not respond to, so basically we were living like back in the 90’s when you just had to hope and pray things would work out. I waited for him there for a while, getting a little worried that he hadn’t showed up. After a while I thought he either missed the turn and I didn’t see him do it or he made the turn and I didn’t see him do it. I decided to go ahead and drive towards Mobile, knowing that if I didn’t see him I could always turn around and come back. The drive to Mobile was awful. Lots of traffic, rain, leaves and tree branches making the bike lane unusable and no Bruce in sight. Finally when I was passing across what I later found out was called the Causeway, I got a call from Bruce. He had flatted out and was at a restaurant about a mile further down the Causeway. Times like this are when I am reminded that a LEGION of angels are accompanying us on this trip. Bruce could have flatted out anywhere along the treacherous ride to Mobile, but it happened in front of a restaurant with a big covered deck where he could change the flat and a huge parking lot where I could wait. AND he was in front of me and not behind me. Thank you all for your prayers. They matter!! He fixed his flat and headed off … and then flatted again. Two flats in the rain are enough to make you decide to go ahead and ride in the RV to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, he went back out and worked on his tire in the RV. It ended up having a little shard of something in it. Now it should be good as new.
USS AlabamaEven the frogs here are into biking!View from our 15th floor hotel room. You can see Harvey in the front, right corner.And he’s off again, into the rain!
Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14
83.1 miles – 2,760 ft climb
The forecast is not looking good.We chilled in the Marriott parking lot until around 11:00 waiting for it to stop raining.Fixing his tire again this morning. No more flats today!Ready to ride. Rain or Shine.Not exactly sunshine, but at least it quit raining. We’ll take it!
Today was a good day. We were a little bummed this morning when we checked the weather and saw chances of rain ALL DAY in both Mobile and Hattiesburg, causing us to assume that it would be raining the whole way in between. After we checked out of the hotel, we hung out in Harvey until around 11:00 waiting for it to quit raining. Bruce replaced his inner tube again because it had flatted again and he thought it might be a bad tube (he was right). I finished adding pictures to the last several days’ blogs. Finally he couldn’t take it any longer and prepared to ride in the rain. But amazingly it stopped raining right as he headed out and barely sprinkled all day. A huge answer to prayer!
State number 4!
Bruce was planning to just ride to New Augusta, but was still feeling pretty strong, so ended up riding 20 more miles to an RV park I found in Hattiesburg. It’s not actually an RV park. It looks like a huge fair grounds with RV overnight parking. It’s pretty empty except for us and maybe 5 other RVs who look like they possibly stay here long term.
This was our RV park/fair grounds in Hattiesburg, MS.Always smilingGotta get the right music.Not much shoulder, but not much traffic.
I think we made the right decision changing our route. Tomorrow he will be on a Rails to Trails paved bike path for 40 miles and then around 40 miles on roads. The highway today did not have a bike lane which made me pretty nervous, but he said that almost all of the cars and trucks got over in the other lane when they passed him. So I guess I’m at least thankful it had 2 lanes each direction.
I found this at the grocery store. I thought it was appropriate!
One interesting fact about today. I only spoke with 2 people all day besides Bruce — a lady who held the door open for me leaving the hotel and a Mississippi sanitation worker who stopped to make sure I was ok when he saw me stopped at the side of the road waiting for Bruce. But don’t worry. I talked to myself all day. Haha! I’m a good audience.
And now I present … Harvey.
Since today was pretty uneventful, I thought I’d tell you how Harvey got his name. My adorably precious granddaughter, Kinsley, “helped” me pack the food and stuff in the RV before our trip. When we were finished and walking back into the house, she turned and waved and said, “bye RV” but in her adorable 2 year old voice it sounded like “bye Harvey” and so he was named. And now that I brought her up, I’m missing that little punkin like crazy!
The Lord gives His people strength; the Lord blesses His people with peace.
Psalm 29:11
85.6 miles – 2,500 ft climb
Getting the headphones all set. The right equipment is everything.
Today was a gift! Looking at the weather on my phone it again looked like rain all day, but today we actually saw sunshine! It’s been so long we’ve almost forgotten what it looks like. The only rain we got was a few sprinkles after Bruce had already arrived at the park. He got to ride 40 miles on this beautiful Rails to Trails bike path, called the Longleaf Trail. He loved it! And I loved it because I didn’t have to worry about all the cars zooming by him. In fact, I was so at peace about it that after I had coffee with Jesus, I decided to go ahead and do my 5K in Hattiesburg before I left. And then shower and clean the RV. And then take my time at the grocery store. And then get gas. Bruce ended up beating me to our RV park by 30 minutes! Did I mention he’s fast?
Bruce and Jeremy , a fellow biker he met on the Bike trail and rode with for about 20 miles.
Sign in the bathroom along the Longleaf Trail. Too funny!After doing laps around the fairgrounds for 3 miles, I discovered that I could cross the lake on this little bridge and then follow a trail through the woods, around the lake and then it kicked me out right into the RV park.
We have sure seen lots of Magnolia trees down here. They aren’t blooming now, but the pod things are scattered all along the ground. Those always remind me of the Magnolia tree that was in my grandparent’s front yard. My brother and I used to like to draw all over the driveway with the pods. I’m not sure my grandpa liked it as much as we did.
The Pearl River near Monticello, MississippiThe motion of driving made the whole toilet paper roll unwind itself. #rvprobs
Once I arrived in Brookhaven we headed to the laundromat to do laundry. $3.75 per load! Yikes! Bruce took a shower in the RV in the parking lot while I waited for the loads to be done. RVs can sure come in handy! We haven’t seen much of Brookhaven, but some of the parts we did see were a little sad. When we got back to the RV park, I made some yummy little tortilla pizzas. Sorry I have been failing at food photos.
For those of you that are paying attention, yes, I am aware that sometimes I put the map of where we started and sometimes where we ended. Keeps it exciting, right?Day 10 Ready to go!
As I write this we are sitting in Harvey in the pouring rain, waiting for a Tornado warning to expire. It has been an interesting day.
View of the Mississippi from our RV.
Bruce has been in a men’s Bible study group for many years. When Covid hit they decided to start meeting virtually. This is quite convenient if you happen to be riding your bike across the country. This morning Bruce got up early, did his study with the guys and then took off. He had a nice easternly wind and made great time. He finished the last 10 miles on the Natchez Trace. At the end of the Trace he noticed a guy wearing an MS 150 jersey. (I can’t remember if I mentioned that Bruce has been riding in the Kansas City MS 150 for around 15 years and this trip is also raising money for MS, since the MS 150 was canceled this year because of Covid.) As they talked he found out that Bart & his wife, Linda, had just completed riding the Natchez Trace for a week, from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS.
Union Church Established 1806
I did my 5k around the Baseball complex RV park where we stayed last night in Brookhaven, MS. But in this park there was no hidden treasure at the end. I was able to beat Bruce to our RV park in Vidalia, LA by about 30 minutes. This RV park is right on the Mississippi River, right across from Natchez.
my route
We were excited that Bruce finished his ride by 1:30 so we would have the whole afternoon in Natchez. It began to sprinkle pretty much as soon as we got on the cycle. We drove around in the light rain for awhile, trying to find an open restaurant. We started to head to the Under the Hill District, but then realized that our little cycle probably wouldn’t make it back up the hill. She’s big on looks but not so much on power. I didn’t really want to walk back up in the rain so we hooked a u-y (u-ie? UE? Not sure how to spell that?) and headed elsewhere. Bruce may be used to riding in the rain, but I am not. I guess this should have given me more empathy for him. We stopped at a few places that had finished their lunch shift and didn’t open back up until 5. It was 2:30. Finally we stopped at a place that ended up being really good. It was called Fat Momma’s Tamales. Bruce got Tamales. I got a Poboy. I thought these were actually called Poor Boys, but when I asked for a Poor Boy, the waitress was confused. So I pulled out that southern accent (I WAS born in Georgia, remember) and asked for a Poboy. She knew exactly what I wanted. We had a nice visit with the manager, John, who told us that normally this place is packed inside and out, with a huge DIVERSE crowd. He said diversity is alive and well in the south, both here in Natchez and pretty much throughout, according to his friends who live other places in the south. He feels that the race riots are fueled by the media and mainly “in the north” because everybody here is “just the same, dealing with the same stuff, just trying to get by” in the south. I guess I should mention that John is black.
The desire to experience Natchez was dissolved by the continual rain. So we decided to just head back. It started raining harder. And then to top it off, as we jumped back on the cycle to head back, a tornado siren started going off. I called the park office and she said that their building was a tornado shelter and we were welcome to come there but the warning was supposed to expire in 12 minutes. So here we sit. In Natchez. In the RV. In the pouring rain. Storms have never bothered me. I actually like rain and nighttime thunder when I’m in my house. But I think storms are scarier when you are not at home in your warm cozy house. I guess the good news is that it didn’t start while Bruce was biking and it is forecast to be finished by 10 AM tomorrow. So hopefully it will be dry tomorrow when Bruce rides. Even though the title is Brookhaven to Natchez, we are actually in Vidalia, LA. State number 5!
Sign at the Baseball complex.
I just realized WE CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI! That is a big deal. Bruce has ridden around 700 miles and through 5 states! Wow! If we stopped now that would still be an amazing accomplishment! But we aren’t stopping now. Sunshine tomorrow, I just know it!
Have you noticed that in all these biking pictures Bruce is smiling? I think he’s actually enjoying himself! I never thought of myself as a Debbie-Downer but with this weather and road conditions I start assuming that Bruce is miserable. But then when I catch up to him or he catches up to me, he’s always smiling. I love this guy!
Sometimes you just gotta stop and do a little Financial advising.
These huge logging trucks kept passing us. They seemed huge next to Harvey, I can’t imagine how they probably felt to Bruce! He pointed out that the smell was pretty amazing as they went by. Like a strong, fresh-cut Christmas tree aroma I imagine.
May God grant you light traffic and wide shoulders.
Old Indian proverb (just kidding, I made it up)
Winnfield, LAHe’s saying “Hey lo, eeny meeny ee ki ki ee chai chai, ee wa wa!” This is our family “shout-out Indian call” handed down from Bruce’s mom, Harriett. Wish you could hear him.These kind of roads with smooth, WIDE shoulders make a biker’s wife HAPPY!
Bruce left our Riverfront RV Park around 9:30 and I left around noon. We were on Hwy 84 almost the whole day. It had great shoulders and not too crowded. The last 20 miles or so had no shoulders, but hardly any traffic.
About an hour down the road Bruce came upon a town called Frogmore. It cracked him up because he had just ridden by a bunch of dead frogs on the shoulder. Apparently they also have a special Ancient Mound in Frogmore. No word as to whether the mound is actually made of the dead frogs. Ughh! Sadly, I missed it all tooling along in Harvey. But truthfully I’m not all that sad about missing dead frogs on the road.
We saw lots of cotton fields near Frogmore in eastern Louisiana.
I caught up with Bruce in the town of Jena, LA. We stopped for lunch at the Burger Barn. Bruce had a burger and I had a pulled pork sandwich. After lunch I had to make a quick stop at WalMart because I ran out of creamer this morning. If you’ve ever had coffee with me you know what I’m talking about. There must be a rush on Coconut Creamer because the last 2 WalMarts I stopped at didn’t have it. I had to settle for some kind of caramel creamer.
Also I passed a place called Almost Home Hospice Care. Does that imply that they treat you almost like you’re at home? Or that you are about to die and therefore “almost home”?
We still didn’t have sunshine today, but at least it wasn’t raining. And it was cool. High 60s. Pretty good day for a bike ride. I guess the wind was in his face this time. But he’s from Kansas, so whatever.
There was a great sidewalk all along the side of the Mississippi River. But one section had seen better days. I asked another guy walking about it and he said that the river came up really high last year and when it went back down, it took the ground under the sidewalk with it. Looking at the river made me start contemplating how lucky we are that God gave brilliant minds to engineers to develop these strong, sturdy bridges. Without them it would be nearly impossible to get to the other side. Then I digressed to humming Mississippi Man/Louisiana Woman by Conway & Loretta. I’m still humming it.
I saw a black squirrel at the RV Park on the Mississippi. I have only seen them once before in Michigan. Could this be another displaced animal?This guy must really have faith in his truck. Or he accidentally backed into the Mississippi River.
I gave Bruce a little drafting boost the last few miles. Since there was hardly any traffic, I put my hazard lights on and drove about 30. I couldn’t believe he was able to keep up at 30 mph. He just told me it’s called pacing. Aren’t you glad this is such an educational blog?
Yes, that is Bruce pacing me. Or maybe I’m pacing him. I’m not sure which. But that’s him in my rear camera going 30 MPH!
I gotta say, Dollar Generals are alive and well in the south! I think every small town has at least one along highways 90 & 84. I have seen so many of them that I have come to consider them my little friends. Almost like a yellow smiley face emoji. Is this what happens to you when you drive an RV alone across 5 states?
We are at our “RV park” now. I use that term loosely. Bruce washed his bike like he usually does and is now out washing Harvey. Because what better way to wind down after biking 92 miles? Any of our neighbors reading this probably aren’t surprised. 🙂
River’s Bend RV Park. If you look closely, you can see the highway behind us. Also please note the row boat near the front left.
Annie sent me these pictures of Kinsley facetiming with me. If you look closely in the last picture you can see me reading a book to her on the phone.
Here is our new schedule, changed do to us running away from Tropical Storm Beta. Which ended up being a good decision. We are now 2 days ahead of schedule.
