March 13

We don’t meet our 7am departure although 7:23 isn’t too bad, but the fog is. As we make our trash contribution to the dumpster, I notice that JA & Kent have yet to leave. They also planned to leave by 7. Hoping all is well, we leave the RV resort.

Our route home is quite simple. Highways 59/31 north to the intersection of I-65, past Montgomery. Somewhere short of Birmingham, Alabama we pick up another #59. Just short of the Tennessee border we cross the northernmost west corner of Georgia. South of Chattanooga we switch to #75 until Knoxville, T. That should complete our day. In the state of Virginia we transfer to I-81 going through the tiny northeast corner of West Virginia and the northwest corner of Maryland before entering Pennsylvania. The state of New York is next – Syracuse, Watertown, the Bridge and we’re home.

Looking at the map I am amazed at the irregular shape of some these states: Pennsylvania has many 90 degree corners while Virginia, West Virginia & Maryland poke their ‘noses’ into one another. I can’t help but imagine the negotiations that must have occurred in setting these odd boundaries.

Our departure is not as calm as we would like. Not far from our campsite, an ambulance siren, a distance behind us. No big deal until some car comes close to taking off our front left bumper off as she pulls into the curb with 2 police cars in hot pursuit. In the end we suspect that she is ‘told’ to follow them. The police escort her at a very sedate speed causing her to drive with one foot on the brake until they all pull into the local medical centre not much later.

In the middle of all this Al declares that he has no trailer brakes. “Oh good” I think. We pull off into a parking lot. Phew! The plug was not properly seated. Back on the road visibility is very poor and compounded by the fact that some cars don’t have running daylights, others with barely visible back lights.

Al notices the price of gas – the highest so far - $2.519. This was a hot topic on FOX news yesterday as they reported the average US price at $2.55. Our last fill was at $2.39. Our trip home may be a shorter distance, but it may cost as much. My friend, Mary, mentioned in one of her emails that gas is over $1.00 per litre at home.

Gas stop. $2.49 and another ding on the trailer as we go around the pump. Both sides are now damaged. I’m hughly annoyed, not at the accident (these things happen), but at the fact that my ‘advice’ was ignored, again. I just don’t get it! Shortly thereafter we pull into a rest stop to investigate the damage. The right rear corner molding is gaping exposing the trailer siding innards. ‘Please don’t let it rain’ I pray.

On a more pleasant note, we are pleased to see more flowering trees now – so far white (on the boring scale, 3/5), yellow (2/5) and an amazing pale purple which just glows in the sun and rates a 0/5. Remember, lower is better in this case. My tree book is at home, so I’m out of luck identifying them. The red maple continues to be as colourful as any flowering tree.

The dogs have finally settled in. I think they now know that the next few days will be a little stressful and just a bit boring. For the first few hours both were standing, Leila panting and Gypsy teasing me with her basketball. Oh yes! Good news about Gypsy’s chosen sire, Dreamer. He definitely carries the liver gene. We may have a pregnant puppy this summer if she passes the hip & eye tests.

I’ve not said much about the road. A while back we had a very brief session of lump ‘d lump causing me to remember I-10 all to vividly. Basically our route is a 4-lane grassed boulevard lined with tall pine trees. Lots of vehicles on the road, but not congested.

We’re nearing Birmingham where we turn slightly east on I-459 which then becomes #59. The place names are as confusing as the highway numbering system. I continue to be amazed at the lack of originality in naming cities. Perhaps I miss the point, but Birmingham is in England, Athens in Greece, Alberta in Canada. I want to celebrate names like Prattville, Tuscaloosa, Bienville & Talladega National Forests, Vrendenburg, all of which are also in Alabama.

Birmingham is a very large city with highways, byways & multi-layered overpasses to prove it. And we’re no where near the city as we skirt the southeast region. Boy Scouts of America, a statue of liberty and the American flag point us northward. Very impressive. The Pinnacle shopping complex sits well above us supported by a 30’ high retaining wall which in turn is sitting upon another 30 feet of landfill.

The white blossomed trees are more frequent now and in many cases very large and beautifully shaped. I’ve upgraded their status to a 1/5 on the boring scale. It helps that they have become the only visible blooms breaking up the monotony of the spindly pines. The ‘troops’ are out picking up highway debris, their beaten up school bus announcing their place of residence – Dept. of …

We stop at the next ‘rest’ stop, but it ‘shore ain’t restful’. Cars with trailers are asked to park with the big trucks. Only trouble is, their drivers leave the diesel engines running. But it’s not just the noise, it’s also the scent of urine coming up from the pavement. I’m told that truckers often pee into bottles so as to avoid having to stop. Whether they are emptying the bottles beside their rig or just peeing, it makes no difference to the olofactory sensors. This is not the first time we have encountered this phenomena, just the first time I’ve mentioned it.

Back on the road again, the pine trees have become smaller and bushier, their boughs heavily laden with pine cones. No Christmas decorations needed here. Their needles come in three shades of green indicating the growth stage: pale yellow-green, dark green, and a bright, almost lime green.

To my chagrin the roadbed has once again turned to washboard. The trailer gives us a double whammy, an unwelcome reminder of its presence. Most vehicles are now in the left lane; I suggest we move over. Not much of an improvement in my opinion. How about going faster, perhaps that will smooth out the jostling? No such luck. I don’t know what causes this, but Canadian highways are in better repair despite frost upheaval every spring. Well, OK, we do have potholes worthy of mention.

My sense of humour is such that as we lurge forward I wonder if a construction sign urging extreme caution due to bridge work means dodging UFO’s. The gods must have heard me ‘cause on the other side of the bridge the road improves, not substantially, but enough to take the edge off. Now I dare take a sip of my drink without worrying it would end up down my front or in other unmentionable places. Silently I add bendy straws to the trailer list of ‘must haves’.

Landscape colours should also include some mention of the exposed earth. In Gulf Shores we saw two colours – almost white sand and brick red soil. In northern Alabama, the colours are less intense, ranging from pale brick red to yellow sandy soil. The grassed fields are once again patchy, alternating between green & dead. We are well above sea level with lots of hills. Gradually the road is less flat with long slow climbs, but not enough to require another lane for us slow polks. Population is sparse, just us and the trees with the usual over-taking trucks.

Momentary panic. 13 km to NO gas. We pull off at the next exit which is advertised as the last gas stop for the next … Guess what? There are 2 gas stations all right. And both of the stations are in ruins! As we get back on the highway, another sign says Welcome to Georgia’. Where is the lighted red sign I saw? Finally a Pilot station (at $2.34/gal) in Rising Fawn only 3 miles away. I won’t need to tell you who was going to hitch-hike.

But I crow too soon. Sign on the retail door says ‘all bathrooms & showers closed for the rest of the day. Portapotties are available at the back’. And I thought the stench from the last rest stop was bad. I voice my concern to the cashier who says they are not their responsibility and besides the women’s rest room is open. Now they tell me. Who on earth decided toilets should be called rest rooms?! I yell silently.

I’m calmer now. I’m popping grapes and they are so cool and juicy, just what is required in the aftermath of a rant. Not nearly as good as what my friend, Doris, can deliver though.

The state of Tennessee and the price of gasoline drops to $2.29 at their Pilot station, no portapotties I bet! Hills are now mini mountains. I can see Lookout Mountain off to the east with multi-storied buildings perched right on the edge overlooking the valley below. This is #75 and it’s deliciously smooth. The Tennessee River appears on our left. Then a marker for the historic site of the Chattanooga Cho Cho. It was somewhere in this city where my sister & brother-in-law had their trailer broken into on their way to Gulf Shores.

On a postivie side Chattanooga has planted masses of trees most of which are covered in white blossoms. However the tall, off-white painted concrete highway barriers are now dirty gray and do much to dispel any visual pleasure.

At 5:28 (car clock) we reach the west end of Knoxville and another Red Roof Inn (pet friendly with a t-Mobile Hot Spot). We’ve driven 826 km in about 10 hours – not bad for the first day. Who knows? At this rate we may be home on Thursday, not Friday as I predicted. But then again who knows at what time since we have apparently changed time zones upon entering Tennessee, not to mention daylight savings time has happened somewhere, some place, some time. Perhaps one cancels out the other.

No matter the time Al has ordered a take-out barbecue dinner from Famous Dave’s, www.homeofthebigslab.com
and winner of over 200 awards, including ‘best ribs in America’ at the Great American Cook-off and ‘Best BBQ sauce’ at the American Royal Barbecue contest. It had better be good. That’s what I say.

Until tomorrow, I’m signing off. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite” Did I tell you where this expression came from? Oh never mind!