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- 2021 Search for Sunshine! January 16, 2021
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Grand American Loop
I-40 through California: More heat, sand, and lizards for miles!
En route to their place, the inevitable happened – something that I should have expected – having left my true love at home for this Grand American Loop: I fell in love. Yep. I fell head over heels for Georgia! I was swept off my feet by her beautiful landscape, her miles and miles of highway, her beautiful green landscapes and her many picturesque little white churches and steeples.
I have never seen more lovely countryside in my life. And her roads are as smooth and free of blemish as any I’ve driven in my life. Most homes, both big and little, were planted in huge, lush, green lawns that appeared to have been freshly mowed just for my visit.
A typical Georgia Church with lots of lawn and everything green, neat and tidy for Sunday go-to-meeting. I love those values!
Monday, May 23 Day 9: Warner Robbins, GA to Morristown, KY via: I-75, I-85, I-81, I-40, US123, US76, US23, SR76 (Yes! As a matter of fact, I got lost!)
I entered a tunnel in Tennessee, then exited the tunnel in Middlesboro, Kentucky. I turned around in a Middlesboro parking lot, then headed right back through the tunnel. I then took US58 and entered Virginia almost at once.
I was past due to get the coach serviced and hoped to get it done soon. And it really needed a wash, too. I noticed an increase in RV traffic at the Flying J – no doubt because of the coming Memorial Day weekend. I hoped the next few days wouldn’t be too jammed with RVs, but I expected that things would be pretty busy.
Another observation I made that puzzles me is the many civilian vehicles that sport red or blue lights on their roofs. I’m assuming that those are fire department volunteers. But why blue? In California, nobody sports blue except the police. And red is reserved for fire and ambulance vehicles only.
Not that anyone was about to take my advice. No, the nor’ easterners were so proud of their lousy roads that they made some of them toll roads. So, in addition to the taxes I paid at the pump, they also mugged me on every toll road I drove. And the toll roads were as lousy as any of their “free” roads. On Day 14 I paid $27.60, in addition to the taxes at the gas pumps, for the pleasure of having my teeth rattled and my motor home pounded almost all day long. If I circle the country again, I will not include the northeast states!
To help me stay on my intended route and not get lost as regularly as one might on such an adventure as this, I used a fancy little black box called a Garmin StreetPilot 2620. It was a highway navigator, using GPS technology and mapping software to make life easier while driving anywhere in the country. I was amazed by the accuracy and speed of the little gizmo. I used the Delorme Street Atlas program on my computer to decide which roads I wanted to take each day, then programmed that route into the StreetPilot. It sat right next to me and kept me well informed of where I was and where I should turn next. Its verbal commands were in a calm and lovely female voice, and she’d talk to me anytime I pressed the little talk button or when I’d approach an intersection or off ramp where I was to turn. I often got a bit antsy when I awaited her soft-spoken advice, and would say “Talk to me, Baby!” as I poked the button to get a verbal update on what to do. It’s an incredible little “magic box” and was about the size of my fist. Every road in the USA was in that little thing, and I believe that included Alaska and Hawaii!
That day’s big event was seeing one of the Great Lakes for the first time. I saw Lake Erie, briefly, as I drove through Cleveland.
Day 17 was another day of staying on the US Highways and I saw a lot of wonderful country. I drove through quite a few very small towns, but not so many that I wanted to find an interstate. I have not seen New York City, Washington DC, or any “must-see” tourist traps. I made a point of avoiding them all. But I have seen the real America as most folks don’t get to see first hand. I enjoyed watching farmers working their fields, the small town folks going about their business and, generally, small town America just doing its thing. And I really enjoyed it. I really wish that I could be a part of small town America. It looks like a wonderful way to live.
The roads through Washington and Oregon were wonderful. Although I’d been on a lot of “backwater” highways, all of them were better than the rotten roads I endured in the northeastern states. And nobody in Washington and Oregon greets me at the off ramps and toll booths with their hand out for money. Yes, I was still disgusted with the northeast’s poor management. At least when I drive the lousy roads in California, I don’t pay extra for the potholes and rotten repairs. Yet.
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