Augusta Georgia to Scottsboro Alabama

It was 7:15 AM when we pulled out of Augusta and caught I-20 towards Atlanta. I picked the pace up to 60 MPH. As Wrong Turn said, sometimes getting there sooner is more important than saving on fuel.

We stopped about 30 miles out at a McDonald's in Thomson Georgia for breakfast and a WiFi fix. I posted two days of blogs that I wrote last night. It took a while because of all the photos I needed to upload.

Before leaving Thomson, we stopped a a Raceway for fuel. To pay at the pump, it asked for a Zip Code so I sent Leo in with my card. Unfortunately, my first attempt hung the pump up and it wouldn't release until I gave it a bogus Zip. The mileage was 8.3 US (10.0 Cdn), poor for 55 MPH. I think the stop and go driving along the coast chewed up a lot of gas. The girl at the counter's parents live in Brampton. Small world (skip the song).

Further on, we stopped at a Pilot/Denny's with free WiFi because I forgot to check my drivers for the NASCAR pool. After looking at the qualifying, I stuck with the four I had already picked.

Coloured leaves along I-20

We did note that on I-20 to Atlanta and I-75 north of there had nothing in the way of Rest Areas. That was unusual. We stopped eventually and went a few miles to a brand new and totally deserted Tourist Info place. They had one unlocked bathroom which got used. Leo and I noticed fluid dripping from under the right front suspension area. Close testing determined it was water, probably dripping from the A/C.

Now that we were off I-75, I opted not to go up to Chattanooga and back down via Interstate. Instead, I started cross country. Shorter distance, same estimated time.

We stopped near Rome, Georgia for a Subway lunch, which we ate on the go. Then we crossed into Alabama. I can tell you Alabama 35 sucks. It looks like nice smooth road but is quite rough. I remember the first day out, we searched for all the rattles. Now, on Day 7, we don't notice them unless a new sound crops up.

The big hill down into Fort Payne was interesting.  Thinking of Chapin's 30,000 Pounds of Bananas, I shifted to a lower gear at the top. Good thing because, several miles later, the hill terminated with a 15 MPH corner. Failure to negotiate the turn would result in a collision with a substantial looking stone wall.

Fort Payne Alabama

Then we continued west across Alabama 35.  As we approached Scottsboro, we again descended a substantial hill down to Lake Guntersville.

Looking down from the big hill to Scottsboro

Downgrade into Scottsboro and nuclear power plant

Lake Guntersville

Clouds over Lake Guntersville

Reaching Scottsboro, we went to CW's Pitstop, Carwash and Laundry. The RV wouldn't fit in the carwash but we did laundry so the clothes we'll be leaving down here are clean. One load of washing and three ten minute cycles in the dryer only cost $2.25. Then we headed to the WalMart Supercenter and parked. It seems that the trucks in Alabama shut down when they stop. Maybe (hopefully) they have a law like Pennsylvania because trucks idling all night are a pain in the ass.

I briefly hit someone's marginally unsecured Linksys router, enough to see that Joey Logano finished 39th, but lost the signal before I found how I did overall or who won the Sprint Cup Championship. I think I may explore the possibility of getting a US Air Card for wireless Internet for our further travels.

We walked a few feet and bought Papa John's pizzas. Strangely, because it was an NFL game day, a large three topping cost less than a small three topping.

Full moon over WalMart

We're now in the Central Time Zone and the Unclaimed Baggage shop is nearby, so it will be a slow morning. Then we need to haul 169 miles to Donna's, stopping at a Flying J on the way to dump the holding tanks. After securing the RV and bike, it will be back to the hotel in Birmingham before we sleep again.

I did notice that some of the caulk behind the front passenger door has a small crack in it. The driver's side was recaulked before we picked up the unit and is holding. Maintenance and more maintenance, it looks like. I have a lot to learn but we're having fun.

Today's Route (290 miles):


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Mt. Pleasant South Carolina to Augusta Georgia

We woke to another beautiful South Carolina morning. While the others were getting up, I took the tools to the bike and removed the broken crash bar and associated trim. The fix will take two bolts and some time with a drill and easy-out to get the broken bolt ends out. The bike can be ridden in its current state but if it fell over on the left side, even stopped, it could be nasty.

When I was done, Leo and I half filled the grey tank for flushing and then I washed the black tank by passing the hose in through the window and sticking the wand (which emits a pulsating spray out sideways) into the toilet. We rinsed until the clear plastic coupling showed clean water and then we pulled the grey valve to rinse out the sewer hose. Lastly, we hooked the water hose to the RV and half filled to grey tank (which we don't use much right now) for the final dump at the Flying J south of Birmingham on Monday. We must have done something because the black water gauge was working better.

Before we left, I spoke with a gentleman from Valleyfield Quebec running a large Dutch Star pusher towing a 1978 MGB convertible. His English was better than my French and I found out he would be spending a month in Florida before flying back to Montreal for the skiing season.

I googled some Charleston information and they suggested there was ample parking at the Visitor Center downtown. We headed down Highway 17 and over the impressive Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge into downtown Charleston. From the bridge, we saw a Carnival Cruise ship at dock. Apparently, their cruises are now departing from Charleston.

Carnival cruise ship

Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge - Charleston SC

There may be ample parking at the Visitor Center if you are driving a car but no way a motorhome could find a spot. Sandy did get a picture of the H.L. Hunley, the Civil War submarine that sank the Housatonic in Charleston harbor before going to the bottom itself. The wreck was found in 1995 and raised in 2000.

Full scale model of the the submarine H.L. Hunley

Not finding any parking spaces, we headed back across the Ravenel Bridge to Patriot Point. We did see that the bridge is pedestrian friendly, even having a centre line on the walkway. Many people seemed to be using it.  Arriving at Patriot Point across the harbor from Charleston, we found an RV/Bus parking lot. The spots were back-in but I managed to get the job done. We had a bite to eat at the snack bar before checking out the tours.

Ravenel Bridge from Patriot Point

Our choice today, due to limited time, was between a boat ride to Fort Sumter (the site of the first shots fired in the Civil War (or war of Northern Aggression for my southern friends) or a tour of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown CV10. We chose the Yorktown. Yorktown was commissioned in 1943 and named for the earlier Yorktown lost at the battle of Midway. It was decommissioned in 1970 and, during its long career, it saw service in Viet Nam and recovered the Apollo 8 capsule in 1968.

Walkway to the USS Yorktown

Before we got to the Yorktown, Leo and I got sidetracked by the USS Clamagore SS-343, an 1,800 ton BALAO class submarine of World War II vintage. We took a walk through while the ladies waited on the dock. On board, we found Sid, a retired submariner who started out on the USS Shark, sister ship to the ill-fated USS Scorpion that was lost under mysterious circumstances in 1968. People with claustrophobia should avoid this tour.

Leo in the forward torpedo room of USS Clamagore

USS Clamagore sonar operator

On board the Yorktown, we were given tour advice by volunteer and veteran Chip. He suggested how we could get the most out of our visit.  We started on the hangar deck and first took a five minute simulator ride. It took us on a mission from a carrier during Desert Storm.

Navy Flight Simulator

Then we walked the hangar deck. One end had many World War II aircraft on display. At the end were the extremes, a Wright Flyer and a Mercury and Apollo capsule. At the other end was a snack bar populated with Boy Scouts who will be sleeping on board the carrier tonight.

Hangar deck

Wright Flyer and space capsules

B-25 Mitchell hanging over Boy Scouts

From the hangar deck, we took self-guided Tour 1 (out of 6) that went below decks to see the berths, mess, repair shops and infirmary.

Me in front of berths

Wash area

Mark 44 torpedo

Soryu, one of the carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor

Back on the hangar deck, on Chip's advise, we took Tour 3 up to the flight deck and on to the bridge. Lots of narrow stairs. On the flight deck, there were many more modern aircraft from Viet Nam forward.

Sandy and Leo on the flight deck

F-14 Tomcat (Top Gun)

Sea King helicopter (the US can keep them flying)

F8 Crusader for Slammer

Does anyone know what this aircraft is?

Sandy in the pilots' ready room

We finished the tour about 1:15 and left, planning to be in Scottsboro Alabama tomorrow night so we can check out the Unclaimed Baggage Center on Monday morning. We crossed the Ravenel Bridge for the 3rd time and caught I-26 (aka the Palmetto Prideway) towards Columbia. In Orangeburg, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel that had RV parking spots. Otis served us. I had a bowl of very substantial beef noodle soup and a country ham sandwich that was delicious. Sandy had beef stew that was thinner than my soup. Otis forgot our coleslaw but we didn't need it anyway.

Back on the road, I-26 got quite rough until mile marker 37, when it became as smooth as silk. I spent my driving time making voice notes about the checklist I need to follow to put the motorhome to bed on Monday.

The sun goes down here about 5:40 PM. That's almost 3/4's of an hour later than West Virginia. As an added bonus, the sky was red so tomorrow should be a nice day.

We reached Augusta, Georgia, home of The Masters Golf Tournament and found the WalMart on Bobby Jones Expressway. The young lady in customer service said we could park here but steered us to a quiet part of the lot. Apparently the young Fast and Furious crowd likes to hang out at the front of the lot. The embedded McDonlad's was supposed to have WiFi but they thought it wasn't working.

Leo and I found a mascot lying in the parking lot. We'll have to find somewhere to mount him.

Sandy and our new mascot

We fired up the generator and had spring rolls and a honey bun each for supper. I got a lot of blog work done while we watched the security guard in his SUV with orange flashing light chase kids out of the lot. Then it was off to bed.

Today's Route (199 miles):


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Myrtle Beach South Carolina to Mt. Pleasant South Carolina

Word from home this morning said the it was -8C with snow flurries. It was much better here and I was in shirtsleeves as we did our morning chores.

First we dealt with the tire pressure monitors. I got out the compressor and the booster cables for power. Then we pulled the monitors from the valve stems one by one, checked them with my two tire pressure gauges, recorded the reading, reinstalled the monitor and recorded the reading on the system. First, all tires were good by the gauges so I got all the compressor hardware out for nothing. Second, all the monitors appear to read about five PSI high except one, which was pretty close. Now I have a conversion table so I know whether all is well when I check each morning but this should not have been necessary since the monitors were supposed to read within 2.7%.

Next, we tackled the holding tanks. Since the grey water tank was virtually empty, we filled it from the city water by turning on the taps in the kitchen and bathroom. To our horror, we found out the bathroom sink drains into the blackwater tank. We found out because it overflowed. The ladies cleaned up while Leo and I emptied the tanks. That part was easy.

Last, we hooked up the trailer and got ready to head for Savannah, Georgia. After taking a few moments talking to a 74 year old gentleman from Virginia Beach who is getting ready to sell his luxurious 38' pusher. Then we hit the road about 9:30.

Diane had read all the information on the area and, not far south of Myrtle Beach, we came to Brookgreen Gardens. She was interested in the butterfly house they had so we turned in. After a miscue in the parking lot, where I turned into the wrong section, we got parked and headed for the Welcome Center.

Parked at Brookgreen Gardens

We were disappointed to find out the butterfly house closed for the season on October first but there were many other things to see. Granted it was chilly and I was the only one not wearing a jacket or sweater. First, we viewed a short movie on the history of the area an the Gardens. It told how Archer Huntington (who inherited his wealth) bought several defunct plantations and built the gardens to display his wife's prolific sculptures. The designed the gardens to accentuate her works and others acquired from around the world. No abstracts, however.

Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.....

We went to the Diana Pool to meet our guide, Jerry, a volunteer who would share his knowledge of the gardens. He was proud to tell us that if we asked a question he did not know the answer to, he would lie.

The Diana Pool

Our tour group

Live oaks and Spanish moss - the leaves don't look familiar at all

The Muses

Guide Jerry and Pegasus

Another huntress appears to be shooting Pegasus

Dionysus

Pretty naked girl (lots of nude sculptures here)

Flight

Bears and Boars cast in aluminum

The End of the Trail (for Sherm)

Leo stops for the raising of the flag

In addition to the live oaks, there were long leaf pines, palmettos, magnolias and many other threes and plants. There is no way we could fully appreciate this in the time available.

When the tour was done and the others browsed the gift shop, I spent time talking to Jerry. He retired in 1997 from the steel industry. His last position was president of a 1,000 employee facility that made steel wire, particularly springs. If you have a Sealey mattress, his company made the coils. They also made nails and other products. As usual, I got into a talk about Statistical Process Control and quality improvement.

The next stop was to catch the tram and head over to the zoo, where Dale (an escapee from Minnesota) was getting ready to feed the animals. The first were domestic breeds that represented historic animals of the region. Marsh tacky horses[link], red Devon cows, Tunis sheep and a particular spotted chicken were the same breeds that were raised here back when Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox) fought the British during the American Revolution.

Spotted chickens (I forget the name of the breed)

Then he fed some wild critters including a large group of egrets and cranes and grey and red foxes. He gave the river otters hard boiled eggs which had been cut in half. The more discriminating otters peeled the shells off but one ate the shell and all. The alligators were going into their winter torpor state and had stopped eating, but Leo managed to see the 11 footer lying well camouflaged on the shore.

Feeding the birds

Black crowned night heron

Egret

River otter

River otter peeling a hard boiled egg

The only alligator I saw

Lucky the red fox

Bald eagle

Fox squirrel (not part of the zoo collection)

Casting of wolf family

Animals fed, we took the tram back to the Welcome Center and headed for the Pavilion Restaurant for lunch. I had some Angus chili and a ham and cheese sandwich on a hoagie with home made potato chips. Lara served us well and the food was good.

We finally got away from the grounds at 3:00 PM. I broke the news to the crew that we would not make it to Savannah today and called a KOA in Mt. Pleasant (just outside Charleston)to make a reservation.

On the side of Highway 17, I saw a sign advertising Gullah cuisine. I'm aware of the Gullah culture and language but hadn't considered that they had their own cuisine. But I guess if the Cajuns can, so can the Gullah.

Reaching Mt. Pleasant, we stopped at Wally World for water and something for Leo's scratchy throat. Then we pulled into the KOA

I checked the trailer and found that my idea to tie the bike down by the rear crash bars wasn't a good one. I knew that before I did it, but went ahead anyway. A bump somewhere sheared off the bolts holding on the left rear crash bar. The bolts won't be expensive but drilling (hopefully) using the easy-out on the broken bolts will be tricky. Dumb-ass me.

The ladies suggested that we get a room near the Birmingham Airport on Monday night after we bed the RV and trailer down in Centreville. This was proposed because we have to be at the airport by 6:00 AM. Then Diane searched the Internet long and hard to find a hotel with shuttle service this early in the morning. Just after she was finally successful, Blondy (who I had notified of the change of plans earlier by Email) called with the perfect location. Unfortunately, we were already committed to Plan A.

We had a supper of leftovers from the various meals over the last couple of days and, in relative comfort, turned in for the night.

Today's Route (88 miles):


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