Retired and Trippin

We left our motel in Thomasville, GA at 8:10 and it was 50 degrees. The sun was shining bright. Chris wanted to check out the courthouse in Thomasville because we’d been told the previous day at the Pebble Hill Plantation that the same architect who designed some buildings at Pebble Hill designed the courthouse in Thomasville. When I went to the motel lobby to get directions I found out that the old courthouse is across the street from the new courthouse so I am assuming the old building is what we were looking for. I think we found the building but we’ll never know for sure. We rocketed east to Valdosta, GA, hopped on I-75 and rode south into Florida. We reached the Florida line at 9:30 and it was 59 degrees. We stopped for gas at a Lake City area exit. The ladies were unable to use the restroom at the gas station because there was no toilet paper and it was nasty dirty anyway. So we went to the gas station across the street to find the men’s restroom was out of order. Welcome to

We took off from Sylacauga, AL at 8:10 and it was a bright sunny morning. It was 46 degrees but it warmed up pretty quick. We rode south and east through Opelika, AL into Columbus, GA, the home of Fort Benning. By this time It was well into the 50’s. We continued south and east to Albany, GA, where we stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel before riding south to Thomasville. Just south of Thomasville we stopped for a visit at the Pebble Hill Plantation ( http://www.pebblehill.com/ ). This had not been a cotton plantation but one for hunting, equestrian activities and raising cattle. Now it was pretty much a museum, art gallery, and show place. You can see more pictures and read about its history online at the web site provided above. We took a tour of the home and walked around the grounds. We rode 264 miles today with weather that was much improved over the prior two days. The high was a balmy 70 and it was sunny all day long. The ride through Alabama and Georgia were fairly scenic

When we left the River View Motel at 8:15 it was sunny but only 45 degrees. We were a little late leaving because I had “lost” my gloves and was searching for them. Mel saved me by finding them hiding inside my helmet, which was sitting on my motorcycle. It had obviously rained quite a bit in the night. The fields around Sedgwick, AR were extremely wet. We crossed the Mississippi River into Memphis and had an early lunch at Interstate BBQ. Mel had eaten here before, he liked it, and it was on our route through the city so we gave it a shot. We really enjoyed the lunch. We stopped for the day in Sylacauga, AL at a Quality Inn. It was another cold day of riding. It was sunny and 45 when we started in the morning but we caught up with the clouds again before we got out of Arkansas. We had brief moments of sun peeking through the clouds during the day. The high temperature was 59 so it was colder than yesterday. We rode 429 miles (by Garmin) in 4 states; Arkansas, Tennessee, Miss

Today we departed on a trek to Key West, Florida. This is another of my “bucket list” rides – Hwy 1 from Key Largo to Key West. Mel and Trisha are joining us on our journey and we met them at a Shawnee Quik Trip at 10:30. It was 45 degrees. We rode south and east to just south of Bolivar, MO where we stopped at Smith’s Restaurant ( http://www.smithsrestaurant.com/ ) for a LARRAPIN good lunch. Chris and I enjoyed the tenderloin sandwiches while Mel and Trisha wolfed down the hot beef sandwich, chasing it with a piece of banana cream pie. Our next stop was in Mountain Grove, MO for gas and a tinkle. While there, a guy riding a red 2012 Goldwing pulled in with a brand new red Hannigan trailer in tow. He said he just picked up the trailer from the manufacturer in Kentucky. It was sweet looking, with tail lights that matched the tail lights on the 2012 Wing. My brother pulls a Hannigan also, but this one was definitely smaller. I was shooting for Hardy, AR today but it started to rain

Today I had the good fortune of riding with my son. He wanted to take advantage of the good weather and I was happy to tag along. When I left home at about 2:20 to go to Bryan’s it was 53 degrees with blue clear skies. From Bryan’s home we rode south almost to Louisburg (KS), east to Cleveland (MO), south and east to Freeman (MO) and almost to Archie (MO) and then west to Drexel (MO), where I stopped for petrol. By the time we reached Drexel the temperature had risen to 60. From Drexel we rode west to Paola (KS) and north past Hillsdale Lake to Gardner. Bryan hooked up with his family in Gardner to watch a soccer game while I rode on home. It was a great ride (though windy). The high temperature for the ride was 63. My only regret was trying to squeeze too many miles (140) into our limited time so Bryan and I were unable to stop, have a cup of coffee and shoot some bull. Maybe next time.