Let me start with today. I spent most of today on the phone with work and trying to make the best of a painfully slow internet connection. Tomorrow morning I'll get up and find the local Starbucks. I'll be wired on coffee, but at least I'll have a high speed connection.
It was my mom's birthday, so I spent the day here with her and we made it out for a good seafood dinner this evening. All in all a nice day. I'm glad I made the trip down to see her and I think she appreciated it.
Now, let me take you back to Saturday night and bring you forward.
Saturday night I decided to bypass my planned stay at the Motel 6 in Roswell and get a little further down the road. Mainly, my goal was to get out of Atlanta and shorten the ride to Birmingham on Sunday morning. I'm glad I did since 30 degrees in Georgia felt about as cold as 16 degrees in Virginia had the day before.
My goal was to get to Alabama before stopping. That meant a 50 mile first leg in the cold. The sun wasn't up yet and while it was 10 to 15 degrees warmer, it didn't feel like it. I made the 50-plus mile ride to exit 205 in Alabama. I stopped at the BP station there to fill up, grab a cup of coffee and see if I could get the feeling back in my fingertips.
As I was standing at the gas pump I felt a sudden lurch and looked up to see my soul hovering over me with hand on hip and a finger pointed my way. "I will get back in that decrepit carcass you call a body when you get somewhere warm!" and with a snap and a "talk to the hand", poof, it was gone. Great, now I have to ride the rest of the day soulless. As if it wasn't cold enough in the first place.
I entered the station and made my way to the coffee pots. Apparently, the exit 205 BP station is the gathering place for the locals because there were 3 or 4 patrons hanging out in the place. I struck up a conversation with one of the locals who used to ride Gold Wings. He had visited Panama City Beach for Thunder on the Beach a couple of times, but hadn't managed to work in a Daytona trip. We talked about bikes and places to ride until I finished my coffee. It was time to get back on the bike and get on to B'ham.
The route this morning was all interstate from Atlanta to B'ham. I-20 to be exact. It wasn't exciting, but it did take me right by Talladega Speedway. I had intended to veer off and go into town to get a shot of the Vulcan statue, but I missed the exit and decided to cruise on over to Hoover to meet Glyn.
I can remember as a kid always pestering my dad anytime we drove through B'ham to go by the Vulcan so I could see it. Vulcan was the Roman god of the Forge and B'ham is an iron and steel city. So, in 1904 the city dedicated the Vulcan statue at the St. Louis World's Fair. In the 1960's the statue was modified to have Vulcan hold a cone-shaped, lighted beacon. This signal glowed green on days no one was killed in an auto accident and red on days when there was a fatality as a reminder to Alabamans to drive carefully. For some reason, this always fascinated me as a kid.
I got into Hoover ahead of schedule and Glyn graciously met me earlier than planned. We haven't seem each other in a little more than 30 years, so it was great to find out he's doing well with a great family. Glyn was off to a swim meet for his daughter Alex, so we spent about 45 minutes chatting and had a nice visit. I pulled out of Hoover really glad that I had the chance to see Glyn after all these years.After leaving Hoover I headed west out of B'ham so I could catch some backroads. All interstate up to this point was getting to me and I needed to find some peace and quiet on the country roads of sweet home Alabama.
I took Al-5 south off of I-20 about 30 miles west of B'ham. This was more like it. AL-5 ran through the hills and farmland and was a welcomed relief after all that time on interstates. One thing I noticed in abundance while cruising down 5 was the enormous number and size of the ant hills along the road and in the pastures. Some stuck as much as 2 feet above the grass. I'm sure my feet and hands got eaten up by them as a kid, running around barefoot. No wonder I hate ants so much.
Al-5 ran south all the way to Thomasville where it runs into US-43. By the time I hit Thomasville, I was getting hungry so I decided to stop at KFC. I walked into the store and was greeted with that sweet south Alabama drawl. The remaining conversation was simple.
"Y'all got gizzards?", I asked.
"Yep. Regular or large?", was the reply.
"Large", said I.
"Y'all wanna make it a meal?", she coaxed.
"Sure, why not."
"What 2 sides y'all want?" (decisions, decisions)
"Cole slaw and macaroni and cheese.", I said without hesitation.
Mm, mm, mm. Fried gizzards. You can't get those at every KFC, but their a staple in the Deep South. I love gizzards. Can't stand livers, but I can eat a batch of gizzards. Just don't tell Renee I sneaked a gizzard meal while I was on the road.
The ride down US-43 to Mobile was uneventful. I got into town earlier than planned so killed a little time at Hooters and made some notes about the ride so far that day. After about an hour, I headed for The River Shack and reunion session number 3.
I can't speak for everyone, but as usual, I had a great time seeing some of the old gang. Below is a series of pictures from the crew last night, but before I forget, if you ever go to The River Shack be sure and ask for Holly. She put up with us last night with separate checks and a general pain in the butt. But, she stayed friendly and gave us terrific service. Always ask for Holly and TIP GOOD.
My new buddy Holly and me.
Below is the The River Shack BC Rain Crew and a few family members by marriage who got dragged to this function.
Alan and Steve
Danny and Gordon
Julie
Kenny and Joyce (soon to be grandparents)
Matt and Tricia (already grandparents)
Wheatie and her husband, whose (I am ashamed to admit) name I couldn't recall tonight. My apologies. I think it was Jeff?
Hi Chuck, I wanted to remind you about the BC Rain Class of 1978 Official Class Song......... It goes like this....OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain, (there's more!)...and the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, (that smell is NOT your scratch and sniff tattoo and there is STILL more!) when the wind comes right behind the rain......... haha! I am blushing all over again! I had fun and am looking forward to May and July! We need to get a few more blog groupies signed up.... I am feeling all alone here! We do have good friends don't we?
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