50 States Day 247

  Yemassee, through Georgia to St. Augustine FL, 243 miles

 

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of conflict and controversy."

~Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Talk about temperature extremes. We started (or didn't, we waited a bit) at twenty-eight degrees, and rode through the high of seventy. We prefer seventy.

We rode a first today, as we zipped straight through Georgia. I claim it counted as a state, but QG said no, we hadn't visited it really. And we will tour GA, after Florida.

 

The southeast features gobs of water, whether ocean, river, swamps or low country. Speaking of swamps, what's the difference between a swamp and a bayou? Anyway, this sector must be heaven for mosquitoes. Fortunately it's a bad time of year for the little bloodsuckers.

 

We rolled into Florida and the wonderful Visitor Center was closed. Dang! Hopefully we'll find another later on this week.

 

 

 

And now, Floridated and ready, Quilter Girl!

Our windshield picture today is of an RV towing a car, heading south.  Snowbirds are on the move now that Christmas is over.  We were passed by quite a few of these.  Who knows how many cars were snowbirds too?  There were cars with college team pennants that must have been headed for one of the many bowl games.  I am not sure which team, but I will be watching the bowl games tomorrow to see if I can figure it out.  

 

It is hard to just ride by all these wonderful places:  Savannah, GA and St. Augustine, FL are a couple that we will go back to.  

 

I am almost done with Sara's knitted baby blanket, so I was looking for a good place to get more yarn so I can do one for our grandson Christian.  We saw a sign for a mall and while Hobby stores are not usually in the mall, they can be in strip malls on the outskirts, so we took the exit which put us on US1 South.  Heading south was good so we stayed when we couldn't find anything and rode on a nice highway without 18 wheelers whizzing by us.  It was a good break and we were rewarded on the south side of St. Augustine. We found a Hobby Lobby and I got my yarn.  We were headed back to 95 to find exit 311 where the motel was, but when we found it there was the motel.  How cool is that?

 

QG

 

We found a restaurant called Black Molly's Grill (no idea what a Black Molly is) and QG enjoyed grilled herb chicken (a bit lame on the herbs and spices), while I had a (drum roll, please) GREAT ribeye steak! Yes, the steak that has eluded my taste buds this entire trip, tonight met and cleared the bar. Tender, succulent, juicy and peppery.

 

Oh, yes, and cooked just right on the grill. However, they didn't serve baked

potatoes. In the South? Isn't that a crime or something? Another plus, the salad tasted like it was made in California. That's good. QG and I agreed the honey mustard was par excellence.

 

Riding today we spent some time reminiscing about 2012. For us it was a really unusual and wonderful year. What an adventure, something we won't ever forget. Portions of it have been difficult, some downright scary, and a few depressing. But most of the trip has been all the adventure we anticipated. We are looking forward to 2013 and just short of a half year of the remainder of the trip.

 

We wish you a happy and prosperous New Year, and God bless you all good.

 

P.S.: If you're a writer, you may want to check out another blog where I'll be guest posting this coming year, called Author Culture. However, this week's post is a clever look at rejection of many familiar new concepts, so it isn't just for writers. See 'Encouragement For the New Year' at www.authorculture.blogspot.com.  Great stuff!