Tag: Alabama

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Happy 248TH Birthday America

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about the 17TH day of my April retirement road-trip – returning here to my home state of Florida. And I wrote about the 18TH and final day – westward and southward away from Yulee along Florida State Road 200, and onto U.S. 301, U.S. 441, Florida State Road 33, a series of old narrow backroads in northern Polk County (following Google Maps), and back to U.S. 27 and the Heartland of Florida.

The purpose of this road-trip was to see America, and I saw a good part of her on this 18-day, 7-state, and 2,807-mile excursion across our southern states – northwestward from Florida to Alabama to Mississippi to Louisiana to Texas – and then southeastward from Texas to Arkansas to Mississippi to Alabama to Georgia to Florida.

Out of 2,807 miles – only 186 miles were via the Interstate Highway System. It was the rural portion of I-10 in the Florida Panhandle and into South Alabama – 149½ miles from west of Tallahassee to east of Pensacola, and 36½ miles from west of Pensacola to east of Mobile. Much of my route occurred on U.S. 98, U.S. 84, and U.S. 82 – old U.S. highways – the way we used to see America before the Interstates came into existence.

I drove 1,216 miles during the first 5 days of my road-trip, and that took me to Wylie Texas – where I spent 8 days and nights with my family. I didn’t drive at all for 7 days in a row.

I drove 1,591 miles during the final 6 days of my road-trip from Wichita Falls Texas (the northernmost and westernmost point) back home to Florida.

The most miles driven in a single day occurred on Day 14 when I drove 366 miles from Wichita Falls to El Dorado Arkansas. The next day came in 3RD place – 348 miles from El Dorado to Tuscaloosa Alabama. That’s 714 miles in 2 days. Over the course of 11 actual days of driving – I averaged 255 miles per day.

I filled-up with gas 7 times on this road-trip, and I paid anywhere from $2.899 to $3.499 per gallon at the pump (before credit card discounts). I averaged over 45 MPG.

For many years I imagined (and talked with friends about) a 100-day / 10,000-mile retirement road-trip clockwise around the circumference of the U.S.A. – from Florida to Texas to California to Washington – across the northern tier states – over to Maine – and then down the Eastern Seaboard back to Florida. This wasn’t that trip, but it was at least a quarter of that trip. By keeping mostly to old U.S. highways – and some state, county, and local roads – I saw America, and she is beautiful. Each state that I visited had its own unique charm and identity to it. I obviously love my home state of Florida for everything that she has to offer and for everything that she has done for me over the past 36+ years. I definitely need to spend more time in and see more of Mississippi and Alabama – even if I don’t drive all the way to Texas. And I’ve got Georgia on my mind too. I want to explore your historic seaside towns – especially Savannah.

#ArkLaTex & #ArkLaMiss – I learned of those two terms while in South Arkansas. It was fun to see more of Arkansas than ever before in my life. I liked what I saw from Texarkana to the Mississippi River, and now I want to see more. Maybe even your mountains upstate.

I visited a lot of great historical museums along the way, and I met and talked with a lot of fellow docents serving at these museums – preserving, protecting, and promoting the history around them. I saw a lot of good, and a little not-so-good at these museums. These were all lessons learned as I continue working with some of my local museums.

This is the 13TH and final part of my look-back at my April retirement road-trip. I wrote all of it during the month of April and into the first couple of days of May – while my mind was still fresh from the trip. It was fun planning the trip, and then doing the trip, and then writing about the trip during and after it. But I’m just getting started. Now that I’m in the retirement chapter of my life – I hope to spend more time seeing America – by road – by rail – and perhaps – maybe even by Mississippi River cruise. America – you look great at 248 !

Next #TravelThursday – Let’s join the circus ! Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography Travel

Georgia

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my scenic drive southeastward across my birth state – Alabama – from the college town of Tuscaloosa – to the State Capitol of Montgomery – to the historic Chattahoochee River city of Eufaula.

Before I reached my pitstop for the night – I came across a good friend – U.S. 27 – as it crossed U.S. 82. I live on U.S. 27 some 400+ miles southeast.

Day 16 of my April retirement road-trip ended in Albany Georgia – the population center of Southwest Georgia – with a metro area population approaching 150,000.

Funny Story: The next morning – Day 17 of my road-trip – I decided to ignore Google Maps, do my own thing, and immediately get back on U.S. 82 to continue my trek southeastward. Sounds innocent enough. Well – (as I’ve written before) – weird things happen when I deviate from Google Maps. I suddenly found myself on a busy freeway during the morning rush hour, and I was a bit terrified during much of the experience. If that wasn’t bad enough – I missed my exit to actually stay on U.S. 82 (the non-freeway version of it), and I ended-up exiting onto Business U.S. 82 (which ironically is the way Google Maps was telling me to go the entire way from my hotel). After a few miles on Business U.S. 82 I took a side-road to get back onto U.S. 82. Of course – I didn’t realize that I could’ve just stayed on Business U.S. 82 for a few more miles until it ended at U.S. 82. So that was a comedy of errors on that particular Wednesday morning, but I survived the Liberty Expressway Experience in Albany Georgia.

The rest of my trek through South Georgia was fairly uneventful (thankfully). U.S. 82 goes under I-75 in Tifton. I’ve been on that portion of I-75 quite a few times (back when I used to drive the Interstates without fear and anxiety). I was originally planning to spend the night in Tifton (right by I-75), but hotel rates in the area were much higher than hotel rates in the Albany area, so I opted for Albany over Tifton.

As a U.S. Highway nerd – Waycross Georgia greatly intrigues me. It’s where 6 railroad lines meet, and it’s also where 4 major U.S. highways meet. On one street I was on U.S. 1, U.S. 23, U.S. 82, and U.S. 84 – all at the same time. It was good to see U.S. 84 again. I took her westward from Mississippi into Louisiana back on Days 3 and 4. On this day – I lost U.S. 84 quickly, as she continues on in a northeasterly direction through and away from Waycross. A moment later – I lost U.S. 82, as she continues on in a mostly easterly direction. Both U.S. 82 and U.S. 84 end at I-95 about 47 miles apart. Both of those U.S. highways made this road-trip truly special.

I continued southeast along the concurrency of U.S. 1 and U.S. 23, and just north of the Florida border – U.S. 301 joined us.

Fun Facts: I’ve lived within the vicinity of U.S. 1 for nearly all of my life – from 1969 to 1985 (Washington D.C. area), and then again from 1987 to 2023 (South Florida). I also lived just off U.S. 301 in Bowie Maryland from 1972 to 1975.

The St. Marys River serves as the border between Georgia and Florida in this area. Once upon a time for many years in an era long gone – a Florida Welcome Center greeted out-of-state tourists alongside U.S. 1 / U.S. 23 / U.S. 301. You know you could count on two things there – a cup of complimentary cold orange juice – and bathrooms. Only remnants and memories remain today.

Next #TravelThursday – I return home to the Heartland of Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography History Military Politics Sports Travel

Alabama

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my scenic drive eastward across “The Magnolia State” Mississippi – from the Delta to the hills.

It’s Day 15 of my retirement road-trip – a Monday afternoon – and I’m in west-central Alabama along U.S. 82 approaching Tuscaloosa. Once I crossed-over the Tuscaloosa County Line – the highway widened from a rural two-lane road to a suburban divided four-lane road. Oh – and traffic gradually increased – particularly headed in the other direction – westward – away from the city. I felt like I was entering the metro area, and I was. Hello afternoon rush hour !

About a quarter-of-a-million residents live and work in the Tuscaloosa metro area, and almost half live within the city limits of Tuscaloosa. It’s the 5TH most-populous city in Alabama (behind Huntsville, Mobile, Birmingham, and Montgomery), and it’s also the 5TH most-populous county in Alabama.

It’s also the home of the University Of Alabama and the Crimson Tide. I arrived in town as thousands of students were ending their school day. I made my way to a popular local diner in the city for dinner, and then it was on to my hotel for the night overlooking noisy I-20. Like El Dorado Arkansas the night before – this was just a hotel night. Other than driving to and from the hotel – I didn’t get to explore the surrounding city. Tuscaloosa is loaded with historic homes / museums, and it’s a city that I’d like to explore further over the course of a few days – perhaps in a future summertime in-between school years.

Fun Facts: U.S. 11 runs through Tuscaloosa. It’s parallel to I-20 in the area. U.S. 11 is a 10-state / 1,645-mile transcontinental highway that runs in a northeast / southwest direction from the Canadian border in northern New York to near the Gulf Of Mexico in New Orleans Louisiana. On Day 3 of my road-trip in Hattiesburg Mississippi – I drove over U.S. 11 via U.S. 49 at a cloverleaf interchange.

Good Morning Day 16. Let’s head southeast to the State Capitol in Montgomery. On my approach – I drove right alongside Maxwell AFB. I don’t think I’ve ever been on that base. I have been on Gunter Annex on the northeast side of the city. I had a strong working relationship with various personnel at Gunter during all of the 1990s and into the 2000s as part of my job. (Gunter Annex used to be Gunter AFB before it was redesignated as an annex of Maxwell AFB in 1992.)

After struggling (and eventually succeeding) in finding a public parking lot and an empty space in said lot within walking distance of the State Capitol – I visited the “working museum of state history and politics”. Admission is free, and there are a couple of floors accessible to the public. They do lots of school tours, so if you’re visiting during the school year be aware of that. When I arrived – I was one of their few visitors roaming around. The place was soon filled with kids from multiple schools. I spent less than an hour at the Capitol. I thought that it was underwhelming. I was expecting a lot more exhibits for a historical building of its stature. I passed-by more offices than museum exhibits, and it felt weird walking by the open offices as employees were working at their desks.

After filling-up with gas on the way out of Montgomery – I took Alabama State Route 110 for 32 miles back to U.S. 82.

I reached Eufaula Alabama – a historic Chattahoochee River city that abuts the state line with Georgia. The state line is actually at the western end of the bridge over the river, so driving eastward – you’re in Georgia as soon as you reach the bridge. That’s also the time zone line between Central and Eastern. After 14 days within the Central Time Zone – I was back home in the EDT.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ve got Georgia on my mind. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography History Travel

Mississippi

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my trek eastward along U.S. 82 and my overnight stay in El Dorado (pronounced “el-duh-RAY-doh”) Arkansas. I also wrote about my wonderful morning visit to the historic (built in 1859) Lakeport Plantation on the Arkansas Delta.

Back on Day 3 of my April retirement road-trip I drove westward across southern Mississippi – mostly along U.S. 98 and U.S. 84. I spent the night in Natchez. This is Day 15 of my trek, and I drove eastward across north-central Mississippi – mostly along U.S. 82.

I crossed the Greenville Bridge – about 140 miles upstream (north) from my crossing westward on the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge. I actually drove non-stop eastward across Mississippi. There were no stops for food or gas. (I had filled-up with both in Arkansas.)

As I drove eastward away from the Mighty Mississippi and its Delta – the land got more hilly and even mini-mountainous. Elevations in the north-central part of the state exceed 200 meters (over 650 feet) above sea level. It’s a noticeable change compared to the Mississippi Delta region. It’s very scenic. Mississippi is such a beautiful state along the old U.S. highways. I especially loved seeing the several giant white crosses along my trek.

Just west of Starkville – Google Maps recommended that I leave U.S. 82 – and take Mississippi Highway 182 (former U.S. 82) right through the heart of downtown (which seemed very weird to me). But it seems like when I deviate from Google Maps – weird things happen, so I decided to allow Google to be weird on my behalf.

From Highway 182 – Google routed me onto Alternate U.S. 45 southward. Now she wanted me to completely avoid Columbus Mississippi. I went along with it. I then followed Google onto Mississippi Highway 388 eastward for 16 miles – which became State Route 86 at the Alabama State Line. That came up on me suddenly. I wasn’t expecting it, but there she was – Sweet Home Alabama.

Fun Fact: I was born in Sweet Home Alabama exactly 57 years ago as of a few hours ago of this published blog post (late on June 05TH). Happy Birthday to me !

But not so fast on Alabama, for this blog post is about my afternoon crossing Mississippi. Back to Starkville. It’s a young college town with about half of its residents under the age of 25. It’s the home of Mississippi State University (founded in 1878). Go Bulldogs ! I drove right by one of the main entrances. About 25,000 residents live within the city limits of Starkville, and over 50,000 residents live in the metro area (including the city and all of Oktibbeha County).

Mississippi is known as “The Magnolia State” – as well as “The Hospitality State”. There is so much to this state that I haven’t seen – and I want to see. As long as my family lives in North Texas – I’ll be driving through Mississippi to and from there every year. I’d like to spend more time exploring Hattiesburg and Natchez to the south – and museums along the U.S. 82 corridor to the north. And perhaps next time – I won’t bypass Columbus Mississippi. It may even be an overnight stop. I see some intriguing places there that I wish to visit.

Next #TravelThursday – Sweet Home Alabama – where the skies are so blue. Sweet Home Alabama – Lord I’m comin’ home to you ! Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp