Chattahoochee – CountUp

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.

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.