Saturday June 8
I caught the 8:30 flight from Tampa to Charlotte and a taxi to Vespa Charlotte on W. Worthington Ave. and all went smoothly. I am glad it did as the morning did not start that way. When I rolled out of bed at 5 a.m., it collapsed This in itself is not catastrophic. However, those of you who know the Princess know that disturbing her sleep is like poking a lioness with a den full of cubs. The cat and I bolted for the living room and hide behind the furniture. When there were no roars and no expletives, well may one or two, I went back into the bedroom to deal with the problem. Which meant leaving her with it and leaving town asap.
Big Red was standing proud in Worthington as I got out of the taxi. Rodney was on the curb talking to a customer. This a very nice Vespa dealer even though the store is small. Rodney and I discussed Big Red's repair and the Vespa community in general. I found out the the owner of the shop and I grew up just a few blocks from each other, though we have never met.
rodney the vespa doctor
Big Red and I saddled up and hit the road. The plan was to fight our way through urban traffic south to Rock Hill, SC. I was going to avoid the faster routes as I did not want to be broke down again beside the road on a heavily traveled highway, but after a few miles I was very confident in the Vespa of Charlotte repairs and we jumped on the interstate and headed south into South Carolina.
The ride now is more about the destination than the journey, so there will probably not be a lot of stories. We are headed for Richland, GA home of Wanda and Sara, my niece and her daughter, but it is too far today so we stopped in Thomsen, GA for the evening.
Sunday June 9
We hit the road and continued on a southwest tack. I stopped and saved a few turtles, but it got to where I was never going to make Richland at this rate so I had to institute a new turtle rule. If they are not over the white line, then they are just sight seeing and do not need to be rescued.
On my very first Scooter adventure 2008, I spent a night in McCormick, SC at Fannie Kates B&B. It was the first night it was reopened after a extended closure with a new owner. The next year I stayed in it on the last night it was open. I am glad to see that the absentee owner is still keeping it up. I really enjoyed staying there and look forward to the day it opens again. I sat in the rocking chairs in the shade for a little while and then moved on.
We moved on down the road.
I stopped here thinking that there might be a story. Other than way overpriced gas, there was not.
I could not determine if anyone lived here but they were patriotic.
another one of GPS gladys' shortcuts
In Saluda, GA we stopped in front of the "steps". There were 6 guys sitting on the steps, but only these would sit for the photo. When I asked what was going on in Saluda they all pointed up the main street and said that the empty stores pretty much said it all.
When my father retired from the Army in the 60's he had several offers for jobs. He chose one in Raleigh, NC. One was in Milledgeville GA and as I approached the town I wondered how my life might have been different if he had chosen that one. But after seeing the monument to the town as it being the first Rotary Peace City in the U.S., I figured it might have been all right.
We rode under threatening skies all the way to Richland in the late afternoon.
wanda and sara
Monday June 10
Several phenomenas happened while I was in Richland. Wanda cooked dinner and breakfast. Almost unheard of in modern times. The real chicken eggs tasted great and were just right. Thank you Wanda.
After breakfast we went to city hall where she works. There are a total of 2 employees in city hall. This is a really small, back-in-time town. That gives some pluses and minuses. The latest great thing is the Richland Rum factory. I had gotten a tour yesterday and met the owner. Even better I was presented with a bottle of the first bottling. Not being a collector I plan to drink it as soon as I get home
I met Chief Robbie the head of the police department. The first big crime for him to solve today was how to get coffee for city hall. The mayor came and we all talked about what was going on in town and who went to jail over the weekend. There is some fine gentleman criminal still in jail because he called the judge a racist. Not a smart thing to do when you really are guilty as charged.
Chief Robbie
i had told robbie goodbye and thought i would not see him again. until wanda and i went on an errand and she locked her keys in the car. robie had us in in two minutes and i now know how to get in to a car quick.
We said our goodbyes and hit the road with light rain and threats of more.
Again I am destination oriented, home. That and the recent heavy rain kept most of the farmers out of the fields today as it was "too wet to plow" and with it raining I did not see much to stop and investigate. So when I went flying by what looked like a wood shop, we did a quick u-turn. There I met Chris Tucker and a great story. I listened for a good half-hour. Her husband, Ray, was a third generation "dirt farmer", but was not able to make a living on his small farm so he moved to truck driving. He had to give that up when he came down with diabetes and could not pass the physical. He makes the furniture now but at 83 he does not stay out long. Then I got her to talk about herself. She told me about her children. Sadly a daughter and daughter-in-law died within a few years of each other and she had to raise the children. Then a husband ran off and she had another child to raise. She was more bragging than complaining. She said her dad had raised 10 children as a blacksmith and she did the same. She is a very cheerful and quick to laugh person. We talked about cheap imports and she said she told her relatives that live next door in two houses that if they bought any more cheap imported light bulbs, she was not going to change them anymore. "I bet I have changed 500 light bulbs in those house in the last year." Ray, her husband, must be as cheerful. They got caught up watching a ball game on TV and left two chairs in front of the shop. It was his granddaddy's store, and someone stole them. Chris was mad but Ray said it made him feel good that someone thought the chairs he had made were good enough to steal.
I thought I was covering new territory on this leg but I passed a couple of landmarks and realized I had come this way before. I rolled into Camilla, GA and it was time to eat. I stopped at the fire station to get a recommendation Capt. Williams directed me to Debbie's. It was what I asked for but one of those dangerous southern buffets. I did stick to veggies and salad.
Back on the road GPS Gladys took us astray. So did the smartass phone. Both were trying to take us down what they they thought was a paved road. It was not. Normally I would have pressed on but with all the rain and the road being all Georgia red dirt, that sticks like glue when wet, I chose a detour of 20 miles to get us on US19, the Georgia Florida Highway.
In years past I had spent the last night on the road, if needed, in Perry, FL. I would go outside of town to Deals restaurant and have oysters and seafood. Then back to the Hampton Inn where they have a managers happy hour and they let me drink as much as I wanted and I did. Last year I stopped in Cedar Key to do some research and decided to stop there again this year as Deal's does not serve beer and it is hard to eat oysters without beer. It just ain't right. I checked in to Cedar Key, talked Vespas with a local, showered and headed for the oysters. There are none. Seems there is a "season" in Cedar Key for oysters. I explain there is no season on Apalachicola oysters and they do distribute them. I am truly disappointed! But the consolation prize is not bad. I go over to Tony's for what I, and many others, believe is the world's best clam chowder and triple shrimp.
Tuesday June 11
We are heading home. This is a ride we have done many, many times and written about. So, it was a great day to ride and a easy three hour run.
salvaged motorcycles on their way to maryland
It was a great ride but it is nice to be home!!
Ending mileage
26870
