OK, so I am a little slow posting my return that just happened to be Aug 3,4,and 5. I rode from Mom's house to Parker church just out side of Raeford, NC. This is a small church and originally was in a rural farming community in my youth. It is now part of the urban sprawl created around Ft. Bragg by the defense industrial complex that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower had warned us about.
It was great to see old family friends, but Scoot and me left a little early as we had places to go and things to see. The today's route was the same one I had come up on, but there was a lot more traffic on this Saturday. We overnighted in Orangeburg, SC.
At about 3 a.m. I was awoke by a very clinical female voice calling my name, "Kenneth". It brought me to a full awake condition. I laid there trying to get back to sleep and contemplating what it meant. Was that some one in the after life calling me or trying to alert me to dangers on the ride.
I finally fell back to sleep and was awake bright and early to hit the road. The "dream" still was very predominate in my mind. I had a nice conversation in the parking lot with a couple of retired professors who were traveling and then Scoot and me headed south.
This morning the traffic was much different. US301 is, for the most part, a four lane highway and there was no one on it. About 45 minutes into the ride a beautiful red tail hawk came gliding to a landing on the white line in front of me. The most amazing thing was it's red tail feathers. They were like a beacon drawing my attention to them. I slowed down and as I got close he made a very leisurely departure with full wings slowly flapping and the those red tail feathers still shining in the morning light. This encounter just put me into to deeper thought. Was the "voice" and the hawk a warning not to go this way?
This was on my mind the rest of the day. In Sylvania, Georgia I took a right and headed for Douglas, Ga. home of the WWII Flight Training museum and aircraft restoration. I had stumbled on this rural hanger several years earlier on a ride with Scoot. I was amazed at the WWII aircraft that they had and were restoring here in "nowhere" Georgia. They do some amazing work all under the working supervision of Tom Reilly. At present their main projects are P-82, a twin airframe P-51 and a B-17. Their flying B-17 caught on fire and burnt up after a emergency landing in 2011. Tom had spent years lovingly restoring the aircraft and is reported to have cried when he saw it burning. He had spent many years of his life working on that project.
In Vidalia onion territory I came across the Georgia Olive Farm. I have never seen olive's planted in such high density. There was no one around to talk to, so later I went on line to their website. They think a lot of the olive oil at $32 for 500ml.
From Douglas we cruised the back roads of America to Cheifland, Fl. I am sad to report that Chiefland is in a dry county on Sunday's and I really wanted a beer. Just one.
The next day we rode to New Port Richey were we had a 10 am meeting and from the there home. I was a little concerned about riding US19, but all went well.
As usual, Vicki and a nice bottle of Champagne and a po-po platter waiting for me. I am a lucky guy.
It was great to see old family friends, but Scoot and me left a little early as we had places to go and things to see. The today's route was the same one I had come up on, but there was a lot more traffic on this Saturday. We overnighted in Orangeburg, SC.
lots of people commented on how much tobacco seems to be grown this year.
At about 3 a.m. I was awoke by a very clinical female voice calling my name, "Kenneth". It brought me to a full awake condition. I laid there trying to get back to sleep and contemplating what it meant. Was that some one in the after life calling me or trying to alert me to dangers on the ride.
I finally fell back to sleep and was awake bright and early to hit the road. The "dream" still was very predominate in my mind. I had a nice conversation in the parking lot with a couple of retired professors who were traveling and then Scoot and me headed south.
This morning the traffic was much different. US301 is, for the most part, a four lane highway and there was no one on it. About 45 minutes into the ride a beautiful red tail hawk came gliding to a landing on the white line in front of me. The most amazing thing was it's red tail feathers. They were like a beacon drawing my attention to them. I slowed down and as I got close he made a very leisurely departure with full wings slowly flapping and the those red tail feathers still shining in the morning light. This encounter just put me into to deeper thought. Was the "voice" and the hawk a warning not to go this way?
Grocery-gas-buffet...pretty much covers it all
yep, prisoners are a industrial complex in america
tom rielly
In Vidalia onion territory I came across the Georgia Olive Farm. I have never seen olive's planted in such high density. There was no one around to talk to, so later I went on line to their website. They think a lot of the olive oil at $32 for 500ml.
From Douglas we cruised the back roads of America to Cheifland, Fl. I am sad to report that Chiefland is in a dry county on Sunday's and I really wanted a beer. Just one.
The next day we rode to New Port Richey were we had a 10 am meeting and from the there home. I was a little concerned about riding US19, but all went well.
As usual, Vicki and a nice bottle of Champagne and a po-po platter waiting for me. I am a lucky guy.
