Fun at Fort Benning or Buzzing across Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas

Wow- time really got away from me. I arrived at Abby's after a long day across both Georgia and South Carolina.  Then we left North Carolina  and here we are in Northern Virginia.  Tomorrow is the baby shower and Monday we return to Abby's for a couple of weeks of playing in the baby room. And I will get back to some serious writing!

Southern Alabama.
Need I say more.

Tuskegee, Alabama was a bit of culture shock. Before I got there, I had stopped by Montgomery and added to my personal “state capitals I have seen” list. Great day to be in a capital city- Sunday afternoon and no one to hassle or be hassled by my camper.   And the capital is beautiful, the day was sunny and warm.  I stopped to take a picture by the actual church where Martin Luther King, Jr. was pastor- the very place they began the civil rights march to Selma.  Earlier this week I had stood on the beach in Biloxi where whites and blacks had linked arms, marched into the water and de-segregated a Gulf Shore beach.  In Montgomery, another woman was taking photos and I told her how the place just gave me chills- so much recent history happened right there. 

In this hallowed "ground zero" of civil rights , I was more conscious of how I take for granted a friendly street conversation with a stranger who happened to be a black woman. How my relationship with a dear friend has nothing to do with race.  How much attitudes have changed. Etc. Perhaps I was a bit smug.  

So it surprised me to drive through the beautiful college town of Tuskegee and be so aware I was the minority.  The only Caucasian, as far as I could tell. So is this what it's like to be a minority?  And I didn’t feel like anyone paid any attention to me, I was just completely solo in my color.  When will we, or at least when will I be truly color-blind? 

Tuskegee University
Beautiful campus- turns out, I missed the actual town.
I came in a back way and went out another back road- the perils of traveling
without a GPS.

Lots to think about as I drove across the deep south. And so many sites to photograph.

A frustration of this trip is all the photo opportunities that I miss. (Another frustration is my perpetual lack of wifi)  The powers-that-be discourage travelers from stopping their vehicles on top of bridges but some of the best views are from bridges.  It did not have good timing for Bridge City, Texas to look romantic- you need better light to make the oil industry an attractive photo op.  But Baton Rouge twinkled in the early evening light,  there was beautiful afternoon light on white barns and country churches from Tuskegee  to Columbus, Georgia.  Even that green slime on the Sabine River would have made a great photo. 

Clearly I need more time to do this trip justice.  I'm racing from one night to another.

But some days it’s worth it. After driving all day Sunday, as night fell I finally found the lovely family camp at the huge and sprawling Fort Benning Army Post in Columbus, Georgia.   And arrived just in time for a rowdy Super Bowl party.

Fort Benning Family Camp
Great place to ride a bike!

Following a friendly staffer in her pickup truck, I hooked Bonnie up to the electricity and returned to the camp Lodge for a super bowl party and LOTS of food.  That night, I ran my heat and dried out my damp bedding. In the morning, I rode my wonderful new bike all around the camp and got off to a late start.  But I had a hot shower, a cup of coffee and some new friends, one showed me how to flush my camper toilet!


It's the small victories we need to celebrate.

Here's my route starting at Fort Benning and ending at Camp Lejuene, NC.
It should have started at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
A military base is clearly my comfort zone.

http://g.co/maps/bs47n
FYI

Hurrah!
One state closer.... and yes, it's night time.
LONG day

I wasn't tired so I just kept driving. The roads were quiet. Augusta, GA was lovely in the dark and looked like a place worth exploring on another visit. But I soldiered on and drove and drove. Hmm.... where should I stop?  I had decided on a rest station just over the North Carolina border but suddenly I was just TIRED.

So I pulled into a Pilot Truck stop and there on the grass behing the gas pumps were four other RVs. Perfect!  I pulled in between a camper trailer and another truck camper.  Locked the doors and crashed.



And I found out in the morning that the rest stop in North Carolina I planned on ... is closed!  God gave me the sleepies and another safe truck stop. I'm grateful
                                                  ... and ready to get off the interstate!

Back "home" in Virginia

Even the welcome center looks like a shop-
prepared me for Saturday at Potomac Mills mall.

At one time themall was the  #1 tourist destination in Virginia...
the same state that is home to Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown,
Mt. Vernon, Monticello..... 

So I will bring this to a close and find my warm, DRY bed.  The wind is howling but I'm snug in my girlfriend's home. Abby has talked to Steve via Skype.  Our hosts are winding down their night. All is calm, all is bright- all is right with the world.