We went to Wanda's house in Richland, Ga. A town of about 1,000 but with hearts of gold. Wanda is my niece and I had already sent evacuees to stay with her. Her only question when I asked her if she would accept them was how many and around when would they arrive. She immidaitely prepared her house and rented two rooms in the small family motel in town. By the time we arrived, these guests had moved on further north or to be with family somewhere else. Kindness we saw driving up, signs saying "our bathrooms are open all night for evacuee's " , to the three racks of ribs delivered to Wanda's house when we arrived. The Richland police had brought several travel trailer evacuees to city hall and let them plug in there electrical. A young Army couple had opened their house on Facebook and at last count had 7 guests with dogs, cats, rabbit's and birds. My temporary crown fell off and I drove 30 miles to the nearest dentist who put it back on for free. I was looking for a gas can to carry extra gas on the way home since now many of the gas stations where without electricity, but there were none to be found. The next morning three new five gallon cans full of gas where sitting in the front yard.These are just a few of the examples of kindness. There many more.
This spirit of helping others and the fun of staying with Wanda and Sara has pretty much made me want to evacuate just for the fun of it.
Post Irma Tour
Oct 16-
Irma stuck the weekend I was supposed to start a two week scooter trip through the south. Now that the hurricane is gone and most construction things are covered, I'm out of here. Vicki just came back from a week long course at the John Cambell Folk Art School in the hills of North Carolina, so I handed her the check book and the blue prints and said goodbye.
Damn I have needed this ride.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
October 16th.
Today's departure was cancelled. After Vicki's
long drive from Asheville yesterday the only thing she felt like discussing was
when was I going to serve the margaritas. Definitely nothing about construction
and choices we have to make soon. So all that will be done today
October 17th
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| A gloomy day |
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| Guest room at the Larry Lodge |
October 18th
I pack my cold weather clothes on the bottom of my bag
anticipating not needing them for a few days; this morning proved me wrong. I dug
down deep and pulled out my sock liners and my glove liners and a sweater. All of that made for a very comfortable ride up to Moultrie. The ride was through farmland
which is much more exciting than the pine tree forest which are usually just
straight roads with nothing to see. There were white sea's of cotton all along the road.
Around noon I arrived in Moultrie and headed over to the airport for the farm Expo. Less than 2 hours and I was done. All these things seem to blend together and after I had seen a couple of big huge machines that was enough and we saddled up and headed north. There were interesting stops today. The most exciting probably being the elephant in the graveyard. Mr. Dugan was a circus owner and on his grave is a large white elephant .placed there by his son. It is reported to cost $10,000.
I continue North not really knowing where I was going, but
I wound up at the Blackshear Resort on Lake Blackshear. I'd stayed here in July
with Scott and it's a very nice place but it irritates me because it has a $10
Resort fee added on to the bill. I was able to negotiate the bill down with the
Florida residents discount, have no idea why, to a price I found acceptable. So
I checked in, got out to Martini mixtures and put my feet up.
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| Bill headed back to work |
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| Really |
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| Garmin still cannot tell the what NO UNPAVED ROADS means |
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| The children were having the most fun. |
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| Free lunch |
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| Santa was making them |
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| I haven't toasted a PB&J in years. |
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| This is no teeth Larry having his most important day of his life having power over cars and the occupants. He wanted me to go the opposite way his looking and park about a mile away.. Reasoning with no teeth Larry that it was a small scooter and I was sure there would b ea place to park it up front did not work. After I got tired of dealing with ignorance and red neck power, I just drove right up the entrance and parked. |
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| Really ????? |
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| Mr. Duggan ran away to join the circus at the age of 14 or so. His dream was to own a circus and he finally did. Unfortunately he dead in Florida before he ever say his circus perform. |
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| Harvesting peanuts |
Oct 19th
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| last nights dinner |
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| John, what kind of engine is this? |
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| pecans to the left and the right |
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| my kind of place |
Oct. 20th
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| GI Joe |
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| Harley Guy from Atlanta |
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| The Manager. I like it that women just love to hug me! |
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| The boys from Columbus |
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| This kind man loaned me 5 pounds of air. |
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| Lunch at Mr. Patel |
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| The discount lady |
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| The highest point in Georgia |
Oct 21
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| line to sign up for the pumpkin role |
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| the train and bus |
Oct 22
After a fine evening visiting Vicki B and a great home made breakfast we headed east to Garner, NC my old home town. We stopped by Richard Petty Motorsports, but they were all at the sunday service at the track.
Oct 23
Bad weather was moving in. The weather guessers said it would not rain until afternoon, but I guessed other wise. So, it was off to Angie's for breakfast, a swing by the old neighborhood, a stop to say hello to Mom and Dad and then a beeline for Hogan Farm Rd. I was right. It rained. Not much but enough for the cars to turn on their wipers. Down the road from my brothers house is a boat building operation. The owner of the local very large nursery operation decided to build himself a large sport fishing boat. It turned into a business and they are now on their 26th boat. I had always intended to stop in and today I did. It quit raining a little after I got to Scott and Peggy's at the end of Hogan Farm Rd. and did not rain the rest of the day. I spent the day doing laundry and working on Fred. Scott and Peggy got home from the coast around 5 and we had a great evening until the promised weather came in and the electrictiy went out around 9 and we called it a day.
Oct 24
We saddled up and said goodbye to Scott and Peggy about 11 o'clock. They were loading their camper for a trip to Portsmouth Island on the coast. Every year their fishing club hosts veterans on the island and takes them fishing. I was heading to Kinston, a central place to visit friends and family in the eastern NC area. It is also home of Vivian Howard's Chef and the Farmer restaurant. Another dark blue clear sky and mild temperatures. Pretty much a straight shot on mostly four lane highways. I did stop by my old employers hanger, Aero Cotractors Ltd, at the Johnston County Airport. I was one of the original start up employees and we did not have to have a security gate. But then we did snatch people we just did not take them to foreign torture chambers nor did we have any pilots that had standing arrest warrants in many countries around the world.
I rolled into Mother Earth motel around 3 pm, unloaded and walked around town.
Chef and the Farmer
http://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer/
Vivian Howard grew up in eastern North Carolina and moved to N ew York City to seek her fortune as a chef. She married Ben and they worked at the same restaurant. Vivian's mother and father offered to help them open a restaurant, but the catch was it had to be in eastern North Carolina. Thus The Chef and the Farmer in Kinston. The restaurant became very successful when PBS starting airing a show called Chef and the Farmer based around the restaurant, the local farmers and Vivian and Ben's life. I like the show because it is about people just like those I know, down home country folks.
I had a 7 pm reservation at the kitchen bar. The only other person book at the bar was Steve who was traveling from Columbia to Hampton Rhodes and made a special stop to dine here. We looked at the menu and decided to split some flash fried collards and benne sourdough focaccia. Both were excellent. The flash fried collards where crispy and melted in you mouth.
The whole time we were talking with the chef's and James our waiter. I told James I need to figure out how to get a sample of the "BUTTERNUT SQUASH CASSEROLE | Italian sausage, arugula, fontina mornay, beer bread croutons". James said "let me see what I can do". A short time later Craig, one of the chefs, handed two small frying pans of casserole across the bar. It was great
For a entree I ordered "NORTH CAROLINA FLOUNDER | miso butter, gingered cabbage & black rice, vinegar soaked cucumber" and Steve ordered "BRITTANY RIDGE PORK CHOP | farm apple mostarda, turnip green gratin". It was very very big. The flounder was excellent.
Steve left after the entree, but I stayed for coffee and desert. The chef by then had slowed down and had time to visit. All great guys.
As I was walking back to the hotel I heard some great music coming a building on a side street. I stuck my head in the side and was instantly invited to Sam and Ramons or something like that. Sam was the singer. They were practicing for several weekend gigs. They were pretty damn good. I stayed for a hour or so until they started breaking up for the evening. I thank them for letting me set in.
Oct 25
Today was a easy day. First thing out was a walk and gucci coffee. The only thing is the gucci coffee shop did not open at 7 like they promised. So I continued the walk until I passed the Hawk Nest diner. There are no coffee pots in the hotel rooms and it was time for some caffeine. It is the best damn diner coffee I have ever had by far. There was no one in the place but me and the short order cook. Want to hear his life story? I don't want to type that long. Retired Navy, retired from job b, had to take his 6 month granddaughter and had to go back to work. Next in was a black fella (his description). The three of us had a great long talk about Trump, congress, youth, etc. etc.. The great part, it was a discussion with differing opinions and no one tried to overrun the other. I enjoyed it.
Fred and I headed out of town for a little over a hour ride to see my cousin Francis and her husband Denny. We spent three hours catching up and I think we all enjoyed it. Growing up I often worked on Francis fathers farm in the summer cropping tobacco. She was mean and she is mean now. Just kidding.....about the now part. Their yankee neighbors came across the road when the spotted the Vespa. Being Harley riders and deer skinners they could not resist an inspection.
We were back home about 5 and took a short break and then went for a walk around town. I ducked into the Boiler Room, a oyster bar and hamburger joint owned by Vivian, but it was crowded and noisy so I walked down the street to the North Street Pub. I took a seat on the sidewalk and ordered a beer. While setting there the lead guitar player from last night, David, came and joined me for the beers. He told me about the power investor in Kinston Steve Hill. His family has wealth and he is putting it back into his hometown hoping revitalize the Kinston. The most interesting part is he betting part of the bank on artist. He bought and restored 60 homes in the african american neighborhoods and sold or rented them at prices that artist and his employees can afford. A great concept in my opinion. I also learned that the real name of the band is Roman Sands. As we sat on the sidewalk he introduced me to half of Kinston as they passed by. We finished the beers, said good night and parted ways.
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| there was a bumper crop of sweet potatoes this year |
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all picked by up by these guys   
Sheila is very sweet and guards the pickles
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Oct 26
I have a appointment to meet cousins at 10 at the IHOP in Raeford. The program I use to plan routes says 2 hours to get there but when I transfer it to Mr. Garmin he says 2 hours and 30 minutes. Not wanting to be late I had to plan on the longer time. That means I am on the road at first light around 7:15. The weather guessers said there was zero chance of rain. They were wrong. Light rain was falling as I motored off in 48 degrees temperatures. The rain did not last long but it brought high humidity making the temperatures fell colder. Great colors with the early sun lighting made for many great photo shots that sadly I did not have time to take. In the end Mr. Garmin was wrong and I arrived early. To warm up I walked over to Lowes to window shop lights for the garage. When the gang, Johnny, Freddy, James and David, we sat and told old lies and talked of times past and what is happening now. All of us had at some time worked Jame's father farm when we were growing up. We all loved farming but Freddy was the only on that tried to make a go of it. And he tried hard. One of the best story he tells of his wife coming out riding on his one row cotton picker just so she would have time with him, because his day was up early, home late, eat and go to bed. They were having little quality time together so Mary Scott decided they would have that time on the tractor. In the end he was not successful but went on to a great career elsewhere.The gang busted up and I headed on down the road.
I was headed for Newberry SC. A small town that I discovered last year. It hit on a way to save it's downtown. They have a small opera house that they passed a tax to restore. After restoration they kept the tax on and reimbursed the downtown propriety owners if they restored the facade of their buildings thus creating a lovely downtown. There are no abandoned falling buildings. With this investment came many side effects. With the Oprah house, a Hampton right on the town square that was designed to fit in, restaurants, and unique shopping has made it a destination. As I was walking around the downtown I noticed a man standing outside the Oprah house dressed like possibly a usher. I asked if there was a performance tonight and he said John Tesh was in town. There were tickets available and bought one. I found the show to mildly entertaining, but it was a nice diversion. I would have rather spent another night watching the Roman Sands.
.
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| the IHOP gang |
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| nothing caught my eye to photo today that you have not seen before |
Oct 27
Today I am headed to
Richland, sight of the great Irma evacuation. I should have called this the
post Irma family reunion. Vicki and Deb are headed to Wanda's house also. We
are meeting to go to Sara's senior night at the high school football game and
to go see Jimmy Carter teach Sunday school. The ride was long and interesting
but no photos. Everyone arrived about the same time, we unloaded, and headed
for the football game. None of us had been to a football game in over 50 years
except Vicki, who had not been to one even longer since she did not go to her
high school games. The amazing thing to me was how many football players were
on each team. At half time Sara, her mother and her grandparents walked on the
field with the other seniors. It was a moving moment for her mother. Since we
had all been on the road most of the day we, me, Vicki and Deb, left after halftime will the team
was winning but our departure jinked the home team and they lost by 3 points to
Ciaro Georgia Syrupmakers. Yep, the mascot and nickname for the opposing team
was the “Syrupmakers.”
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| Who knew he had a toll free number? |
My camera was acting wonky, so I stopped at the McCormick Inn, long closed, to google a cure. There was one. The last time the McCormick Inn was opened I by chance stayed the first night it was open and the last night it was open. There is a "sold" sign out front so maybe it will function once again.
Oct 28
This morning we went to
Plains to Cafeteria for breakfast. Breakfast was fair but Jimmy and Roslyn
were their having breakfast with some friends. He left early and spoke to us on
his way out. Roslyn and the group stayed. Today we dodged rain and did some
tourist things like go to the Richland Rumary, great local made rum, Providence
Canyon State Park, don't bother, and to the Omaha Brewing Company, do bother.
The brewing company is outside of the city of Omaha Georgia. Pretty much in the
middle of nowhere. A wealthy dentist from Atlanta retired and moved back to his
hometown and built a brewery in the middle of the country......and it worked.
Oct 29
Today we are off to Plains
to see Jimmy teach Sunday School. Everyone left in their cars and I left
wrapped like snow bunny as the temperature was 34 degrees. Vicki and Deb had
left early to be sure and get a set and therefore had to stand in line in the
cold for about 40 minutes. I, being a late arrival, walked right in. Jimmy's
presentation was as always very interesting with a little humor and politics
thrown in. However he rambled a little at the end, not like a 93 year old man
lost in his speech, but like a person trying to stretch his performance out to
fill the 45 minutes. Lunch back the cafeteria and then we all headed our
different directions. Wanda to Richland, Deb to Jacksonville and Vicki and I
headed for the “man cave”, as Vicki calls it, in Newberry. The ride was clear
skies and cooooold.
Fighto search for candy bars.
Waiting for lightening to stricke.
Ray Charles's mama was from Greenville Florida but went to Albany to have the baby. She then came back to Greenville where RJ grew up until she died when he was 14. He then went to the school for the blind in St. Augstine.
TJ is a traveler. The usual story of hard times. Ended up broke with his father in Chicago and then pedaled to Panama City to his see is mother. He makes pocket change by selling art. Says that he has learned the magic number is you have to have 7 pieces of art or nobody buys anything.
Oct 30
I waited till the
temperatures were in the 40's and we headed out. The same uneventful trip home
with a beautiful ride.
