March 6, 2006

March 6, 2006

RainBOw Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama to Tallahassee, Florida

YEAR 2 DAY 262

 

Today was sunny, very warm, and humid. The further east we go, the more humid it becomes. As we passed through Pensacola, Florida early this afternoon, a temperature display indicated 79 degrees.

First thing this morning I got on the phone to our family doctor in Ottawa, Dr. Trepanier, to arrange for appointments early in May. The receptionist answered the phone "Good morning, Dr. Anderson's office". HUH ? Who the hell is Dr. Anderson ? And where's Dr. Trepanier ? He retired a year ago ? How could that be ? He's about the same age as Joanne and me. Oh ... wait a minute ... we're retired, aren't we ? HA HA HA ! Dr. Anderson's receptionist and nurse were both very helpful in setting up appointments for us, and making the referrals we need. A half an hour on the phone, and almost all our medical requirements were arranged for the first week in May. Thank you very much.

I took Bo for an obedience training session. He was better than the last few days, but not as good as he can be. We prepared for departure. As we were pulling out of our campsite at Rainbow Plantation, the phone rang. It was my gastroenterologist's wicked witch of the west. Oh ... ! She was as sweet as pie, and was calling to offer me a choice of times for a colonoscopy. I selected one of her offered times, then she discussed the preparations with me. She will send me all the fine details by e-mail. Oh ... okay ! I wonder why she was so rude and hostile on Friday, and so pleasant and helpful today ?

We had decided to travel east on Hwy. 98 following the Gulf Of Mexico coast line, to explore the beach towns, instead of taking Interstate 10. That turned out to be a bad idea. We drove east on Hwy. 28 to Hwy. 59, then south on Hwy. 59 to Foley. I needed diesel, and was going to fill up at the Wal-Mart in Foley. We got to the gas bar at the Wal-Mart, and they didn't have diesel. DARN ! We headed east on Hwy. 98 towards Pensacola, Florida. We crossed Perdido Bay, and were out of Alabama, and into Florida. Hwy. 98 weaved its way through Pensacola. Lots of heavy traffic, narrow roads, and turns. We stopped in Pensacola to fill up with diesel at a gas station that was very difficult to get the rig in and out of. Finally we made it out of Pensacola, and I expected that the highway would become an easier, and more pleasant drive along the coast. No such luck. It was just more and more urban traffic, with lots of traffic signals, and lots of stop and go. By the time we had been on the road for a couple of hours, we had made very little progress, I was stressed, and we were seeing no scenery. Screw this ! I'm heading back to the Interstate.

We wanted to stop for lunch at a road side rest area near the town of Navarre, but we didn't find it. At Navarre I turned north on Hwy. 87 to travel 18 miles back to Interstate 10. We were going to stop as soon as possible for lunch, but there wasn't anywhere suitable to stop for lunch until we got onto Interstate 10 and travelled about another 30 miles east to the next rest area. We were tired and hot, and lunch was late. Joanne drove for awhile after lunch while I checked out where to stay tonight, in the Passport America directory. I picked a campground at Chipley. Before we got to Chipley, we changed drivers again. We got off I-10, drove through Chipley, and found the campground. Closed ! Out of business ! @(#*$&%^!)

Back through Chipley, and back onto I-10. There was really nowhere else to stop for the night before Tallahassee, another hour and a half down the road. It seemed to be getting dark earlier than usual. That's when we realized that we had crossed from the Central Time Zone into the Eastern Time Zone at some point today. Great ! We thought it was 6:00 P.M., it was actually 7:00 P.M., and we were still driving. It was dark by the time we approached Tallahassee, and we decided we were just going to boondock in Flying J's parking lot over night.

We pulled into Flying J's RV parking area. Joanne prepared supper, while I reset clocks and watches, and set up the little 12 volt TV. We had supper, then watched The Apprentice. I did today's accounting, and journal entry.

DSK