Hank – Lots of rain was in the forecast so Kathy and I decided to recalculate our path. I had charted a course further inland that would have us camping out three nights in a row. With all the rain that was supposed to hit us we decided to stick with US Hwy 17 since hotels would be available along the way just in case the weather did get bad.

Barb and Diane were kind enough to give us a ride to Midway, GA, saving us about 40 miles of pedaling and helping us take advantage of a break in the rain. After our goodbyes we ride 35 miles to Darien, GA and got a hotel room. Lucky for us the thunderstorms tracked west instead of northwesterly so they stayed south of us. So we only had some light rain today.

Kathy – After a delicious breakfast we packed up our pannier bags and bikes to head out. We said our goodbyes to Tom and Don as they stayed home while Diane and Barbara gave us a ride to our destination spot today. We really enjoyed our time with these four people. We have plenty of time to get to Fort Lauderdale by December 18th. I’m so happy we could spend a little more time here. We are so thankful for everything Diane, Tom, Don and Barbara did for us. It’s gonna be hard to go back to dehydrated meals and no wine after the last few days.

I gave both Diane and Barbara each a pack of flower seeds to plant at their houses. So we have the states covered in my plan to help beautify America by planting one packet of flower seeds in each state we visit. Reluctantly we said goodbye to Diane and Barbara. It was such a fun time. I’m so grateful for our time together. So off we rolled, officially riding in Georgia our 28th state. We don’t have a picture yet, we will get one of Georgia and Florida when we get to the boarder. Here we are back on the road again after our four day break.

I was concerned about a pretty ugly looking storm that was headed our way today and tomorrow. Lots of rain, thunderstorms and wind could make for a dangerous combination. I didn’t want to be on the back roads with limited shelter if weather turned really bad or a tornado warning hit us. I am happy with our decision to stay on Highway 17. The day turned out much better than expected.

During our 35 mile ride we had a nice shoulder and most all the cars were very courteous moving way over to give us lots of riding space. We had some rain but nothing like was projected. Lucky us it moved both north and south of us. We only had to deal with the very strong headwinds that showed their force pretty much the entire ride. Since we have more wicked weather with heavy rain and thunderstorms predicted for tonight I am happy we went for the hotel tonight. You can hear the thunder pounding like crazy outside our hotel window now. The storms should be cleared out by tomorrow morning so everything will be back to normal for us then. It turned out to be a pretty good day.

A couple of notes… 

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Hank – Wow, the storms that came through last night were not shy about making themselves known. The hotel shook from thunder that seemed to originate right outside our window. Kathy and I were both happy we were not in a tent.

After checking the weather this morning we decided to try for Woodbine, GA,  which is about 45 miles away. We hoped to arrive by 3:00 when a light rain is due there. We stopped by a Circle K where Kathy picked up an orange juice for later. We rode along US Hwy 17 for 8-9 miles and then turned off on some back roads. The short cut would save us about five miles.

Around the halfway point we stopped to eat lunch in Dock Junction. From there we took highway 303 until it connected with 17, which would take us to Woodbine. We stopped at a Winn-Dixie store to eat an apple and grab a couple other snacks for the road.

Once we got back on 17 we were headed west for nine miles. Thunderstorms passed along our right and we stayed on the fringe until the highway turned south. Then we had ten miles of light rain with the sky behind us and to our right sparking and rumbling. We were motivated to increase the distance between us and the storms. Every five minutes got us a mile further away.

During the last two miles the clear skies ahead of us disappeared and the rain increased. Once into town we stopped at the Camden County Fire Rescue station and asked about open restaurants. This being a Sunday, there wasn’t much they could offer other then the gas station across the street where you could get a pizza. But they did inform us that there’s a tornado watch and bad weather is hitting here soon. So instead of tenting it somewhere we went for the only motel in town, the Stardust Lodge Motel. Fifty bucks got us a room.

We sat out the wind, lightning, thunder, and buckets of rain until it all passed by. After it cleared up I got a pizza and two large cans of Mike’s Hard Lemonade at the gas station. The guy there adds toppings to a frozen cheese pizza. I had him add hamburger, onions, and mushrooms. We were hungry enough that it tasted delicious. The hard lemonade rounded out the night. Tomorrow we have more thunderstorms to deal with. We’ll decide what we’re doing in the morning.

Kathy – Our 46-mile ride was pretty pleasant except for the thunderstorms. It was a hot 78 degree day which equated to us being drenched from all the humidity in the air. Today we had a small shoulder or no shoulder at all to ride on. Happy to report almost every car today moved over for us to give us space. I’m thinking the Georgia drivers might get the “Most Courteous” award for yielding to cyclists.

This afternoon we stopped by a grocery store to pick up a few things. We both were a little hungry and wanted a few minutes off the bikes so we decided to eat our apples outside the store. Just as we sat down on the nice comfy bench a guy in the parking lot starts playing an accordion. Polka music was blaring right in front of us!

It was a family of five with a sign asking for donations. It looked like they do this often. Dad had a large speaker with a well-used sign in front of it asking for money. He was playing the accordion and mom was dancing with the baby on her shoulders. A boy and girl (approximately 5 & 7 years old) were going to cars and asking customers if they could help put groceries in their cars for donations. Between the music and putting groceries in the cars they were getting donations. I have mixed feelings about these situations. I feel for them and want to help, but also know there are tons of services in almost all communities to help families in need. I felt for the children too.

Then Hank told me the dad wasn’t even playing the accordion, it was piped music from his speaker box. He was occasionally opening and closing the instrument and only using one hand on the keys now and then. Why would you bring your family to the grocery store and start playing loud polka music and ask for donations on a Sunday afternoon? I’m still not sure what to think of this family. I’m questioning if they were really in need of help to feed their family or was this a way to get free money? I’m not sure but the whole thing didn’t sit right with me. Regardless, the music was so loud that we chose to move on.

We continued our ride to Woodbine, Georgia. The lightning was in front of us and to our right side. The thunder was a constant roar with occasional booms. It was windy, but not too bad. We pushed hard to get though the miles today. We didn’t even stop for a break our last 20+ miles because of the weather. The rain was light overall with fog surrounding us. It looked like it was 5-6pm not 1pm. Just as we were arriving over the main bridge into the city of Woodbine the rain began to pour and the sky’s took a turn for the worst.

We stopped at the fire station hoping to find a restaurant open on Sunday in this small town of 1,321 people. Once we found out about the tornado ten miles south of us and the worst of the storm system heading our way, we immediately headed over to the Stardust Lodge Motel, the only hotel in town. Lucky for us our pretty minimal room only cost $50. We are dry now and in a concrete building as the storms are projected to continue all night. Thank for our cheap motel and really warm shower tonight. 🤗🤗🤗

A couple of notes… 

If you would like to view older blog entries please click on the months below:

• May 2018
• June 2018
• July 2018
• August 2018
• September 2018
• October 2018
• If you would like to comment on a blog post, please click on the post title (or header), scroll to the bottom and you will then see the comments section where you can add your thoughts. We look forward to your comment and encouraging words. Thank you!
• If you would like to see our current location click here:  Current Location where you can see our daily travels.
• To see all the photos related to a blog post, simply click on one of the photos and it will move over (either to the left or right) to the next photo.
• If you would like to “follow” our blog, please click here: Home Page  and look in the bottom right corner on your computer where you will see a “+Follow” link (If you are viewing our blog on your cell phone, the location may vary depending on cell phones.  Please look around to find this area).  Once you click on the “+Follow” link, just enter your email address there (only we can see it) and then go to your email to accept the follow request email that you will receive. Once this is done, anytime we write a new blog post you will automatically get an email letting you know so you can read it at your leisure. Another option is to bookmark our site and view when you like:  www.HankandKathyGreer.com