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September 15, 2003Safe in AtlantaThanks for all of your patience gentle readers in my dearth of posting. It's time to start writing again. So, I'll start with the past few days. My pup Hemi and I loaded up and finally left out of Arkansas about 4:50 Friday afternoon and headed towards the massive urban sprawl known as Atlanta. I went through Mississippi towns like Greenville, Indianola, Winona, Starkville, Columbus, and Leland. The Mighty Mississippi River continues to look mighty. Hemi refused to stand up and look out over Big Muddy as we crossed the Greenvile (U.S. 82) Bridge. Before reaching the hillier areas of East Mississippi, Hemi and I rolled through miles upon miles of cotton fields just about ready for harvest. In some of the towns it looked like the end of the rare snows we get in my part of the South. You'd see just a hint of white left on curb sides and in shady spots. However, this time of year that white was the first cotton droppings from the many bales which will be harvest in the next couple of months. As night began to fall and we neared Starkville, the most fat, orange harvest rose over the rural Mississippi hills. Even Hemi took a moment to stand in the seat and gaze upon it for a bit. I thought he might take to howling, but then he returned to his safe lying positon on the truck seat. As it was after 10 by the time, I only remember a few things about Alabama. First, the nice interstate leading out of Alabama immediately turned into a tight two lanes through heavy forest. The next thing that strikes me about Alabama is how very much I detest their slogan regarding their prolific road construction work--"Pardon Our Progress." Pardon your Progress?!?! After 10 miles of road work, I get a mile of regular road, only to meet an additional 14 miles of road work?!?! Pardon Your Progress?!?! How about Pardoning My Being P*ssed!?!?! That being said, when you top that first hill northwest of Tusaloosa and see the city lights at night, I must confess it is quite a sight. I opted for the 75 cent toll way to I-20 so I saw the town from a distance throughout. In a short while, I was in Birmingham and wished it was not so late. Otherwise I might could've met up with one of my favorite bloggers. Nevertheless, my trooper Hemi and I carried on towards Atlanta, stopping for gas at a little truck stop in a little town just east of Anniston, Alabama. I believe it was Munford, but I'm still not sure. During the day, you can buy discount fireworks next door. They sure do sell a lot of fireworks in Alabama. The interstate next led me through the Taladega National Forest. To my left, I saw a lot of trees. And, to my right, I saw a lot of trees. When I left the forest, I also saw a lot of trees. I'm pretty sure that part of the country is basically a lot of trees. Continuing eastward, I crossed the Georgia State line and like the first time I drove to Atlanta, there was the disappointing absence of a blonde haired, blue-eyed girl with parasol offering me a 'lush-uhs Jahr-ja peach.' To add insult to injury, the welcome center was also closed. Within a half hour a so, I topped another hill and the full Atlanta skyline came to view. It is a rather impressive sight. I finally reached the city limits (still sans a Georgia belle with fruit basket), got on the bypass and made my way to I-75 north to Kennesaw where the home office is located. By 4:30 a.m., I was in a hotel about a mile from the office ready to lay back and relax for a few hours before heading into the office for a Friday worth of work. Score card for the trip: Times filling up on gas: 1 Finally, my deepest and most sincere thanks and gratitude goes to Holly for being a dual hero on that night--After going through all sorts of travel travails of her own on her way back home to Texas, she served as my highway hero by keeping me awake and alert talking on the phone when I would have rather fell asleep at the wheel. Posted by Adam H at September 15, 2003 04:24 PM ~ Link Cosmos | Trackbacks (0)Comments
Ah...trees. Forest. Yes, after four years in Arkansas I still long for the dense, lush forests of north Georgia. Sigh... If you rolled through AL/B'ham around 1 pm or midnight Friday, I would have not been in the capacity to drive. I was drunk. At a big party. I understand why you can't pardon our progress. We haven't made any progress on those roads in the last ten years. The sign should read "Pardon our lack of progress". I also like the ones that say "Working for you!" when they should say, "Not working at all!" Posted by: sugarmama at September 17, 2003 10:10 PMMake that 11 pm (bad typing) Posted by: sugarmama at September 17, 2003 10:11 PMPost a comment
 
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