November 3, 2023 Day 27 Bainbridge Georgia to Demopolis Alabama 248 miles
Today is cool and mostly cloudy. But it became mostly sunny as the day went on. The high temperature got to about 72 degrees.
One of the first major sites was a large feed mill. We didn’t remember seeing much corn or grain so not sure what the feed is made of. Maybe it is something to do with the cotton seed. The parking lot has many semi trailers to haul whatever they input and or output.
Then a little further down the road is a large cotton gin. The area has lots of bales sitting on the ground to be processed. They also have some that are cubes rather than cylinders. A semi just unloaded more bales. They simply tip the trailer up and the bales roll out.
We have not mentioned the fact that all three dollar stores are everywhere. Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Family Dollar are sometimes all in the same town. They have several cars parked at each one. The other thing that seems to be everywhere are storage sheds for purchase. Like at home they come in several sizes shapes and colors.
We cross the Chattahoochee River into Alabama. Still lots of agriculture but the terrain is rolling hills. The road is straight but up and down. A couple of road kill deer and numerous raccoons are a food source for the vultures.
A business sign saying Coleman flanked by an antique truck on each side is on the opposite side of the road. We have not determined if that is Coleman camping gear or something else.
Then going up one of the hills the car started to weave even without wind. We have a flat tire. By the time the car stops and we get out it is really really flat. We can’t pull very far off the road because there is almost no shoulder. Rob set out the triangles and went to work. Two guys did stop to offer help but Rob turned them down. After about 40-45 minutes we were back on the road. Rob says he does not need any more practice changing flats.
We drove on divided highway until shortly after the flat tire. Now we wandered for five miles on one road and then five miles on a different road. Then four miles on yet another. We came to one intersection that had about five roads coming together at odd angles. You can only hope you are in the correct lane.
We drove through Selma Alabama. We remembered that name from the 60s. The town’s population is 80% black. Seemed peaceful enough today.
Then we arrived in Demopolis. We found our hotel that supposedly had a guest laundry. Unfortunately it was broken but the owner would do it for $10. Rob took her up on it. We walked next door to Captain D’s which is a fast food fish restaurant. The specials were either two pieces of fish or one fish and shrimp plus fries for $5.99. Not bad but they were really slow. One of the workers didn’t really work. She moved like a turtle without a shell.
Spoffords Travel 