Spoffords Travel

November 6, 2023 Day 30 West Helena Arkansas 0 miles

We are still here but it is Monday. Rob called and ordered tires and tubes to be delivered to the hotel. We paid for overnight but who knows.

Rob’s big outing for the day was to walk to the hardware store to buy a tool to use to check the tires. On the way back he stopped at the grocery store and bought lunch and dinner. Not many choices but not many other choices.

The little Mexican restaurant across the street is closed on Mondays. The tamale food truck doesn’t seem to be open either.

Rob did some work on the car in the afternoon. It appears that we bought some bad tubes and that is causing our current problems. The tubes seem to be coming apart at their seams. Then he went to a tire shop to buy more patches. The patches are not for this tire/tube event. They are just for an actual nail in a tire event in the future. Just trying to find something productive to do in our down time.

Connie worked on the shopping list for Thanksgiving. That didn’t take long. Hopefully we will be home in time.

November 5, 2023 Day 29 West Helena Arkansas 0 miles

Today is a day of rest. The tires are still very flat and the stores are closed. Rob needs to make some parts calls in the morning. Model A parts are just not to be found at your local Walmart.

We have been promised a downstairs room but not until 3:30 after the cleaning crew finishes. They are not very speedy. Seems they have to have a morning catch up on the local gossip time when they arrive. Then they get out the carts and have the first morning break. Strip the beds and then have lunch. So goes the day. They may not clean all the rooms in one day. They are a friendly bunch of very slow workers.

We did get our new room about 3:00. It is on the first floor but on the opposite side of the building from the car. Seems the first floor rooms on that side are all smoking rooms. Well we certainly don’t want one of those.

Our big outing for the day was to walk about 2 blocks to McDonald’s for lunch. There are no sidewalks anywhere and the road is very busy. The town looks depressed and very rough. The area we walked along doesn’t have much commerce or houses. The Sears store is closed as is the mini mart. Seems to be a new Mexican restaurant on the other side of the street. May have to try that tomorrow. Bummer, we just found out that they are closed tomorrow.

No pictures today. Nothing of interest to photograph.

November 4, 2023 Day 28 Demopolis Alabama to West Helena Arkansas 280 miles

The morning is cool but skies are clear. They remained that way all day.

The landscape hasn’t changed much. It is rolling hills with cotton fields, patches of forest and pasture. We past through very small towns. Small churches are scattered throughout.

In Livingston Alabama we passed the University of West Alabama. Since this is Saturday things are very quiet.

A huge bug hit Connie’s side of the windshield it sprayed yellow gunk over a large area. So much for taking pictures now.

Then we crossed into Mississippi. Looks just like Alabama. The roads however seem bumpier than in Alabama. We drive some on back farming roads and some on divided highways that are not freeways because entrance and exits are not ramps. Traffic seems light for such roads.

Well we came to Oxford Mississippi. We didn’t realize this is home to the University of Mississippi better known as Ole Miss. They had a home football game against Texas A&M which just ended. A red river of people was coming toward us. Once in awhile a slash of maroon. It went on for blocks. Then once they got to their cars the traffic went for blocks. Several policeman were out directing traffic. Ole Miss won just barely 38 to 35.

After awhile we got a flat tire again. Rob put out the triangles and started in. The manager of the fields where were came to help. He stayed with us the entire time. We learned that the pink wrapped cotton is for breast cancer awareness. We also learned he can’t get local folks to work so the cotton gin is run by Mexicans and the tractors and other farm equipment is run by South Africans. Some of the big tractors went by while we were parked there. They take up all of the two lane road.

So we are off again. Eight miles down the road we got another flat tire. Now we have no spare and no more tubes. Time to call AAA. Well that is an experience all by itself. It took over four hours from when we called until we were at the hotel. It took AAA over an hour to get the trouble call from the national office to the local dispatch. By the way that is considered shortly. When they called they said they would call and be right back. Twenty minutes later they called to say no one was available and we would have to find someone ourselves. They AAA might over time reimburse us for some of the call. They did give us the phone number for the local police and said they might know someone. The police did give us a number and that person said AAA had called but he was unable to get to the phone quickly enough. It AAA would call him back he could make the run. We called AAA again. They started the trouble ticket all over again with the same someone will call you shortly. After 30 minutes we called them. This person was more willing to help. Even then we initially got the same response. Well Connie lost it and told them this whole thing had been absurd. It was dark, our vehicle was difficult to see and it was dangerous. Well finally she got approval from her supervisor and the truck was on its way. The driver was an interesting fellow. He said he is the only truck in the area and that AAA knows that. Sure glad he was willing to help. Since tomorrow is Sunday everything we might need is closed. What a place to get stuck.

We are having problems with the inner tubes failing in the radial tires. From research on the web, apparently the radial tires flex more and sometimes overheat the inner tubes. Rob brought two new tubes along but has already used them. So, we are going to wait until Monday to order and overnight some parts. Maybe we will be back on the road again on Tuesday.

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.

November 2, 2023 Day 26 Ormond Beach Florida to Bainbridge Georgia 269 miles

Still very windy this morning. Maybe not as bad as yesterday. The skies are less cloudy as well. Rob starts with his window open. Just can’t believe the temperature is this cold.

We saw one of the larger white birds walking in the barrow pit. It didn’t seem to concerned about the car. Much later we saw 5-6 vultures on the road eating a roadkill. They did fly off as we approached. They know how good the brakes are on the car.

Another large group of solar panels is hidden behind some of the taller trees. A lot of the road today is lined with tall trees and brush.

A very large manufactured housing factory is on each side of the road. We have seen lots of these in Florida. Who knows maybe they are preparing for the next hurricane. Looks like the factory is on one side and the finished units are on the other side.

Another area where trees are down and limbs are piled along the road. Looks like the same storm that hit Perry Florida must have hit this area as well. Some roofs were also covered with plastic. Sure glad we missed that storm.

Then came a large peanut processing plant. This one seemed larger than the ones we saw in Georgia. Two large trucks were going into the plant.

At last we are back in Georgia. The cotton fields are back. Florida doesn’t raise much cotton.

We passed along the edge of Thomasville where the Glidden tour had been. Felt like home. On the other side of town were two schools on opposite sides of the road and a short distance apart. When we came to the first school a police officer was directing traffic. Cars were lined up in the school’s drive and along the road. When we came to the second school we could really see why the officer was directing traffic. The school buses were coming out of the bus facility headed to the schools. We counted 23 of them. It was like a giant caterpillar.

In front of one of the churches was a giant white cross. Couldn’t get the camera out in time for a picture.

We got to Bainbridge and finally found the sign for our hotel. That sign and another one were very close together and there is a traffic light. We turned where we thought the entrance was but that seemed to be for the gas station. So we got back on the road to go 10 feet to the next entrance. Turns out we were right the first time. Back around that 10 feet and further down a drive. The hotel itself sits quite far back from the road. The signage is terrible. However, there should be less road noise.

November 1, 2023 Day 25 Okeechobee Florida to Ormond Beach Florida 203 miles

This morning the temperature was 68 degrees. Ten degrees cooler than yesterday morning. Connie left her window curtain down and the air conditioning is off. It’s partially cloudy as well which will help keep it cooler.

During our travels today we passed two rodeo arenas. This just doesn’t seem like rodeo country. We did see a wall mural depicting a cattle drive however.

Shortly after the first grounds we passed a very large cattle feed lot. It was too far away to tell whether it had dairy or beef cattle. It actually sat on top of a small hill. Hills have been extremely rare in Florida. Now mind you a small hill in Florida is more like a large mound of dirt. We have seen road sand piles at home about the same size.

Next a farmer was mowing grass in a large field. The egrets were behind the mower eating something that gets stirred up during the mowing. A larger white bird was also there. Florida has too many similar white birds to know what this one was.

The wind has picked up and is blowing quite hard. It feels quite cool compared to how it felt in Key West. It continued to increase and by the time we got to our destination it was about 20 mph. That is enough to blow the car to the other side of the road. Rob is really getting an arm workout today.

More vultures today. A group of four or five were along side the road. Most likely something in the barrow pit they were eating.

We drove part of the day on two lane roads and occasionally on divided highways. A truck started to pass us and about the same time a pickup turned onto the road. They pulled over as did we so the truck could continue down the middle of the road. Not too scary but enough to get your attention.

Lots of the time tall trees line the road making it difficult to see what is on the other side. Then they suddenly stop and a large pasture will be there. The sugar cane has gone and the cattle and horses have appeared. One field must have had 20-30 big bulls. One looked to be at least part brahman because it had a large hump. The others were a mixture of angus and Hereford. Not sure where the cows were.

An orchard of what looked to be orange trees finally came into view. These were smaller trees but looked to have plenty of fruit.

We are now back with large sections of evergreen trees. We even saw a few logging trucks again. The trees grow quickly down here. They are tall but not big around.

Twice we saw signs warning of fog and smoke. We didn’t observe either. Since we left the sugar cane behind, I am not sure what the smoke would be from.

The next area is composed of several horse farms. One had a large covered arena. The signs weren’t easy to read but I think many of them were thoroughbreds. No race tracks were on the route so they may have been jumpers or dressage horses.

In the area of the horse farms was a subdivision called “A Quiet Place in the Country”. We thought that was a fun name.

We arrived in Daytona Beach in the early afternoon. The traffic has picked up considerably. The wind is still really strong. We drove passed the racetrack where the Daytona 500 race is held. The stands are huge! Glad its not race season.

Oh my gosh the suburb has Christmas decorations out. There was a tree with Christmas balls on it and three deer beside it. Then the street light poles were decorated with green tinsel wrapped around and a big red bow on top.

We pulled up behind a Greyhound bus. Surprisingly this is the second one today. We didn’t think they still existed.

We crossed over a tall bridge into the town of Ormond Beach. If you look between high rise hotels you can see the ocean. Definitely white caps. The wind is blowing sand onto the road and swirling it around. Sure glad to see the hotel.

We lost another brake rod pin today. Rob spent some time under the car replacing the pin, He thinks he has found the cause and hopefully it will not happen again. Time will tell.

We met up with an old friend and her new husband for dinner. We had a lovely evening catching up on everything.

October 31, 2023 Day 24 Key West Florida to Okeechobee Florida 270 miles

We had a rather disruptive sleep. The room alarm clock started playing music at 4 am. Then about the time we got back to sleep a beeping alarm went off. Rob just unplugged it that time. We got up for real about 7 am. The temperature outside is already 78 degrees. We aren’t moving too fast this morning. Our room is comfortable so neither of us is excited about leaving. We have a longer day today so we did finally get moving.

When you walk out the door its like walking into a blast furnace. The sun is out in full force today. We started out with the air conditioner open. (The air conditioner on the Woodie is having the front windshield partially open.) That is most unusual.

Lots of traffic on the road most of the day and we aren’t on the freeway. The policeman are out in full force again today. Maybe they are like this all the time.

As you drive from Key West you go across several bridges between islands. The islands have small towns. Mail boxes are along the street. Several have water life holding the mail box. We saw dolphins, walrus, flamingos and seahorses. Very fitting for the location.

One of the bridge stretches has a pedestrian bridge next to it. People are fishing off that bridge. At least they most likely don’t get seasick.

A cracker (Floridian cowboy) was riding his horse along the highway. This was after we were back on the main land. We have seen some cattle and horses in pastures along the way. Just surprised to see him riding there. Lots of bicycle and small two wheel scooters,

Another stretch of highway had electronic speed limit signs. The road was divided with two lanes each way. Speed limit signs were on both sides of the road. The left lane said 50 mph and the right said 55 mph. Guess it depends which lane you are in.

Lots more sugar cane today. One field looked like the harvesting equipment was there. We had seen some trucks that must have been carrying the cane to the processing plant. There were also fields that looked to have been burned. Well as it turns out this region of Florida is one of the few places in the world that still burn the sugar cane fields after harvesting.

We drove passed one house that had about six guinea hens. They were right by the road. Surprised they don’t get run over. We also saw lots of egrets, a couple of pelicans, and a vulture. The vulture was solid black and not as ugly as some others.

Well the GPS did it again. It took us to the wrong location. Two addresses were given by hotels.com and we entered the wrong one. Easily recovered just had to backtrack a few miles. When we got our room it is right next to the laundry machines. I thought I might do laundry until I saw it was $3.50 to wash and the same to dry. That is the highest we have seen. Hopefully in a couple of days it will be better.