On the road again!

Monday April 27th we began our seasonal trek. It was delayed by a day so Bob could have a dental appt. At noon Bob had a new crown and in a half hour called me to set off. He would catch up along the way on the motorcycle.

He had just weeded his cactus garden and hopes it will flourish while we are away. Our neighbor Bernie's cactus has started blooming. They are beautiful with large pale yellow fragrant blooms. He says they will bloom for a month now. I'm glad we got to see them before we departed. Sherry had wanted to see them too.

Phase I of our trip was getting the motorcycle to Fort Payne, AL and having a quality visit with Dave and Maureen Hoyt. It was a beautiful sunny day. The past 2 weeks temps in Stuart were in the 90's and made packing up and closing up the house a bit sticky, but with Chip and Sherry's help everything fell into place. So with several hours to go before the rain showers (and predicted large hail) would hit we were off. Bob caught up with me as we approached Okeechobee. The lovebugs were raining on our vehicles as soon as we approached the Lake. I was glad I had a windshield! We hit some slow going on Route 60 before we finally headed North on Route 75 in Tampa. Traffic was light and travel easy until about 6:00 pm. That is when the showers hit. Bob stopped for a rain jacket but skipped the pants. The shower wasn't as short and light as the clouds appeared. By 7:30 pm Bob's legs were soaked. It was getting dark so we decided to stop and get a motel in Alachua just north of Gainesville. This was about 100 miles short of where he had wanted to stop. It would make for a longer day of travel for the next day. On April 28th, well rested and dry we headed out around 8:00 am. Bob had on warm and waterproof clothing and the two small showers we hit in the first hour were no match for added gear. In Tifton, GA we exited Route 75 and headed NW on Route 82 to Columbus, Ga. There we crossed the Chattahoochee River into Alabama and followed Route 431 North. We jumped on HWY 59 For the Last 50 miles to Fort Payne and arrived before 5:00 pm with sprinkles occasionally letting Bob know not to dilly dally! As a side note: Two days hence we found out that Bob's credit card had been compromised by a card reader at his first gas stop not 125 miles from Stuart. So much for racking up points for gas purchases on our rewards card.