Making up for Lost Time

 

Since we were lazy yesterday, I guess we felt like we had to catch up today. Actually, we were planning to meet Steve and Debbie, our good friends from  Hueytown.  They were driving their 1965 Volkswagen Beetle down near Dothan to meet up with us and join us for a few days.  They left the Birmingham area about 8:30 am  and headed south on US 31.  The first time we talked by phone about 10:30, they were on 31 in Clanton, we were heading north on 31 in Atmore, Alabama.

We had got up early, had breakfast and packed up the Model A before heading out.  We could have headed directly north out of Pensacola, but we wanted to stay to our “Lap of Alabama” route, so we went back west into Alabama, then north up our panhandle toward Bay Minette.  We got onto Highway 31 there and headed over to Brewton.  We missed a turn there and went 6 miles out of our way before finding the right road.  From there we hugged the state line pretty much to Dothan.

At one point, we had stopped for gas and potty break at a crossroad.  Soon after we got back on the road, I heard a strange noise and saw something fly past the left windshield post.  I slowed down, then stopped.  Only then did Sara notice that the gas cap was missing.  I turned around and we slowly drove back up the highway looking in the weeds for the rusty, but necessary piece of equipment.  No luck.  I pulled the truck off the road a safe distance and we were planning to walk up the highway looking closer.  When I got out, the cap was laying on the running board!  Thank you Lord.  NAPA nor Auto Zone stock them any more!

Soon after lunch, we had a local county sheriff follow us for several miles.  I don’t think I was speeding, as a matter of fact, I KNOW I wasn’t speeding.  Any way after a few miles, he must have gotten bored, because he passed up with a blip of his electronic siren. 

We ate lunch in Florala at Sara’s Big R Diner.  Great food, and we were, again, treated like family.  When we left, we saw Sara’s Bed & Breakfast, and Sara’s Bed & Breakfast II.  Sara is quite the entrepreneur.  Steve called with trip updates and estimated time of arrival.

We had to stop on the side of the road for Sara to take pictures of the cotton fields. Great timing, Steve called with a progress report of their trip, and directions to our destination.  Every time Steve called, we were stopped.  Good thing – we couldn’t hear the phone ring while moving.

We made it to Debbie’s Aunt Jimmie’s house about 5pm.

Aunt Jimmie is Debbie’s mother’s sister, and actually grew up in Wylam and knew some of my uncles growing up. She is a dear, sweet lady who lost her husband earlier  this year.  September 28th would have been their 70th wedding anniversary. I wandered around her husbands workshop and immediately felt as if I knew him – and liked him.  There is something about seeing another man’s shop, his hand tools and his patterns that lets you have a window into his life.  Before we left, Aunt Jimmie honored us with a gift of a walking stick made by Uncle Walter.

Vic & Sara with JoAnn, Aunt Jimmie, Debbie & Steve

Today’s mileage:  247