San Antonio Texas to Atlanta Georgia . . . Long Lonesome Highway

San Antonio Texas to Atlanta Georgia . . . Long Lonesome Highway

The next morning we awoke, a friend, Cory who was on temporary duty for training in San Antonio from Virginia came over so we could go out for brunch and celebrate my daughter’s birthday.  The place we picked was a German waffle type house.  The food was great and the service was quick and attentive. We took her car in for a wash and headed back for the house to hang out and chill for the afternoon.  We made supper and played board games that night. 

Since my air conditioning in my rig was not working properly I checked with the local Sears Auto Service center to see if I could get my oil changed and my A/C recharged.  We took it in on Sunday morning and dropped it off then ran several errands before picking it up again in late afternoon.  I had everything packed up and said my goodbye’s early Monday morning leaving San Antonio for Mobile or maybe into Atlanta depending on how I felt or what time I arrived in Mobile.

Hitting the road at seven in the morning put me through San Antonio before traffic started building allowing me to go from the northwest side of the city to the east on interstate 10.  There were many vehicles on the road but things were moving a the posted speed limit so other than those changing lanes it was not a difficult transition through town.  I figured I would get between San Antonio and Houston before I would stop and get coffee and something light to eat.  My daughter told me to stop at Buc-ee’s a truck stop convenience store that I would pass in about an hour or so.

It was not hard to miss the location was coming up soon as the billboards along the roadway were cute and comical to say the least.  Most depicted the company logo, a beaver, with a catchy phrase, like: "The Top Two Reasons to Stop at Buc-ee's: #1 and #2" or "Restrooms So Clean, We Leave Mints on the Urinals".  The two I thought were funny: "Don't worry, P happy" and "If It Harms Beavers, We're Against It!"

I started hitting thunderstorms just east of Houston and the first one was a gully washer where you could not see the vehicle in front of you as everyone slowed way down.  It lasted for about twenty miles and slowly cleared back to bright sunshine for another hundred miles.  Most of the thunderstorms were small local ones where you drove through it in about fifteen minutes or less and then back to sunny conditions.

I was driving past Lota, Louisiana (LA) when I noticed road signs for two competing adult themed stores.  Every few miles there would be a sign for one or the other promoting their wares.  Some of it was graphic and more than the normal person would want to know or see on a billboard.  They ranged from adult toys to costumes to oils and lotions. Just about anything the traveler could want along their journey and conveniently located right off the highway with easy access off and then back on the freeway.  The first one I passed at 11:45 AM was called the Lion’s Den with the lion head logo as part of their advertisement. It seemed classy enough compared to the other company’s signage.  What I found both interesting and strange was there were five cars parked out front that early in the morning. What does one shop for at such an early hour?  Should you wait at least until after lunch to visit your local adult store so you can eat before handling anything you might not want to dirty your hands with?  These were the type of questions running through my brain during the short five mile drive to the other store’s location. At the next exit in Eunice, LA the store’s name was Acadina’s which had three vehicles parked outside.  If one assumes that one vehicle at each location is for the person who works there then there were still six vehicles between the two stores. What makes the Lion’s Den the busier store? Is there some or something “special” going on that I might have missed reading on the billboards? Inquiring minds want to know these things on a fifteen hour drive along this southern highway.

The rest of the journey across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia was rather boring other than the rain showers. I was making good time crossing the Mississippi River at 2:30 PM and the Alabama State Line at 5:05 PM.  I made the turn from I-19 onto Interstate 65 at Mobile at 5:30 PM and it was sunny skies and warm temperatures.    

There were still miles and miles to go before arriving in Atlanta with Montgomery Alabama changing interstate highways again from I-65 to I-85 heading toward the Atlanta airport.  I arrived in Atlanta just after 11:30 PM after driving over sixteen hours and 1,035 miles from San Antonio.

I will make a brief stop at my sisters before heading up to Asheville North Carolina in the afternoon.

Until the next horizon . . .

Ice