Day 115 - Junction City

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I slept so well last evening.....it was not cold at all, but when the wake up call came, I could hear rain on the tent. Not hard, but it was raining. I stayed in the sleeping bag a while longer, and about decided if it keeps raining I'll just stay here and read until it stops.....all day if necessary. I'm ahead of schedule, so what difference does it make? About then the rain stopped, so I drug myself out of the comfort of the sleeping bag, and started packing everything on the cart. By 730 or so, I was on the road. I have some decisions to make today concerning the route.....Google "walking" directions have me leaving 80 for a while, and I've about decided to follow those. It appears to be a shorter route to Macon.

I hadn't walked a mile when a car stopped along side, and the window rolled down. A young girl handed me some money, wished me Merry Christmas, and then she and her mother (I assumed) drove off. I walked a few miles further, and came to the BBQ Shack, in Box Springs, GA. The place also serves breakfast, so I ordered something, and asked the woman running the place if I could charge the computer for a while. Her name is Monica, and she agreed to let me do that. The place is all "take out", so I sat on the porch and ate breakfast and did a little computer stuff while it was charging.

Monica is originally from Germany, and has lived several places in the States before coming to this area. The weather was cool and misty.....not raining, but enough moisture in the air to get the clothes wet. Just as I was getting out the rain gear, the sun came out. I unplugged the computer, thanked Monica, and back to walking. Next town is Geneva, several miles up the road. I can verify that there are armadillos in GA.....or there was at least 1. I found the remains beside the road. So, that's TX, LA, MS, and GA, where I have spotted armadillo remains, or the real thing in TX (1). After a couple hours of walking I came to Geneva. Spotted a restaurant with several trucks outside, so decided to stop in for lunch.....and advice.

The name of the restaurant is O'Hanlon's, and the woman behind the counter is named Pat. There were several guys sitting at one table, along with one woman. I said hello, and asked if I could bother them for some directions. Told them what I was doing, where I was heading, and the directions Google had given me. Asking a group of men about directions is always a risk, and usually ends with lots of different opinions. That's what happened this time. After telling me to throw away the Google directions, they advised me to leave hwy 80, take Hwy 96 all the way to Jeffersonville, and skip going through Macon all together. Well, I have no real need to go to Macon, could go around and go to Milledgeville instead, so decided to take their advice. Although, it did appear to be miles longer.

So, I ordered soup, slaw, and cornbread, and sat with them and ate lunch. Soon it was time to get back on the road, so I headed east. Before leaving Geneva, I stopped at a convenience store for a few supplies and ice. Geneva, although a small place as best I could tell, has sidewalks along the main road. That's unusual based on what I've seen so far, but nice walking. I left 80, and started down hwy 96. It was a warm afternoon, and the road had a good shoulder and little traffic. I still was in a quandary about which way to go, but had several more miles to decide. I rested a while, and before long was at the decision point.....Junction City.

I stood at that intersection for maybe 20 minutes or so, trying to decide whether to follow the Google directions, or stay on 96. Tried to hail down several cars to ask advice, but no one would stop. Finally, an old truck with 2 guys stopped and I told them my quandary. They agreed going hwy 96 was a good bit longer, and gave me directions to get back on the Google route. So, that's what I did. I'm not sure there was a right or wrong way to go, but will know when I reach Milledgeville. Sometimes decisions are hard, especially when there is no clear cut, obvious answer. I walked several more miles on the new road, and started looking for a camp site. Found one, but there were several dogs nearby, and they wouldn't stop barking. So, I moved across the road to another spot.

Soon had the tent up, gear and myself inside. It's a clear evening, but getting a little cooler....but not cold yet. The weather has been good to me so far. So I will go through Macon after all, and then on to Milledgeville. For now, back to my James Patterson thriller.

About the pictures:
That's Monica, BBQ Shack;
The BBQ Shack;
A nice field where I rested on the way to Junction City.

A Christmas song for you......