Day 118 - To Macon and Beyond

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Last night was cold! And no presents outside the tent, although the cookies were gone by morning. I slept well, but woke up a couple of times during the night and noticed it was cold outside. When I finally crawled out of the sleeping bag around 630 this morning, there was a heavy coating of frost on the tent and cart. I'm not sure if that makes it colder or not, but when I camp under trees that seems to protect me from the frost. I was ready to hit the road a little after 7. The convenience store that I camped behind wasn't open yet, maybe they're closed because of Christmas. My goal today is walk through Macon, and get somewhere on the other side so I can be in Milledgeville by Sunday afternoon.

The walk into Macon was pretty much uneventful. Not much traffic out this early, and a nice country road to walk on. However, I do wake some dogs up these early mornings. Today, seems they were all along the walk to Macon, barking at me until I was out of their sight. Some people have asked if dogs bother me........not much. They will come toward me, I usually stop and face them and say something in a stern voice, and it almost always stops them in their tracks. Sometimes when I move on they will follow, but haven't been a real problem. I have seen a couple that I was glad they were behind fences.

As I neared Macon, I came to a large group of buildings, and found out it was Macon State College.......a large and modern looking campus. A man came out to the road to get his morning paper, and I stopped to say hello. He introduced himself as Robert Dennard, and told me he has lived in this area all his life (a long one). His family owned a farm where the college is now located. Robert retired from government work some years back, and now does handyman stuff around the house. He has 4 children, and "lots" of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.....most of them living in the area. They were celebrating Christmas later today at a son-in-law's cabin on a lake in Lizella.

Soon I was coming into the outskirts of Macon. Nothing much was open except a few convenience stores. I still hadn't had breakfast, but figured I would find something open along the way. The Google directions took me right into the middle of downtown. My oldest daughter and her family lived in Macon some years back, and I didn't remember it being such a nice place (the downtown area). Really clean, and lots of nice buildings.....some obviously restored. I was looking for a place to charge the computer, and decided maybe the police department might be the only option in town. I walked past Mercer University, a beautiful place and area of town. From what I could tell, even the police department was closed today......at least I couldn't find anyone around.

I decided to leave Macon and take my chances on the outskirts of town. As I started to leave town, spotted a Ramada Inn in downtown, and decided to try that. Good choice.....the woman behind the front desk, Angela, said I could sit in the lobby and charge the computer. I stayed there for a couple of hours.....it was nice, with Christmas music playing throughout the building. It was time to get back on the road, so I thanked Angela and started toward Milledgeville. The Google directions once again threw me a curve......I was supposed to stay on Clinton road for .8 miles, and when I got there, a sign said Clinton road was closed .5 miles ahead. There was a convenience store nearby, and I told a guy my delimna, and he suggested I just take Gray Road all the way to Milledgeville......and forget the back roads Google was suggesting.

So, that's what I did. I didn't make many miles after that when it started raining. Lightly at first, then more steadily. I decided to quit for the day, and found a camping site near the road. Soon had the tent up in a little grove of pine trees, and the gear inside. I hope the ground covers are tucked in correctly because it appears it's going to rain a while. But for now it's dry inside, and not as cold as last night. Tomorrow, it's on to Milledgeville and a day of rest...if the weather doesn't prevent the family from coming down.

Thanks to everyone for the emails, calls, comments on the blog, and text msgs, wishing me a Merry Christmas. Made my day. BTW: There's a new link to the most recent WBT radio interview in case you didn't get to hear it.

About the pictures:
Robert Dennard, Macon, GA handyman;
Somebody in Macon got a new bike for Christmas;
Nu-Way Wiener Stand, a Macon tradition.

A Christmas song for you........