Sunday, December 26, 2010
First a question......is that deputy from the Jones County Sheriff's department holding a bag of evidence he's gathered from my walking cart; or is that 2 bar-b-ques from Old Clinton Bar-B-Q, in Gray, GA.......reputed to be some of the best in GA? More about that later.
The rain that started late yesterday afternoon continued into the night. The good thing about it, the temperature remained reasonabe. I had a tarp inside the tent and overall stayed pretty dry.....although I did find a few problems with the way the rain fly was staked out. I didn't pull it tight enough, and that allowed it to sag down on the tent and allowed some rain to get inside. I'll do better on that next time. As I settled in for the night, the phone rang and it was Jay Andrews, from Roberta, calling to check if I was ok. We talked a while, and he told me if i needed anything to give him a call. Shortly after that I had another call from an old friend, Elizabeth Noffsinger, from Aiken, SC. She and her husband Dave are going to FL for a holiday vacation, and will passing through the area where I'm walking. They are going to find me tomorrow on their way south. After that, I just listened to the rain on the tent until I fell asleep.
My wake up call came at 630, and not good news......the family is snowed in in Apex, NC, and won't be able to get down today. That's a bummer, but they will come down as soon as the weather clears, so not a total loss. I opened the tent, and it's snowing outside. Not a lot, but a nice snow for this area. Packed the gear, and ready to hit the road by 715 or so. My goal today is still to get to Milledgeville, where a room at the Hampton Inn is waiting. I need to get everything dried out, so that will be nice to be inside. The first destination is Gray, GA, a small town a few miles east. It's cold with some snow flurries, but still nice walking weather. Any temp above 30 or so feels pretty good when walking....if dressed properly. Seems to keep the energy level up.
I hadn't walked a mile when a car pulled alongside, the woman passenger rolled down the window, and handed me some money. She said, "it's not much, but all we have on us." She introduced herself as Lynn Reynolds, and her husband David. I thanked them, and they drove away. After walking a mile or so more, a Jones County Sheriff's Deputy pulled alongside, and asked if i was ok. Someone had reported me walking along the road, and wanted to check on me. The deputy introduced himself as Brian Evans, and I gave him a card and we talked about the walk. He really seemed interested, and said he would check the blog. I headed toward Gray.
Robert Dennard, who I met yesterday, told me there was a good bar-b-q place just west of Gray, and soon I came to Old Clinton Bar-B-Q, an institution in this area. I walked across the street to take a picture, and while there, Deputy Evans drove up, and told me a little about the place. He also asked if I minded if he called the local newspaper and see if they wanted to do an article about my walk. That was fine with me. We talked a while longer, and I was back to walking. Many businesses in this area have "Old Clinton" in their name. It's a historic place, just west of Gray, with homes dating back before the Civil War. I continued on toward Gray.
Just as I was coming into Gray, the Noffsingers pulled up. They had just passed a McDonald's about 1/2 mile back, and we agreed to meet back there. They had already bought breakfast, so we just sat, ate, and talked for a couple of hours. It was good to see them, and catch up on all the happenings over the past several years. They invited me to stay with them when I pass through Aiken if that works out. While we were talking, Debbie Lurie-Smith, Managing Editor of the Jones County News, called and asked if she could come talk about my walk. That was good with me, and after Dave and Elizabeth left, I called her back and in a few minutes she walked into McDonald's......Gray isn't a big place. She and I talked a while, she took a few pictures, and told me the article would be in this week's paper.
By now if was 1215 or so, and I still had about 20 miles to Milledgeville. To get there before dark would be almost impossible, but I would get to that Hampton somehow. So I set at at a quick pace, energized by the cool temperatures. BTW: Gray, GA, is a nice, small town, and I'm glad I took this route instead of Hwy 49. About a mile or so out of town, my phone rang and it was Deputy Evans. "Mr. Jeff, where are you now?" I told him a couple miles east of town. "I know you wanted to try Old Country Bar-B-Q, and they were closed when you came by. Well, they're open now, and I'm bringing you a couple of sandwiches, and will be there in a few minutes, he said." It wasn't long until here he comes, with the sandwiches. How kind is that? He also said, "I told them to put the sauce on the side so the bread wouldn't get soggy on your walk." These Jones County Deputies pay attention to details! I asked him a little about himself......he's 33, married, not children (yet), and been a deputy for 6 years, all in this area. What a great representative for law enforcement.
I thanked him, and he told me if I had any problems to call him. I headed out at full speed, putting miles behind me. I passed a small community named Haddock, but didn't pay much attention to it. I did notice a beautiful house there......it was white with a red, tin, roof, and with Christmas decorations, many of them red also. A beautiful place. I also passed a sign for the Antebellum Trail. This is really historic, and I hope you'll read the info at the link. After more miles, I came to Milledgeville, and Hwy 441 where the Hampton is located. It was dark by now, and as I walked down the road dodging traffic, a truck pulled up and the driver offered me a ride to the motel. I said sure, since I will walk this same route going out of town tomorrow. Soon I was at the motel, checking in, and heading to the room. I didn't get the driver's name for some reason.......just forgot. But many thanks for the ride.
Soon I was watching the football game, drying the tent, sleeping bag, and other gear, enjoying the famous Old Clinton Bar-B-Qs, and sipping on a Sundrop. The day started out not so good, but people like the Reynolds, Deputy Evans, and the Noffsingers, turned it into a great day. And the family will be down soon, so still have that to look forward to.
About the pictures:
Brian Evans, Jones County, GA, Deputy, and a good Samaritan;
Old Clinton Bar-B-Q;
Antebellum Trail sign.
A Christmas song for you.......
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