I seriously considered stopping for the day at Monticello. I was exhausted from the hills and humidity. But it has only been 28 miles. I pressed on, since the town of Greenview was supposed to have lodging.
On the way, I crossed some rivers, and noticed large, long fishes (maybe 2 feet) hovering in the reeds. If it was Hawaii, I would have said they were kaku (barracuda). I threw some of my chicken gizzards in, and they attacked them.
Okay, nothing to do but go on another 14 miles to Madison. More rolling hills, more rain, dim light. At Madison, the man at the convenience store confirmed that there were no motels in town, but said to check at the jail for where shelter was. At the jail, through bulletproof glass, the officer told me that indeed, there were no motels, except way down Hwy 53, near Hwy 10.
More riding through the rain, over hills, now racing sunset. It was 7:45 when I finally reached the motels.
I couldn’t make the wi-fi work, but was able to connect to the Super 8’s wi-fi from next door. Both motels are owned by Wyndham. I was later able to do “repair” on the connection, and get into the Day’s Inn network. Why is it that only the “nicer” motels have this trouble?
I wanted to book a plane flight back tonight, but it’s getting too late. I’m thinking I should take shorter days, and maybe follow the ACA route, rather than race over Hwy 90 to Jacksonville.
Miles today: 67.5
wow!!! you made it all the way across! I haven’t had a chance to check in on your progress till today and I was thrilled to see you made it. Your race to find lodging before nightfall sounded stressful. I’ll bet that Days Inn sign in the distance looked fantastic. That weather is something else. Jono and I will be starting our cross country trek next Tuesday (here to New Jersey, in a car in 6 days).
Hi, Janet! I’m not across, yet. Getting to St. Augustine may take as long as it takes you to cross the entire country.
In fact, even in a car, 6 days sounds like a fast trip. Hope you get to meet people and have small adventures along the way.
Yes, seeing the motel in the distance was almost spiritual, like seeing the Promised Land across the Jordan.
Rod’s right, coast to coast by car in six days is pretty fast. Great if you’re young and energetic and your goal is just to get from A to B, but all the driving will wear you out with little time to stop, explore, and enjoy places along the way. We like to limit to about 400 miles a day — it’s not so exhaustive, you aren’t rushed to leave so early each day, there’s time to do some stops, sightseeing, and detours, allows for unexpected delays, and you’ll arrive at each day’s destination with enough daylight left to do some exploring.
Wow, what a day you had! At least you got there before dark!
(I’ve finished any number of hikes in the dark…)
Yes, I remember some of your Death Marches.