My parents are great travelers. I was blessed. And now I need to travel.

Traveling is not about seeing things, although there is that. Just in this trip I have seen: Augusta, home of the Master’s golf tournament, the Boy Scouts headquartets complete with a replica of the Statue of Liberty, the museum of agricultural machinery, the Mercedes Benz plant in Tuscaloosa (huge), the Arrow shirt factory, cities, towns, villages, etc. etc.

There is meeting people and listening to their stories. Everybody wants to tell you their stories. And each one is fascinating and unique.

There is the silence, the solitude, the mile upon mile of reflection. The distance gives you perspective, you can see the scale of your problems. Is it running away? Yes, so you can return refreshed and wiser to tackling your life. I was sitting at a traffic light in Alabama, looking into the sunset and I finally felt far, far away from my world, from everything, and for an instant, I was happy.

Rocinante as I’ve said before is not very fast. You sit upright. She’s not very loud, she has the original stock pipes. When you are sitting on a bike you have 360° sensory awareness: you see everything, you feel everything, you hear, ok, most stuff, you smell everything. You have no radio, no music, no temperature control, no gadgets, no GPS. You are sitting on the engine, the wheels, the gas tank, you only have the controls you need. Rocinante’s range is a couple hundred miles, so you need to stop at least every couple of hours.

Every mile that you ride you are a mile wiser, a mile more patient, a mile more understanding, a mile richer.

Quill Healy and I finally connected! I rode to his beautiful home this morning and we had a wonderful breakfast catching up and going down memory lane. He has a great family and has survived the real estate rollercoaster ride. Not patronizing but I’m really proud of him.

Emory was great! The campus is a perfect mix of quaint and modern, intimate and urban, impressive and cozy, I loved it! I had a very illuminating chat with Amy, the department coordinator, she is a professional, knowledgeable, caring and very nice person.

I checked my email at the Apple store in the Emory bookstore and ended up having a very interesting conversation with the manager.

Then it was Rocinante time all the way to Tuscaloosa. It was a sunny, not too hot a day, so it was a very enjoyable ride. Around lunch time I got off the highway expecting the usual roadside fare (bad Southern corporate cuisine) and instead found myself in a huge premium mall with top, top, brands. So lunch turned out better than expected at Sweet Bones Alabama. During lunch I found out I was on the Summit mall, serving suburban Birmingham AL.

When I arrived  in Tuscaloosa I found parts of the city still devastated by  April’s hurricane. In fact the T mobile store I went to pick up my phone is still in a trailer. Collin was phenomenal and had me set up in no time with my new phone, thanks.

I still had plenty of time to check out the town. The university is HUGE, by far the biggest I’ve ever seen. I’m excited for my meeting tomorrow!

As the doctor says in The Prince’s Bride my phone is mostly dead, but not all dead. It randomly turns itself on and off. I’m looking forward to getting a new one tomorrow.

At any rate. After a marvelous week end at the Moon’s, I left this morning after mass. I was racing against severe storms moving in. I travelled for miles along deserted, except for folks going to church, back roads, until it started raining. I found some shelter off the road, under tree canopy cover. It was a sweet, soft rain. I made myself comfortable, lying back on Rocinante and took a short nap!

The second time it trained was on the highway, but it was hot and the sun was shining, so I pressed on.

The third and last rain came when I was in the Georgia Welcome Center. Big shout out to the girls there who were professional, sweet, funny and helped me get set up with the Georgia leg of my trip.

I’m excited to be in a big city. I love the energy and different people that make a city.

Unfortunately there was some confusion on the date of my arrival with my dear friend Quill, so I did not get to stay with him. I did, however, have time to ride around the Emory campus. It is beautiful and I can’t wait for my visit tomorrow!

Woke up to an overcast sky as I said goodbye to Oak Island at the great Russell’s diner. Loved Larry’s jokes, Heather’s service and my conversation with Cyndi. Then as soon as I left the restaurant, the rain started. That was the trend for the day: rain – stop at a gas station, empty porch, VW dealership (big shout out to Eastern VW in Myrtle Beach for hosting me!) – dry out – get on the bike – rain – start all over again. The last time I did this exercise I did not make it to a shelter in time as the sky opened up and poured on me. Apparently there was enough water in my pocket to mess with my phone… so… NO PHONE. I have set up to get it replaced on Tuesday in Tuscaloosa AL when I go by there. I finally made it to Bailey Moon’s beautiful 1700s house. They are the sweetest, most wonderful family. They are hosting me for the weekend. We had a great dinner of fried flounder at Big Tuna, a great breakfast, lunch, etc. etc. But even better is the conversation, the bonding, the company. Thanks Moon family!! Georgetown SC is the third oldest city in South Carolina (after Charleston and Beaufort) and it is a typical Southern, charming town, with small cafes, tree lined avenues, old houses, and great people.

Since I will not be able to post tomorrow or monday. Tomorrow I will leave Georgetown after mass and go to Atlanta Georgia, staying at my old friend’s Quill Healey’s. Monday I will visit Emory U and tuesday I should be in Tuscaloosa Alabama, where I will visit University of Alabama and hopefully pick up my new phone.

Until next time

, cheerio!