Magnolias

Monday, December 17th, 2007
Tallahassee, Florida to Mobile, Alabama

279.1 miles
Clear and Cold

Did some wandering on two lane roads for awhile today, although, for the most part, it was just two lanes between stands of trees! Interesting trees too! I’ve always thought of magnolia trees as standing alone, in a place of honor – they are so magnificent! But here, they grow ‘in the wild’ as it were, amidst all the other pines and oaks and whatever. Makes a most interesting combination of leaves!

And there is logging here too, for heaven’s sake. Somehow, in a state that has a high altitude of 400 some feet, I didn’t expect to see the big logging trucks piled high with big timber!

I do love the attitude of some of the local folks though – passed a house with a couple of the popular lighted plastic reindeer, standing under lighted plastic palm trees!!

And they have some good ideas for signs too! Pack Rat Storage. “Got my crabs at Dirty Dicks” Florida Pest Control Reduces Mosquitoes - well no wonder I’ve been getting so many bites – they only ‘reduce’ the mosquito population! Someone had a “FAT LITER 4 Sale” – whatever that might mean!

There was one preacher with a sense of humor – his sign said “You Prayed For Rain – Don’t Cry About the Mud”

Lots of shops and streets and bridges and such include ‘bayou’ in their name. Considering all the water around here, that makes sense. I decided to look it up, just to make sure I knew exactly what a bayou is. Bayou is a Louisiana French term, from the Choctaw bayuk, meaning "small stream." It is usually the offshoot of a river or lake in a lowland area. Another resource says it’s a relatively small, sluggish waterway through lowlands or swamps, generally with a slow, almost imperceptible current flow. Another says it’s any body of water, such as a creek or small river, that is a tributary of a larger body of water. I guess that means it’s OK to call just about anything around here a bayou!

I’ve learned a lot on this extended trip around this magnificent country. What strikes me most is that while most of the ‘news’ – good and bad – comes from the cities . . . so much so that one gets the feeling that we are just a big land of big cities, it’s simply not so. There is more wide open countryside, with so many farms and ranches, family businesses and small towns, going about their business. People going thru their own little soap operas – the fellow mowing his yard, with his grizzled old hound laying in the sun, probably didn’t even see my big box drive by – wouldn’t know about my own sweet little dog’s health problems and certainly didn’t care. I’m just another tiny little cog in a monstrous wheel. My stresses and traumas aren’t the least bit important in the scheme of things! Odd as it may sound, knowing that makes this trip so much more special to me.

After all those profound thoughts :o) I passed through the Panama City area – and can sure understand why it’s the kids paradise – beaches and bars and motels! What more is there? Actually, there’s a Panama City Beach too! But it’s the exclusive part of town! Big resorts and big condos on the beach, private golf courses! Lots of new construction here…they don’t seem to worry about the next hurricane season!

Interesting for me to see – we all know that Florida is inundated with snowbirds in the winter – but here, where the beaches are so lovely, the sand so very white, its season is summer. It’s almost empty now. Go figure.

Some signs around Pensacola caught my eye – “Sex Appeal” in big letters, followed in small letters “for your pet – professional grooming”! That’s called marketing! And then another pet shop – “Your Pet Called – Bring Food Home!”

Crossed into Alabama and the churches grew exponentially! As I turned down the road to my evening RV park, there were three, count ‘em, three Baptist churches in the intersection! Three Baptist churches on one corner! Must be a lot of folks needing redemption!

Paynes RV Park
7970 Bellingrath Road
Theodore, AL 36582
251-653-1034
www.paynesrvpark.com