Day Four - Shreveport to Greenville: Home at last!

A lush green Louisiana highway

Another late morning, but that's okay.  Doing some quick calculations in my head, if I leave too early I'll hit Atlanta traffic.  That means I can partake in Holiday Inn Express' bountiful breakfast.  Heading out this morning, the sun is already up, at least partially.  Today is likely to be a wet one.  The rain is coming down hard in most of the Southeast, and I need to get into the heart of it.

A few hours of last night's drive were in the dark, so like Monday morning, I could not see my surroundings.  As I hit the highway this morning, I was greeted with a refreshing wash of green that I hadn't seen since I left Greenville.  The entire drive up until now was pretty much brown.

Like I said, back home, it's raining like cats and dogs.  My wife called when she was on her way back from the gym, and she actually had to reverse most of the way back up Lee Vauhgn road in Simpsonville because water was running over the top of the old bridge.  If you've driven this section between Woodruff Road and Anderson Ridge Road, you know this is extremely dangerous because the bridge is located immediately after a super-tight "S" curve.   If weather like this hits,  I plan to camp out and wait out the storm.

An interesting thing I saw in Louisiana today is the roadside cleanup is done by ATVs with garbage cans attached to the front.  These guys would drive along the side of the road with poles, picking up trash and depositing it into their receptacles.  It makes you wonder if the state invested in ATVs, or if these are people performing community service because everyone in Louisiana owns an ATV.  Sorry I didn't get a photo.  I was somewhat mesmerized by what I was seeing, and didn't grab the camera in time.

Crossing the Mississippi River

Driving in the east is much less mentally draining because the large cities are so much closer together.  You can set a small goal, hit the next city and move on.  After driving through Louisiana, the next big step is crossing the Mississippi.  The river was pretty high, but I still haven't hit any rain.

My conclusion after making my way through Mississippi is that the entire state is under construction.  With that, Mississippi drivers totally ignore the work zone speed limits.  Maybe I'm confused in that since there were no workers present, maybe it was not a work zone at the time.  There weren't any signs telling me otherwise, so I was very careful.

Chunky Mississippi?

You hear so much about the obesity epidemic in the US, especially in the south.  Mississippi has held the honor of most obese state in the nation on more than one occasion.  One suggestion:  Rename some of your towns.  Having a town called "Chunky" may be sending the wrong message!

I made it into Alabama and still no rain.  A quick look at the weather map, and it looks like I'm driving northeast just along the edge of the storm.  Once I hit Birmingham, I'll be heading due east, so that will drive me into the storm.

From here on, the drive gets pretty boring.  Driving past the Mercedes plant just north of Tuscaloosa, a little traffic in downtown Birmingham...until I hit Atlanta.  I never have taken a BMW CCA racing school, but it would definitely come in handy here.  The biggest issue is that rush hour is over, but there are still a bazillion cars on the road.  It's like a seventy mile per hour free-for-all.  Adrenaline was coursing through my body keeping my eyes in the mirrors and a death grip on the wheel.  It was actually kind of fun.  I made it through Atlanta and up into Lawrenceville in record time and was on track to be home a little before nine o'clock.

Traffic opening up in Atlanta

Then I saw brake lights.  Slow waaaay down, then stop.  Uh oh.  Emergency vehicles started rolling past on the shoulder.  I was sitting still for about 30 minutes, but I could see the flashing lights about a mile ahead.  I texted my wife to let her know I might be here a while.  Just as I did, I saw brake lights going on and off way up ahead.  Next thing I know, I'm moving.  I actually hit second gear!  They must have cleared the road because I'm not stopping.  I cleared the scene and was back up to seventy in no time with a clear road ahead!

As I came up on Greenville, I kept thinking that I couldn't believe this adventure was coming to an end.  I really didn't want to stop.  Sure, I was exhausted, but this was my adventure coming to a close.  I got off the highway and took Woodruff road home with the driver's window down.  The rumble of the exhaust at non-highway speeds... the popping and burbling when decelerating all sounded so sweet.  I made it home at around nine thirty, and believe it or not, I never hit any rain.

The adventure is over...this time.