Road Trip

Say What?

Say What?I apologize for last night’s entry. I started typing out the story when I realized I didn’t have a spell checker built in to the browser like at home. I copied what I had so far in to Word and finished the story. I then corrected the spelling and any of the suggested grammar errors. A quick copy and paste into the browser, followed by publishing.

I never did read what I posted on the web, until tonight when I got home and told my wife what I had written and she wanted to see. I called up the web page and started reading along with her, I noticed a mistake, then another and another. When I noticed the misspelling of sandwich was exactly like what it was before I corrected last night I knew something was amiss. The fact that there were several paragraphs missing on the end made me realize that when I thought I pasted the complete and edited story back in from Word, it didn’t get there because that is exactly where I was before trying to fix things. Oh, well, I guess I’ll leave it alone as a testament to my scattered thoughts.

On one of our wayward wanderings in search of food yesterday we passed right by a auto repair shop with this interesting bit of Roadside America parked outside. Today on our way to lunch I made sure I had the camera.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 337

Ollie’s

Here is a photo montage of the June 11th lunch spot in Beaufort. Clockwise from top left: The front awning, the view from the small dining deck on the left of the restaurant, the back of the restaurant from the marina and the view from the right side of the restaurant.

Ollies

Here is a PDF of Ollie’s Menu (Warning! 1/2Meg in size.)

Beaufort & Back II

Today was our second recon mission to Beaufort for our June trip with the Master’s Miata Club to the Hwy21 Drive-In. We made it a non-Miata road trip because it was Donna’s mom’s birthday yesterday. We took her along (in her car) so we could have a nice seafood dinner together when we got to the coast.

We ate at a place called Ollies on Lady Island. The food was a little high, but satisfactory and the view is really nice. You are right on the shore of the Beaufort River with the town on the other side.

After eating we drove the 10 miles further south on US21 to Hunting Island State Park. From memory the beach at the park is real nice and they have a lighthouse you can climb, but it is $4 per adult for park admission and an extra $2 for the privilege of climbing up to the top of the lighthouse, so we politely asked the fellow at the gatehouse for a brochure and how did we get back out of there. I’m thinking when we go with the Miatas we will skip the park and head downtown to wander the shops and riverfront.

I got back into town with enough daylight left to spend two more hours pressure washing more of the deck. I think the pressure washer was invented by a woman as a sneaky way to get men to clean up around the house. “It’s a powertool honey! You can use it much better than I can.”

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 141

Dahlonega to Home

245.3 Miles. We didn’t go to the start and didn’t dare try the finish, but instead went to Clarkesville to see the tour roll through. We camped out on a corner just after the sprint line and watched the remaining riders come through in a bunch. After that we just drove home. We have no desire to deal with the final day and the huge crowds in Alpharetta. Plus we always like to be home on the Sunday before returning to work so we can decompress from vacation. Total trip distance was 944.4 miles and there were 24 top transitions.

As you can see I posted a bit about each day on a post dated that day through the wonders of MT entry editing. Come back tomorrow or the next day as I’ll be posting a picture for each day too. I may even try and match them to the three photo memes I’ve been entering regularly…

Started up, went down, back up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 121

Rome to Dahlonega

154.8 Miles. For today we staked out a spot on the first climb of the day, a category 2 climb to the top of Fort Mountain. We were joined by about a dozen other people at our little wide gravel spot about 3/4 of the way up. We chatted up a few other fans and even helped one guy write GO EKI in big letters with chalk in the road.

After the riders were all by, we drove back down the mountain and leapfrogged around them to get to the finish in Dahlonega. Even though the skies were threatening we had the top down all the way until about 15 miles from town when the surrounding black skies caught up with us. (Note: You can raise the top on a Miata while going about 35 MPH if the passenger helps. :)) About 5 miles later the Emperor passed through the 23,000 mile mark, right around the time the HAIL started. Not big, but a little frightening for a while there, what with the blinding rain and flashes of lightning that accompanied it.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 118

Around Rome

61.0 Miles. We got up EARLY and drove the day’s 18.6 mile time trial course. Tough damn climb in the middle and if the cyclists had ever stuck their heads up while competing they would have seen some beautiful views. Then again maybe not, as it got cloudy and then rainy by the time they went out.

We went to the start area and watch a half dozen of the 140 odd riders start their TT. We then headed into downtown to the finish. We had lunch at a place called Harvest Moon Cafe, mmmmmm. Brian’s Local Eating Tip #27: The food is great at any place that has the words Moon & Cafe in it. When the rain really started coming down we snuck up to the back roof of the restaurant and hung out with several others under their umbrella-ed tables overlooking the finish line.

Later that evening (the rain had passed) we went to see a Rome Braves baseball game. I’ve got a whole wordy post about this experience that will come in the near future, so just hold your horses, OK?

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, down, up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 114

Macon to Rome

233.0 Miles. Mistimed our arrival in Fayetteville and missed the start. We were one block away and could actually hear the announcer countdown from 5 to send the riders on their way. That meant we got stuck in the ensuing traffic jam. That made us almost miss our next peek at the riders outside of Carrollton. We had to pull off the side of the road and powerwalk about a 1/2 mile back to catch the peleton. We did have plenty of time to catch the finish in Rome.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, down, up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 108