Month: August 2017

August 9.

Another 60 mile day, this time without a detour.  St. Marys is very close to the Florida border, but you can’t go as the crow flies.  We actually went north and west from St Marys before looping back toward the south and the east to cross the border and finally start down the coast near the ocean.  We crossed the state line 15 miles into today’s ride.

We went through a pretty heavily trafficked area and stopped for a brief break where we saw this beautiful neighborhood with a pond in the middle.

Pretty soon after that we were headed to Amelia Island and we got to ride right along the beach.  Most of the time we couldn’t see it, but every once in a while we would catch a glimpse.

Amelia Island had a state park where there was a nice bike path.  Some of it was a damaged road that is no longer being repaired since a new road and bridge were built parallel to the damaged road.  In talking with my nephew, Kris, I learned that the damage was probably caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Spanish moss is very pretty along here.  Some places it hangs down right over the path and feels like a low overhanging roof.  At the end of the bike path we spotted a spider up in his web.

Near the end of the day, we got to ride a ferry across the river before our last several miles to Atlantic Beach.  As we were standing in line for the ferry, we saw a storm trooper and got a picture with him!  Unfortunately, it wasn’t on my camera so I don’t have access to the photo right now.  But, I promise, we did see a Storm Trooper.  He was participating in some kind of scavenger hunt.

August 7 & 8.

When I first signed up for this ride, I signed up to go across the country.  That was my main goal.  Then I saw that the Cross Country Route and the East Coast Route came together in Savannah–so, like a crazy person, I thought, “I’ve never been to Key West!  After nine weeks, what’s two more?  And it will be flat!”  And then I proceeded to sign up for the last two weeks of the East Coast Route of the Fuller Center Bike Adventure.

My first day riding with the East Coast riders, we weren’t terribly close to the coast, but we hadn’t had too much in the way of hills for quite a while.  We left Savannah at what seemed to be about rush hour, though since we were heading out of town, I don’t remember it being all that bad.  It was bad enough to make me think that we had probably left right in time for rush hour, but that was the extent of it.

I was excited once we got going to discover that a couple of people in this group ride close to my speed.  In the cross country group, I was the slowest person by quite a bit.  This day, though, I was still in the last place except for the sweeps (those who volunteer to come in last and make sure everyone is accounted for).  Once they caught me, they helped block the wind.  We went a little tiny bit faster than I was really comfortable with, and eventually caught up with another group and went even faster.  (I think.  I get my days mixed up sometimes)  I was able to keep up, but it wore me down and I got a bit overheated.

I didn’t take any pictures on the way to Darien.  When we arrived in Darien, our destination was a Catholic Church there.  We were all sleeping in one room, not very large, and had to share one bathroom.  Originally, all our bikes were supposed to be kept in there, also.  We did, finally, manage to get a key to another room to put our bikes in, and a key to another bathroom.  It was locked all night, but it was unlocked again in the morning.  We not only use the restroom for its normal purposes–since we are a mixed sex group, we also use it for changing.  Quite a backlog when everyone is dressing and brushing their teeth and getting ready for the day!

In Darien, we were up before the sun.  The purpose of getting up before the sun is to be ready to take off as soon as it gets light enough to go.  It is cooler in the morning, but it doesn’t last very long.  Some mornings, we come out and it’s already hot and humid both.

Three of us: Mark, Mariesha, and I, had discovered the previous day that we rode comfortably together.  No one of us had to adjust our speed too much to be able to stay together.  So we rode together most of the day.  We were determined not to let ourselves be pushed into traveling too fast.  We saw some beautiful scenery that day, and were able to take a few photos.

This was also the day when we had to take a detour that ended up being quite long.  Detours on this trip are a strange experience, and it was lucky that it wasn’t raining.  When someone up front determines that a detour is necessary, I’m not sure what, exactly they do to determine the best route.  They may ask around, or they may simply check Google maps.  In the back, however, we are stuck with following the chalk marks on the road.  The marks, themselves, are usually well done.  The problem is, we’re never quite sure whether we missed one or not.

Today’s ride was scheduled to be 61.1 miles.  We had about reached that distance when we were met by Melissa with some ice water, who told us there were about 20 more miles to go–but only six to the next rest stop.  The three of us decided we had enough energy to go six more miles, but we weren’t so sure about another 20.  Actually, we understood her to mean there were 20 more miles after the rest stop, which was incorrect.  Nonetheless, we had decided that we would be done once we made it to the newly added detour-necessitated rest stop.  Eighty miles on bicycle is doable for me, and I probably could have gone that last 14 miles, but it’s really hard to reset that goal in your head from 61 to 81.

That night we stayed at St. Marys.  The church there was great!  They provided us with dinner and they let us use whatever we wanted.  Connor was playing ping pong with someone and dived after a ball and knocked over a pitcher of water just before dinner.  No one got upset.  We learned that St. Marys is the second oldest city, right after St Augustine.  It’s also the gateway to Cumberland Island, the largest of the barrier islands, and very close to the Okeefenokee Swamp–which sounds like a place in horror fiction where you get lost in the swamp.  It was a really fun evening.

 

August 5 & 6.

As you may recall, I received news earlier in the week that my Aunt Karen and my colleague and friend, Bob Walters had both died on Monday, July 31.  Aunt Karen’s memorial service will be held later.  But Bob Walters’ service was held on August 5.  Because he has friends and colleagues all over the country and all over the world, Plainfield United Methodist Church in Indiana made arrangements to lifestream the funeral.  It was at a time when all of our celebrations were over and people were each doing their own thing, so I decided that I would participate in the funeral.  One of our interns, Becky, had kindly offered to sit with me while I watched the funeral.  She was also the one who was able to figure out how to get it to play, as I was having technical difficulties at first.

As the first hymn was sung, I realized, “We’re in a Methodist Church.  I can sing along!”  So we found a hymnal, which happened to be already open to the hymn that was being sung (though I didn’t notice and went back and looked up the number).  Occasionally, the feed was interrupted, making it slightly difficult to sing along, but for the most part it went well.  There were parts of the sermon and the speakers that I also could not understand but I was able to join with the clergy in singing It is Well With My Soul.  I was thankful to be able to participate in that way, and thankful for Becky offering to sit with me.

In the evening we headed to the celebration for the tenth anniversary of the bike adventure.  The banquet was more fun than I expected!  First, we had an hour of meet and greet.  There was a banner to greet us and a cake, and jerseys and posters from each year of the ten year bike adventure.   Though we had raised more money than any of the previous bike adventures, we were still about $70,000 short of the goal of raising $2 million over the course of the ten years.  So, of course, there were some requests for pledges during the evening, and about $25,000 more was raised.  You could help us toward the goal–even $10 or $25 makes a difference!

Donate to the Fuller Center

We had speeches by the founder of the bike ride, Ryan Iafiogla, and current trip leaders, Henry Downes and Connor Cimente.  Leaders from the bike adventure in the past were introduced and we had a video review of ten years of Fuller Center Bike Adventure.  Ryan said they learned a lot in that first year when it really was an adventure, one thing being to call host churches ahead of time!  He also said, when the pavement turns to dirt and then the dirt becomes a track, and then even the track fades out, it’s probably time for the trip leader to admit he made a mistake!  Linda Fuller also gave a talk.

The food was great.  It was a “low country boil” in which they boil all the food together–corn, potatoes, onion, sausage, carrots, green beans, shrimp–and then afterwards, pour it out on a paper covered table and sprinkle on spices.  It was quite tasty, though some was a little too spicy for me.  The spice was red, so you could tell if you were getting medium spicy or super spicy.  You could also request to have some separately done if you were vegetarian or if you didn’t want all that spice.

Then we went our separate ways.  I had met one new rider at the church in Savannah, but then realized that it was hopeless trying to figure out who was on the East Coast ride, who was leaving the East Coast ride, and who was a previous rider who had come for the banquet.  It was too confusing for me, so I decided to wait for the team meeting on Sunday night to really make an effort at meeting people and learning their names.

I stayed in a room with some of my cross-country compatriots who were all going to go to church in the morning before they left.  We had morning devotions together, also, from Oswald Chambers’ book, My Utmost for His Highest.  In the afternoon I enjoyed coffee while working on my blog and then went to the famous Leopold’s for ice cream!

Team meeting and getting introduced to new people in the evening!

August 5.

The last official day of our ride together was packed with activities for me.  First off, we got to sleep late (breakfast wasn’t until 6:30, which means lights on at 6:00 am!)  We only had 20 miles to go to reach the coast.

We kept a pretty slow pace and stayed fairly close together most of the way.  I was amazed by the scenery, but didn’t get too many photos.  There weren’t good places to stop and I don’t like to try to take photos while I ride.  There was one road where the trees formed a fairly low canopy over the road with the Spanish moss hanging down that was just beautiful.  I would have loved to get some pictures of that.  Also, every time we went over a bridge, we could see a very long ways and see the marsh grasses and little water ways.  This is the first time I have been to any of these barrier islands along the coast.  I had no idea of the landscape, and I was fascinated by it.  We also saw quite a few water birds along the way.

We didn’t stay completely together, but we were to meet up in the parking lot near the lighthouse.  When we got there, we stopped for lots of pictures, and then we waited to give our media team time to set up on the beach before we set out.  We were supposed to ride together over the boardwalk to the beach, but we missed the start to the path!  A garbage truck, the team doing their daily work, happened to be blocking the start of the boardwalk.  So as soon as we turned we had to get off and walk our bikes through the sand.  We could see the boardwalk right beside us.  A handful of people actually made the course correction, but most of us just continued walking down to the beach.

Then followed a great celebration!  We dipped our tires in the Atlantic, held our bikes up in the air in victory (mine’s kind of heavy and I needed help to lift it), and played in the ocean for a good long while, with hugs all around.  Though we were all planning to attend the banquet in the evening, most of us were departing in the next few days and we wanted to make sure to say goodbye to everyone in case we didn’t get a chance later.  We were also planning to stay in different locations overnight.  Some, whose relatives had come for the banquet, had hotel reservations for Saturday night, some of us were staying in the church on Tybee Island, and some of us planned to stay in the church in Savannah.  Even though I had heard others’ plans, I could only keep track of myself, so I also made sure I had a chance to talk to everyone.

We had ridden our bikes all the way across the country!  Across mountains, and across deserts, through dry heat and through very hot and humid days, through snow, sleet and rain, and we had all gotten there safely.  At the beginning, we were strangers, but over nine weeks of living in close quarters, we had become a band of brothers and sisters–different ages, different walks of life, different quirks and annoying traits–but overjoyed to share that moment of victory together.

The celebration was fun and marked a big accomplishment, but for me the ride would go on another two weeks.  I had plans to join another Fuller Center Bike Adventure group coming down the East Coast and finish in Key West.  As I joined in the celebration, what the coming two weeks would bring was also on my mind.  I was sorry to see my companions leave and a little nervous about joining a new group.  I was happy that Steve would be joining the East Coast group with me, along with a couple of other people who had been with us the final week of the cross country trip.

We had a final circle up there on the beach where we shared our goodbyes and our thoughts about our journey together, and then we headed off with relatives or to our respective churches for the afternoon.  In the evening we would get back together for a banquet celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Fuller Center Bike Adventure, and I will tell you about that in another post.

August 3 & 4.

In Claxton, GA we got one of the best welcomes ever!  The people from the Eastside Baptist Church were on site when we arrived.  They had prepared goody bags for everyone, which had in them honey sticks and sunflower seeds and granola bars, plus info on 3feetplease.com  It’s the law in 26 states to give cyclists three feet of room while passing, but most people, even in those states where it is law, are not aware.  Not even all police officers are aware of the laws governing bicycle travel.  One of the church members had done a presentation on bicycle safety which he had set up there at the church.

I had the bag of info in my suitcase, but one of my honey sticks had broken open inside the bag and gotten the window sticker and bumper sticker all gooey.  I had a feeling I should have either eaten or gotten rid of those!

Around five or so, even more church members came bearing food for our dinner.  I don’t remember what they prepared, but I know it was tasty!  One family even stayed overnight with us.  Some of our more energetic riders raced the little boy around the rows of chairs.  Henry gave a presentation and asked a couple of riders to speak, also.  And then Wes regaled us with some songs, accompanying himself on the banjo.  I only knew one or two.

We have a lot of meadows and open fields, cotton fields and peanut farms and apparently I am getting more interested in getting to the destination than in taking photos.  I didn’t take any photos on the way to Claxton.

In the morning, the church members got up early and brought in several breakfast casseroles.  Breakfast casserole is a great way to start the day!  At least, I like it better than cereal and bagels every morning, and a hard-boiled egg.

For snacks that day we had some of the famous Claxton fruitcakes.  I gave it a try and it wasn’t too bad, even though I am not a big fruitcake fan.

One bad thing happened on the way to Savannah.  As I was pulling out of one of our rest stops, I saw something in the road ahead which I couldn’t quite make out.  Then, I saw a person stand up.  As I approached I saw that there was a dead dog in the road, and one of our cyclists, Mike, pulled off ahead of that.  The dog had run out of its yard to chase him, just at the same time that a car was passing.  He knew ahead of time what was going to happen, but there was nothing he could do.  I stopped and stayed with him until he was ready to move on.  That was a sad occurrence.

In the evening we made it to Savannah where we stayed at the First Presbyterian Church.  We had a bit of free time in the evening to go down to the river front.  Even though our ride was advertised as going from San Francisco to Savannah, Savannah doesn’t quite bring us to the coast.  The Atlantic Ocean was still 20 miles away, at Tybee Island.  That we did the next day, on Saturday.

August 2.

The length of the ride this day was 91 miles so I sagged ahead to the first rest stop.  There I wrote a memorial to Bob Walters on my helmet.  The ride was difficult for me because I kept breaking down.  When I actually started crying once, I discovered that the wind and tears don’t mix.  That made my eyes sting so I couldn’t see.  When I was trying to ride with both eyes closed, I decided that was a very bad idea and had to stop.

The last twenty miles of the day were among the most difficult that I have ridden.  It was a little difficult physically with a head wind, but it was very difficult emotionally.  I really wanted to go the entire way once I had started, and I did manage to do it.

July 31 & August 1.

We had two build days while we stayed in Americus.  Those were also quite full days.  In Americus, we split into two groups–one to work on a wheel-chair ramp and one to work in the office of the local affiliate of the Fuller Center.  They were fixing up a living area above their downtown office.  I helped cut down some bushes at the wheel-chair ramp site, and then jumped at the chance to help Grace with running errands.  I am really out of my element at the build sites.  I don’t see what needs to be done right away and need to be told what to do.  But with so many workers and so few supervisors, we rarely get much detail in our instruction.

The best part of the day, though, was a chance to get to work with Thad.  He spoke at one of the dinners we had and we learned something of his life.  He was a construction worker who was injured when he fell off a truck.  He was confined to a wheel-chair, and pretty much hopeless.  When he was able to get help from the Fuller Center for Housing, it really turned his life around.  He has been a volunteer with the Fuller Center ever since and it has given him a new purpose in life.  He is not at all shy about ordering his crew around and telling us what to do.  He was really upset that the materials weren’t delivered at the time he had arranged, and upset again when the auger wasn’t on the truck.  Grace and I volunteered to get the auger.  We had to take some seats out of the van to get it in.

Thad also credits his new-found purpose with the Fuller Center with giving him the courage to ask his wife to marry him!  She was a member of the same church as he.  She said no the first time he asked.  I don’t know how many times he ended up asking, but now they are married.

A bit before noon we went to Koinonia Farm for lunch.  Unfortunately, they had not been notified that we were coming.  Or, rather, they were notified at some time, but the notice was lost or something.  So they weren’t really prepared for such a large crowd.  That was uncomfortable since, of course, they insisted that guests go first.  When they were afraid that we hadn’t got enough to eat, they also ordered some last minute pizzas.

I sat at a table with some people from Pennsylvania who were there for a year. They had been there before to help with the pecan harvest.  I didn’t quite figure out how Koinonia Farm works or what they do now.  On the way there, I got a call from my brother that my Aunt Karen had died.  He had seen it on Facebook and wanted to call so I found out from him rather than seeing it on Facebook.

On Tuesday at breakfast, I was idly checking Facebook when I discovered that my friend Bob Walters had died the day before.  He was out for a bike ride and had a massive heart attack.  So that was a terrible way to start the day.  We were scheduled to drive to Albany, GA to work on a roofing project.

Bob wrote the book, The Last Missionary, about his bicycle trip in the North Katanga Conference of the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  I read it on the plane and during the beginning of the trip.  When I finished the book, I let Bob know how much I enjoyed it.  I said, “The ultimate compliment–I’m pretty sure I need to read it again.”  Bob told me that he was enjoying following me on my journey.  He had been reading my blog.  It made me really proud to know that he was reading my blog because I am not near the cyclist he was.  Bob was a colleague, a mentor, and a friend.

After receiving the news of Bob’s death I didn’t feel like going to the work site. I also didn’t feel like spending the day by myself.  So I went.  But I stayed off the roof and took charge of the magnetic nail picker for my job.

Once again, our materials were late in arriving, embarrassing the person who had set up the work.  She was spending her birthday there helping roof the house!

I didn’t take any pictures of people working on the roof, just Becky holding the home-owner’s grand baby and the labyrinth at the church where we ate dinner.

For dinner, we were invited to another church in the area–about a 45 minute drive.  The roof wasn’t done yet and several people decided they wanted to stay until it was completely done.  Instead, they stayed until the shingles were gone!  But still late.  It was late when we got back to our temporary home in Americus.

July 30.

This was a really busy day for a day off!  On Sunday we got up early to go to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains to attend President Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School class.  We had to leave by about 7:25 to get there by 7:40 and get our place in line.  We learned during orientation that the people in the very first row had arrived at 4:30 a.m.  to begin their wait.  Our entire group received number 36 and stood off to the side.   The doors open at 8:00 a.m. and orientation starts at 9:00.  Four hundred fifty people are allowed in the building according to the fire marshall’s regulations and that is all who get in on any given Sunday.  Though it wasn’t the case very often in the past, with President Carter reaching age 92, there are now frequently Sundays when people are turned away.

At 8:00 a.m. the line began filtering in, were checked by Secret Service, and got seated by the ushers.  As we were sitting there before orientation, I thought how it must be both a blessing and a curse to have a former president teaching Sunday School.  Becky, sitting next to me, showed me the attendance record in the bulletin where last Sunday’s attendance was 25 members and 473 guests.  About all the questions I idly asked Becky while we sat there were answered during orientation.

Miss Jan did the orientation.  First she sent us all to the restroom so we would be  back in our seats for orientation.  She said that President and Mrs. Carter joined the church the first Sunday President Reagan was sworn in.  It was a pretty new church then, and President Carter asked how they could best help. Miss Jan said she would like some really pretty offering plates.  So President Carter went home and made some offering plates.  He made the cross which hangs up in front from persimmon wood.  He also made some other furniture for the church which we didn’t get to see.

The church takes its unique mission very seriously.  They know that they have a unique opportunity to reach people who wouldn’t normally go to church.  They have heard back from people who have never been to church and from people who haven’t been to church in thirty years, but decided to come to President Carter’s Sunday School class.  They believe their mission is to plant the seed of God’s love.

Miss Jan is a retired teacher, something that most of us guessed from her ability to handle the crowd and give instructions.  She told us what we were allowed to do and what we were not, and when we were allowed to take pictures and when the cameras and phones had to be put away.  She said we were not to stand when President Carter came in the room, nor were we to clap.  That’s because you don’t clap or stand when your Sunday School teacher comes in the room.  We practiced saying where we were from.  He likes to find out what states and countries people are from that day.  But she said if your state has already been mentioned, then you don’t mention it.  And then we practiced with the first section.  She told us not to go too fast, because he sometimes likes to talk about his experience in your state or country.  She also said he would ask if there were any ministers or missionaries present, but if you raised your hand then, you had to be prepared to say the opening prayer.

President Carter was actually a good teacher!  He had clearly studied the lesson, which that day was from the book of Ezekiel when the people of Israel were in exile.  He tied it in to the importance of water and how Jesus is the living water.  And he also talked about times he has visited Israel.  Just like Miss Jan said, he liked to run an interactive class.  She said he would never embarrass you, but would say, “I’m looking for something else” if that was not the answer he was looking for.

The Sunday School class went by quite quickly.  Miss Jan had told us during orientation that when the music started for church (the prelude) that was our signal to get back to our seats and be quiet.   She also explained how we were going to do pictures afterwards and what the procedures and rules were for the picture taking with President and Mrs. Carter.  She is the enforcer, with Secret Service back up.

She also told us about an episode while she was teaching and had Secret Service back up because Amy Carter was in her class.  She said there was one boy that she just couldn’t get to behave.  (That was a rare occurrence)  She asked the Secret Service agent to put his hands on the boy’s desk, look him in the eye, and say, “We aren’t going to have any more trouble!”  Then, she said, just pull your jacket back a ways.  “Miss Jan, you know I can’t do that!” he said.  “I’m not going to tell,” she replied.  “And if you won’t do that, we’ll take the whole class out for ice cream after school.”  The boy, now about 50 years old, supposedly came back and told her that she and the Secret Service saved his life.  She was a hoot.

The church service was also relatively short.  About 18 or 20 people got up to sing during the choir anthem.  They sang a hymn and did a pretty good job of it.

After church, people with small children got their pictures taken with the Carters first, then groups, and then everyone else.  Miss Jan told us it would take about 15 minutes to get everyone through.  She wasn’t sure if Mrs. Carter would stay since she had a family reunion that day, but she did.  Her birthday is coming up and there is a big celebration in town for that, too, later in August.

Some of us stayed in Plains to do sight-seeing for a couple of hours and the rest of us headed back to Americus.

After lunch I spent some time in Bittersweet Coffee Shop and Book Store and then we went to Linda Fuller’s house for a picnic dinner.  She is remarried to a man named Paul Degelmann.  We wondered what it would be like for him with memories of Millard Fuller so prominent everywhere in Americus.  I don’t think his experience is uncommon, though Millard is probably more widely known and adored.

At the reception yesterday, I heard Linda say she had to get home to cook and get ready for today!  But she also had help from some of her friends.  They have a beautiful property.  Paul also owns a property on another part of the same lake, but they live in the house that Millard and Linda built.  It was a very nice evening.  We were supposed to go in two shifts on the boat ride, but as we returned we saw some of our companions on another boat.  Linda was aghast when she saw who they were with.  And it was very upsetting to several who had gotten on the other boat.  They were with a drunk man who was full of racist thoughts that he freely shared.  They also felt sorry for his dogs, one of whom had cut his tongue biting on a beer can.  So some of us did not have a happy ending to the day.

Like I said, it was a very full day for a day off!

 

July 29.

After all these days bicycling across the US, we have only had a handful of rainy days.  One ascending into Lake Tahoe on which we experienced rain, and sleet, and snow–and even a bit of hail…one just a short time later traveling to Lovelock, NV.  I got caught in some rain some afternoon traveling through Mississippi but most people (except the sweeps behind me) got in early enough to miss it.  There was no chance of missing the rain on this day.  We can’t complain though.  It’s amazing that we have had so few rainy days.

Henry tried to help us avoid some of the worst of the rain by postponing our start.  And when we did set out, it wasn’t raining very hard.  We had plans to get through Plains Georgia by a certain time so that we could get to Americus by about 11:45.  When I arrived in Plains, it was pretty much time to leave.  I shared a peanut butter ice cream with a friend and stopped to use the restroom and then it was time to go.  By the time we left Plains, it was raining really hard.

 

We rode to a gas station just outside Americus and met up with our police escort to the Fuller Center.  Because we were able to practice in Tuskegee, we did pretty well with this police escort.  I heard Henry tell the officer to stay at around 12 mph and slower uphill and we would all be able to stick together.  I wasn’t expecting much of a reception other than that, but when we reached the Fuller Center headquarters, there was a crowd of people there cheering us on and welcoming us like heroes!

Then we went in, all soaking wet, to the air conditioned building, to have sandwiches and watermelon and cookies.  All of us refused to sit down when we were invited because we knew we would get the furniture soaking wet, too.  Eventually we had done enough celebrating and headed off to the Presbyterian church where we were to spend the next several days.  There was one shower in the church, and several of us also went to Georgia Southwest, a university in Americus, to take a shower.  We got clean, warm and dry and were ready for our evening activities–a dinner prepared by the Mennonite church in town.

 

 

 

July 28.

We started the day with another police escort!  We went the same direction as the night before–we had an escort from Tuskegee Institute to somewhere on the edge of town.  They took care of us all the way through town!  That was a great welcome.  It was also good practice for our police escort the next day into Americus, GA.  We didn’t get nearly as spread out as the night before.  When you’re in front with a police escort, it’s quite tempting to try to keep up.  If the ones in front try to keep up and are able to do so, then the ones who can’t go as fast get further and further back.

Apparently the main occurrence this day was crossing the Georgia state line–at least according to the photos I took.

Shortly after we crossed the Georgia line we passed a canyon.  We thought we were going to be able to drive back to see the actual canyon according to what Henry had said in the morning.  We passed it by and didn’t go out to the viewpoint.  Unfortunately, we were mistaken.  I saw a couple of people’s pictures of the canyon, and a sign to the canyon, but I did not see the actual canyon.  Too bad!

In Lumpkin, we were greeted by Miss Jean, who used to be a school principal.  She is part of the Fuller Center there in Lumpkin, though I arrived too late to find out much about what she did.  She took excellent care of us and then took us out to dinner at a catfish restaurant.  It appeared to be one of the few businesses still open.  We had a good dinner and went back to the church to sleep.  Miss Jean also came in the morning to see us off.