Being that travel had been going so slowly, you would have thought that one would take advantage of the clear morning weather, but such was not the case. Somehow I managed to wile away the early morning hours as if the break in the weather was here to stay; but, it wasn't and I would very shortly regret my arrant ways.
It was about 375 miles from Ocala to Pensacola, and I hoped to make it there by nightfall. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas, and after traveling about 70 miles a light rain started. Determined to "tough it out," I continued on, but after passing a jack-knifed semi-tractor trailer in the oncoming lanes of the divided highway and a second two-car collision, I pulled up underneath an overpass just in time to avoid the downpour.
After an hour it was still raining, but it had slowed down greatly, so I decided to make a break for the next town of Live Oak.
Live Oak was a short 102 miles out of Ocala, and there was still about 460 Miles to go to get to New Orleans (or Mandeville, Louisiana, a suburb that was my actual destination). It was raining hard again and (left with no choice) it was necessary to grabbed a room at one of Live Oak's "finest" motels.
By the next morning the rain had finally stopped, but now the issue was the cool morning air. It was unfortunate that weather had been (and still was) so unforgiving; much of the route, since leaving Naples had been "unkind" to say the least. Now, as I approached Tallahassee I couldn't help but regret that there was neither the time nor the favorable weather to allow me to explore Tallahassee, a city that I had never visited before. (Given a decent day, I would have greatly enjoyed the ride through the Lake Talquin State Forest, near Tallahassee.)
Choosing not to fight the cold and having not eaten breakfast, I exit the interstate for breakfast at the Waffle House.
Returning back on course, I was able to advance another 80 miles before the rain started and forced me to once again exit the highway.
Over the years I have traveled throughout and five of the six continents (my list of continents includes: North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica); and though often solo, I have never felt alone. There are always people to meet along the way and this, of course, provides some of my most engaging memories. Often it seems, at the time, as only simple conversation; but then, why do those conversations linger on in the memory?
Case in point, forced off the highway by the rain, I stopped at a McDonald's in Bonifay, Florida, to blog away some time while waiting for the rain to halt.
Bonifay is a small town and, even today, a stranger in a small town is a source of wonder; and I soon found myself engaged in conversation with one Wayne Carey, a local car dealer and sometimes realtor.
Wayne inquired as to my motorcycle travels and told me of a fellow "McDonald's regular" (another motorcycle rider) whom he wasn't able, despite his persistent efforts, to contact via cell phone.
Wayne tried to encourage me to "hang around" for the weekend to meet his friend and enjoy the peace and quiet of Bonifay. However, that wasn't going to happen, the rain had stopped, and I was already behind schedule. I thanked him for his congeniality and got back on the road.
Looking back, there still persist, lingering regrets that the conditions of weather prevented me from enjoying what I had anticipated would be great traveling - the gulf coast of Alabama and Mississippi - "C'est la vie", perhaps, another day.
At least the weather continued to show favor, but, nonetheless, I still managed to miss the transition from I-10 to I-12, and it was nearly 9 PM before I arrived at the home of my hosts' Bernard and Carrie Smith.
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