Hey guys!
Today my Dad and I woke up bright and early (well my Dad did; I got up around 9) for the continental breakfast provided by the Super 8 hotel. After breakfast we went back to the room (lucky number 111) to pack up. When we were done, we went out, removed the cover from the motorcycle and were on our way south!
It was still really cold and there weren’t very many clouds today; only one long streak on the southern horizon. As we made our way along the highway the sun was in my eyes for most of the time but my sunglasses lessened the blow a bit. Pretty soon after we crossed into Alabama there was a sign for the Welcome Centre. We found this pretty normal; all the states so far had had welcome centres so we weren’t too surprised… but Alabama was definitely the first with a rocket ship! After we got over the initial shock of seeing a spaceship, we pulled over for a quick roadside photo shoot! We then snacked on granola bars, had some water and got back on the highway.
After a few hours we needed gas so we pulled off the highway into a huge shopping mall-type parking lot, dotted with buildings like restaurants, souvenir shops and clothing stores. After a few minutes of driving around and looking for gas we finally found one little gas station, tucked behind a Justice store. After filling up we noticed a sign advertising a Panera bakery around the corner, so after asking for directions from the person at the pump next to us, we went to the restaurant. I had creamy tomato soup, bread and a grilled cheese and dad got a creamy garlic and broccoli soup with a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and bread… everything was amazing! We dipped the sandwiches and the bread in to the soup and it was soooo good!!!
After eating (and enjoying the free wifi at Panera), we decided we only had a few hours of daylight so we should get a bunch of riding time in. Right after we left Panera I saw a sun dog! A sun dog is a muted rainbow or circle of light surrounding the sun. It was so cool! I’ve only ever seen two before (both at school; once in winter and once in spring) and this one was super bright, even though it was only a tiny patch of colours like red, orange, green and blue. It almost looked like somebody had spilled a big oil patch in the sky!
After about two hours of driving, we stopped for a hot drink at McDonald’s as Dad was feeling a little sleepy. As usual, he got a coffee and I had a hot chocolate, only today he poured some of his into mine and I poured some of mine into his, making this my second mocha of the trip!
After warming up, we went back on the road. The sun was setting and the sky was amazing. Then the crescent moon and Venus led us south. We rode for a long, long time in the dark before we needed more gas. Afterwards, we were back on the road; only this time we were leaving the highway to come towards Pensacola, Florida! When we arrived here we stopped at Dad’s good friend Dr. Mike’s house only he wasn’t home yet! As we had no SIM card, we had to go to a nearby hotel, ask for their phone, call him and let him know we had arrived. After we got all that sorted out, we rode back to Mike’s beautiful beach home and jumped in his awesome hot tub! And that’s where Mike found us when he returned, relaxing and looking at the stars over the Gulf of Mexico. Sitting on a motorcycle for 7 hours is hard work!!! We are so happy to be with Dr. Mike. He’s making his famous Fester sourdough bread right now and we just had pizza and I’m super tired. That’s all for today…Goodnight guys!
P.S
I’d like to thank everybody for all of their support in the comments! And I want to wish my Gramma Schroeder a Happy Birthday… I love you Gramma!
Day 6: Tennessee to Pensacola, FL
