Ride to the Rockies, Day Twenty
I got up at seven and leisurely got the camp picked up and the bike loaded. Got on the road about 8:30 and found my way back to US 27. I thought about stopping to get a coffee but didn't see anything other than gas stop/convenience stores. I was hoping to find a little country diner somewhere, where I could sit inside in comfort and enjoy some coffee and maybe a light bite, so I kept heading south with my eyes open for the first opportunity.
US 27 continued south and passed I-20, the main east-west corridor out of Atlanta on its west side. Not long after I turned off 27 and tried to get on US 27Alt which headed more southeasterly toward Newnan south toward Greenville. Instead, at Newnan I got confused and ended up taking a bypass and the wrong way out of town on GA 34, which if I had follwed it would have dumped me in the mess around Atlanta. The road was divided with a deep grassy median between the east and west lanes, but I chanced crossing it, got turned around, then jumped on I-85 to the first exit to get back to US 27Alt where I continued south. At Greenville I headed east on GA 18 which joined with GA 74 about halfway to Thomaston.
Just before Thomaston, in the tiny village of Sunset Village I spotted the Sunny Side Up Café on my right, two hours after I had left the campground. I pulled into the small gravel driveway, parked, and walked into the little café. It was small nice local diner as I had hoped that was empty except for a nice looking darked haired young lady sitting in the first booth. Thinking she was the waitress, I asked if I could sit anywhere. She laughed and told me she was waiting for food for take out.
The owner came out, gave the girl her order, then poured me some coffee, and kept pouring as I drained each cup until I left. I also ordered a egg and cheese sandwich which was a whole two dollars before tax! While I ate and enjoyed my first coffee of the day the owner and I chatted while he attended to his business.
At Thomaston I took US 19 and ran south onto the next half page of the Georgia map that I had torn out of the atlas and tucked under the clear cover of the tank bag. Somewhere before I got onto that second half of the map the mountains were left behind as I rode through rolling farmland planted with peanuts and cotton.
19 took me all the way to Albany, where I cuaght my last highway of the day, GA 133, which ran southeast and right past Julie's nieghborhood, just a few miles west of Valdosta and I-75.
I arrived at Julie's early. It had been left unlocked so I let myself in and got a shower while she was still at work at the university.
I got finished with the shower and wandered out into the kitchen and dining room area, not bothering to get dressed as it would be some time before Julie got home. I sat down at the table and checked Facebook in the buff. What I had not realized was that Lisa, one of Julie's friends who had a trailer in the backyard and often came to stay with Julie, was there. Lisa walked into the kitchen and past me sitting naked at the table. I cleared my throat and let her know I was there and naked, trying to make a joke out of it. All was OK, though, as both Julie and Lisa lived rather Bohemian lifestyles and nakedness was not a shock to them, and Lisa just went on doing whatever she had been doing in the kitchen while we both talked about the trip and the new stuff in our lives.
Eventually, Lisa left and I pulled on some shorts and Julie arrived. Made some dinner and had some beers while we caught up with each other and talked until we were all too tired to go on, when we all headed to our rooms for some sleep.
Miles so far 7,354.5 miles
