"Avoid starting a journey in fog or rain, as it is an omen of bad luck."
Well...what about starting a journey in a hurricane?
As I was driving away from my childhood home, windshield wipers on full speed, Hurricane Joaquin was making her way up the eastern seaboard. The storm was traveling up from Georgia towards Virginia, and I was headed...yup...to Georgia. Needless to say, we made plans to meet in the middle.
It poured every second of the two days it took me to get to Atlanta. I stopped off to briefly visit some friends in the valley, and stayed overnight with my brother in Blacksburg. I was hoping to wait out the storm but to no avail. Me and every Clemson fan on the planet were stuck in the worst of the swell coming through South Carolina. Fortunately, I made it to Atlanta safe, dry, and with my nerves only half fried. I visited my good friend Becca and let her show me her city.
Evaluation of Atlanta: AMAZING food, good craft beer scene, and some truly gorgeous architecture. Oh, and ALL the trees. Mostly though, Becca and I relaxed and caught up. Becca is one of those friends that I see maybe once a year or so, but when we do get together it's like not one day has passed. We have been friends for a long time, and I was extremely grateful to begin my journey in her company.
Atlanta at night
I left Georgia a few days later, headed for Oklahoma to visit Little Foot. For those of you too lazy to flip back a few posts, Little Foot is the girl I hitchhiked across Northern California with, and subsequently finished my hike this summer with. We have hiked about 400 miles together. We are basically family. My goal was to reach Little Foot in a day, but it was a long drive. The GPS was estimating it would take about 10 hours, 12 if I hit traffic. I resolved to camp in the Ozarks in Arkansas if it got too late.
Driving through the southern states is amazing by the way, for those who have never been. The speed limits are high, the roads meander through the countryside, and usually the interstates are wide open. At least, that was my experience. I was flying across the south. I reached the Ozarks around dinner time, and wasn't quite ready to call it a day yet. I cooked dinner in my JetBoil at a highway rest stop and continued on.
Sunsets in the Ozarks
How the "cool kids" cook dinner
I didn't really start to get tired until I started to get into the indian reservations in eastern Oklahoma. ADVICE: Do NOT let yourself get too tired to drive in an indian reservation in the middle of the night. Or run out of gas. I did both, and I do not recommend it at all. I was scared out of my wits. I was running on fumes (gas and energy-wise) until I filled my tank at a well-lit Chevron (which I only pulled up to because the one other car in the station was the sheriff's truck). Then I bee-lined it for Little Foot's town. I arrived around midnight, exhausted and resolving NEVER to drive longer than 10 hours in a day EVER again. Lesson learned.
I spent a few days in Oklahoma recuperating and hanging out with Little Foot and her work friends. Little Foot is an outdoor educator and was working at an outdoor ed facility in the hills of Oklahoma. I say hills, because they are Oklahoma's version of mountains...aka not mountains. Nevertheless, I went hiking, did yoga, read a good book, rode my bike around the farmlands nearby, goofed around with Little Foot's awesome friends and co-workers, and hung out in my hammock by the lake. It was very relaxing, especially after such a hectic first couple of days on the road. And thank goodness I got that rest, because the next few days were going to be pretty hectic as well...
Campfires and horses up at the ranch in Oklahoma with LF's co-workers
