3 PM: Getting close to Somewhere...

Lupin in full bloom along the roadside...

Now that I'm out of Louisiana a different program is waiting for me, no more dancing around, socializing with the "big boys", no more eating deep fried delicacies and gain weight, there won't be a party to go to for a while,no more healthy laughing with fun friends for a while. From now on it's all serious business to get to Hartford Connecticut by May 22nd. As for now, I'm driving north on MS-35 through small communities like Pickwick, Cheraw, and Jamestown. After that the road intersects with Hwy-98, I turn left and go east for a few miles and then turn right to continue on MS-35, going north going through the town of Columbia. More of this beautiful, lush country, sometimes forest, sometimes fields, a hill here a rock there, a few shacks of buildings are strewn in this landscape. Some poor looking trailer and there a beautiful villa. Sometimes the earth is exposed and it is almost fire-red, sandy material.
MS-35 crosses Hwy-84 and a few miles later Hwy-49, I stay on MS-35 and see a sign that points east to a town called Hot Coffee, I can't resist but go and investigate to see what a town with a name like that Hot Coffee looks like. I make a U-turn and then head east in search for some Hot Coffee, I mean the town called Hot Coffee. I have to laugh about the idea of what people say when they are from Hot Coffee, like, I went to Hot Coffee Middle School or had some ice tea at the Hot Coffee community center. Well after 11 miles of driving on a small country road I found it, I finally get some Hot Coffee, well just to look at.

Hot Coffee Community Center and Volunteer Fire Department is all the evidence I found on my little detour...

Back on MS-35 I have to get some gas in the town of Mize, yes Mize and not mice, but I'm sure they have that there too, first I need to fill-up with gas and hot water for some more tea. Here the gallon or regular costs 2.019 dollars and I need about 10 gallons of that stuff.
Back on MS-35 going north, after going through Raleigh the road enters the Bienville National Forest that gets me to the town of Forest. Here I start looking for a campground, after all my AAA map shows me that this town should have one. I follow the signs to the Marathon recreational area. I takes me a half an hour to get to the Marathon Lake campground. A beautiful setting in a thick forest with a fine lake. I find a empty site, go back to the pay-station and drop a payment of 14 dollars into the steel-pilar with a slot in it, go back and set-up my camp for tonight. I'm worried that I get eaten alive by the mosquitos or other nasty bugs, but so far so good, the tent is up, the cell-phone reception is down, can't make any calls I thought I could do. Instead I work some more on writing this blog, eat some of the goodies I bought at Rouses this afternoon. Life is good, it is very quite here, only frogs, birds, wind in the trees, and natures tunes. A almost full moon is rising and clouds flying by high in the night-sky. I was thinking it could rain tonight, like it must have rained just before I got here, because everything is still wet. I drove 238 Miles form Karen's house to here.

Driving through forest for miles, Marathon Lake, the tent is up...

Here is a link of the route map on MapQuest.

Here is the deal with putting-up a tent...
Video Clip
Camping at Marathon Lake near Forest, MS.

The night passed without any rain, but still the tent was pretty wet just form the humidity, I slept most of the night without even a cover on. Now, I make some tea from the hot water from the thermos, mix a bowl of granola with yoghurt, add some apple and banana and start packing-up. I'm thinking about jumping into the lake but turn it down because I have to hit the road today, I have a long way to go.

Ready to hit the road again...

At quarter to ten I'm back on the road, another quarter of an hour and I'm Interstate 20 heading straight east. In Newton I exit to get some more hot water and a bag of ice, and make a few phone-calls. I don't like talking too much when I'm driving, to much noise around me and it is hard to concentrate on where to go and what to see.

Wildflowers on the meridian of Interstate 20...

I-20 is crossing a fat, brown, fast flowing river, must be a fork of the Chickasawhay River that flows south into the Pascagoula River that runs into the Gulf of Mexico in Pascagoula, Mississippi. At 11:08 I slip into the State of Alabama, the "Sweet Home" state, well lets see how sweet it really is. A quick stop at the Alabama Welcome Center, gives me some relieve on my bladder, a sweet feeling that is!

Text-messages I get form Devona...

Here I-20 is together with I-59, actually that is since before Meridian, MS, but now the interstate is heading more north-east, passing te outskirts of Tuscaloosa and after that the Mercedes Benz plant. In Birmingham I turn north onto I-65 and then refill the gas-tank in Warrior. 10.9 Gallons at 2.049 a gallon, I also have to add another quart of oil to the motor. The next stop s at another rest-area. It's just past 2 o'clock, I'm 60 miles before Huntsille, AL. Here I call Devona, my cousin Peter's ex-wife, reporting back on my whereabouts and making sure that I arrive in time at her house. I also have to eat something otherwise I can't make it all the way, that means more of the same form the cooler, headcheese, bread, some tomato and cheese. Once back on the interstate the Honda passes it's 286'000 mile mark and shortly thereafter the 4000 mile mark of this trip, all is well.

At 3 o'clock I'm driving east on Interstate 565 towards Huntsville, AL, trip mile 4014, Apollo 14 is next...