How Do You Spell Relief? "Last Night On The Road"

I meant to show you photos of last night's restaurant, "Jim N Nick's BBQ", and the massive baked potatoes they called "loaded" potatoes overflowing with sour cream, butter, cheese, scallions, BBQ sauce, and pulled pork.  Served with cheese biscuits, honey butter, and sweet tea, it was a meal one could hardly finish.  But we tried!  The accents are southern here, and sweet tea is the drink of choice.  The service is superb.

It must have been prom night last night, as we saw several young women dressed in beautiful, long gowns with their dates in suits at the BBQ restaurant.  Following dinner, after purchasing gas, we drove through a lovely residential area of homes, many of brick construction, situated amid rolling hills with beautiful yards and tall trees.  

 

 

Today, we took a more leisurely pace, getting on the road at 9:50 am from Jasper.  We are now happily devoid of sweaters and coats at a comfortable 76 degrees under somewhat cloudy skies.  Leaving Jasper, we noticed a strong, sweet smell.  Searching for its source, it seemed to be some bushes blooming along the road with small, white flowers.  Checking for what it could be, I believe it was Chinese Privet.  It is an invasive, semi-evergreen shrub from Asia, introduced to the U.S. as an ornamental plant.  Its fragrant white flowers appear in spring, and later it produces dark purple to black berries in winter.  Birds spread the plant by eating the berries, making it difficult to control.  The plant displaces native species in forests, fencerows, and along waterways.  But to me, it smells lovely.

We had lunch at Chick-fil-A, and it was an amazing establishment with a double drive-through lane system.  In-person order takers were outside at both lines and provided quicker service than anywhere else we've been in recent memory.  Plus, the "original chicken sandwich" was delicious!  Beverage, of course, was sweet tea.

We are definitely in the south, as evidenced by the sight of a Confederate flag, with a sign below it stating "Alabama Contingency - Sons of the Confederacy" near Prattville, Alabama.  Later, near Montgomery, we saw a sign for the "1st White House of the Confederacy", and it might have been interesting to see if we weren't more interested in getting to the end of our journey in Florida.

In Ozark, Alabama, we spotted a helicopter and tank displayed at the town's welcome sign.  The town is closely tied to Army aviation and armored-vehicle history.  Adjacent to Fort Novosel, the center of U.S. Army helicopter training, Ozark is also connected to the 131st Armored Tank Battalion. 

Beyond Montgomery, we viewed a particularly impressive horse farm.  This area of the state appears to have many horse farms and abundant churches.  As we traveled near Troy, Alabama, more dead pine trees were visible along the road, and several were down on the ground, victims of the fungus we learned of yesterday.

  

Tonight we are staying in Madison, Florida, after entering Florida at 2:23 pm Central Daylight Time.  We'd traveled 2,970 miles on our trip at that point.  Tomorrow we will reach our new home at about 1 pm if we get going by 9 am.  Looking forward very much to getting off the road and exploring our new neighborhood.