Changes in Latitude
At about 9AM we arrived in Mobile, Alabama. We had been on the road since
about 10AM the previous day. We greeted our kind hosts, unpacked and then promptly slept
most of the day away. We discovered our missing VW bus had turned back, and was still in
Raleigh. They would leave the next morning. Our hosts Sarah and Gary, a very nice, very
bright married couple, were blessed with two very amazing children. Personable, brilliant
and obviously destined to be beautiful, I found myself envying the lives they would lead.
While never a children person, and probably fated to never reproduce, I would consider
myself lucky to father kids anything like those two.
We explored Mobile, and discovered that the gulf rim of the bible belt
is a cold, dead pretentious place that is destined to be forgotten. Even our hosts have
since moved away.
Meanwhile, the VW bus had broken down twice in South Carolina. Each
required the intervention of a mechanic, the second being a toothless man that had to
order parts. It was three days later before they made it to Mobile.
When they did arrive, we all took a detour to Ft. Walton, Florida.
Located on the gulf side, the beaches are almost white, and overall it's pristine compared
to most of the overdeveloped eastern coastline. Even though the skies were crystal clear,
clouds had settled over our group, with Angie growing increasingly hostile, expressing
resentment towards us for the difficulties they had experience so far. To compound
matters, Angies' large dog destroyed Jane's' tent.
Back in Mobile, we made plans. Sarah and her children would meet us in
Hot Springs, Arkansas. We would visit New Orleans, then proceed to the rendezvous spot.
NEXT:
Armadillos and Bourbon Street
