4/22/17, “Georgia on My Mind”
Tallahassee, Florida
I suppose it is a bit ironic that I am using an
establishing shot of the Florida State Capitol for an entry entitled “Georgia
on My Mind,” but, while I woke up Jacksonville approximately 14 hours ago, and
will be spending the night here in Tallahassee, I have spent almost 12 of those
14 hours in Georgia, seeing the last three National Park Sites I needed to
visit in the state, so I believe the title to be appropriate.
After I closed last night, I soon went to
sleep, waking up around 7 AM, which was perfect timing. I had neglected to pack Nexium for the day, I
wanted to resolve that issue sooner, rather than later, so I stopped at the
first gas station I found. They were
sold out of Zantac, so I had to settle for Tums, which I new would only be a
weak and temporary solution. I was on a
bit of a tight schedule to get to the ferry dock in St. Marys for my 9 AM
ferry, but I knew I had time to chance another stop. However, my GPS was out of sync, and it kept
giving me bad directions. I found my
Zantac and, after a few wrong turns, made it St. Marys.
The first NPS was Cumberland Island National Seashore,
but the only way to get there was by ferry, and the schedule, unless I wanted
to spend the whole day on the island, meant I would only get 20-30 minutes
ashore, in exchange for over an hour on the boat (round-trip). I did my business at the VC, and we soon
boarded. The boat ride went by quickly
enough, and I raced to get off, rushing to the Ranger Station there to get
another stamp.
I had 25 minutes left,
which meant I had 10 minutes to walk to the beach on the other side of the
island if I wanted to take my ceremonial picture and get back in time for my
10:15 AM return. The next boat was at
2:45 PM. That was not an option. I lit up my smallest cigar, a Maestro del
Tiempo, and walked as quickly as I could.
It took my exactly 10 minutes. As
I walked, I was amazed by the beauty of the trees, a type of tree I had never
seen before.
I got to the beach, took my
ceremonial picture, and raced back, getting to the dock at 10:08 AM, perfect
timing. We were back ashore in St. Marys
at 11:00 AM. My reader will note that I
have not yet had breakfast, and my dinner from last night provided no
nutritional value, so I was starving.
I
stopped at the first quick place I saw, a Burger King, and got a bacon
cheeseburger, fries, and a coffee. That
did the trick. I took my Zantac, but I
feared it would not work as well as the Nexium.
Since this would be my first big drive of the trip, I lit up my Davidoff
Escurio Toro and started playing “Red”.
Almost immediately, I saw a Walgreens, so I had to stop. From there it was a straight shot to my first
NPS, Andersonville National Historic Site.
It was about 3.5 hours away. I
made the drive without stopping. After
“Red” and my Davidoff, I lit up a Graycliff and listened to the news
stations.
Then a Nat Sherman’s cigar,
which brought me to Andersonville NHS.
It was now 3:30 PM. The day was
almost over, and I had only been to one NPS so far, but that was the schedule
as designed. It was a Civil War Prisoners
of War camp, one of the biggest in the south, and it was very interesting,
since it was partially reconstructed. I
took care of my business at the VC and took some ceremonial pictures at the POW
camp. It was 4 PM by the time I was
ready to leave.
The next and final NPS,
Jimmy Carter NHS, was 30 minutes away and closed at 5 PM, which would give me
exactly 30 minutes on-site. Again,
perfect timing. I got the main VC, which
was inside his old high school, and I did my business there, also getting some
fried peanuts to curb my appetite. I
figured that was a fitting snack for the occasion, the peanut farmer who became
President. I lit up my Canada Exclusivo
(in honor of “Argo”) Vegas Robaina and took a ceremonial picture.
The only other site to see was his boyhood
home and farm, and I went straight there, arriving around 4:45 PM. I took my ceremonial pictures and was done at
almost exactly 5 PM. That was “Georgia
Complete.” I was fascinated thinking
that this was where President Carter grew up, from peanut farmer to Senator to
Governor to President. From there, it
was straight to Tallahassee, a 2.5-hour drive.
Sunset was at 8:09 PM. That gave
me just enough time for an early dinner, since I was starving.
I stopped at the Waffle House, and the staff
seemed very confused. I guess people don’t
usually come there at 5:15 PM. I wasn’t
done with my cigar, so I left it outside and asked if they had a smoking
section. They found that quite
amusing. I figured I might as well ask,
as the one in Mississippi did. I then
asked for a club soda. The waiter did
not know what it is. I offered some
other names, such as seltzer and sparkling water. He said he didn’t have it. I was convinced that he just didn’t know what
button to press to get it from the fountain, but I didn’t press the issue, settling
for water instead. I asked him what was
good for dinner. He did not understand
the question. I made my own choice,
getting their new cheesesteak hash brown bowl, along with a waffle and
coffee. The meal was perfect, and it was
quite filling.
My phone said an 8 PM
arrival at the Capitol. Perfect. I retrieved my cigar and was on my way,
switching the radio to the Howard Stern Show.
He had Alec Baldwin as a guest, followed by George Takei. It was hysterical. I followed my Vegas Robaina with an
Oliva. I had to stop for gas and had
some traffic, but I was looking at an 8:05 PM arrival, which would be, you
guessed it, perfect timing to take my ceremonial picture before sunset at 8:09
PM. I arrived right on schedule and
parked my car on the side of the road, figuring I would be close enough if a
cop came. If my leaders are unfamiliar
with the Florida State Capitol, it is a modern building and very tall. That makes getting the full height in one
picture very difficult, so I tried a few different angles. I got my ceremonial picture and, sure enough,
saw a cop summoning me over.
He gave me
quite a lecture, but he let me go without a ticket, and I went straight to the
hotel. It was now twilight, and I wanted
to get the establishing shot for my entry before civil twilight ended, so I
went straight to my hotel, checked in, and parked my car. I had my computer bag and looked up the State
Capitol to see which was really the front side.
That was when the confusion began.
The picture on Google showed an old-fashioned-looking building with the
tall modern building apparently attached to it.
I raced to get to that side before dusk to take a new ceremonial picture
from that angle, which was the perfect angle, and I did so. I deleted my earlier post and reposted this
one. That was one I learned that this
actually the Historic Capitol, really just a museum, and the tall, modern
building was the actual State Capitol. I
refused to delete again and repost for a third time, so I went with the
aesthetically pleasing picture I had just posted, with the current capitol in
the background. I then sat down in front
of the Historic Capitol, where I lit up my trusty Ardor and proceeded to write
this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish and play a little
Zelda before I go to sleep. Tomorrow is
an early day.
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