Meeting up with fellow fulltimers you read about on the web is one of the perks of traveling like we do. Eventually we said our goodbyes and we were on our way. We headed out toward I-10 to make the lower Alabama RV.net rally in Dothan.
We crossed Escambia Bay around Pensacola around noon. This bridge was taken out during Hurricane Ivan, I think, and the last time we were here, parts were missing. We were on the side that got hit and they just had open grating down, so it was a little nerve racking.
From the bridge we could see smoke and knew they were having wildfires in Florida, but we just crossed the bridge by about a couple miles and they closed the interstate in front of us. It was I-10. We were about 1/4 mile from where the fire was working toward the interstate and we had a few anxious moments.
The cops were letting people turn around in the median, but in Florida they don't have any crossovers. I got out and was talking to some of the truck drivers and they recommended at our weight, we not try turning in the median. As luck would have it, we could see back behind us many trucks had made the turn, but one was now stuck. It was a car hauler. The one trucker was really nice. . . he was right beside us and he asked if we had to be anywhere. I said, "Nope, we are good to stay." He said that's what he was doing because he was too heavy to go through the median. Eventually all of the car and small truck traffic in front of us turned, but we stayed where we were. After about an hour, the smoke started to thin, and they started letting traffic go through. So we got through and we passed by the fire. It didn't look like a forest fire, but looked like a grass fire, although it had at one point leaped across the road and burned on the other side too.
We arrived in Dothan at the Peanut Festival Grounds and set up camp. Got to meet up with Mark and Patsie (2stepr) Not sure how he spells it. Our rally here starts tomorrow.
Till next time. . .
Dale
5 comments:
Hey Dale,
I finally caught up with your blog and now have it saved in my favorites. The bridge (in Pensacola) actually went out during Ivan in 2004. We were still in our stick n brick when Ivan came roaring through the area.
Glad you made it through the fire in Florida without incident. Have fun in Dothan at the rally. See ya down the road.
Thanks for the info, Janice. We midwesterners just cannot keep up with your storms! I'll get that corrected.
I read up on your blog and Patti's today and glad you are enjoying South Padre.
Save travels.
Hi Dale and Terry, It was terrific to meet you in person before we headed our separate ways. Glad to hear you arrived safely. We're progressing along slowly. One more trip back to Pensacola, yuck. I won't go into the gorey details but let's just say, we're ready to roll on. Safe and happy trails!
Having fun!!! sounds like you guys are having a ball. Everything is great here except the WIND. Sure do miss you guys. Have a good time at the rally.
Mickey
If it's any consolation to you, Mickey, my mom says that there is heavier wind in Texas this year than they have had in the last 20. They usually have wind, but not as strong and not as constant as this year.
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