Today we continue on our commute home to California. As we leave Georgia, it's a comfortable 72 degrees and slightly foggy. We continue north on I-75 towards Tennessee riding quickly over the rolling hills of Georgia. The cool weather is a nice change and we enjoy the eternal green of the continuous forest and small farms that surround us.

We thought that Florida had lots of billboards but Georgia wins, not by number, but by their creativity in making sure we see them. The large trees that surround I-75 often make it difficult to place billboards right next to the interstate. No problem, advertisers have erected large, steel poles that extend the billboard 50 or 60 feet into the air, well above the trees. This has got to be a more expensive way to get their message out when you factor in the additional cost of the steel poles, the equipment necessary to get workers up on the structure to place the advertisement, etc. Hey, if you don't advertise, you don't sell anything. At least that explains why vasectomy reversals are so expensive. They have to pay for those billboards in Georgia and Florida.

As we approach Atlanta, the traffic and trucks increase. The signage is good so I'm able to be in the right lane as various routes take us around the worst that Atlanta has to offer. Thank goodness for small favors. The traffic around Atlanta reminds me why I don't visit more large cities on a motorcycle. It is not as bad as Toronto, the Gold Standard for traffic and trucks willing to kill you, but it has pretensions to greatness. I grit my teeth, watch my mirrors, and we're soon back into the countryside.

As we continue north, the skies are getting increasingly darker and more threatening. At some point, thinking of yesterday's downpour, we pull into a gas station and put on the raingear. Another good decision. We get back on the freeway and it starts, first just normal rain showers and then it gets serious. It comes down so hard that my faceshield fogs up and I can't see. You can't be on the freeway, in a driving rain, on two wheels, and not be able to see. I quickly raise my faceshield and wipe it with my gloved finger. Much better but I get water down my neck for my troubles. I don't like this situation so I fall in behind a truck and camper that's going slow, and in front of a motorhome that seems to be willing to protect my backside. Hand and hand, the three of us caravan through the worst of it. In a short time, which seems like a long time, the rain lets up and we're able to relax a little. Soon enough, it's business as normal and we're making good time again.

One nice thing about freeways is that you do make time and that's the whole point of today's trip. We soon pass over the border into Tennessee, second in beauty only to Pennsylvania. Tennessee shares many of the same characteristics that make Pennsylvania so attractive; it mountainous, green, and covered with trees. What's not to like? The sun that had briefly appeared now ducks back behind a cloud and up ahead the trees fade into a haze gray that looks ominous. Linda asks, "Is that fog ahead?" I answer, "I don't think so."
We ride right into the rain, heavy, but not as bad as our earlier experience. This time we pull off the road and wait it out for about twenty minutes, and then go the rest of the way through the mountains.

It's getting into the afternoon and we've put on a lot of miles today so as it approaches four O'clock, we stop at Murfreesboro for the night. We are only about thirty miles from Nashville but we'll tackle that problem tomorrow. We grab a little dinner and map out our route to be at my older sister's house in DeSoto, MO by tomorrow afternoon.

No time for pictures today. Hopefully tomorrow

Today's Route: I-75 North through Georgia into Tennessee.