Driving to Macon (rhymes with bacon)

March 12: We got a lot of puzzled looks when we told people we were off to May-Con, until we learned that it rhymes with bacon (of course).

Anyways, for us it was quite a long haul – 300 miles in one day.  Chuck did most of the driving, but I did a chunk in the middle.

This is the first time I have driven the RV on the trip, and the first time I drove while towing the car.  Since I drove only on the highway, I cannot comment on what it is like to drive at lower speeds or to maneuver.  At highway speeds, it is necessary to really concentrate.  Firstly, every bump and grade in the road can be felt – especially where the road is banked for curves.  Secondly, the air pressure change when passed by a truck actually shoves the RV to the side.   Because of these two aspects, it is necessary to constantly move the steering wheel to stay in the lane.  As well, we like to stay in the rightmost lane so that the trucks are passing only on one side (and pushing us off the road, rather tha

As well, it can be difficult to determine exactly where the RV is in the lane.  To handle this, I used the 2 side mirrors, which give views of the rear wheels.  However,  to see out of these mirrors, it is necessary to continually glance to the side, which means that you are always moving your eyes or your head from center to the sides.

In short, there is a real physical effort in driving an RV and after an hour and a half, I was not only mentally, but also physically, tired.

Whenever we drive, Chuck uses an app to find a service station where we can get gas and lunch.  This time, he picked a station that we reached around 2 p.m.  When we pulled off the highway, we found that the entrance to the station was under repair, necessitating a number of tight turns.  When we negotiated that, we found ourselves 2nd in line for the only pump where the RV fit.  (A diesel RV can use the truck filling stations, which obviously are bigger.  Since we use gas, we need a pump that has enough room for us to maneuver in and out, and with a roof that is higher than the RV.)

All would have been well, but when the car finished fueling, a woman got out of the front passenger seat and retrieved a very small baby from the back.  She then proceeded to nurse, which took at least half an hour.  There were lots of parking spaces just a few feet from the car, but apparently it never occurred to them to pull up before beginning nursing.  Sigh … Then, when we did finally fuel up, it turned out that there was no way to get from the pumps to the truck parking (sigh again).  So, we continued to our campsite.

We are camping at a county park at Lake Tobesofkee (gotta love the name).  We have a nice view of the lake and full hook-up, just a couple of miles from downtown Macon.

Around the park, the woods are purple with invasive wisteria.  The trees are just beginning to bud out, but the wisteria is already heavy with masses of purple blooms.  It is very pretty – but we saw during our sabbatical in NC how the massive vines can bring down entire stands of trees with their weight.  I was a bit surprised that the park butterfly garden has an arbor covered with wisteria – at least it grows well here!

Speaking of invasive plants, another pretty invasive here is cat’s claw.  Like the wisteria, it is already in bloom. It does not seem to be quite as devastating however, as the vines are thin.

With a huge blizzard hitting the northeast, we are not in a great hurry to move from Macon – despite very cold weather here.  At least it is still above freezing.