Getting in the Groove…from GA to MS

Today marked the first true day of our Merry Texas Honeymoon Ramble!

For those of you who are just joining us, John and I married back in September.  Due to pressing work projects, we deferred our honeymoon to the holidays, when we would have enough time to really RAMBLE!

John hasn't been to Texas, and well, I miss Austin really badly, so we've set our eyes on the Lone Start State.  Of course, as with any great road trip, the journey IS the destination…

Preface aside, here's what transpired on Day 1 of the Merry Texas Honeymoon Ramble.

10:00 AM - Left Grandma Evelyn's place in Gainesville, aiming for a westernly route across GA to Alabama.  Neither of us had been to Rome, GA, so we headed there first.

Looking for a good place to eat on a Sunday morning in northwest GA is a challenge.  We settled for mediocre fare at Shane's Rib Shack, Rome GA. From the corporate website, we learned, "What started in a tiny restaurant outside Atlanta in McDonough, Georgia has grown to become the fastest growing BBQ restaurant concept in the nation."

It was really quite underwhelming, but we were hungry and hadn't planned ahead on meals.

Despite disappointment in lunch, Rome GA was a delight to drive through.  It has a really large downtown, with quite a bit of what looks to be resurgent vibrancy.  Just across the river was the most amazing, quite literally breath-taking, cemetery.  Myrtle Hill Cemetery, with its terraced plots, towers over the city.  Apparently it has quite a history, too, as this was once in the heart of Cherokee territory.

From Rome, we continued to head westward, leaving GA and entering into Alabama.  Along the way, we saw a water treatment plant that was quite striking.  We then entered the town of Cullman, AL.  It was a strange experience, as what should have been the historic district had many barren lots.  It reminded us of Waveland, MS, where Hurricane Katrina made landfall.  There was evidence that there had been buildings, but they were no longer.  A quick Google search revealed this was also due to natural disaster…a tornado which struck in 2011. 

It had been a gray sky for us all day, and as we continued westward, puzzling over a large, official but weathered sign, "Road Closed -- Two Miles"  We continued, believing the sign must be in error, though unbeknownst to us, we had missed a turn a few miles back.  Fortunately we heeded a vitally important sign which read, "Road Closed -- Under Water" in time to turn ourselves around without having to back up too far (a challenge when hauling a trailer).  It seems at some point, the road was flooded out with the creation of a lake.

By the time we arrived at Lake Lowndes State Park on the border of AL and MS, we had been on the road for about 8 hours, traveling 312 miles.  The campsite was really great, as we discovered the next morning when we awoke to the sunrise on the lake.