From Atlanta to Tupelo

I reined frisky "GT" onto I-20 and headed her west through downtown Atlanta. She was loaded with high octane booster and full of vim and vigor and ready to kick up her heels. And Since we were traveling west, the afternoon sun required that we put on our sunglasses.

I-20 through Atlanta and on to the Georgia-Alabama line is a familiar trail to us and as we rode west and observed the Atlanta Skyline, we recalled some fond as well as frustrating experiences across the years in downtown Atlanta. When we saw the gold dome of the Georgia Capitol, I remembered serving there on two occasions one as Chaplain of the Day for the House of Representatives and another as the Chaplain of the Day for the Georgia Senate. I will always hark back to the times I preached at the Georgia Capitol.

In the sprawling Atlanta metropolitan area, I-20 expands to six, then eight, then ten, then to an ultimate expansion of 16 lanes. The Skyline of Atlanta is nothing short of spectacular. Views from I-20 include the skyscrapers and Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves.

As we passed Six Flags Over Georgia, we remembered the good times out there in years gone by. I recalled the day (we were a lot younger then) that I rode every everything out there except the Scream Machine.

Then as we left Atlanta behind us I-20 became soon a 4-lane road: 2 lanes east and 2 lanes west. We remembered that we had vacationed in these hills in Villa Rica several years ago and went on some great walking trails through old Civil War battlegrounds.

Across the state line into Alabama, I-20 took a turn for the worse. In places, the road was rough. I-20 was reminiscent of the old washboard roads that I grew up on in Toombs County, Georgia (someone later said it was like jumping on a pogo stick). B. J. and I have traveled in a lot of states and I truly believe that Georgia has the best roads of any.

Soon we saw a sign that read "Talladega Superspeedway" and I remember having watched some exciting races there on television. We were excited as we drove past the huge raceway.

The sun had dropped to a point where it had lined up directly in my eyes. Even the sunglasses were falling short of keeping the sun from nearly blinding me. Well, the bright sun plus the fact that were getting tired (it had been a long time since 5:00am), urged us to begin looking for a place to flop for the night and chow down on the leftovers we had boxed up at the Blue Ribbon Grill.

Spotting a nice-looking motel near an exit ramp, we slowed GT down and reined her up to the office entrance. In no time, we were checked in to a cozy room in Moody, Ala. twenty miles east of Birmingham. It felt good to lay our bones to rest from a long and tiresome but rewarding Easter Sunday.

We were up early the next morning. We grubbed up the free continental breakfast, loaded our rags into GT's saddlebags, checked out and hit the road west with the morning sun behind us. A few miles west of Birmingham, we exited I-20 and got on U. S. Highway 78 toward Mississippi.

Compared to I-20, U. S. Highway 78 is a striking contrast. The highway is presently being upgraded to become Interstate 22. It is a super highway with awesome scenery. B. J. and I could hardly believe that such a startling difference could happen in just a few miles. GT's shoes and joints had been taking a real beating as were our joints. We all were super proud to get on a smooth road. The road was great and the traffic light so I gave GT her head a little. We wanted to spend some time at the Elvis Presley Memorial in Tupelo.

Crossing the state line into Mississippi, we pulled into the hitching rail at a welcome center to take a break and get directions to the Elvis Presley Memorial. She cordially gave us information along with some brochures and soon we were on our way to the birthplace of one of America's legendary entertainers, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

Next Week: the birthplace of a king.