Hardest Working Men in Showbiz & Route 1 Travel Meet

Day 3 12/21/2008
6:30pm

Budget Inn, just off of Route 1
Augusta GA.

Not a super eventful day. But before I begin writing about it, I want to fill you in on a little something that happened shortly after signing off last night.

Despite it being NC, the temperatures still dipped down into the 30's at night. There was an old timey looking heater installed in the room. It made very loud, grumbling noises when turned on, but was in working condition and did what it needed to do. As I mentioned yesterday, the area was extemely quiet, so when the room would get sufficiently warm, and the heater automatically turned off, there was a very sudden difference in the volume of the surroundings. It was on at the moment I was dosing off, and as it turned off, I heard a mans voice speaking in a loud and dramatic fashion somewhere very close to my door. If I was to compare his voice to someone famous, to give you an idea of what he sounded like, I'd have to go with Louis Farakhan. I couldn't make out all the words he was saying, but I could tell he was praying and that there were a couple of other people with him that occasionaly chimed in. Again, I don't remember everything he said, but I heard the word "Lord" repeated serveral times, with a final "...so goodbye Lord, and have GOOD night. Amen." It sounded like there were a couple of others with him. I tried to get a glimpse by peeking out the window & through the peephole, but couldn't see them. I have to say that something about being stuck in the middle of nowhere, and hearing people praying like that scared the living shit out of me. Woke up this morning at 6am to the sound of rain outside.

I left the motel at around 6:45 when I saw the first hint of light. More rural towns & strip malls. It rained very hard until about 10.










































Wanted to see Raleigh, and thought I was going to when I saw a sign saying I was entering the city, but there was nothing but strip malls, and before I knew it, it was gone. Route 1 becomes a 65mph highway for a good chunk of NC, so my drive through it was pretty quick and uneventful.

I finally saw the sun come out for the first time on the trip. I also saw a deer. I went to take its picture, but it ran back into the trees.

Coffee is a much tougher commodity to come by in the south. I saw my first Dunkin Donuts in a while in Raleigh, and went through the drive through.
"Medium Black Coffee please"
"Did you say large regular with cream and sugar?"
"Nope. Medium..Black...Please"
"OK, thank you for your order, please drive up to the first window."

I paid, grabbed my purchase, and drove away. The coffee had cream & sugar. No other Dunkin for a long time. I should have gone to a McDonalds, their coffee isn't bad. Waited too long and was in rural South Carolina with not a business in sight. I finally got another one at an Exxon station, along with two cartons of cigarettes to bring home. $29 for a carton of Marlboro! That is unheard of in the Northeast. The Exxon coffee tasted like heated stale water with a drop of instant powder and food coloring to make it look dark. I drank it, and saw a Dunkin Donuts shortly after.
















Another observation about the south. I noticed this a couple of times yesterday, and wasn't going to write about it because I thought it was an anomaly. Then I saw it 2-3 more times today, and am confused. Why are there unleashed dogs running in the middle of busy sreets? Up north, we have cats doing this, and they do get hit here and there. Tragic, but shit happens. However, I've never seen a dog just running up the middle of a busy street without a human looking out for its intersts. I even saw a couple of dead dogs lying on the side of the road. Very strange.












































So on I drove, and came to Columbia SC, where there was a Starbucks that allowed me to check a few things on the internet and post yesterday's entry. I walked around to take a couple of photos and saw a guy with Red Sox hat. I said "Go Sox!", in solidarity. He ignored me, the jackass, but his lady gave me a smile. I remember playing some club here years ago, walking outside, seeing the Route 1 sign, and pointing out to someone I was with that this is the same Route 1 that passes Boston's Tobin Bridge. Doing this drive has been on my mind for a long time.













































The pit stop took about 45 minutes. It was now 3:30. The next city was Augusta about 90 miles away. I went on the weather.com and checked what time sundown was in that city. 5:25. Perfect. Just enough to get me there in time.
















At the end of the bridge crossing the Savannah River, the SC-GA border, I saw another trusty Budget Inn. I am there now. My residence for the evening. At the check-in counter I grabbed one of those little tourist booklets, and got some good news. This was James Brown's home town! There is even a statue of him here! I'm going to walk around, check out the statue, and make an attempt at taking decent night photos using the advice my friend posted after Baltimore's entry. If that doesn't work, I'll return tomorrow morning, and take one more. In any case, myabe I'll log in later and report on how the night went. If not, I'll write about it tomorrow.
















Tunes: (although I spent much of the day on ESPN radio, checking football scores)
George Gershwin peformed by Leonard Bernstein's Orchestra - An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue
The Melvins - Houdini
Little Richard - The Essential Little Richard
Motorhead - 1916
The Beatles - Past Masters Vol.1
Bob Dylan - Bringing it All Back Home

11:00pm
Things worked out well. It turns out my motel is right in downtown Augusta. I paid $40 for it, and probably could have gotten one of the posh places close by for 50 or 60. There's no need for that though. I walked outside to Broad Street, which I take to be Augusta's main street. Walked up a few blocks, took a couple of pictures, and saw the James Brown statue.


























































Seems like a cool city. There are lots of lights, little shops, and the streets are clean. Oddly, very few people around, but I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that it's Sunday in Georgia, and about 35 Farenheit outside. Frigid for these parts. I saw a couple, and asked if there was a sports bar around for me to get a bite to eat at. They pointed back to the only place they said was open on Sunday. It was less than a block away from the motel.

The place was well lit. There were pool tables in the back, and lots of TVs all tuned in to the Giants-Panthers game. The panters had an early lead. There were both young & old people there, mostly black. Two girls bartending. I ordered a cheesburger and a beer, grabbed one of the tall round tables, and had a smoke. Its been a long time since I could do that at a bar. In the north, the government has no problem telling folks how to run their businesses. The burger was good. When I finished, a man with an 'I Love Jesus' hat came up, asked if I was done, and took away the plate. I got another beer. Three girls in their twenties walked in and sat on the table next to mine. One walked up twice and asked for a light, even though her two friends already had their cigarettes lit. She wasn't bad looking, but trashy. I didn't feel like starting a conversation. I ordered another beer, finished it, and left at halftime. Back in the room now, game is tied at 28, going to overtime.

If all goes to plan, I'll see you in Florida tomorrow!