Joe's Retirement Travels

Hi!  from the Land of Lincoln!  and.. Charlotte's and Tom's beautiful home.  Wow!  What a neat home!  Also ..  Hi!   from their exuberant dogs :  Abby, Mr.T, Jake, and Mike. Here's  Abby and Mike helping me draft this post : Decatur - founded in 1823,  was the first home in Illinois of Abraham Lincoln.   At 21, he gave his first political speech in Decatur.    The town is named after  ..   War of 1812 naval war hero  Commodore  Stephen Decatur.   Charlotte gave me quite a tour in the morning.      Ready for a tour?   .. pssst  .. Marty was born here.    Where should I start?   Let's start with a look at interesting homes, buildings and murals.   Here's some Frank Lloyd Wright (inspired?) homes : LarryJo, on the way downtown, I think you pumped gas from one of these stations, didn't you ? The Wabas...

Truly an 'Americana' day!   Traveling through early American historical places brings childhood school history pages to life.    The day began in darkness in Marietta, Georgia.    Drove north on I-75 and changed to I-24 just before Chattanooga, Tennessee.    Stopped at the Welcome Center.   Had the look of a Tennessee mountain home inside : Drove at little more on I-24 before venturing on Hwy.41.    Had breakfast with Southern-sounding folks at the Depot Cafe in Monteagle, Tenn.     Continued my adventures on Hwy.41 through steep hills and fall foliage dropping down into some beautiful ranch country with lots of cattle and horses.   It appears that every house, whether 1-story or more, has columns in front of the house. stock - arch. design photo Drove through Manchester, Tenn.   Saw a sign for Old Stone Fort.   Had to see what this is. Drove into the site. Walked ...

13-days of Captiva and 16-days on the road seeing relatives and friends rejuvenated me!   Now I needed another road trip adventure!   An early morning departure allowed me to cover about 300-miles before I ventured on to 200-miles of back roads.  I started on I-75 then took off on Hwy.129.   What a lucky decision.     Before I reached the Georgia border on 129,   I crossed over the Suwanee River, made famous in Stephen Foster's song :           (it's Florida's State Song) Then I crossed the border after going through an interesting Florida small town, Jasper. Most of Hwy.129 lies in the upper coastal plain, a very productive agricultural area.   Many pine forests also.   Many log trucks on the road .. thought I was in Oregon.    Pecan trees, lots and lots of cotton fields.    I think the cotton was in mid-harvest.   Some fields had large r...