Since leaving Phoenix, I have spent 99% of my time rolling down on the interstate.  Well, when not doing this:   While I'd much prefer to be wicking it up on a twisty side road, that's not exactly possible when traveling through the middle section of the United States.  Yesterday after leaving Dallas I blazed through the rest of the Lone Star State, through Louisiana, Mississippi, and into Alabama, which is where I took a spontaneous detour from I-20 East to go hunt down a covered bridge (report: HERE.  This indeed provided a respite from the highway blasting, but it also fueled what my friends like to call my “detour-itis”.   Last night while it poured rain outside my hotel in Tuscaloosa, AL, I consulted various mapping software inside my room to see if I could find another alternative route that would fit in my schedule, which included arriving by dinner time in Stone Mountain, GA.  Since I'd need to go through the center of Atlanta to arrive my destination, I wasn't too excited about arriving in the thick of rush hour evening commute.  Given the miles I needed to cover and the timing of traffic, I only had a small window to, well, just roam (of course, one of my favorite things to do!).    The biggest factor was undoubtedly the weather (I perused maps while a Tornado Watch was in effect for the Tuscaloosa area last night!).  The forecast for today was “Strong Scattered Thunderstorms”, which to me translates into “It could rain hard somewhere at some point but we don't really know where, so good luck out there”.    I decided I would make a final decision when I woke up this morning and whether I'd stay on I-20 East and ride straight to Stone Mountain, GA or perhaps detour along the way.   Thank goodness for technology!  If I had made a decision this morning based on the conditions outside my hotel room window I would have hit the interstate and ridden “point to point” today since it was drizzling rain and very cloudy.  However, the weather radar showed the storm was very scattered (um, just like they forecasted), but it seemed like the pockets were actually more along the interstate if not slightly north of it.  That was all I needed to see and off I went.  By the time I had the bike packed and started to head south out of Tuscaloosa on US-82 the rain stopped and the sun started to peak out from the clouds.  The smell of fresh rain and wet trees was refreshing indeed for this winter-time desert dweller!    My “plan” was to find roads that peaked my interest for one reason or another while generally heading east (yeah, I know, but this is how someone with detour-itis defines “plan”).  So, I indeed zigged, zagged, and when a squiggly line would show up on my GPS screen I'd follow it.  Ah, what a relief from the high speed humdrum interstate.... These photos may not seem like much to anyone else, but after 1,600 miles of interstate riding through the brown and tree-less desert Southwest, I definitely have an appreciation for them!: Interstate travel is predictable when it comes to signage - they all generally relate to gas, food, or accommodations.  Such is not the case on backwoods roads and especially while in the South!  I passed a sign today in front of a church in the middle of nowhere.  I read the sign as I rolled by it, but it took me several miles trying to convince myself I had read the sign incorrectly or maybe even a letter (or two or ten) had fallen off the sign since it couldn't possibly say what my brain was trying to process.  So, I turned my motorcycle around and went back to the church.  After sitting in front of the sign completely dumbfounded for several minutes, I thankfully remembered to take out my camera and take a photo of it so I could prove what was before my eyes.  I'm not sure this sign could be found ANYWHERE else on the planet - I know I've never, ever seen anything like it in the bazillion of miles I've covered in my life:  See what you miss when you take the fast road (interstate)?!    One rural town I went through today had the largest stop signs I'd ever seen, leaving me to wonder if most of the residents were visually impaired or something since I'd never seen such big signs on such small streets!:   I continued on the Alabama backroads and weaved through a plethora of ultra-rural towns.  I have to say that based on the utterly blank and jaw-dropped expressions from folks as I rode by them, many of who were sitting on their front porches, that it'd be safe to assume they don't see very many fully-gear motorcyclists on fully-loaded motorcycles!    You would have thought these people were looking at an alien riding a ten legged zebra as I rolled by them!   At one particular gas station/beer/fish bait store (hard to tell which was more popular), a beefy man wearing only overalls (no shirt underneath) said as he walked passed me and my V-Strom motorcycle: “Ain't you hot in all 'em clothes? I know I'd be sweatin' like a prostitute in church”!  I watched him get into a pickup truck that had a sticker on the bumper that read: “Wife and dog are missing. Reward for dog”.    I no sooner collected myself from trying to keep from laughing hysterically when another man walked by and made some comment about the luggage on my bike.  I asked him to repeat what he said but even after a second try I still couldn't extract coherent words from his THICK Southern accent... and I'm saying this as a Southener!    (I was born and raised in Tennessee and I am constantly asked “Where are you from?” when people hear my accent.  Hey, you can take a girl out of the South, but not the South out of the girl!).  My second encounter with a slurpy thick Southern accent came when I stopped at a Subway (which I was shocked to see in the first place in such a rural area).  No exaggeration, I greatly struggled to understand what the lady behind the counter was asking me about my sandwich.  She might as well been speaking an entirely different language!    I ended up just pointing to what I wanted on my sandwich.  I normally eat outside since I prefer fresh air over synthetic heating/cooling (um, I ride a motorcycle) but I ate my sandwich inside just so I could listen to other customers who came in the store interact with the lady.  Well, they didn't have a problem communicating with her, and I couldn't understand any of 'em!   I finally made my way back to I-20 near the Alabama-Georgia state line and headed for Stone Mountain, GA, where I'll be CouchSurfing again tonight.  (If you're a bit confused you missed my explanation of Couch Surfing at the end of Friday's report, which can be found: HERE).  Thankfully, I did indeed time my arrival correctly to avoid the Atlanta area post-work traffic jam.  I was able to blitz through with no issues to the east side of Atlanta and arrive Stone Mountain as scheduled.  Once again I'm finding this Couch-Surfing experience to be one of the most memorable experiences of my journey.  I have spent a lovely evening meeting and talking with Sarah, David, and John, as well enjoying a homecooked meal...: ...as well as homecooked pie! (Russ & Ron stop drooling!):    For the geographically challenged, here's a map reflecting my Tuscaloosa, AL to Stone Mountain, GA route today: End of day GPS: AGirl  Copyright © 2006-2012, All Rights Reserved.