Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn

We are out of the funk of yesterday and the curtain has opened to some sweet weather and southern hospitality – along with the strangeness that is the south. Now, as Rhett Butler said “…Ahh just don’t give a damn.”

This is my Wednesday post and I took off early (7:45 am) from Jacksonville after faintly saying good by to my airbnb “non-hostess” who could barely care I was there. It was like dropping into a reality show where the kids were screaming and mom was laying around like Rosanne. I slept fine. Caution: Airbnb’s may vary. Consult your reviews.

Anyway, at 53 degrees and clear and bright it was great starting conditions. After a few miles of local roads I set upon Rt 17 which is the old coastal highway I think. Its path is a bit more inland but goes north to south and might have been there before Rt 95 stole all the attention.

It is a pretty road going through northern Florida marshes and pine forests before turning into Georgia. Mostly its a single lane highway with at least a 4 foot shoulder so there was ample room for bikes. But as usual blazingly fast 18 wheelers and dump trucks still shake the s___ out of you occasionally.

As anyone who has biked the NJ pine barrens knows, long straight routes can be tough mentally as they seem to go on and on forever. Thank God there were a few really small towns scattered between the 70 or so miles I covered. Breakfast at Steffen’s in Kingsland did not disappoint.

 

But the long threatening looking bridge called the Sydney Lanier Bridge was an awesome challenge – right at the end too!

 

All this landed me in the most beautiful, forgotten southern town – Brunswick, GA. Its history must parallel Savannah because its old, sleepy, excentric, and similar looking and laid out as Savannah. Moss hanging everywhere, old gloriously big mansions, small squares and parks and areas beautifully restored and others broken down and poor.

 

What a place I’m in! An old genuine Victorian home with antiques and a feel of two centuries ago. The home is beautifully restored inside and modernized to some extent. Outside needs some work but its sort of the way things are here in this area.

You look outside the house and see the “Love Oak” a centuries old huge oak tree with cypress moss hanging all over it. It’s a town of contrasts and great old beauty. I;m in an airbnb private bedroom with a grand old 4 poster bed for the ridiculous price of $45 per night totalling $62 with charges.

 

By far my favorite place with comfort, convenience, funk and lots of history in the area. There is a palpable feeling of Gone With the Wind here and its worth every minute of my short stay. Tomorrow we roll on to Savannah! Like General Sherman!