Travelogue -- Dr Bob's Blue Ridge Motorcycle Ride
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26 May 2010, 7:00 PM, Spartanburg, SC

Another 333 miles today, 706 total. At a Red Roof Inn. Pictures will come after dinner.

26 May 2010, 10:30 PM, Spartanburg, SC

I had no trouble this morning finding US-17. It was a very pleasant ride. It was two lanes. The speed limit is usually 55 mph, but down as low as 30 mph in numerous very small towns. I took it into Savannah. Leaving Savannah, I stayed on US-17 for a few miles, then got on US-321 where it started. It was a long haul into Columbia, about 130 miles, maybe more. There was very little traffic. Again, two lanes. Like US-17, the speed limit would drop as low as 30 mph in numerous small towns. After Columbia, I stayed on I-26 until I stopped for the night.

Lunch (aka Chocolate Shake) was delayed because there were no Dairy Queens or McDonalds or Wendy's, etc. on US-321 until I got to the suburbs of Columbia. The first thing I found was a McDonalds. They had wi-fi, but apparently it wasn't working, so I did not get on the Internet until I arrived at my stop for the night. But I did have my chocolate shake. That works well for my lunch. I don't get that sleepy feeling that often comes if I eat a real meal. And, it lasts until dinner time.

Now for some pictures. City Hall in Savannah caught my eye. I had to circle around to find a place to get this picture.

And this bridge caught my eye. I kept riding around until I found a good place to take the picture.

It turns out that the bridge is US-17 heading north out of Savannah. I didn't know that when I took the picture. I only learned that as I left Savannah by climbing the bridge!

Now for my picture of the South Carolina State Capitol in Columbia. The first picture below is the one I wanted to match, taken by my father in 1953. That's me in the yellow T-shirt to the right of the steps. The second picture is mine from today. Again, that's me, but not in a yellow T-shirt. This time I am wearing black. Also, I am in a different position because there are new steps that block the view, and there are trees that were not there in 1953.

Picture from 1953:

My picture today:

I couldn't exactly match the picture because today there are those extra steps with a very large pedestal at each end in front of the Capitol steps. Also, the ground goes lower today, so the perspective is different. My father's picture was taken from a higher position.

Those two pictures are the front view of the Capitol. (I was told that this is the front, although I have found information on the Internet that says the front is where the statue of Washington is!) The two pictures following are the front view straight on, and the rear view straight on. Very similar. You can tell which view my father took. Note the black thing sticking up on the roof on the right that you see only from the front side (the trees block your seeing that it is not there on the rear side in the picture I am showing here, but trust me, the black thing was not there). Note also there is a statue of Washington in the middle of the steps on the back side. That statue was there during the Civil War, so it would have been there in 1953. And, the stairs are wider on the rear, they span 6 of the 10 columns on the back, they only span 4 of the 10 columns on the front. I had to get my computer off the bike to figure this out while I was at the Capitol to make sure I was getting my picture on the proper side.

This is the front:

This is the back:

That's it for today. More tomorrow.