We stayed with Lorraine and Tony, Bunk a Biker hosts, on the first night of our trip and arranged to return to them for our last night.

The humidity at the campground in Memphis was very high so our riding gear and some of our clothes were still damp. Beth did not sleep well, either, which made a very challenging day for her. The heat and humidity were exhausting. So, wanting to take advantage of the morning’s cooler weather, we skipped breakfast and got on the road early since we had 475 miles to cover to get to their house.

About an hour into the ride, we stopped for breakfast at McDonald’s.

The dining room at this store was being remodeled and was closed, but the manager came outside and took our order. He was careful to make sure we had everything we needed.

Lunch was at a rest area picnic table.

We pushed through the heat to our destination. There was a big backup on the northbound side of I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery, but no problems on our side.

As we got closer to the Florida border on US-231, I noticed a Huey helicopter on display as we passed through a town. I thought to myself, “That’s just like the one in the Alabama welcome center. I’ve taken a picture of that helicopter before as it was a photo stop on one of my Iron Butt rides.

When we rode by the welcome center I could see the pedestal was still there, but the plane was not. I guess they moved it to a “better” spot.

You can read about that Iron Butt ride starting with this post. Just Plane Crazy

We pushed through and got to Marianna before dinner time. Loraine fixed a simple dinner and a hearty breakfast for us. We had lots of great conversation as well.

Tomorrow we will be home by the end of the day. I hope we don’t get hit by rain on US-19. It often rains on us between Tallahassee and Crystal River.