Westward Ho!

Yes, we are on our way west today, only not very far west yet. It is 1034 miles to Dallas by the route we chose and we will take it in stages. If all goes well we should be in Greenville, TX on Sunday.

We drove through fog this morning until about 10:30 AM. We are traveling secondary roads from Savannah to Waycross, GA. Waycross is where some of my lost relatives lived. We are looking for their headstones in the local cemetery.

A lot of what our scenery was today.

Moss covered oak tree.

Our stop for the day was at Laura S Walker St Park. What a jewel! Not a lot of campsites but oh so nice. We are parked on the lake front with the lake at our back.

There be alligators here.

The weather has improved also. Temps in the low 70's today.

After lunch we drove to Okefenokee Swamp. The first thing we saw was a black alligator sunning itself. A short distance away was this big fellow whose weight is estimated to be 1000 lbs. His daddy weighed 1400 lbs.

Clyda pointing to big alligator.

From the swamp we drove into Waycross, found the cemetery but couldn't find the plot as some of the markers were missing. We eventually went back to the maintenance office and asked for help. The guy asked me what names I was looking for and I told him. He said “follow me” and jumped in his truck. We followed and he drove to a plot some distance from where we were looking, got out and there were the headstones I was looking for. I asked him how he knew where to look and he said “31 years of experience”.

Anyway, I took photos of the 5 headstones. I was only expecting 4 but I did recognize who the 5^th one was so that was a bonus. A great day!

We drove around town as Waycross was a railroad cross point and repair yards in bygone days. I did look for 2 houses my relatives lived in but both have been replaced with other buildings. Some of my relatives worked in the repair yards on Pullman Cars. You gotta love railroads to live here as trains come from all directions and whistle are sounding all the time.

Train depot.

 

 

To clear up something I was asked about. Spanish moss is neither Spanish nor moss. It is an air plant that survives on moisture in the air and is related to pineapple. It also harbors a mean little bug which causes itching and a rash. Early settlers stuffed their mattress' with this moss from which came the rhyme "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite". Henry Ford used the moss as stuffing in his early Model "T's". Hence the saying "Just itchin to buy a Ford". You're trivia for the day.