Alabama - Sorry we didn't stop

Our sights of the day were the seemingly endless miles of bridges over bayou.  An engineering feat to be proud of but once you've seen one you've seen them all if you get my drift.  I think the pictures here tell that story well. 

We resolved ourselves to just put miles behind us.  We felt we might even be able to reach our friends in Silver Springs, Fl. if I kept the pedal to the metal.  Nice strong breeze up my butt so the truck did not have to work hard cruising at 65 mph.  Speed limit has dropped from 80 in Texas/Louisiana to 75 in Mississippi and Alabama.
Our official excuse for not stopping in Alabama is that we had to make up time.  Things like speed limit signs with a separate sign mounted below them stating; "Strictly Enforced" did catch our attention.  Then there were the flashing lights of County Smokies over every crest in the highway, gun drawn officers, and too many handcuffed drivers over the hood of their cars.  Even the semi trucks behaved and stayed in the right lane.  Seems that Alabama takes itself very seriously.  They have cities here that are voting to make it a law that every law abiding citizen owns a gun and has received training on how to use it.  There it is again, the sound of that banjo.

There are only a few miles of Alabama that touch the Gulf of Mexico but our reading of the exciting bites of history surrounding its capital (Montgomery) will bring us back.  The birthplace of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, etc, etc.

That plan to reach our destination was dashed by discovering that the constant bouncing over concrete slab constructed bridges and overpasses had caused the bike rack to find the next weakest link on our trailer's rear bumper.  The whole square frame was beginning to tear away from the 'I'  Beam.  Willy's welding had held up beautifully but the next weak link had begun to fail.  We reconfigured the trailer to place the bikes inside (again) and decided to take advantage of our location and get some Costco shopping done.   Ribs, ribs, ribs.  Looks like it will be hotel time tonight.

Two more hours of driving and we landed at a brand new Holiday Inn express in Perry, Florida.  We had no reservation but were still offered an upgrade to a suite and just in time for Happy Hour?  Two beers, munchies and hot chicken bites.  That was a first.  Have any of you heard of a free Happy Hour at a hotel in Canada that included the beer?  Oh, and the military rate is $77.

We sent an email to Rock Crusher Canyon asking for a spot for a week.  Fingers crossed.  That is it, you get off cheap today.