This entry was posted on 5/24/2008 8:14 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
Steve at the western end of Cairo, Georgia, on US 84/GA 38 eastbound (Photo by Mary Williams)Tonight, I'm coming to you from Tallahassee, where Mary and I are staying at her sister Becky and brother-in-law Mike's place just outside of town.
Just after 9 this morning, we got packed and set out on what I dub "The Great Georgia-Florida Roadtrip of 2008", where Mary and I are boldly going where Mary and/or I have never been before (with apologies to Star Trek).
Here's how it went today...
From Atlanta, we drove down (or, should I say I did the driving while Mary did the "chillin'") I-85 and I-185 to Columbus.
Since our last visit to Columbus a couple of years ago, I noticed that GDOT is building a "flyover" ramp from southbound Victory Drive/Corridor Z (US 27/280/GA 1/520) to I-185 northbound to replace part of the existing aging cloverleaf interchange at I-185's southern end near Fort Benning.
From there, we proceeded southbound on Victory Drive/Corridor Z and then down US 27/GA 1 at the split just below Cusseta. (TIP: Be aware that you have to turn right on US 27/GA 1 at the split. Otherwise, you will barrel right down US 280/GA 520 toward Albany. I almost missed it as I was toolin' down the road.)
At least half of US 27/GA 1 between Columbus and Bainbridge has been widened to a 4-lane divided highway, with wide Interstate-style grassy medians and a few hard shoulders. The section through Fort Benning is partially access-controlled with some interchanges and overpasses. Going through Chattahoochee and Stewart Counties (the first 2 newly "clinched" Georgia counties), US 27/GA 1 is mostly 65 MPH... not to mention that we seemed to be almost literally the only vehicle on that stretch of road for miles and could really haul a**!!!
At the intersection of US 27/GA 1 and GA 37 in Clay County (another newly "clinched" county), I found this really old button-copy sign (which I had to take a picture of). "Smilin' John" Krakoff, this one's for you, dude...
Before proceeding further down 27, I took a quick detour on GA 37 eastbound in order to "froggie" Calhoun County.
South of Blakely in Early County (the next newly "clinched" county), GDOT is in the process of turning 27 into a 4-lane divided highway, encountering the next section of 4-lane just before reaching Miller County (also newly "clinched" BTW).
From Colquitt, we took GA 45 toward Iron City in order to "clinch" Seminole County. From GA 45's southern end in Iron City, we took US 84/GA 38 into Bainbridge, "clinching" Decatur County, and then got on the Bainbridge By-Pass freeway at US 27/GA 1 southbound. (See
Alex Nitzman's US 84 page on AARoads's "Southeast Roads" for details on this particular stretch.) BTW, I filmed the by-pass for a future episode of "ROADGEEK-CAM!!!" and I'll get it edited and produced once we get back to GRG HQ.
From the eastern end of the by-pass, we continued on 84 and "clinched" Grady County as we headed toward Cairo. From Cairo, we headed south on GA 111 through Cairo's downtown district and on through Reno and Calvary, picking up US 27 in Florida and "clinching" Gadsden and Leon Counties as we headed toward Tallahassee.
From Becky and Mike's, the 4 of us went down to
Panacea for some really killer seafood at a place called The Coastal Restaurant. Since it was in Wakulla County (which I wanted to "clinch"), I volunteered to do the driving. In fact, I even took advantage of the drive to go across Ochlocknee Bay on US 98 and "froggie" Franklin County before turning back around and having dinner.
In summary, here's the list of newly "clinched" counties...
GEORGIA: Chattahoochee, Stewart, Randolph, Clay, Calhoun ("froggied" via GA 37), Early, Miller, Seminole, Decatur, and Grady.
FLORIDA: Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, and Franklin.
Tomorrow, Mary and I will be making our way down the Gulf coast to Tarpon Springs and Weeki Watchee, and "clinching" several more Florida counties in the process.
A special "thank you" to Becky and Mike for a wonderful dinner, for letting me drive them to dinner, and for letting me use their PC to post this blog to y'all.
If I have access to a business center at the next stop on our week-long vacation, then I'll post an update. Otherwise, I'll let y'all know after we get back to GRG HQ.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading, have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend, and please come back again.
P.S. The Dodge Magnum in the background of the button-copy picture is a rental we got. It's a long story which I'll have to tell y'all at a later date. 
