Nov 27 - We are now in Georgia, in a very nice r.v. park south of Athens GA. Funny, when you look at the map, or do a mileage calculation, it seems like driving across S. Carolina and into Georgia should be a nice day's drive. Turned out to be 8 hours on the road, meaning we pulled in to our site in the pitch black. Not the best way to set up, but with a little blasphemy shared with the surrounding woods, we were soon in business, settled in for the evening.

Probably if we'd taken interstate highways all the way, it might have been a couple of hours shorter, although more miles. We ended up on route 378 most of the way, which was great, in good condition, and we were able to do our usual speed most of the time. But once we hit Columbia, we lost a lot of time. Didn't realize that city is so damned big, and choked with post-Thanksgiving Day folks getting home or preparing to get back to the grind.

Anyway, we are in a very nice spot, Pinelake Campground, complete with two smallish lakes and a nice trail. After an exploratory walk, we drove into Athens, stopping off at the State Botanical Gardens on the way in. Closed! Monday! But there were a lot of trails, so we did about 4 miles through the woods, which was great, as the sun was shining, and the temp was around 60. Perfect hiking weather.

After that we went into the city, and did a walk around the center of town. It is quite nice, with the University of Georgia central to the core of the city. They have a beautiful campus, probably close to 50,000 students, and are in the hunt for the SEC Football Championship. They have to beat Auburn to earn a bowl spot. Football is so huge here in the south, like horse racing in Hong Kong. The campus is the kind of ideal design you visualize for a university. Almost made me wish I were starting over, with a little different attitude than in my time at U. of Alberta. Oh well. Can't go back!!

 I was surprised when we were in the Visitors Center, when I mentioned we had a great Grey Cup game in Canada yesterday. The young lady I was chatting with said, "Yes, I saw it. Really rough!" Who'd have guessed they'd show the game down here. We didn't , but thanks to Dave MacKay, we had minute to minute updates for the last part of the game. Quite a show!
Bill Boultbee will still be crowing!!

We dedicate this blog to our good friend, Sandy Taylor, who is dealing with a serious medical condition. Knowing her fighting spirit, we are confident she will come out on top. Our hearts are there with you, Sandy.

All for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Gail facing off with the Georgia Bulldog. She wins!!