Atlanta - Meridian, MS

 Tom & Lucy are great hosts.  With a great breakfast I was off to find I20 heading west.  But first I had to live through 7 miles of I85 right through the middle of Atlanta.  These people are crazy.  I waited until 9:30 to get past rush hour but it was still crazy.  No body stays in there lane and they hop all around.  I did have a sigh of relief when I got to I20.  Just before entering Alabama I was run off the road by a box truck that came over into my passing lane without looking.  It had me up against the Jersey barrier and I was on the rumble strip blocked out of the passing lane.  This is all at 75 mph.  After laying on the horn he finally realized that I was there.  The temperature was up around 86 and the rest of the ride into Birmingham was smooth.

I found my brother’s house and spent 3 hours with him.  This was a wellness check since he has been very sick the past 6 months.  We went to lunch at Zaxby’s around the corner and I left around 1:30 and temperatures were in the low 90’s.  It’s the part of a trip that I don’t like…heat!  No great happenings and found a hotel in Meridian, MS.  Around 370 miles today more miles ahead.  Tomorrow I will ride smart and rise at 5 am departing by 6.  It will probably be hotter heading into Shreveport.