Day 28: Travel Day
Welcome
Yesterday we drove from Birmingham, Alabama, to Live Oak, Florida.
Our day began in Saturn’s green room, everyone emerging from their bunks into a scene that bore the evidence of a night of heavy snacking. My top priority for the morning was to play one of the Need for Speed games on a vintage console so after getting ready I headed downstairs to the venue café, grabbing a coffee and a small breakfast and settling in front of the Playstation 2. I booted up EA’s 2003 title Need for Speed Underground and nibbled at my special scone that incorporated crumbled Conecuh Sausage, white cheddar, and chives, and was served with a pepper jelly.
Before we could leave Birmingham there was somewhere I wanted to stop. I had received a tip-off about a great Ibanez bass at one of the local music shops and as it happened there was an empty spot in my ENKI double electric bass flight case. For those with an interest in Japanese instruments manufactured in the 1970s the bass I was wanted to try was an Ibanez copy of a Rickenbacker, built during a period nicknamed the ‘lawsuit era’ where this Japanese company built extremely high-quality copies of guitars and basses from American companies like Fender, Gibson, Martin, and of course Rickenbacker. For those that are uninterested in these instruments, I was trying out a cool looking bass that would have paired nicely with my other cool bass.
The Rickenbez played beautifully. Nicely balanced, good action, rich and deep tone, and a handsome Fireglo finish. Jon said that it worked well with the outfit I was wearing. There was another bass I wanted to try, though, and this was the bass I ended up walking out with. The headstock of the T-40 was as spikey as the Peavey logo that adorned it and the two humbucking pickups with their chromed covers looked like they meant business. As soon as I played it, I felt at home on this instrument, and although I was extremely over-caffeinated and stressed about spending so much money, my bandmates gave me the support I needed, and the T-40 joined the Blazer in my now extremely heavy flight case.
The fastest route to our destination in Florida was not the most direct, and initially we headed east on Interstate 20 towards Atlanta. At the Alabama/Georgia state line this highway becomes the Tom Murphy Freeway, and we took this right to downtown Atlanta until hooking onto I-75 which heads south-southeast towards the Florida Peninsula. The landscape was not overly changing throughout our afternoon of driving. For the most part the Interstate retained its possession of a mighty four lanes in each direction, carved unsympathetically through heavily forested landscapes, and the only way to mark the passing of time and distance was through the regular appearance of the towering flagpoles that stand in front of the many chain stores of Recreational Vehicle supplier Camping World.
Scenes from on the road.
At one point we made a rest stop at a Buc-ees. Try to imagine a petrol station that has 100 pumps, is the size of a supermarket, and sells the sort of things that you would normally have to visit a BBQ joint, a liquor store, a K-mart, and a Bunnings to have covered. I was sorely tempted by the huge charcoal pit-grills that stood next to the entrance, and by the selection of pool toys that are in the foyer, but once I got inside and began wandering the aisles the pressure became real. I walked out with a bagful of food I didn’t want, and although it was a defeat, I was grateful to have not acquired any extra clothing or outdoor equipment.
We arrived at Live Oak as the town was being basked in the light of a spectacular sunset, with cascading colours ranging from blood orange, to fuscia, to, cornflower blue. This was a lovely backdrop to the dinner spot we found, a taco truck standing out the front of a solitary home, a few miles out of the town on a quiet stretch of highway. A very small dog came out to greet us as we pulled in and provided plenty of entertainment over the next twenty minutes while we waited for our food.
Taco Milan.
Kayleen completed her massive day of driving just after 9pm, pulling us into the carpark of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Live Oak, an IHG Hotel, where we would enjoy a night off before this final stint of tour.
Here are Tristan’s video highlights from the day.