Confederate Air Force Pad I

Madison is seen here at the historic site where the Confederate Army began its now famous rocket program, commissioned by Jefferson "V-8" Davis.  He was said to have first devised a three-stage rocket launch concept, dreamed up one day while studying cotton gathering equipment at his Southern plantation.  Cordelle, Georgia, would be the very beginnings of the US Space Program, sending its first astronauts Buford "Southern Star" Jackson and Virgil Lee Merrimac up to an altitude of approximately 99 feet.  The South will rise again indeed!  Though stopped by General Sherman in 1864, the Confederate Space Program will endure as the start of mankind's march towards the stars, forever linking the Confederate States of America with the noble calling of Space Exploration.  And this monument in Cordelle (tastefully placed right next to the Krystal's) is a testament to that higher calling.  

On our way south, we made what has now become our typical stop in Cordelle for Chick-Fil-A, and a fill-up on the gas tank.  Also, there's that odd rocket that stands tall at the exit.  We finally drove over beside it to see what was up with that rocket.  Turns out it was donated by NASA in 1969.  And of course, they named it the Confederate Launch Pad I.  Yeah, they had to go there..!

Today we made our typical trip southbound, although the trip was not made to Daytona this time.  This time we went back to Summerfield, which is where Ba-ba is recovering gradually from his recent surgery, one that resulted in him now having a gall bladder removed as well.  His surgery was much more bigger in scale than Daddy's though, and certainly not something planned so much ahead of time.  But still, he's okay.  We saw him and Na-na tonight, and it was a warm welcome for us.  Of course, we were all a bit tired too, but nevertheless, we stayed up talking as usual.  Ba-ba looks like anyone would who is recovering from surgery, but there's a spark inside him, a desire to get better as soon as possible.  He'll be fine.

We left later this morning after packing, but it didn't take us too long to get down.  There weren't too many difficulties, although there were a LOT of speed traps in Georgia.  In Florida, not one single speed trap.  Not that we were speeding so much.  Seriously, 70 mph is a pretty good pace.

Regardless of speed, the Athens route is nice and much calmer than driving through Atlanta.  We're hooked.  As a bonus, you drive through Madison, and this little town called Bishop, Georgia.

It was an easy trip.  We had a marathon of Perry Stone podcasts, and after that started our Riders in the Sky podcasts, which have been hilarious.  Meanwhile, Madison was in the back playing games and watching "Peter Pan," or doing some coloring or crafts in the back seat. 

We got down there pretty quick in the end.  Almost as if we were riding a Confederate Rocket.