Well the anticipation is over... I was fortunate enough to be able to drive down to South Georgia and pick up the trailer September 8, 2017 and make it back home without personally meeting Irma, Hurricane Irma, that is!
I ended up leaving about five hours later than I had originally planned, but I wanted to make sure I had enough supplies in the truck in case I got stranded. Some things you can't plan for, but other things you can. I wasn't actually sure where I would be spending that first night, but my goal was to be able to get within at least an hour of the pick up sight. So with that goal in mind, my aim was to just take one mile at a time and see how far I could make it without being a liability on the road.
The trailer folks had told me earlier that motels were booked up due to folks fleeing Florida, but I thought that I could probably find myself a spot to stealth camp if I could find myself a safe and clean place to shower. I knew that Loves Truck Stops probably had the nicest private showers available for professional drivers so I used an app to locate where the Loves Truck Stops and the Walmarts that allowed overnight parking were.
By the time I hit I-75, South of Atlanta, I was beginning to get a little nervous. All three of the I-75 Northbound lanes were packed like sardines and appeared to be moving at a snail's pace. For several hours I drove further and further South on I-75 only to see the North bound lanes still packed with few if any gaps between vehicles. Concerns of running out of gas, the ability to find bulk water and bread were already beginning to become reality in certain locations.
I decided to drive a little past my intended exit to where I knew there was both a Loves Truck Stop and a Walmart that "flboy" had just stayed at about a week earlier, so I knew that it would be conducive for a decent nights rest. I stopped at the Loves Truck Stop first only to find that it looked similar to folks having a tailgate party right after a national championship ball game. Crazy would be an understatement! There wasn't a parking spot anywhere on the car side and people were already stack-parking behind folks where you would be unable to leave if you wanted to. I drove around to the Trucker's side since I knew they wouldn't put up with that kind of rip-raft. I soon found out the others had the same idea and followed. I asked the clerk inside if it would be possible to get a shower within a few hours (before 6 am). She showed me the backlog and politely let me know that it was doubtful. Back out side I couldn't close my eyes due to folks blocking me in... it was time for "Plan B"!
I knew that there wouldn't be any hope at that particular Walmart either, so after a few miles on I-75 North, I took some back roads to Fitzgerald, GA. They were far enough out of the way, they had a Walmart, plus I would be picking up the trailer not far from there. I have a very nice "Bedrug" for the truck bed that is plenty comfy to sleep on, so I made my way back, crawled in, fluffed up my pillow and set my alarm on the phone. I only got an hour and half of sleep that morning and it was time to move on.
Here is my Personal Peaceful Spot! I really can't call it camping with only one and one half hour shut eye, but it sure was a blessing after a long day and night drive.