GA NC TN 2020 Vacation · · PAGE 1. 

Editors note: It is just after 7:00 AM on Thursday, November 26, 2020 as I begin publishing this page.  Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA, and of course it is a day off from work for many of us.  As always, the dates in BLUE on these pages will show the day of the photos and the story behind those photos.  If this sounds familiar, I posted the same opening for our 2019 vacation.  This year, the travel route is much shorter, and all of the sights are in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  I have used US Postal Service two-letter state abbreviations in the title of this page and will do so for the remainder of these pages for the vacation this year.

Many of our road trips north for friends, family, fall vacations usually begin by getting on the Florida Turnpike.  This is the same Google Earth image I used last year.  I get the idea, we could see this one again.

November 11, 2020:  It is Wednesday, Veteran's Day as this road trip begins.  Just like last year, we are using Linda's NEW Chevy Equinox SUV for this vacation trip.  My GPS shows 7:56:24 AM for the first data point as we depart home base and 8:03:55 AM as we pass through the toll gate seen in the image above.  We stop on US 301 near the end of the Florida Turnpike at 8:55 AM to walk the dog.  Just like the trip we made to Huntsville, Alabama -- Linda brought her dog named "Chase" with us on this trip as we will be spending a couple of days with her Daughter in Decatur, Georgia, near Atlanta.  This gas station is south of Wildwood, Florida and is a blatant tourist stop to buy souvenirs as well as a pit stop for people and pets.  That white SUV at the end of my arrow is where we park when we stop here with the dog.  This location is about one hour from home.  There is plenty of grass back there for Chase to do his business.  These trips with Linda are very different from my solo business trips in a rental car going north to PA and NJ.  She is a wonderful travel companion and adds to the experience for me.

We headed north on Interstate 75 after the pit stop above and got over on US 301 and US 441 north of Ocala to see some of Florida Horse Country.  There are a number of small towns in this part of Florida where antique stores are along the highway.  Somebody at FL DOT figured out putting the two US route signs on the proper sides of the highway would get drivers to move over to the desired lane ahead of where the asphalt divides to go in different directions.

Here is the actual split of US 441 and US 301 as they both head north, never to meet again.  We are heading up US 441 today to see some of Florida that is not seen when using the Interstate highways that get you where you want to go quickly.

The area around Ocala, Florida is Horse Country for thoroughbred horses to spend winters when they are retired or not racing.  Google Earth passed this way in June 2019 when the weather is hot in Central Florida.  There is always a barn to get the horses out of the weather that changes often in this county.  I lived southeast of Ocala from 1978 to 1989.

Looking on the opposite side of the highway reveals the wide open pastures to graze horses and give them room to RUN for their daily exercise.  The larger trees give them a place to cool off in the shade on a hot day.

Here is one of those small towns worth seeing in Florida.  The town of McIntosh is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Follow that McIntosh Web Link to see and learn much more than I can put on this web page.  The two large homes seen below are the first ones you encounter when entering the town via US 441 northbound.

US 441 passes near the center of the old town and there are more historic buildings to see from the highway.  There are a number of antique stores and shops in this part of the state.

North of McIntosh on US 441 is a location on the west side of the highway with a couple of antiques stores.  One as you can see is the DEPOT that specializes in railroad memorabilia.

We were passing through the small town of Micanopy, Florida which was a filming location for the 1991 Michael J. Fox movie "Doc Hollywood".  It is a small town that has many old classic homes and buildings.  This intersection on US 441 has only this set of blinking caution traffic lights marking the turn to the "downtown" area.

A place like Micanopy is where time can stand still with memories of the past.

Here is the heart of the old town of Micanopy.  We drove down this street which is not far past that barn seen in the image above.

Two blocks past the building seen above is Second Avenue that goes through a residential neighborhood.

We made a pit stop for Chase on the way back to US 441 at this location on County Road 234.  He walked up and down that rail fence marking at virtually every post to empty his bladder and leave messages for any other dogs that may pass this way.

Heading north from Micanopy on US 441 leads to Paynes Prairie wildlife preserve.  Look this place up on Google to learn more about it.

The Floridan Aquifer gets a lot of its water from this location.  This image below shows how the water goes down below much of the limestone beneath the Florida we see.  This day we passed this way, there was plenty of water in the prairie.  When the dry season comes, this place is very different.  When I lived near Belleview, Florida in the 1980's in a house with a deep well, it was drilled about 90 feet below the surface to tap into the Floridan Aquifer to get our water.

We got back on I-75 after crossing Paynes Prairie to continue north to the Lake City area.  A large antique store is just south of the I-75 exit that crosses US 41 and US 441.

This is the only part of Florida where the two US highways US 41 and US 441 are traveling together for about 27 miles between the towns of High Springs and Lake City, Florida.  The two routes take parallel streets through Lake City with US 441 passing by the town square where the Columbia County court house is located on the East side of US 441.  US 41 is one block to the west as a practical bypass in the city.

The next item of interest on this part of US 41 is the Suwannee River Bridge south of the town of White Springs, Florida.  This truss bridge was built in 1931 and was replaced by a modern bridge in 1971.  The sign at the top of that old bridge in this postcard image says "WAY DOWN UPON THE SUWANNEE RIVER" in honor of Stephen Foster who lived in White Springs.  Those words were the first verse of the song "Old Folks at Home" published in 1851.

Here is the modern bridge built in 1971 and seen here in a Google Earth image from 2018.

I took this photo in 2003 showing the underside of the new bridge.