I left Dallas at 1200 EDT and pulled into Villa Rica, 30 miles east of Atlanta, at 2315 EST.

Nasty storm through Louisiana and Mississippi.  At times I was down to 50 mph due to standing water.  After a couple of episodes of hydroplaning at 70 and 80, I backed way off.  Let me tell you, that RX7 with those Yokohamas usually loves the rain, but this was outrageous.  I got a couple of wakeup calls when the car didn't go where I pointed it.  I just gave it a little steering input and lifted slightly and it caught.  Then it happened 2 more times and that was it, I slowed way down.  Also, the Rain-X usually works great, but these downpours were so heavy that even that wasn't working well.

Between Dallas and the Louisiana line, there were at least six wrecks with vehicles in the median that has already occurred.  4 of the incidents resulted in 18 wheelers in the median.  You could see where they tore up the median.  That must have been scary for someone going the opposite direction and seeing an 18 wheeler coming at you.  Sheesh.  It probably happened as the storm preceeded me before I caught up to it.  Gee, you don't think the 18 wheelers were going too fast for conditions and were following cars too close, do you?[shock]


Also, it seems that Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have figured out how to keep people from speeding.  Make the interstate highways so damn rough, that if you go over the speed limit, you will be shaken severely.  I am going to have my shocks and suspension checked next week.  I'm talking some serious shaking and nasty potholes.

From the main courthouse in Dallas, to the main courthouse in Villa Rica, is 758.7 miles and should take 11 hours and 50 minutes with an average speed of 65 MPH on the interstate.  A nice easy drive.  As to the trucks going into the ditch, too many times I have seen cars come to a complete stop in the middle of the highway.  They will run in heavy rain (I caught the same downpour going from Savanah to Nashville today) without turning on their headlights.  This voids the road conditions and makes it a safety violation on part of the cars.  They don't realize the headlight requirement in rain is not so they can see, but so they can [b]BE[/b] seen.  

Now, as to my day...Started in Memphis at 8 AM on the 12th.  2 Delivery stops and 1 pickup.  Leave Memphis at 12:30 (all times central)  I then head to Nashville which takes me 2 extra hours because of cars racing for the barrels at construction zones (3 zones in a 20 mile stretch)  Drop trailer in Nashville, go to La Vergne, TN to pick up an empty, then to Lewisburg, TN to drop and swap for a loaded and head to Jacksonville FL.  I get there at 4 AM (made one stop in Cartersville GA for fuel)  I go to bed and get woke up 2 hours later.  Drop my trailer, hook one of theirs and run it around the block to a staging area, hook back to mine, dock and get unloaded.  6:45 head out for Savannah, GA.  Arrive 2.5 hours later and spend 2 hours getting loaded.  Then, it is non-stop back to Nashville.  I arrive in Nashville at 6:30 PM  1527 miles 9 stops (not counting fuel stop) in 34.5 hours.  And I got to deal with the rain too!!!