August 16th 2009
Washington / Wilkes County / Oglethorpe County
Day 51: 18 miles walked today. I always like a day that begins outside my hotel door.Federal tax refund calculator2011 federal tax refund calculator2012 federal tax refund calculatorFederal tax refund calculator 2011Federal tax refund calculator 2012free tax return calculator 2011free tax return calculator 2012estimate tax refund 2011estimate tax refund 2012quick tax refund calculator 2011quick tax refund calculator 2012income tax refund estimator 2011income tax refund estimator 2012calculate tax refund 2011calculate tax refund 2012income tax refund calculator 20122012 refund estimator If we don’t have to drive to where we left off the day before it can save a lot of time. I walked out of my hotel room and through downtown Washington, which is a beautiful city. This town has a tremendous amount of history to it, and has more antebellum homes than anywhere else in Georgia. Battles were fought nearby in the Revolutionary War, and it is actually the town where the Confederacy was dissolved by Jefferson Davis and his cabinet in 1865. It is also the last recorded location of the remaining Confederate gold supply, and it is widely thought that the gold is buried somewhere in the vicinity.
Robert Toombs resided here, who was a US Senator from Georgia in the 19th century (after serving in the Georgia House), the Secretary of State of the Confederacy, and a general in the Civil War. After about fifteen miles, I took a break to drive to Macon to meet up with my son Wells for his birthday. My mother was kind enough to drive Wells up from Tifton, and it was great seeing them both. One of the most challenging aspects of the Walk is that it keeps me away from my family as much as it does. I remember when I first entered this race and people were calling on me to enter the race for the 8th congressional district instead. Someone even started a Facebook group called “Draft Austin Scott for Congress.”
Amongst the many reasons why I chose not to run for Congress is the fact that there is no way I am willing to spend five days a week away from my family. Not at this point. It’s hard enough doing it for just a few weeks out on the Walk of Georgia. As I got out of downtown Washington (Georgia), and started moving along Highway 78, the road were among the most difficult I’ve encountered. The grass grew right up to the street, and virtually everywhere the shoulder dropped off just a few feet past the road. Since it rained the night before, the ground was soft, and needless to say I didn’t make quite the pace I wanted. But I kept at it!
Several people stopped me (and my staffers) during the day to ask if we were alright. These are kind people around here, and most all of them stopped to ask if we were broken down, out of gas, or needed some sort of assistance. I remember one girl in a black pickup with Young Life and UGA stickers on it who stopped to ask if we were alright. When I told her my name and why I was walking, she seemed delighted at what we were doing and warned us about the impending storm before heading on her way. Maybe she’s looked me up by now and is reading this post. At one point we passed the University of Georgia Beef Cattle research center, which brings back some very dear memories for me of the time my grandfather and I came to this exact farm and bought our first herd of cattle here.
It dawned on me at that time that I am the only Republican candidate, and perhaps the only gubernatorial candidate, with any agricultural background whatsoever. Shortly thereafter a State Trooper, a station commander nonetheless, pulled over and turned on his blue lights, asking us not what was going on, but if there was anything he could do to help. I introduced myself, told him I was running for Governor, and he stopped to speak with me a few minutes.
I know I’ve mentioned it before so I won’t bring it up again in detail, but suffice it to say I told him what I think about the furloughs the State Troopers have just been handed. It’s deplorable, I told him, and I mean it. We need them on the roads. After a while we parted ways and I went on down the road until the storm picked up heavily and it began raining hard. Tomorrow I hope to make it as far as Athens.
GPS: N33 47.822 W82 59.294 833.03 miles walked